Incurable explosive diarrhea

[Kris35]

Hi all,

My 16 year old Burmese cat is still very very active and playful. Several months ago she did a huge cowpat poo and collapsed onto her rear end. She couldnt walk for two weeks and after going to see four vets, who didnt know what the problem was, she somehow started to walk again. Now she is running around everywhere and is very lively. But the diarrhea is still the same.

This isnt normal diarrhea (whatever that is). Its explosive. She farts and it goes all over the place. I do have photos but they will make you feel sick. I've never seen anything like it before.

I have tried:

Novel protein diet.
Hypo allergenic diet.
Single protein diet.
Vitality Science (which has an a very high success rate in treating cats with diarrhea).

She has been tested for tf and all other parasites and all have come back ok. She had another blood test last week and my vet told me she has the bloods of a nine year old - all is fine. She also had a stomach scan last week and surprisingly, there was NO inflammation in her intestines.

When she was a kitten she was on a drip for a few days due to diarrhea. Poo samples came back fine. Vets didn't know what the problem was and it was the woman at the local cattery who told me to feed my cat coley, which I did and her diarrhea cleared up. Over the years, I have given her a diet of coley and cat food, and when her poos started to get runny again, I would cut back on the cat food and give her more coley. This would clear her diarrhea up. I read that some cats can become allergic to the protein source they have been fed all their lives, which is why I have tried so many other diets.

At the moment she is on kangaroo and I cook her sweet potato.

She was on a low dose of steroids and antibiotics but we have just increased the dose recently (two days ago). I dont think it is going to help and have no idea what to do or try next.

If I could just sort out the explosiveness and she had just runny poos, that would be a huge step. Even if she lived like that for the rest of her life.

I was wondering if anyone else has ever heard of anything like this?

[sugarcatmom]

What various foods (brands, flavours, wet or dry?) has she had over the years?

Have you ever tried feeding her a (balanced) raw diet?

Slippery elm bark powder and/or probiotics are also something to consider, if you haven't already.

[Lynne&Co.]

That must be uncomfortable for your kitty not to mention worrisome for you. My Papillon gets explosive diarrhea when she is stressed which usually happens on a road trip.......not pleasant for anyone. It can last for days or weeks after the trip regardless of whether the stress is over or not. The only way I've been able to minimize the duration is to fast her for min 12 hours after the first episode and then feed plain white rice. If I don't fast her then the diarrhea continues so I'm thinking the fasting helps her digestive system to recover and heal. There's no way my cat would eat rice so not sure what you could feed your kitty that would be gentle on her system. Maybe plain steamed pieces of chicken breast? Best of luck with your kitty.

[Longblades]

I have recently gone through something almost exactly the same but it was with my dog. He lost over 20% of his body weight and his poops were liquid under pressure, I called them Fire Hose poops. Traditional Western medicine, high doses of Flagyl, then Prednisone and some other stuff, had no effect at all.

We switched to a Holistic Vet. Like you we fed a novel protein and sweet potato, cooked. We had to wean off the other meds. She also used Chinese medicine and he was, and still is, on an assortment of herbs. He's still alive, gained back his weight and energy. We are now slowly transitioning to a raw diet.

So I can only suggest you consider what saved our boy, a Holistic Vet who uses Chinese medicine. Good luck.

[marko]

Sorry you are going through this Kris 35,

Maybe Longblades and SCM and Lynne&co or other members have an opinion on this, but might canned pumpkin help this in the short term?

http://www.pets.ca/dogs/tips/tip-75-...-constipation/

[Kris35]

Originally Posted by marko

Sorry you are going through this Kris 35,

Maybe Longblades and SCM and Lynne&co or other members have an opinion on this, but might canned pumpkin help this in the short term?

http://www.pets.ca/dogs/tips/tip-75-...-constipation/

I ordered some Libbys pumplin online two months ago and it never arrived. Got a message to say goods had been returned because damaged. This is another thing on my list to do. But I was told by my vet that if Im feeding a novel diet, I should give it a few weeks, so have been holding off. Pumpkin next. Thanks for the link, and guys thanks sooo much for your help.

[Kris35]

Originally Posted by Longblades

I have recently gone through something almost exactly the same but it was with my dog. He lost over 20% of his body weight and his poops were liquid under pressure, I called them Fire Hose poops. Traditional Western medicine, high doses of Flagyl, then Prednisone and some other stuff, had no effect at all.

We switched to a Holistic Vet. Like you we fed a novel protein and sweet potato, cooked. We had to wean off the other meds. She also used Chinese medicine and he was, and still is, on an assortment of herbs. He's still alive, gained back his weight and energy. We are now slowly transitioning to a raw diet.

So I can only suggest you consider what saved our boy, a Holistic Vet who uses Chinese medicine. Good luck.

Wow. Has his poos firmed up at all? When she collapsed and couldnt walk (when this all started), the third vet I saw was Dr Chris Day, a well known homepathic vet. We did a round trip of 80 miles. He gave her two minutes of laser light therapy and she started walking after that. Im not sure if it was the laser light therapy that helped her because she had had bouts of walking for ten mins or so. I have no holistic vets around here but I think I will ring Chris and ask about Chinese herbs. No holistic vets in my area - have searched but I'm going to look into this. Thankyou.

[Kris35]

Originally Posted by Lynne&Co.

That must be uncomfortable for your kitty not to mention worrisome for you. My Papillon gets explosive diarrhea when she is stressed which usually happens on a road trip.......not pleasant for anyone. It can last for days or weeks after the trip regardless of whether the stress is over or not. The only way I've been able to minimize the duration is to fast her for min 12 hours after the first episode and then feed plain white rice. If I don't fast her then the diarrhea continues so I'm thinking the fasting helps her digestive system to recover and heal. There's no way my cat would eat rice so not sure what you could feed your kitty that would be gentle on her system. Maybe plain steamed pieces of chicken breast? Best of luck with your kitty.

You know, I had a stray cat turn up on my doorstep around three years ago and he moved in. My cat doesnt like him and I do think he stresses her out and have often wondered if its his presence that is making her have diarrhea (she sleeps in bed with me and we had three bath towel changes last night). But this only started several months or so ago so way after he joined the family. If I could find somewhere for him to go away for a holiday for a few weeks I would. This is something I should consider actually after reading your post.

Did you say you fed your cat white rice but she wont eat it? Ive been reading about digestive enzymes and am thinking - well as soon as she eats, she squirts it out the other side within a couple of hours and Im wondering if enzymes would help her to digest some food? I will talk to my vet this week as she is having a B12 shot.

[Lynne&Co.]

Originally Posted by Kris35

You know, I had a stray cat turn up on my doorstep around three years ago and he moved in. My cat doesnt like him and I do think he stresses her out and have often wondered if its his presence that is making her have diarrhea (she sleeps in bed with me and we had three bath towel changes last night). But this only started several months or so ago so way after he joined the family. If I could find somewhere for him to go away for a holiday for a few weeks I would. This is something I should consider actually after reading your post.

Did you say you fed your cat white rice but she wont eat it? Ive been reading about digestive enzymes and am thinking - well as soon as she eats, she squirts it out the other side within a couple of hours and Im wondering if enzymes would help her to digest some food? I will talk to my vet this week as she is having a B12 shot.

Sorry I confused you. My dog (5lb papillon) is the one with diahrrea issues when she's nervous or anxious. Are you giving your kitty a break (fasting) before introducing a new food? Sometimes their system is so upset and out of whack that they just need a rest from food. Plenty of water should always be available though.

Marko's suggestion of pure pumpkin is an excellent idea. I used pumpkin all the time in the past for my weimaraner with good results. Unfortunately my papillon refuses to eat pumpkin so had to resort to the rice to get her bowels to settle.

[Kris35]

You are all so helpful here, thankyou so much.

SCM I tried my girl on this before:

http://www.naturesmenu.co.uk/category-raw-cat-food.aspx

I cant remember which one I ordered because I took the packages out of the boxes and threw the packaging away. But as you can see, it's fowl and I do think she has an allergy to fowl and fish. I have tried her on boiled chicken before and as I remember, it made her worse.

However, I think I introduced the raw too quickly now. I think I did half and half. I have found some venison raw so maybe I could try that.

The probiotics I used were called Pet Flora. I had these products shipped over from America (Im in the UK):

http://www.vitalityscience.com/

Ive read a lot of success stories on blogs about this company - I know they are affiliate links Im following though, so I did a search in some forums and I saw positive feedback without affiliate links.

My girls scan was a full abdo and repo ultrasound. Before I agreed to do it, my vet said there was a specialists vets in the UK who do these all the time and are very good at giving correct diagnosis. She said I could use them. She said they (her clinic) was pretty good though and I thought Id go with them. She showed me the images and pointed out the intestinal lining and said if it was inflamed you would expect to see a thickening here and here (showing me). But there was none.

The only full eight weeks of a new diet I have done is the kangaroo. All the others I switched after a few weeks so I didn't do them long enough.

So if I am going to introduce raw (I will look at the links here), I think it needs to be a novel protein and not fowl or fish?

I got this link from another cat forum:

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body..._syndrome.html

It says:

add wheat bran or a commercial fiber supplement to the diet. Fiber appears to normalize the activity of the large intestinal muscle to help stop spasms.

So, now Im thinking about using some wheat bran. I need to research this today, but the problem is, which to go for. Adding raw slowly to her kangaroo food, but do I also try a bit of wheat bran.

From that link I also read this:

Irritable Bowel Syndrome is a psychosomatic disease. This means that it is the activity of the mind that causes the symptoms. Most people do not have difficulty imagining having so much anxiety that diarrhea results. Chronic anxiety can similarly result in chronic diarrhea. This is basically what irritable bowel syndrome is all about. Intestinal biopsies are normal because there is nothing directly wrong with the large intestine.

So I'm also thinking its the stray cat I found in my garden three years ago who now lives with us and who she hates. Maybe its the stress of him being here.

I'm going to spend a few hours today looking at links here and such. Slippery Elm I need to get.

Thanks again. Really appreciate it.

[Kris35]

Originally Posted by Lynne&Co.

Sorry I confused you. My dog (5lb papillon) is the one with diahrrea issues when she's nervous or anxious. Are you giving your kitty a break (fasting) before introducing a new food? Sometimes their system is so upset and out of whack that they just need a rest from food. Plenty of water should always be available though.

Marko's suggestion of pure pumpkin is an excellent idea. I used pumpkin all the time in the past for my weimaraner with good results. Unfortunately my papillon refuses to eat pumpkin so had to resort to the rice to get her bowels to settle.

Hi Lynne&co,

Ok thanks. Reading so much I need to slow down. Feeling a bit overwhelmed at the moment as to what my next step should be but am looking into introducing raw but not sure what animal to go with. As for fasting, to be honest, the longest I have held out for is 12 hours. A Burmese anting food is an assualt on the eardrums as you will probably know. Not sure I can do longer than 12 hours. Think will just start to introduce raw. The kangaroo hasnt worked but maybe its the amaranth GRAIN in it. So gotta wean her off that now. Its so hard to tell though - once things start to improve - whats doing it - the drugs/homeopathy or the food.

Thanks,

Kris

[Kris35]

Originally Posted by sugarcatmom

What various foods (brands, flavours, wet or dry?) has she had over the years?

Have you ever tried feeding her a (balanced) raw diet?

Slippery elm bark powder and/or probiotics are also something to consider, if you haven't already.

Oops forgot to subscribe to thread so thought nobody had replied. Yes tried her on a balanced raw diet but she will not touch it. Even bought her raw kangaroo and tried steaming it slightly, but no she just will not eat it. Ive done probiotics and have heard of slippery elm but havent tried that. Just dont think it will work anyway but perhaps I could give it a try.

I have fed her rubbish brands over the years with animal derivatives....all the usual like Sheba etc. She craves this stuff but is on a complete ban now.

Tried her on Ziwi peak venison but poos still the same. Tried her on James Well Beloved.....no change. Now she is on Integra Protect kangaroo and Amaranth as I thought Id try a novel protein and carb.

Im confused about grains though. Ive read you should feed a simple bland diet of boiled chicken and rice for sensitive tummies but then I read that cats arent meant to eat grains. So Ive looked for grain free high quality foods for her and they usually have potato or tomatoes in them.

[sugarcatmom]

Originally Posted by Kris35

Yes tried her on a balanced raw diet but she will not touch it.

How did you introduce it? Unfortunately it's quite rare that a cat raised on junk food would take to eating raw right away. Should be done slowly, possibly over many months. Some tips on how, in case you want to revisit that option:

How to Win the Healthy Food Battle with Your Fussy Feline…
How to Win the Healthy Food Battle with Your Fussy Feline – Part 2
How to Transition Your Cat to a Raw Meat Diet

And some info on why it might be a good idea to try raw again:
http://www.catnutrition.org/ibd.html
http://feline-nutrition.org/health/f...-and-treatment

Originally Posted by Kris35

Ive done probiotics and have heard of slippery elm but havent tried that. Just dont think it will work anyway but perhaps I could give it a try.

What probiotics did you try? Perhaps she needed something more potent, or with a wider variety of organisms.

As for SEB powder, it may not work in every situation, but it was absolutely the ONLY thing that helped my cat with IBD. It's better than pumpkin because not only does it help equalize moisture balance in the intestines, but it also soothes an irritated digestive tract. I know you said the vet didn't see inflammation on the "stomach scan" (was that an ultrasound?), but I wouldn't take that as gospel that there isn't any. These things aren't always so easy to determine.

Some info on SEB:
http://www.littlebigcat.com/health/slippery-elm/

Originally Posted by Kris35

Tried her on Ziwi peak venison but poos still the same. Tried her on James Well Beloved.....no change. Now she is on Integra Protect kangaroo and Amaranth as I thought Id try a novel protein and carb.

How long did you try each new food? An elimination diet needs to be consistent (nothing else fed) and prolonged, at least 8 weeks.

Originally Posted by Kris35

So Ive looked for grain free high quality foods for her and they usually have potato or tomatoes in them.

That's why raw (or even home-cooked, if raw isn't an option right now) can be so awesome. Much more control over the ingredients. (Please don't feed her a vegan food though. I'm also vegan and think it borders on animal abuse when other vegans force their obligate carnivores to adopt the same eating habits.)

Where do you live? Maybe I can think of some commercial foods you could look for.