[meowmix]

hey all, i havn't posted in a while but i've been lurking. well, since the last time i posted about ralphie's sloppy poo, i were told to bring a poo sample for the vet, turns out he had coccidia. well, they gave me his medication, gave me instructions on when to give it to him. so there were 8 1/4'd pills and he was supposed to take 1 a day. so i mixed it in with his wet food, made sure he ate it, and did that for 8 days. waited a week, then brought in another poo sample. they called me the following evening, and told me he doesn't have coccidia anymore. but the question remains...why does he still have sloppy poo?! i've only seen him have an actual "strip" of poo once or twice, but now it's still somewhat sloppy, it doesn't hold together.

i'm feeding him wellness dry still. he drinks water as well. no more wet food until he starts showing me some solid poop.

btw, i'll try to get some pics up, i'm sure you'd all love to see my cute little ralph.

 

[drjean]

Why eliminate the wet food, since it clearly had nothing to do with the diarrhea?! It's the most nutritious part of his diet! If you're sick, you might just eat saltine crackers for a couple of days, but you eventually have to have real food--dry food is mostly "crackers"!

Antibiotics wipe out the "good" bacteria in the GI tract; this needs to be repopulated. You can add probiotics to his wet food to help this along; get a supplement that contains acidophilus and other beneficial bacteria. Add the canned food back to his diet slowly, but it is really the best way to clear this up.

If the diarrhea still continues, there are some other non-drug alternatives to try. His GI tract has been quite unsettled, first by the coccidia, second by the drugs. It may take a little more time and effort to resolve it. So let us know!

Cheers,
Dr. Jean

 

[meowmix]

alright, thanks for the quick reply dr.jean! can you find these supplements at drug stores?

 

[drjean]

Your best bet is a health food store; probiotics really ought to be refrigerated, and this doesn't usually happen in drug or grocery stores. But, if that's your only choice, it will still do him some good!

Cheers,
Dr. Jean

 

[meowmix]

i never knew these were supposed to be refrigerated. do you know the average price range for these supplements?

 

[brite]

MeowMix,

Acidophilus is the same type of good bacteria that is found in yogurt... so it should be refrigerated to stay "alive".

I bought some recently... I think I saw some anywhere from as low as $5 a bottle (if they're capsules, you can break them apart and sprinkle the powder on your kitty's food -- I think the recommended dosage is 1/4 a capsule twice a day, from what I've read online)... there was even one that was $17/bottle in powder form "for children" but obviously that's a bit extravagent for acidophilus IMHO.

Good luck!
-- Brite

 

[meowmix]

k, so i went to the local natural food's store (noah's) and i found the acidophilus supplements. there were 2 different kinds, the capsules and the fermented milk. i'm not sure which one to buy. and you were correct, they were inside the fridge. so is it the capsules or the feremnted milk?

 

[drjean]

Capsules are best, you can open them and mix the contents with food. THe other stuff, I'm guessing a cat won't voluntarily eat.

Cheers,
Dr. Jean

 

[meowmix]

alright, i'll see if i'll have time to go back to the store sometime this week. thanks for the help dr.jean.