[Cattailgal]

My 12 year old cat has had chronic diahrrea since just after we moved from FL to Tennessee 9 months ago. About the time he switched from dry Purina OM to dry Science Diet RD. He's otherwise healthy, and about 16 lbs. He has two to four litterbox visits daily - with the stool the consistency of pancake batter. He always makes it to the litterbox, thankfully. I've just started him back on the Purina OM - no improvement.

I've been to the vet repeatedly. No parasites found in two exams. Bloodwork has come back fine (slight elevation of monosites). A swab of his intestine came back fine. He's been on Amforal for six days - as I asked for something to try and treat the symptoms, although the vet wants to find the cause. No change.

The vet suggests Science Diet DD, in case the cat has developed a sensitivity to the ingredients in the RD/OM (chicken, corn, and beef). I picked it up today, but using it will be difficult, as i have two other cats (one with a tendency to cystitis).

I've tried pumpkin, and a bit of psyllium - no improvement. I bought acidophollis and tried a week of it - no improvement. I've tried bottled water...

The vet suggested referring Merlin to a specialist two hours away at Univ. of Tenn. if the food change doesn't help.

Any ideas?

KC

 

[Annissa]

I've heard that Purina DM is used to help cure diarrhea. However, it gave Sabby diarrhea. If you try it, be prepared for the worst smelling poo of your poor kitty's life. When I switched Sabby to Wellness canned food, I bought only one flavor over and over and he got diarrhea. When I started switching the flavors so he got two or three different flavors daily the diarrhea went away. Other than those two suggestions, you've tried everything I know of to cure diarrhea. Maybe someone else will have more ideas.

 

[drjean]

Hi, my suspicion is that the excessive fiber in those particular foods is irritating his digestive tract. It certainly *could* be a food allergy, but the frequency of stool sounds more like colitis, which in my experience is less likely to be allergic.

Another potential diet trial would be a gradual transition to a canned, low fiber, low carb diet, with the addition of digestive enzymes and acidophilus (a week isn't a fair trial, we are talking about rebuilding the entire gut bacterial population!). That's the best diet for your FLUTD kitties, too.

My cats have about half the stool volume on all canned than they ever did on any amount of dry. Hopefully it will work for you too!

For a bunch of articles on nutrition & health, please visit our free article library, http://www.littlebigcat.com/?action=library.

Cheers,
Dr. Jean