Civie cat with diarrhea - help

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Denise & Honey

Denise & Honey

Member Since 2012
Still having problems with Minkie – diarrhea. It seems to be getting worse – finished Metronizadole after 3.5 days on Friday. Last night he was such a mess I had to clean him up and I think his anus is getting sore.
This has been going on for a little over a week. I took him to the vet last Sunday and he did an exam and blood work – see link. Nothing really wrong apart from a few elevated results possible due to infection. Sienne kindly took a look at the results and pm'd me:

The anion gap and bicarbonate results suggest metabolic acidosis. This most likely is the result of the diarrhea although I'd expect some of the other electrolyte levels to be off (e.g., potassium). Is there any chance Minkey's been exposed to antifreeze? Ethylene glycol, a major component in antifreeze, can cause these levels to be off. If your cats get into anywhere that a car has been and there's a leak or antifreeze is around, it's a problem. It's poisonous. Animals like it because it has a sweet taste.

The A/G ratio is an index of protein metabolism (albumin/globulin ration) that's indicative of liver or kidney issues. High levels suggest inflammation. This ratio can also be effected by age -- older cats have a higher result.

I would expect that BUN or creatinine levels would be off if there there kidney issues. Likewise, the specific gravity is fine.
Click to expand...

blood work

Apart from the diarrhea, he seems fine – he’s eating well, better than normal, peeing and wanting to play. He does show 3rd eyelid often but not all of the time. He has lost weight – 1lb in 3mths – now at 10.5lbs and I’m starting to see that he’s looking thinner.

When Honey was diagnosed, I switch all cats to wet food – FF mainly. Could it be diet? He likes fish but I’ve had him on chicken since he was ill. The vet said to put him on a bland rice or chicken diet while ill, but he wouldn’t eat it. He does not like fortiflora either.

He is indoor/outdoor – I kept him in during most of the week but then let him out from Thursday. No going out now.
Any suggestions on what to do next? Go back on the Metronizadole - we had to have the liquid form as he won’t take pills or is there something else to try? Could this be more serious or still likely to be an infection?

thanks!!!
 
I would try a different probiotic than FortiFlora. Pearls are cat sized. My vet recently recommended them to a friend who's cat doesn't like FortiFlora either. As long as you can pill Minkie, this is a good option. I've also used ReNew Ultimate when Gabby went through a bad bout of diarrhea. I found the ReNew in the refrigerated supplement section at Whole Foods. You start with about 1/3 of a capsule twice a day.

It may be that Minkie needs to be on the metronidazole longer. However, if he's not responded by now, it doesn't sound like the problem is bacterial but, you never know. It took about a month of being on metronidazole for Gabby's poo issues to clear up and not come back. Because the problem kept coming back after two shorter courses of antibiotic treatment, my vet did run a fair numbers of tests. A full blood panel was completely normal. We then did a fecal culture to rule out any sort of parasite. If the problem hadn't cleared up, the vet was suggesting that we have a scope done to rule out IBS.

You also may want to be sure you're not feeding anything that Minkie is allergic to. Fish and beef are two protein sources that many cats are allergic to. The allergy can cause diarrhea. You could try a novel protein (e.g., duck or venison) and see if that helps. Raw diets also can be very helpful in clearing up diarrhea. Dr. Lisa's site is a wealth of information on this.

Some cats do lose weight on a low carb diet. It can also take a while for a cat's system to adjust to a different diet.
 
Thanks Sienne.
I can't pill him - I'll try the ReNew Ultimate and more metronidazole.

He's always had friskies fish but not so much, just as a treat of an evening. Now he's on wet food, he does still get mainly FF fish or he also likes the beef.
So, it could be that.

I'll switch to chicken, duck or venison as you suggested. I may try the raw but when I've given them chicken wing tips in the past, they play with them a bit but don't seem to think of them as food. But, its worth a try!!

thanks again.
 
Another possible cause of diarrhea is intestinal cancer. If he is stable enough at some point yet continues with the diarrhea, an endoscopic biopsy would potentially identify that.
 
Ack! I'm sorry Minkie isn't feeling better in the poo department. It's good that he's still pretty much "fine" otherwise. I take that as a good sign. Hopefully it's something fixable. Hang in there!
 
My Buffy had diarrhea last year that went on for over a month. Every time she made a trip to her litter box, it was runny.

All of her tests were normal; however, the diarrhea began less than a week after she got a shot of Convenia. The vet said that wasn't the cause, but I wonder. Her behind got sore and I would smear vaseline on her, which did help.

Like Minkie, she seemed fine - eating, drinking, and peeing okay - just the ongoing diarrhea. So the vet did a course of metronidazole and she began vomiting, stopped eating, and spiraled to where she wouldn't eat on her own, so I did have to assist feed her for 2 or 3 weeks during this time.

Hoping Minkie feels better soon!

Nancy ~ Buffy (forever my heart kitty)
 
Denise

I agree with Sienne on the bloodwork although his USG is a little low. That could possibly be a very early indicator of renal issues but it wouldn't be the cause of his diarrhea. His BUN is also just on the upper end of normal showing a bit of dehydration; that can be just because of the diarrhea.

I would definitely check for parasites....giardia, coccidia, etc. The problem with parasites is that, unless they are in the active stage, he might have them but they wouldn't show. Is his diarrhea horribly smelly? Usually with parasites, it is.

I think a change in diet to the novel protein is a good one; I've also used the Pearls extensively. You could also get some slippery elm bark powder....get it at the health food store in the bulk section so it's just the free powder (not in capsules). You don't need very much at all.
Gently warm 1/2 cup of cool water and add 1 tsp of SEB powder and stir together over low heat until it is slightly thick. Store in frig in a glass bottle for up to 7 days. You can administer 5 mls bid before a meal to help with diarrhea. However, if he has parasites, it won't help.

Be sure you give it separately from any meds by at least an hour as it coats the intestines.

I hope you can get the diarrhea in Minkie stopped.
 
Tiggy had diarrhea too recently which we think was bacterial. He ended up on metronidazole for two weeks, PLUS we treated the other cats and I bleached the xxxx out of the litter trays, food bowls, water bowls (and rinsed very very well sicne bleach is toxic) and well trafficked areas. And towards the end of the metronidazole I gave fortiflora. It slowly cleared up.

Couldn't be a food allergy or sensitivity could it? Did you change food when honey was diagnosed? Tiggy got a lot more soft when we moved him to canned.
 
Thanks guys for all of the suggestions.

Vet gave us metronidazole for 2 weeks yesterday and a broad-spectrum de-worming topical med.
No sign of any poop today - not sure if that's good or bad :?

Marje - yes, his poop is very smelly - I definitely know when he's been. They did check for them last week but as you say, maybe just didn't show up.
Would the de-worming med. help with them?

Trying to stick to diet change and I've also got some turkey thighs but I'm not holding out much hope as he won't touch chicken when I've tried in the past.
1 good thing is he does now seem to be taking food with fortiflora on it - I also bought the ReNew Ultimate recommended by Sienne - can I give both? Assume so.

I'll clean out litter trays as suggested. The other 2 cats are ok, although its hard to tell with Monster because of his hyper-T/methimazole.
 
Nope...deworming will address roundworms and tapeworms but not parasites. Usually Albon or Panacur depending on the type of parasite. Tobey had symptoms of parasites but they couldn't identify them so we tried the panacur which didn't work. The albon did.
 
A bit of light reading from The Merck Veterinary Manual section on the Digestive System

The 3 semi-feral kittens I fostered, then adopted from my vet 3 years ago, had giardia and it took a long time to get it diagnosed. The diarrhea smelled quite foul.

There are tons of intestinal parasites and infectious agents which may affect cats ... AND you. Be sure to wash your hands and/or wear gloves, and a dust mask while cleaning out litter boxes will reduce the odds of inhaling dried cysts. The last thing you'd want is getting coccidia, giardia, salmonella, cryptosporidium, and so forth.
 
I took Minkie back to the vet tonight - everything still ok - temp, heart, breathing etc.. They did x-rays - no blockage, organs look ok.
He's still eating ok, peeing and moving about - not as playful but ok.

So, more tests - stool sample for toxins and virus.
Also started him on Albon and gave him fluids. I have a bag of fluids for home so I'll be checking out Marje's video :-D

Thanks for the heads up on the parasites and infections - all sound yucky nailbite_smile
 
Hope the Albon works. It took a couple courses of it to get rid of Tobey's issues. Let me know if you have questions on giving subqs.
 
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