Bowel issues

[firehillqueen]

Cadeau and Ciel seem to have constant diarrhea issues. This has been the case since they came here. Thank goodness they use the cat box, but should I be concerned that their bowel movements are always runny? I have taken them off the canned kitten food they were on and right now they are on Natural Choice which they love. I have tried yogurt and can not find any canned natural pumpkin. I should have remembered to ask the vet when they got their shots for the cat show.

 

[Inferno12]

Welcome to my world! Johnny is like this too and we have tried everything. The pumpkin seems to work but he decided recently that he just didnt want to eat it anymore so back to where we were. I have tried all kinds of meds and it just wont fix it.

I cant offer you advice but I can offer you support!

 

[ElGatoLoco]

I had that problem with Butterball when I first got him. It took probably two months using the same dry food every day before his stools became normal. I thought after a couple of weeks he should be getting better but he didn't. But finally after about 2 months the issue was resolved. So maybe they just need some more time.

 

[Gadzukz]

I had that problem with Butterball when I first got him. It took probably two months using the same dry food every day before his stools became normal. I thought after a couple of weeks he should be getting better but he didn't. But finally after about 2 months the issue was resolved. So maybe they just need some more time.

Same with Freya

 

[Melonie]

I had that problem with Butterball when I first got him. It took probably two months using the same dry food every day before his stools became normal. I thought after a couple of weeks he should be getting better but he didn't. But finally after about 2 months the issue was resolved. So maybe they just need some more time.

That is exactly what happened with Jack!

 

[Pbinky]

My little guy Skinny had constant diarrhea. We tried everything under the sun, even food prescribed from the vet and nothing worked. As soon as i started feeding a raw diet the problem disappeared. Now i have both my boys on raw with a tiny bit of Evo dry food in the evening as a snack/treat. Their poops are solid, they don't stink and the boys look fit and healthier than ever. I can't tell you enough how much raw has made a difference in my babies. You should definitely do some research on a raw diet.

 

[Sam lewis]

Mo has always had issues with his bowels. He's had so many tests over the past 18months.But he has been on a low allergen diet now since Christmas and it does seem to help. I don't think Mo will ever have properly formed stools, but as llong as he's only going 2 or 3 times a day it's not too bad. Plus they used to be like water and now they are lose, but more like a really soft sausage! LOL I can cope with that. But I have problems too. The vet suspects it's IBS and we just try to control it as best we can. Many cats have problems with IBS.

 

[ckutkuhn7]

I had that problem with Butterball when I first got him. It took probably two months using the same dry food every day before his stools became normal. I thought after a couple of weeks he should be getting better but he didn't. But finally after about 2 months the issue was resolved. So maybe they just need some more time.

Same thing with Snuffie, she just needed time to adjust.

 

[holly_savage]

I think the IBS is a likely cause, as it is an irritated bowel...basically speaking when they eat something that does not agree with their system the intestines decide to "RUSH" it out of the system, thus allowing less water to be re-absorbed into the body and causing the runny poops. More than likely caused by foods that a feline digestive tract was not really meant to breakdown. As a sufferer of IBS myself, I can tell you that when you eat those things that set it off...the results are not pretty.

Now after all that, I feel hypocritical since I don't feed Hibou the raw diet...it's one of those things...you know what is the right thing to do, but just don't do it...but, knock on wood bowel issues are one thing we have avoided so far...and I switch Hibou's canned food on a daily basis.

 

[klreese]

when i first got my male he was having those issues too. i kept taking him in and the dr was treating him w/ prednizone. eventually, after changing his diet a million times, we came to think that he has infamitory bowel disease.
to help regulate his tummy issue i feed him pumpkin. it helps A TON!!!! but pumpkin is in the middle of a shortage lol. odd i know. but you can order it off the internet on websites such as amazon.com

you'll want to look for canned pumpkin. not pie filling. my cats also love fresh pumpkin (although not in season)

also, Activia helps too. Not as good as pumpkin but it helps.

feed a high protein/high fiber diet.
When we first diagnosed Bronxe, the ONLY solution i could find for him was Iam's Hairball Formula. Lots of people dont like Iams, but it helps him SOO much! i recently changed them to Taste of the Wild (which i also highly recommend)

 

[Sleepyheadkitten]

A lot of cats/kittens carry giardia and I tell people all of the time- a normal fecal smear will NOT pick up giardia 99.9% of the time. ADULT cats and kittens can carry giardia, have normal fecals, and then be stressed and have their solid stools turn to liquid. Or they can have persistent sludge diarrhea.

Does the poop reek so much you run from the room? Chances are, it is giardia.

The treatment is metronidazole and can be obtained at your vet. EVEN if the fecal has been clean and your vet just shakes his head and assumes it is caused by food, I would TREAT for it anyways. Every time I have suggested this to people, the poop soon turns normal.

 

[firehillqueen]

I was still so concerned about my kitten that I returned them to the vet yesterday evening. They had done tests on them last month when they got their shots in preparations for the cat show last weekend and everything looked fine. This time the senior vet saw them and mentioned the same thing you just did, that continued diarrhea is probably the result of a parasite or bacteria. Upon another fecal test he found they were positive for Giardia. He says it is VERY easy to miss. Now the kittens are all on Amoxidrops and Flagyl. Because it is spread through sharing litter and water I had to treat my new kitten too even though she was not showing signs of diarrea yet. I am assured that I should see an improvement very quickly. I hope so. I am also planning to change them over to Raw diet as soon as possible.
The vet said the kittens most likely came to me from the breeder with this. Should I contact her ? He said it was VERY common in catterys.

 

[ckutkuhn7]

I was still so concerned about my kitten that I returned them to the vet yesterday evening. They had done tests on them last month when they got their shots in preparations for the cat show last weekend and everything looked fine. This time the senior vet saw them and mentioned the same thing you just did, that continued diarrhea is probably the result of a parasite or bacteria. Upon another fecal test he found they were positive for Giardia. He says it is VERY easy to miss. Now the kittens are all on Amoxidrops and Flagyl. Because it is spread through sharing litter and water I had to treat my new kitten too even though she was not showing signs of diarrea yet. I am assured that I should see an improvement very quickly. I hope so. I am also planning to change them over to Raw diet as soon as possible.
The vet said the kittens most likely came to me from the breeder with this. Should I contact her ? He said it was VERY common in catterys.

Im glad the senior vet found the issue. I would mention it to my breeder. I know she would want to know so she could take any precautionary measures as needed.

 

[MissMySphynxBoys]

Great advice Sleepyheadkitten.

I'm glad you found the cause firehillqueen and that it is a relatively easy fix as compared to IBS issues. Senior vets can be a vast resource.

I'm in agreement with ckutkuhn7. Giving your breeder a heads up would be the helpful thing to do. What she does with the information is up to her.

 

[Candys]

I agree with you. I lived on a ranch with well water. The bad thing was that the livestock watered first and then the house was next on the system. Bad pipes and leaks inbetween livestock water and house water. I was never diagnosed but I know we all had it. Yes it IS stinky.

 

[Sleepyheadkitten]

Oh, Candys, poor YOU! I feel bad enough when kittens have it- I cannot IMAGINE how people must feel! I assume it's a chronic tummy ache feeling?

Anyways, I am super happy your vet managed to diagnose it and has given you meds to treat. Like I PM'ed you, there are also OTC treatments for it- so if anyone else has the same issue going on, PM me and I'll help out.

 

[AmaTsuKami]

I'm feeding my Peterbalds (and before Siamese/Orientals) raw meat for years now, and they never have any loose or stinky poo problems. Before, I fed them dry kibble, which made their poo smell yukky, and sometimes one of them would have a bit looser stool.
Is it common with the Sphynx that they have more often bowel problems? A friend of mine has Sphynxes, and she also has often bowel problems with them.. Perhaps because they eat a lot more than hairy cats? (just a wild guess)

 

[susi794]

Oh, Candys, poor YOU! I feel bad enough when kittens have it- I cannot IMAGINE how people must feel! I assume it's a chronic tummy ache feeling?

Anyways, I am super happy your vet managed to diagnose it and has given you meds to treat. Like I PM'ed you, there are also OTC treatments for it- so if anyone else has the same issue going on, PM me and I'll help out.

Sleepyheadkitten,

Thanks for the posts on giardia--I also have the otc info for meds for both this and coccidia--but I read the stuff you had written earlier today about making sure we diagnose the issues that cause the diarreah--and I decided to take Lulu to the vet tonight because she has very loose stools and goes too many times in a day. So, I packed her up and went to the vet and explained that for awhile I thought it was just from changing foods back to a reg. diet other than raw--then switching to a grain free food, but that it seemed like it was too long ago to still be that. He said he had never diagnosed a case of feline giardia--coccidia yes, but giardia no. I talked to him about all I had been reading on Sphynx Lair and about the research I had done online--and about how it's difficult to diagnose unless you check every single stool for up to 8 days...and that the literature I read said to treat if the symptoms are present. So he called the drug store for human flagyl and I have enough to treat all 8 of my cats for 10 days each for $10.41. It would've cost me less to buy 100 of the fish zole forte, but would've had to include shipping and would've had to wait for it to arrive.
I hadn't realized how extremely loose Lulu's poops were because the litter box was sort've secluded and they would just clump....well I have the litter robot temporarily set up in my computer room about 5 ft. from my desk--and I hear Lulu in there this afternoon, with the stool just running out of her like someone turned on the tap. The poor little thing. I knew she had some occasional issues but never did I know it was like this....I felt horrible....so we scurried right to the vet. I'm not sure she has giardia, but the symptoms seem to indicate it--or coccidia. And after hearing what I told him about what's been being said here, he decided we'd treat this first--if no improvement we'll switch to the Albon for the coccidia.
I just wanted to say thanks for bringing the giardia thing to light for me again....and if Lulu's poops improve, she will send you lots of purrs and head butts for saving her cute little bum all the suffering.
I LOVE SPHYNX LAIR! Even if I didn't love everyone, it would be worth the time if for nothing more than the awareness it causes...
XOXOXO,
Lulu, Susi, and the rest of the gang

 

[Sleepyheadkitten]

Awww, Susi!

This is why I'm so darn into the poo issue. I knew a nice lady who got a kitten that had the runs as soon as it was in her home- I didn't breed this kitten, but I knew the breeder and knew the kitten did not have runs at her house. The lady asked me what was the cause of the runs- I told her it could be stress, but it could be giardia. She brought it to her vet- her vet said the fecal was clean and cats don't get giardia. What? So she went a month of switching foods and the entire time- kitten had diarrhea. She contacted me again- asked what I thought it was- I told her, I thought it was giardia- have it treated. She went to her vet- her vet told her the kitten had a pancreatic insufficiency. WITHOUT doing ANY TESTS, mind you!, he put the kitten on a pancreatic supplement or whatnot. ANOTHER month passed- she asked me again what I thought it was, I was like, "DUDE- first, any vet who diagnoses something that according to the internet is VERY rare in cats without any work-up- I wouldn't take my cat to that dude every again. SECOND- I BET you the kitten has giardia! Get it on Flagyl!"

So FINALLY, she demands Flagyl- mind you, like TWO months of chronic diarrhea, and guess what? The vet complains and moans, prescribes it and HEY- the diarrhea cleared up!

Imagine that! The poor lady- she was miserable because she was constantly trying to stay ahead of poopy butt kitten, the kitten was miserable because she had chronic poops, and it was a bad situation. I was never so happy to hear that this poor kitten had solid poop- and I didn't even breed her!

 

[taminate]

Same thing with Snuffie, she just needed time to adjust.

both of mine were the same, and now they are over the a year old i can switch their food w/o much issue whereas when little they took a good 2 months on a food before they stopped pooing everywhere. At one point we had to put them in carriers and leave them in there for a few hrs because it was seeping out...nasty stuff!

 

[firehillqueen]

Today I started my kitties on raw food. WOW, the first little nibble ( just to get them started) was gulped down. Even picky little Chimere' licked the bowl dry. I think we are going to be very pleased with this change.

 

[Sam lewis]

Cool, be sure to let us know how it goes! And what the poop is like!