Diarrhea and Vomiting

[Val9955]

Hi all,

It has been a while since I have sought advice from all of you. My Spanky who was diagnosed in Dec 11 is off the juice and diet controlled!!!! He is currently on Friskies Pate and Fancy Feast, but he keeps having bouts of diarrhea with bright red blood and he vomits every day at 3am. The vet has put Spanky through 3 rounds of antibiotics, but the issue keeps coming back. He poops 1-2 times a day and it is runny. Some times he has urgency and does not make it. Also, Spanky attempts to wake me up at 3am every morning to feed him, even if there is food in his bowl.If I do not get up with him, he pukes next to my bed. After I put food down for him, he stops puking. The vet is wanting me to change his food or add the diabetic dry food, but his diabetes is under control (he will not eat home prepared food, I have tried). Any advice on the diarrhea and vomiting?

 

[jt and trouble (GA)]

Poor Spanky AND you. I'm sorry no advice but this will bump your thread up for more eyes
jeanne

 

[MelanieP and Ninja]

Maybe it's as simple as the 3 rounds of antibiotics? Three rounds of antibiotics seems like an awful lot. What were the antibiotics prescribed for (did your vet do testing that identified a bacterial infection)? Did your vet prescribe pro-biotics after the course of antibiotics to help reestablish "good bacteria?" I am NOT an expert on this by any means, but found this vet article that might be of interest (text below), though it does not address the vomiting: http://www.ehow.com/list_6695367_sympto ... otics.html
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Text from article:

Symptoms of Diarrhea in a Cat With Antibiotics

There are a few cats that will experience diarrhea when placed on antibiotics. According to Dr. Ron Hines of the 2nd Chance website, this occurs because antibiotics kill the bad bacteria in the cat’s intestine, as well as the good bacteria. When the normal bacteria flora of the intestine is gone as a result of the antibiotics, diarrhea can occur. If your cat is on antibiotics, there are a few symptoms it might display if it has diarrhea.

Loose Stool: Cats with antibiotic-induced diarrhea will have loose stool. The feces is often a pudding-like consistency. There is still a bit of form to it, but it is definitely not in the usual solid shapes. Often, diarrhea will also have a stronger than normal scent to it. Many owners will notice the loose stool when cleaning their cat’s litter box. This loose stool may or may not have bright, red blood mixed in, as well.

Bloody Stool: Cats with diarrhea caused by antibiotics may also have blood in their stool. This blood can be caused by inflammation or irritation in the cat’s bowels, explains Dr. Bari Spielman of the Pet Place website. If the cat experiences chronic diarrhea on account of the antibiotics, the intestine could become irritated and bleed as a result of the persistent diarrhea. The blood is often bright red and mixed in with the diarrhea.

Watery Stool: Cats on antibiotics can also experience watery diarrhea. Watery diarrhea has no form to it and is made almost entirely of liquid. It may have a few pieces of solid material in it, but it is primarily dark-colored liquid. Oftentimes, cats with watery stool will feel such an extreme urge to defecate that they cannot make it to the litter box in time and will have accidents of the floor. The watery stool could also have blood incorporated in it.
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As a PS from Melanie: I found other articles that indicated, in addition to the antibiotic treatments, a number of other possible causes -- from intestinal parasites to more serious illnesses -- so you might want to get your cat thoroughly checked out, just to be sure -- and maybe by a different vet (??) if yours keeps prescribing antibiotics that don't seem to help, and no other options. Just my thoughts.

 

[sophie]

Hello,
recently there was a post with a very similar problem as Spanky's (that is, bloody diarrhea), the answer provided was that it cleared in that member's kitty with addition of a live culture probiotic (so, not FortiFlora) and a switch to an all raw diet. I'm pretty hopeless in searching but perhaps someone else remembers or can do a search. I have read that suggestion repeatedly. I would not give up on a raw diet, if it's needed, just introduce it gradually &/or repeatedly.

I noticed that you feed FF classics. My Pudge quite recently has started projectile vomiting when he eats FF classic beef flavored canned food, though he never had the problem before. No beef, no vomiting! I imagine, just like in humans, sensitivities to different foods can develop in cats at any age and even suddenly.

Best wishes,
Sophie