would metamucil help stop diarrhea/ YES!!!

Would it be ok to mix a little metamucil in Smokie's wet food to stop diarrhea.
If so how much metamucil do i give?
She is diet controlled diabetic.

 

Re: would metamucil help stop diarrhea/

No experience with this but I did google search...
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm ... 9&aid=1473

You might search metamucil for cats for more results.

Good luck!

 

Re: would metamucil help stop diarrhea/

Thanks Pam. I had googled but couldn't find what i needed to know about using it
to firm up the stool.
I must find a way soon.

 

Re: would metamucil help stop diarrhea/

I don't know about metamucil, but I've had very good results with FortiFlora. Especially if the loose stools are being caused by a food change or stress.

Loose stools can also be caused by parasites or a food intolerance--do you know why the diarrhea is happening? Are antibiotics in the mix?

 

Re: would metamucil help stop diarrhea/

The big problem here is Smokie refuses oral medications. She gets angry, bows her head in toward her chin and shakes it hard and bites and bites me. God have i tried.

My regular vet is on vacation but he called in Baytril to the ER for her several days ago. I tried to give it IM.
I couldn't. I read on internet it can be give SubQ so i'm gonna try SubQ today even tho the side
effects are bad. If i don't do something to help her she will die.

I took her to ER last week-end and Vet gave her Depo-medrol 10mg IM.
I saw the Vet who is filling in for my regular Vet this week and he gave me Imodium to give Smokie. He said he didn't want to do a stool culture or anything else yet...just wanted to wait and see what my regular vet wanted to do...
I went back to the ER Vet last night without Smokie and Vet gave me flagal to give her. I put it in a jelcap to drop it down her throught. I was determined to give it;
but i couldn't get her mouth open.
I got her to take a little metamucil in her food awhile ago.
I'm waiting on call from Vet who is filling in for my Vet.

Thanks

 

Re: would metamucil help stop diarrhea/

Is this a new problem? If yes, a vet visit may be indicated.

In humans, fiber is reputed to be helpful in balancing both constipation and diarrhea, so a small amount may help. I've seen it mentioned here more for constipation.

Some considerations (time to play detective!):
How often is the diarrhea occuring? A few times a week? Daily? several times daily?
Was there a food change before the diarrhea started ocurring?
Does your cat go outside where she could be exposed to infectious material, or eat anything contaminated?
Does she eat raw food?
Eat canned food that sits out for a while?
Eat inedible objects?
When was the last time she had bloodwork done?

 

Re: would metamucil help stop diarrhea/

I took Smokie to ER Vet last Sunday afternoon. He did Blookwork and it hadn't changed much from last time. He did a fecal but it was negative.

No food changes and i put down fresh through out the day but some old is usually around.
no raw food.

Smokie eat plastic bags. She will fight me to get to one and i have to pull her off it. I have wondered if she ate some.

Her loose stools occur more in afternoon and evening. Less during the night and early morning. but occur every day.
Thanks

 

Re: would metamucil help stop diarrhea/

Merlin has liquipoo now and then depending on the food he eats. The only time he doesn't have it is if I feed him Wellness but he doesn't like it and won't always eat it. I use CVS brand of fiber - it's tasteless and I mix it into his food. I haven't done it in a while so I can't remember how much I used but it was probably about a teasoon or less. It did help some. Good luck.

 

Re: would metamucil help stop diarrhea/

No advice on the poo problem, but I did want to add that Depo-medrol is a steroid. Be sure to do BG spots checks to make sure they're okay.

 

Re: would metamucil help stop diarrhea/

Thank you Traci.
Smokie's stools are forming! She had two little ROUND ones that look like they are supposed to look! I was so glad to see that!
She didn't go for a long time and then that happened! She didn't stand there and strain and look like she was hurting.
This morning i gave her just a tiny bit of metamucil in water with her food.
That has to be what helped her.
I know this is not the answer to the underlying cause of her problem.

Thanks Carolyn for that reminder. I thought long and hard before i let the Vet give her that.
He said she needs something "right now for her colon."
It was a hard choice to make.

 

How great!!!! That's awesome. I've been having issues with Merlin in the last couple days and your post reminded me that I should be doing this too. I'm very glad it's helping you.

 

Did you ever think we would be so elated over formed poo? :lol: :lol:

Glad you knew about Depo. I have also had to make the decision to use it. Sometimes there is no other choice.

 

If it helps, I know that you can give liquid Immodium to cats also (using a medicine dropper). Right now I can't remember how much to give or how often, but it's something that my vet told me to do back when Motska was having antibiotic-induced diarrhea. I'll re-post after I get home from work, if I can find the sheet where I wrote the instructions down. Or you can call your vet, and ask him/her what the appropriate dosage would be.

 

You can give liquid immodium to cats???? Seriously? Gee, that would make too much sense.
:shock: :lol:
You mean I could run out to CVS and pay a few bucks instead of $20 for a quarter cup of Flagyl?

No vet I've ever had has said this to me. It sounds too good to be true! PLEASE give us the details from the vet if you still have them.

 

Thanks everyone.
A Vet that i saw when my Vet was on vacation told me to give Smokie immodium for
diarrhea. There is an article telling how harmful it is to cats(too tired to find article
right now)

Smokie's watery diarrhea stopped with one injection of Baytril.
I did not want to give Baytril because of the side effects but i had to do something.
One injection and it stopped.
I don't know if it was the Baytril that made it stop.
After the shot in 4 days with no BM at all she is back to 6 inch long perfect stools.
Vet let me give the Baytril at home.

 

I can't find the instructions I wrote down, but after reading Mary Jo's post, I Googled for immodium dosing information for cats, and found several sites that say that you shouldn't give it to cats at all due to the potential side effects, and some that say that "some cats" can handle it, but not all. I wanted to find out what the potential risks and side effects are, and found this site:

http://www.petplace.com/drug-library/loperamide-imodium/page1.aspx

It does state that you should never give immodium to a cat without first consulting a vet. It can cause problems for animals with kidney disease, Addison's Disease, etc. You might want to pay extra attention to the "Precautions and Side Effects" section approx half-way down the page. It worked for Motska the first time around (under Vet's instructions), but that's not a guarantee that she might not have a reaction at another time -- especially as she gets older. My suggestion is to ask your vet what he/she thinks about liquid immodium...