Tummy Trouble

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misskitty007

misskitty007

Member Since 2015
So Fredo has been doing well #"s wise. His BG seems to be fairly stable (100's-200) on a low dose (we are using the ALPHATRAK2 if anyone is looking at spreadsheet). But one of our big issues is stomach problems. Fredo's appetite has been coming and going (and yes, i've tried ALL the tricks and many different foods). I think the bigger issue is that he has had diarrhea for more than a week now. It's not incessant, just that when he goes, it is close to liquid. He tested negative for Pancreatitis and parasites. Any other thoughts? That wouldn't show up in blood work? Waiting to speak to the vet today. It's no longer "new food" or antibiotic he was on awhile ago for possible UTI. Really frustrated that my boy doesn't feel better even though his numbers aren't bad. Feel like we're missing something.
 
How long ago did Fredo finish the antibiotic course, and did you give him any probiotics during/after the course?
 
Stopped the antibiotics Monday PM after the culture came back negative for UTI. vet thought that might have been causing the diarrhea. and he has been getting forti flora sprinkled on all his wet food.
 
Tests for pancreatitis are not full proof. A negative test does not rule out pancreatitis.

Tests for some parasites depend on the parasite shedding at the time of the test. If it isn't, the test will be negative, even though the parasite is present. Giardia, campylobacter, coccidia, and more may cause diarrhea. Sometimes, it can be worth doing empirical treatment. where you treat as if the condition were present.

Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency can be a cause of diarrhea. The treatment is digestive enzymes.
Inflammatory bowel disease, GI lymphoma, hepatitis, cholangitis, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) also may cause diarrhea.

Probiotics, such as Forti Flora, given regularly may be helpful.
A pinch of plain psyllium powder morning and night may help.
If it were IBD, steroids could be helpful, although they will raise the glucose further. In that case, you adjust the insulin.
 
wondering if all this chicken might be too much for his system, but days like this it's pretty much all he will eat.
 
we have done extensive blood work and a lot of tests several times in the last 6 months. Honestly my vet is very troubled and frustrated. He is a top vet in NY who treats cats only and this is his area of expertise and even he is quite frustrated and has suggested possibly seeing a specialist. Fredo's BG is really not bad at all and we are now trying 0.5 once a day. But I just can't do this much more, it's killing me. I hand fed him almost every meal today, and yesterday he was fine! Ate 2 1/2 cans of FF.
 
Is there someone who can give you a break for a bit so you can step out for a little bit?
 
OK ... how about recruiting a student interested in veterinary studies? Or hiring a vet tech for an hour or two occasionally?
 
Here's an article describing temptation techniques for eating from Tanya's site. There's also a link on the destination page to an article on nausea and vomiting. It can be very instructive to observe behaviour at mealtimes to get an idea of what's causing the fluctuating appetite. Also, if you give different foods, monitoring the reaction to each one and then checking ingredient lists can help identify irritants in foods.

Does Fredo ever vomit?
 
Aine, thank you so much. This is a really interesting list. I have been on this site many times, but never had this problem before so never saw this. I have been bringing the food to Fredo or bringing Fredo to the food a lot lately. And again when it is chicken breast he will eat it. And occasionally he will wake up and want to eat, and eat actual cat food (Hallelujah!). I'm basically going between two kinds of FF and one Friskies at this point. But he will eat one one day, and then not touch it for days. Sigh. I am kind of curious about the raised bowls actually, because of Fredo's neuropathy. Worth a try at least.
Luckily, thankfully, no vomiting, but the diarrhea has gone on a really long time.
 
I feel for you. Before Saoirse's pancreatitis flare last year I'd never had a cat with diarrhoea before. It went on for weeks. :( Talk about a happy dance when she finally produced a properly-formed stool! Never in a million years would I have believed that poops could be a source of sheer joy. ;)

The raised bowl helps Saoirse a great deal. I use timed feeders for her night-time meals and sometimes when she's a little queasy I pop boxes under them to raise them up for her, too.

The chicken breast is very easily digestible. That Fredo will eat it more readily than the commercial foods does sound like there might be something in them that could be upsetting his digestive system.
 
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oh my gosh, you must've heard me screaming! 3 perfectly formed healthy poops today! i think i cried. i thought for sure it would be another vet visit tomorrow. what a relief!

i still can't figure out the food thing. he will eat the same thing from my hand (even wet canned food) that he will not eat from his dish, high or low. i think he misses his dry too. and though he was always both wet & dry, he definitely misses the dry. i give him a tiny bit and some broken up freeze dried chicken so he gets some crunch. i think that's part of it with the wet pate's, he doesn't like that consistency very much. he just sort of licks at it and moves on.

anyway so appreciate your thoughts. he has not had insulin for 2 days now as his numbers have dropped to the 120-135 (alphatrak2) and i am waiting to see if he is regulating. the support here has literally saved my life over the last month.
 
Yay for the poop! And the relief really is overwhelming. :D

Those are really good numbers on the Alphatrak. :)

Have you tried mixing a little water through the paté and warming it slightly? Saoirse does similar with the hand feeding sometimes. She'll be reluctant to eat what's in her dish but she will lick a little off my fingertip. If I warm the food a little for her that seems to get her interest better at those times. I also use the freeze-dried food trick. I keep a little tub of freeze-dried chicken that I blitz into a powder using a mini food processor and I sprinkle it over her food (usually when I've added a little too much water to it - the food probably doesn't have enough flavour then).
 
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