Cat diarrhea.

[Christy & Gilbert]

Gilbert's bubby Pete has had diarrhea for a while now. My husband has been on litter box duty & has reported that it is occasionally loose. I have been watching for about a week now & it is very yellow/orange/green with a formed stool occasionally. I called my vet & she wants to put him on metronidazole, but I don't like the side effects I'm reading about. What do you guys do for diarrhea in your cats?

 

[BJM]

Before doing anything to attempt to slow it down, understand that if it is an infectious process, slowing it down keeps the micro organisms in the body longer which could conceivably make the infection worse.

And side effects are a 'may happen', not a 'will happen' - it depends on the cat, the type of organism, food, comorbid conditions, etc. Another one of those Every cat Is Different situations.

That said, one thing that may help with diarrhea is plain psyllium fiber. It helps soak up excess moisture so it has more bulk, less flow. Start low and go slow with perhaps 1/8 teaspoon mixed well into food. It will make the feces bigger - think 'sponge'.

 

[Christy & Gilbert]

Thank you! I may try the fiber. He will have to go to the vet soon to diagnose the cause & get treatment, but for now I would like to try & slow it down if possible.

 

[Larry and Kitties]

I have successfully used metronidazole on few of my cats. There is really only potential problem with doses exceeding the standard of 1/4 of 250 mg tablet.

 

[Shelly203]

My cat Fenway had diarrhea for months, with vomiting too. Once I changed his food from prescription Purina dm to Wellness brand canned food, it totally stopped.

What food are you feeding? Just curious.

 

[Christy & Gilbert]

He is on 9 lives dry food which I know is not good at all in the diabetic cat world, but he has been on it all his life. He is not diabetic however, but he may have developed an allergy to it. He also gets friskies & ff wet food. My husband is gone to vet now to pick up wormer. She really thinks he needs a good worming before we do any testing. He catches chipmunks, rats, mice, lizards...whatever he can!

 

[BJM]

If he has a serious worm infestation, you may see evidence in the feces.

If it is something small like giardia or coccidia, treating that will definitely reduce the diarrhea. I had 2 of 3 kittens with BOTH of those and until treated the diarrhea reeked, they couldn't gain weight, and the litter boxes needed several times daily cleaning.


Good luck!

 

[Wendy&Tiggy(GA)]

My Tiggy has intermittent diarrhea since he started wet food. If I sprinkle 1/2 capsule of renew ultimate flora probiotic on his food every day it goes away.

But get him tested for infections and worms. If you find nothing then a probiotic may help.

 

[Christy & Gilbert]

We have started him on metradinazole & wormed him yesterday. His stool was formed this morning...almost dry & hard. Crazy considering he had 3 bouts of diarrhea yesterday.