Slippery Elm Bark for Diarrhea - Experiences???

[Brenda and Morris]

Morris has had diarrhea for 2 weeks now and been on probiotics for 9 days with no improvement. I have read that slippery elm bark capsules are a homeopathic remedy and am considering trying it.

Here is part of a post from the old board:
"Take one capsule, pour the amount that is in the smaller part of the capsule into a dish. The stuff is sticky. Add one teaspoon of either baby food or canned food and add lots of water and mix this up. You want a puree soupy consistency. Then give to cat. I say baby food or canned, because Maui didn't like it in baby food. So, I put it in canned food. You can give this once a day for a MAXIMUM of 3 days. The diarrhea should slow down and stop within this time. You need to watch closely, as too much of it could cause constipation. "

Has anyone else tried it, and if so, what was your experience? How many times did you have to give it to see results? Did the diarrhea come back? He has an appointment with the vet tomorrow for a dental and some other bloodwork but would like to have this on hand just in case.

 

[Donna and Flame]

Hi Brenda,
Yes, I have used Slippery Elm Bark for more than 1.5 years now. Slippery Elm can be used for either diarrhea or constipation and has a soothing effect on the tummy. The instructions you pulled from Hillary's post below were the instructions I gave to her when Maui had diarrhea. It does work, however, I would caution using it without knowing the cause of the diarrhea in the first place. You do not want to treat the symptom and not get to the cause.

I would be concerned with a cat that has had diarrhea for 2 weeks. Does Morris have any history of IBD? Has your vet run a fecal and/or bloodwork to see what might be causing this? Have you changed foods recently that could be causing some sort of food allergy? Is Morris dehydrated? If so, please make sure he is getting extra fluids. Until you can get the vet to examine him and possibly give Sub-q's if he is dehydrated, please add some water to his food to get some extra fluids into him. Do you know how to check for dehydration? You can check his gums... if they are tacky and not as pink as they should be he is likely dehydrated. You can also pull up on his scruff and if it snaps back that is a good sign. If it kind of just falls back down slowly, that is a sign of dehydration. Forgive me if you already know all of this.

Hope Morris is feeling better!!

 

[Brenda and Morris]

Thanks so much for your post! So far Morris is not dehydrated...I have always added a lot of water to his food because that's the way he likes it and I guess that is keeping him hydrated so far. As for the vet, I had him to the vet last Tuesday because he was not eating and had the diarrhea. She found that his anal glands were very full and he had them expressed at that time. She also found that he was in dire need of a dental, which is scheduled for tomorrow. At the time of his visit, he had been on probiotics for only 4 days so I left it with the vet that I would continue them until his dental and that she would do bloodwork while he was out for the dental (Morris is a VERY fractious cat!) I took in a fecal specimen on Wednesday, which came back negative for parasites and showed overgrowth of bad bacteria and the good had not grown enough yet.

Since he still wouldn't eat very well, I also got some mirtz and started him on that on Friday so he has been eating fairly well since then. It just seems that the diarrhea has gotten worse instead of better and I decided to try the slippery elm bark as long as it wouldn't make things worse.

I am contemplating delaying the dental until he gets more stabilized but since that may be why he's not eating I'm up in the air about it. I plan to speak to the vet in the morning before taking him for the dental to fill her in on what has happened in the week since she saw him and get her advice.

Morris has never had an appetite problem and doesn't usually have bowel problems so this is new to me. I had him tested for pancreatitis several months ago when he had a bout of throw-ups and that was negative. Any other ideas in the interim before we see the vet again???

 

[Hillary & Maui (GA)]

Tee hee - this is my recipe that I got from Donna & Flame.

Yes, it works, but do follow the recipe and note how many days you use it. As you don't want the opposite issue and definitely note Donna's warnings.

She knows what she's talking about.....

 

[Donna and Flame]

HI,
Sorry, I've been off the board most of the day so just getting back to you.

I'd have the vet do an abdominal exam to see if she feels any masses or impaction. I know it sounds strange, but they can have some blockage and have diarrhea because the only thing that gets out around the blockage is the liquid.
Have you noticed any blood in the stool?

Again, you can use the slippery elm to give him some relief for now but definitely talk to the vet tomorrow and have her examine him before she puts him under anesthesia. (If nothing else, slippery elm will coat his gut and has a soothing effect on the belly.) I'd be a little leary of anesthesia with a cat that has had diarrhea for 2 weeks and is obviously not feeling too well.

Glad you're speaking to your vet tomorrow and I hope they can find the cause of the diarrhea. Please keep us posted.