chronic episodic diarrhea - help identify causes?
Zarifra
coccidia (I have one that did this and would have the occasional bouts).
Signs only show up durring times of stress (which could be caused by
anything). Durring the time when he has the problem take him in for a
fecal. Do not take in a fecal sample though as coccidia is rarely found in
them, they can take a sample from the cat using a small instrument called a
"fecal loop". With Coccidia my vet has always went with 3 consecutive
fecals with no oocysts in it before he feels they are clear of it.
Being a breeder I have dealt with this on numerous occasions. I got tired
of vets telling me it was a part of cat breeding until I found a vet that
said it was currable. We medicated everyone (wether they were showing signs
or not) and now I medicate any new cat comming into the cattery and have not
seen hide nor hair of coccidia in 2 years.
If you want I can give you more informtion on it, just give me an email at
embe...@uswest.net.
--
I wish you well,
Zarifra
Silver and grey snow leopard, purring from the corner.
Owner/Property of the monitor sitting, cursor chasing bengals
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Andes/4561
MaryBTodd wrote in message <19990807223256...@ng-fg1.aol.com>...
>"Light, sort of orange-ish color" loose stools usually makes me think
Coccidia
>- but that would not usually be episodic - has your vet done fecal exams?
>Coccidia often doesn't show up on fecal, and it does have an odd odor.
Lynn Short
appreciate you!
I have caught up on my reading today on the newsgroup, and noticed an older
thread about using canned pumpkin for the treatment of diarrhea in cats. I
have a neutered mixed breed male cat (Smokey), age about 4.5 years old. Smokey
has episodes of chronic diarrhea with a couple of hair raising features: a
*really* horrendous smell (we're not talking garen variety poop smell here) and
a light, sort of orange-ish color to the stool. It is an episodic problem.
Sometimes his stools are fine. He free feeds, and eats only Science Diet W/D
(all of the cats do), and seems to tolerate it pretty well. He turns up his
nose at most people foods except tuna or chicken which he gets in very small
amounts occasionally. He has occasional bouts of vomiting usually mixed with a
fair amount of hair. He's not a big fan of petromalt. I've takend him to the
vet who has not prescribed anything for it, and usually right away the problem
clears up if we've gone to the vet. My husband thinks that the cat just seems
to need me to write a check to the vet periodically :) .
Any suggestions about how to tackle this? He seems fine otherwise. Should I
try pumpkin? Do I need a new vet? Have you ever seen this?
Your comments are most appreciated!
Warmly,
Lynn
Lynn Short: gardener, cat lover, social worker, and all-around nice woman, who
agreed with what Martin Luther King, Jr. said: "Our lives begin to end the day
we become silent about the things that matter."
MaryBTodd
- but that would not usually be episodic - has your vet done fecal exams?
Coccidia often doesn't show up on fecal, and it does have an odd odor.
You might try Lactinex - see if you can get rid of it by substituting "good
bacteria" - it's OTC at the pharmacy but they keep it in the fridge with the
insulin so you have to ask for it.
It *could* be that your cat occasionally "blocks" with a hairball and the
diarrhea is what leaks around the blockage. You might try the other kinds of
hairball stuff - or even just plain vaseline, which is the "active ingredient"
in hairball meds.
Good luck!
Mary
Keuda
Please check on your Science Diet label and see if the chemical ethoxyquin
is on there as a preservative. It is highly toxic when accumulated in the
body and it may be why your cat comes up with these bouts. I was warned
about it about a year ago from another cattery but since my vet sold it to
me I ignored the warning and nearly lost one of my purebred kittens to it.
I since have had contact with several others who have either lost cats to it
or have had illness from it. I know of only one vet (so far) who openly
objects to it's use. This chemical is one that is used in making rubber and
keeps it pliable. It was at one time (back in the 60's ) used in human ice
cream but the FDA made them quit because it was toxic to humans. Now it
shows up in cat food. You might try switching to Iams, but be advised that
Iams is not rolled in chicken fat like the sd is and the cats don't eat it
as readily as the sd because of this. Jacque Brown, Creekside Catteries
-----Original Message-----
From: Lynn Short <lfs...@aol.comyaycats>
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats.health+behav
Date: Saturday, August 07, 1999 7:15 PM
Subject: chronic episodic diarrhea - help identify causes?
Lynn Short wrote in message
<19990807201513...@ng-bj1.aol.com>...
Lynn Short
> You might try switching to Iams, but be advised that
>Iams is not rolled in chicken fat like the sd is and the cats don't eat it
>as readily as the sd because of this.
Thanks Jacque. I will check this out, along with the other good ideas. My cat
is on w/d which may not be as fatty since it is used to treat overweight cats
(or diabetic ones like my girl cat, Effie). Prior to Effie getting on insulin
for her diabetes she was having occasional bouts of diarrhea too. I took extra
care in washing the food and water bowls, the food scoop. etc thinking that
maybe it was some bacterial thing. Her stools are great now, but little
Smokey's are still periodically yucky.
Do you recommend a particular variety of Iams, or does it only come in one
variety?
Thanks again,
Marv Shirley
a pleasant tasting compound in a tube. Give an inch at a time. A check
of his stool, and a fecal loop check should help in the diagnosis. Try
feeding Eukanuba Lamb and Rice, dry, mixed with equal portions of Nutro
Max Natural Choice Chicken, Lamb and Rice, dry. There are no
preservatives, color, fillers or ethoxyquin. Hopes this helps. Good
Luck. Shirley
Ellen Adams
I too, have a cat who has episodes of really nasty diarrhea. Colitis is
what my
vet called it. This cat had a rough start in life, I found him as a stray,
He was absolutely
loaded with parasites, and these no doubt did some major damage to his
"plumbing".
In any event, my vet suggested that we put him on D/D for an 8 week period
of time and
then try a specific food, this was all in an attempt to see what he could
tolerate without the re-occurance of the bloody diarrhea. The long and the
short of it was we were trying to find out if he had a food allergy.
Although the test wasn't 100% definitive, we came to
the conclusion that he does better on some foods than others. I found a
diet that he can tolerate without the chronic squirts, and I have not
altered the diet for a couple years.
He will from time to time, have a bout of bloody squirts, but I don't get as
alarmed as I
used to. It usually resolves by the next bowel movement. Stress also
affects him too.
I don't know if you need a new vet, but perhaps you could have your cat
checked for
Giardia. That can cause episodes of diarrhea too. I had my cat checked for
it, and he
was clear of it. But it might be a worthwhile test for your cat.
Hope this helps.
Ellen