Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
We have a one year old cat that has severe diarrhea. The vet said there are no worms, but really didn't offer any good advice on how to cure her. Does anyone out there know of what I could give her to help? She poops all over the house, and I'm talking like 10 times a day! Thank you.
Live active culture plain yogurt. The cat will probably like it, but if not, smear a little on the cat's paw or mouth and the cat will lick it off. Also, I took my cat (who is sitting in my lap now) to several vets before a friend who is a vet in another state said "he's allergic to his food". Try Hill's Science Diet. Also, and most important, I would try another vet, because your vet should take serious diarrhea in a cat very seriously. The cat can easily get dehydrated and need emergency care. I would also try a light clear canned chicken broth (preferrably organic) with low or no sodium and withhold food except the yogurt for the rest of the day until the cat seems to feel better. Note: I am not a veterinarian, just have 9 cats who all had diarrhea at the same time and that's the only thing that worked for them. In my opinion, the key would be to find another veterinarian or at least call yours back and insist on a solution and let him/her know the severity of the problem! Good luck.
I have 10 cats & 4 dogs and this works for them...steam or cook down a carrot in a bit of water. Save the water-you can add it(a tsp. or 2) to broth or to canned food. You can mash up a bit of the carrot into some wet fod too. This is a remedy from an herbalist I know. You should also add some acidopholis(from health food store) to the food. This helps balance the good and bad bacteria in the gut and intestine.
You can grate a red apple and let it turn brown and feed to the kitty, this should stop the problem.
Please DON'T ever give your cats (or dogs) cow's milk. I've heard that goat's milk isn't bad, but I KNOW that cow's milk will definately cause diarrhea in them. Just a thought.
I have heard people give dogs with that problem
teaspoons of canned pumpkin not the one with
the spice for pumpkin pie just plain canned pumpkin. Hope kitty feels better soon.
The suggestions on diet previously given are a good start. If there is no improvement, find a DIFFERENT Vet. Your other Vet should have been much more helpful and concerned about you pet.
FIND ANOTHER VET THAT CARES !!!
Find another vet, for sure, but in the meantime you can give a little peptobismol; also feeding the cat rice can help, since this is bland .....the yogurt idea is a good one...it will restore what's called the cat's 'normal flora' ....the good bugs in the cat's intestinal track that help the animal digest. And make sure the cat gets enough to drink- diarrhea and vomiting can quickly cause dehydration.
I have posted here before, but I will note again....I have had this as an ongoing problem for over a year with a cat I was given. He takes 1/2 of an immodium every other day and then his diareah will clear up for a few days, sometimes a week and then start again, and I will give him another 1/2 a pill and we start the cycle all over again.
Regarding the post about giving your cat Pepto Bismol for diarrhea, DON'T EVER GIVE A CAT PEPTO BISMOL!!
we have a kitten who has had bouts with diarrhea. We tried the yogurt first, and now have him on the science diet ID. that seems to keep him in check.
DO NOT GIVE YOUR CAT MILK - that causes loose bowels and watery stools. Give her/him dry cat food and water. no people food.
I wouldn't use pumpkin as I used it as a stool softener for my border collie after she had colon surgery.
To stop the symptoms, (not necessarily the underlying cause), ask your vet for a prescription of FLAGYL. I give it for short periods of time, while treating the underlying cause of the diarrhea.
These other diarrhea remedies work for my Persian cat...who has IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease), which causes the diarrhea due to colon/ intestinal disorders:
- Active Cultures in Plain Yogurt, is a probiotic. Mountain High and Dannon Activia Plain yogurt are good brands with plenty of these active cultures.
- Purina FortiFlora 30 day packets are also very good (they have the active cultures found in yogurt and are sometimes easier to administer)....although a bit more expensive, approx $18 - $25. You can buy them from your vet or on eBay
- Prozyme for pets is an effective enzymatic "prebiotic" which works well in conjunction with the "probiotic" active cultures found in yogurt. Great for colon health and your cat will absorb more nutrients from his/her food. The price is around $20 and can be bought at Petco as well as online. The powder will last approx. 3 - 4 months. www.prozymestore.com/
- As an alternative, AFTER your cat is stablized, (since this also has some fiber in it), you can also try adding a little Inulin powder (1 tsp.) daily to the plain yogurt cultures, or to wet cat food. Inulin is also a "prebiotic" which encourages the growth of healthy intestinal flora. First, you must replace that flora with the "probiotic" active cultures found in the plain yogurt. Inulin can be found in food shops for humans for about $6 - $8, an approximate 4 month supply.
My 6 cats have had diarrhea off and on for the past couple of months. They were treated with antibiotics with no relief or improvement. I gave them plain pumpkin and it seemed to clear it up right away. After slowly introducing their food back, mixing with the pumpkin, they seemed to not have a problem anymore. It only recently started back up again. You should have a cat box for each cat you have or if not have 1 for every 2.
Editor's Note: Danielle, make sure their food is not on the recall lists.
I have a 15 year old with the same problem. Go to Vitalityscience.com and purchase luxolite and also a product called feline comfort. They totally stand behind their product and if it doesn't work they actually refund your money. Unfortunately it did not work for my cat. Good luck
it is not necessary to use pharmaceuticals on your feline every time they have problems. water is an amazing cure, withhold food until they stabilize, try to figure out if their diet needs to change or if you changed it too drastically.
Someone reccomended Gatorade on another site. No way! introducing sugar and corn syrup is weird & wrong.
organic, pure, plain whole-milk yogurt in small amounts (no fruit flavors- no corn syrup!) is therapeutic for the intestinal flora & settles my cat's symptoms quickly. No processed cheese, no processed human foods! Whoever said cow's milk is bad- is only partly right. live active cultures are good, a bowl of milk is not.
Cat's with Bad Diarrhea can have it because they have the "Giardia" parasite. This can be creared up with Metronitizale. It's way more common than people think. Although your cat with hate this medicine, it does work.
My cat had diarrhea for a whole month and the vet tried numerous things but nothing worked. I then tried pumpkin, and the diarrhea was gone instantly. Pumpkin only treats the symptom of diarrhea though, and diarrhea is often caused by something serious so a visit to the vet is essential when it lasts more than 48 hours. (The first thing they advise is that you don't give food for 24 hours).
It's not a good idea to give pumpkin on a permanent basis - not because it's bad for the health but because it masks the sign (i,e diarrhea) of serious illness.
Please note that pumpkin works for both diarrhea and constipation. You must use 100% pure pumpkin which is difficult to find in UK shops. I get mine online and use Libby's 100% pure pumpkin (make sure you don't get the pumpkin pie filling as it's mixed with other things). Add two teaspoons to the food twice a day.
I can't stress enough that you need to get a diagnosis from a vet when your cat has diarrhea for more than 48 hours.
If your cat has an imbalance of good/bad bacteria in his gut that can cause diarrhea. You will then need to give pro-biotics to balance it out, and yogurt does work for this. However don't give dairy, give plain soya yogurt which should be available at your local health food shop. I hope this information is helpful to someone. Laura
I want to say something about cats and milk. First of all, my cat had diarrhea for 18 months; I started to give him buttermilk and it seemed to be working, this was the first week of the problem, but the vet had a coniption fit, and I stopped; I thought it might kill him or something. So for 18 months I wiped his behind, poor guy, and poor me, and finally I thought: the only thing that ever worked was buttermilk. So I bought some, and gave him all he wanted, and in three days he was over the diarrhea. In addition, I've found if he wants milk, let him drink it. All cats are apparently not the same; it used to keep him regular (now he has megacolon so its not the same). He knew when he needed it; that's the thing. If your cat gets gas from the milk, give him a little bit of infant gas-x in his water. Or directly into the mouth. Works wonders for my cat (who has to use Lactolose every day, which causes gas.) Live and learn; wish I knew then what I know now.
I have had Persians for 30 yrs and just found out something that has completely cured my boy!
I stopped using food that contains corn/wheat. Chicken soup for cats is what worked for my very flat-faced black beauty. No more diarrhea or tugging at bad hair mats. No more weeping eyes to wipe out either. Plus, he's more social. An unbelievable difference in this cat and how I wish I had known this years ago.
My cat had bad diarrhea for 10 months. $2000 in vet bills. I finally got it to stop with a combination of:
Pumpkin pie filling (fiber)
Baby food (beef, chicken, pork)
Fortiflora (healthy bacteria for intestines)
My cat had bad diarrhea for 10 months. $2000 in vet bills. I finally got it to stop with a combination of:
Pumpkin pie filling (fiber)
Baby food (beef, chicken, pork)
Fortiflora (healthy bacteria for intestines)
He is two years old, goes once a day, but his poo is like pudding. Just his daily duty. He is active in all other aspects, tearing around house and all. He weighs 9 to 10 pounds, has been dewormed and changed food multiple times, blood work is fine. The vet has no clue. I will add he came from Korea as a kitten, but other than that is fine. So I am totally lost as what to do. Is there an over the counter human treatment that can be tried, without harming him?
By Marie from Savannah
I need help. My cat Lola was a stray. She was not quite a year old when she had 6 kittens. I took her in. Before she had the babies, she had explosive diarrhea. Even after having the babies, the diarrhea continued. We also found out that she had worms. By the time kittens were 8 weeks, I had dewormed her twice and had given her 2 types of antibiotics.
She still continues with the diarrhea. Last week, it was like a big pile of bloob! Not super running but like a big pile of cow poop. So these past few days, I have feed her nothing but chicken and rice. Now she is dripping light yellow stool with rice in it and has a numerous amount of poop with rice in it. But it almost looks like bile. I plan on getting blood work tomorrow, but does anyone have any suggestions?
By Maria B
My 3 1/2 month kitten, Sockzy, had gotten into the dog food about 3 days ago and since then he has had soft stool for about 2 days and today he has diarrhoea. I'm really worried about him :(
By Jodie L.