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MommyNaNell

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I am new to the Lair, and new to owning a Sphynx. My cat's name is Devlinn, she will be 9 years old December 7th. I received my cat from a family member who owns quite a few. I brought her home at the end of June. She started having diarrhea a little before I took her home. We traveled 800 miles in a car back home. I know that that in itself could have caused some distress and quite possibly made her get travelers diarrhea. I've now owned her two months and have still had issues. I switched her cat food as I read some cats become allergic to chicken because its the most common ingredient in cat food (she currently was on EArthborn Holistic Feline Vantage). I tried Jarrow Formulas Non-Dairy Saccharomyces boulardii +MOS probiotic & Now Slippery Elm Powder as directed from food fur life website. I also tried feeding her babyfood turkey as a bland diet alternative. I got a few solid poops that way, then I ran out of turkey and tried chicken which gave her bloody diarrhea. I started mixing back in her dry cat food, Merrick Turkey Limited Ingredient Diet Grain Free, to the baby food turkey. Her poops have been more formed then they originally were but they are still soft and stick to the poop scooper if i dont try to coat them in litter. in the last week she dropped lots of weight, she looks like a skeleton. In July she weighed 7lbs, she now weighs 4.5lbs. I have made her a sweater using my fuzzy socks to keep her warm so she isn't loosing more weight being cold. I also have been using hot hands in a sock and filling her cat hut with warm water bottles to keep her warm. Today I took her into the vet because the weight loss and the way she looked was alarming to say the least. My kids love her to death, we'd hate to have something happen to her. The vet did an exam, her temp was down. They removed stool from her while we were there and ran a poop test for every parasite and what not, it all came back negative, she does although have lots of bad bacteria. She was prescribed Metronidazole 0.4ml twice a day and Hills weight reduction r/d chicken flavor canned cat food to add to her dry food so she can get extra fiber that will hopefully make her poop more solid. I was told I could continue to use her probiotic I have been using. Im also suppose to weigh her everyday and call if it gets worse, we also have to follow up in 7-10 days. Devlinns sister has also been ill longer than her with similar symptoms and has been diagnosed with colitis, which I found out after my vet visit. I am hoping that both can make recoveries I would hate if they both die. I am trying my hardest to make sure it doesn't happen. Its been a stressful two months, has anyone else delt with any of this? did their cats make it? Thanks so much for reading this!
 

Toa and Ross

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@MommyNaNell welcome to sphynxlair for you and Devlinn. Sorry to hear Devlinn's dealing with health issues for two months now.

What does your family members says about this? Did Devlinn had this before?
I'm not experienced with this so can't advice. But wanted to chime in to sent you hugs! Sending healing vibes to Devlinn
 

Yoda mom

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Awhh((hugs)))
The metro has worked great for my pets

I went theu hell with one kitty - now all are fed Nutrisource cat and kitten food and it's dramatic improvement
Now I feed amd go amd no more tummy issues
I get at Hollywood feed .com
Cat & Kitten Chicken Meal, Salmon & Liver Cat Food - NutriSource Pet Foods

I swear I tried every grain free food etc
Have a cabinet of meds too!
Now mo more meds!
Lots fresh Water changed several times a day amd Nutrisource

Sending a lair full of prayers for Devlinn and her sister with a lair full of healing vibes and head smooches!
Please kmow we are here for you !

Keep us updated often
I kmow me,here will be chiming in too with lots of love and healing vibes
 

MommyNaNell

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@MommyNaNell welcome to sphynxlair for you and Devlinn. Sorry to hear Devlinn's dealing with health issues for two months now.

What does your family members says about this? Did Devlinn had this before?
I'm not experienced with this so can't advice. But wanted to chime in to sent you hugs! Sending healing vibes to Devlinn


My family had another cat with similar issues, shes definitely been sick longer than Devlinn. They had multiple tests done on their other cat, that cat was having lots of bloody stools although. I know that they had recently been given the same medicine i was given for Devlinn but in pill form. They diagnosed their cat with colitis. I just know that right before I took her back home they said she had just started having diarrhea and needed to be seen by a vet.

Update: Cleaned her literbox an hour ago from all today it was all solid stools. Just caught her trying to poop in my dinning room and its diarrhea again!
 

MommyNaNell

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Yup, same litter and same cat box down to the exact color. The only difference is that my family had a specific cat room for their cats, here she’s able to roam most of the house and her box is downstairs, which she knows. The door is always open. We also have a huge cat cage I put her in if we are going to be gone. It’s got three shelves and the box is at the bottom, we leave the door to the laundry room and that cage always open. I don’t really have another place for the liter box. She’s doing better again, solid stools again!!!!
 

Yoda mom

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@MommyNaNell , awhhh Sooo. Happy to read great news update!
Is she gaining weight ?

I hate the site of litter boxes so I googled searched "litter box" hacks
- found some great ideas

I also got a good pet stuff hidden litter box - fav here - it looks like a planter and I can turn the opening to face the wall -
I do not use the moss or vines it comes with to void chewing

Keep us updated often :)
 

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MommyNaNell

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@MommyNaNell , awhhh Sooo. Happy to read great news update!
Is she gaining weight ?

I hate the site of litter boxes so I googled searched "litter box" hacks
- found some great ideas

I also got a good pet stuff hidden litter box - fav here - it looks like a planter and I can turn the opening to face the wall -
I do not use the moss or vines it comes with to void chewing

Keep us updated often :)


I have to check her weight today. she’s definitely been more active. She’s eating more but not the full amount she should yet. Right after I updated on hard stools she has a loose one. It’s like I jinx it every time I share that they are normal.

A huge problem I have with having the liter box upstairs is that I have a baby. He’s mastered crawling and is starting to use stuff to stand. He’s also into everything. He also is just starting to eat solid foods and therefore is picking everything up off the floor and eating it. I don’t want him picking the liter up that she tracks and chomping on it. He got into her cat food yesterday night . Also her poop stinks pretty bad. I clean the box out daily and do a liter swap once a week after cleaning the whole box.
 

MommyNaNell

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UPDATE: We went in on Monday for a recheck. Her temp went back up to a normal temp. She gained a pound, she now is 5.5 lbs. Bad news is that she still doesn't have solid poops. They are more like soft serve. They also stink soo bad still. They also did a stool sample recheck and she still has lots of bad bacteria. The vet has had me completely take her off Merrick. I tried to research lots of food and the protein/fiber contents, the vet told me Iams, Royal Canin, and Hills would be what he'd suggest. It was a lot and I didn't quite know the ratio for protein/fiber he'd suggest. He had me switch her food to Hills Active Longevity 7+ and had me do a 2 day switch since she was already sick. She also is still on the hills r/d prescription can food, we are just mixing a few tablespoons with the dry. Today is the first day with just the Hills stuff. For my sanity I hope that she gets to feeling better.
 

Catzzzmeow

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Thank you for keeping us updated. Hopefully the switch in food will makes things better soon. Some food are just too rich for some and causes wet poop.
 

MollysMom

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Sharing this article here again:

My Cat Has Diarrhea - What Do I Do?

It talks about s. boulardii, a supplement that is like a probiotic kind of. It totally saved us when Molly was having the most foul diarrhea for no real reason. I can't say enough good things about it. They actually give it to patients who have c. dificile (which is nasty and hard to get rid of).
 

MommyNaNell

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Yes!!! I use both the medicines listed in that article. She’s actually taking a whole pill each feed mixed in her food. She’s been on it for awhile, I’m about to need a new bottle soon.
 

Baby Blu

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Jan 13, 2014
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I am new to the Lair, and new to owning a Sphynx. My cat's name is Devlinn, she will be 9 years old December 7th. I received my cat from a family member who owns quite a few. I brought her home at the end of June. She started having diarrhea a little before I took her home. We traveled 800 miles in a car back home. I know that that in itself could have caused some distress and quite possibly made her get travelers diarrhea. I've now owned her two months and have still had issues. I switched her cat food as I read some cats become allergic to chicken because its the most common ingredient in cat food (she currently was on EArthborn Holistic Feline Vantage). I tried Jarrow Formulas Non-Dairy Saccharomyces boulardii +MOS probiotic & Now Slippery Elm Powder as directed from food fur life website. I also tried feeding her babyfood turkey as a bland diet alternative. I got a few solid poops that way, then I ran out of turkey and tried chicken which gave her bloody diarrhea. I started mixing back in her dry cat food, Merrick Turkey Limited Ingredient Diet Grain Free, to the baby food turkey. Her poops have been more formed then they originally were but they are still soft and stick to the poop scooper if i dont try to coat them in litter. in the last week she dropped lots of weight, she looks like a skeleton. In July she weighed 7lbs, she now weighs 4.5lbs. I have made her a sweater using my fuzzy socks to keep her warm so she isn't loosing more weight being cold. I also have been using hot hands in a sock and filling her cat hut with warm water bottles to keep her warm. Today I took her into the vet because the weight loss and the way she looked was alarming to say the least. My kids love her to death, we'd hate to have something happen to her. The vet did an exam, her temp was down. They removed stool from her while we were there and ran a poop test for every parasite and what not, it all came back negative, she does although have lots of bad bacteria. She was prescribed Metronidazole 0.4ml twice a day and Hills weight reduction r/d chicken flavor canned cat food to add to her dry food so she can get extra fiber that will hopefully make her poop more solid. I was told I could continue to use her probiotic I have been using. Im also suppose to weigh her everyday and call if it gets worse, we also have to follow up in 7-10 days. Devlinns sister has also been ill longer than her with similar symptoms and has been diagnosed with colitis, which I found out after my vet visit. I am hoping that both can make recoveries I would hate if they both die. I am trying my hardest to make sure it doesn't happen. Its been a stressful two months, has anyone else delt with any of this? did their cats make it? Thanks so much for reading this!
Have you considered a raw diet or food Thats grain free?
 

MommyNaNell

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Have you considered a raw diet or food Thats grain free?

Currently I have not thought about this, I am trying to sort out the bacteria overgrowth with her Vet. He took her off Merrick Grain Free. It had too much protein and not enough fiber. He put her on Hills prescription r/d wet food, and more currently hills adult food. It seems to be working, shes packing on the lbs, she also isnt covered in poo, her paws are staying clean!! Which is a freaking blessing because I'm totally not going to lie, her cage covered in shit every morning was starting to make me crazy! So I'm ecstatic that this is one less thing I have to worry about. Cleaning her and the cage, box, bedding everyday was taking over an hour a day. As a mother of five kids who have been in school for now over a month and have been sick all but the first week, I needed a break somewhere. haha. I may look into raw possibly later if things continue.
 

MommyNaNell

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UPDATE. Went into get a refill on Saturday, she has officially been on this medicine since 8/31. We had to up the dose due to weight gain. Now that her food is switched he decided to place her on this medicine a bit longer and recheck her next week. He hopes that the food he's put her on will have had time to kick in and things will normal out. I guess the medicine he gave was for bacterial growth in the colon, which is where he said most cats get it, if it hasn't cleared up we will be trying a new medication for small intestinal growth. If that doesnt work we will be exploring irrital bowel disease, which he said would include steroids. Hoping this all clears up soon!!! Looking a lot better although so I'm pretty happy.
 

MommyNaNell

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Update!!! Devlinn is back up to over 7 pounds. We are on a new round of meds, she still wasn’t fully solid yet. Bacteria was down but not gone. Good news although, I forgot to put her in her cage when we ran errands and she left me a solid surprise on my bathroom rug. The gate on the stairs was closed so she couldn’t get downstairs, my fault. lots of gagging and dry heaving went down. Happy although!! She seems to have more energy too. Check out her stalking the squirrel lol. Sad news... one of her siblings had a thickened heart wall, threw a blood clot and lost function to his back legs and had to be put down. . A few of her siblings have passed, now. Hoping she has lots of life left in her!
 

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meandmytwo

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@MommyNaNell

Sorry to hear what you’re going through.
The first few months with my two littermate brothers was very very difficult due to a similar situation. I know all about cleaning up a poopy mess every day. It was rough. My boys would step in it and throw it off their feet on to walls and everywhere.

They were found to have an overgrowth of bad bacterial as well, “clostridium”. Tylosin is the med that worked for them. Do a search here for either of those to read more. Tylosin is not mentioned very often. It saved us and we’ve all been 100% for a long while now. :)

I’m glad your girl has gained some weight back. :)
 

Zab

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Bless you and Devlinn for being such troopers! It's always distressing when they have issues. Sending some positive vibes your way. Following this thread...
 

MommyNaNell

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@MommyNaNell

Sorry to hear what you’re going through.
The first few months with my two littermate brothers was very very difficult due to a similar situation. I know all about cleaning up a poopy mess every day. It was rough. My boys would step in it and throw it off their feet on to walls and everywhere.

They were found to have an overgrowth of bad bacterial as well, “clostridium”. Tylosin is the med that worked for them. Do a search here for either of those to read more. Tylosin is not mentioned very often. It saved us and we’ve all been 100% for a long while now. :)

I’m glad your girl has gained some weight back. :)



I'm honestly just so ecstatic that she is doing better, the first few months of owning her were rough.. I was cleaning everything like crazy everyday, I'm super OCD and she stunk it was horrid. Had we not lived 800 miles away from my Aunt, I may have just given her back. I am happy we didn't. It has taken several hundred dollars in vet visits, but she is doing so much better, and the kids love her to death. She was on the first medicine for a very long time like 3 or more weeks. The Tylosin and the prebotic that I took a picture of have completely solved her issue. We will be on the Tylosin for quite some time, like 21 days I believe it says, which is 100% ok with me. We also have her on r/d wet food to keep up her fiber, she eats 1/4 of a can a day in addition to her cat food. The doctor was surprised in a month I got her back up to almost what she was the very first time I brought her home. He agreed that the vomiting bouts we were having were most likely due to over feeding. oops.
 
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