Several weeks of diarrhea =(

[Nicole622]

Any and all help is appreciated! TIA!!

Our ~7year old sphynx cat has been having diarrhea for several weeks now. We tried giving some probiotics, which seemed to help a little but didn't make diarrhea go away. After 7 days of probiotics, we took him to a vet who took a stool sample and prescribed 7 days of antibiotics. The stool sample results came back negative.

The antibiotics seemed to make diarrhea happen more often and instead of pooping twice a day, it was several times while on the antibiotics.
I took him back to the vet and he was prescribed very bland high-quality food, both dry and wet (Royal Canin Ultamino & Hills prescription diet skin/food sensitivities z/d). The vet thinks he has colonitis.

It has been 7 days on this new food, and this was his poop today (see picture). Still soft...better than with the antibiotics though. You can also see that he is straining and the skin around his anus is red. When he isn't pooping, you can't see this redness. He also threw up last night =( =( =( (he has been throwing up once every 10-14 days)

I'm currently looking for a vet that specializes in Sphynx cats in the Los Angeles area, if anyone knows someone....

I read that raw meat food can also help, but I don't want to keep switching food every week or two.
Thoughts and suggestions, please!!!!!
He is such a sweet baby boy.

 

[Catzzzmeow]

Welcome to Sphynxlair. Being as your baby is 7, it is odd to start having issues. I’d log everything for when you find a specialist just so they can try to piece things together quickly for you.

 

[Nicole622]

Welcome to Sphynxlair. Being as your baby is 7, it is odd to start having issues. I’d log everything for when you find a specialist just so they can try to piece things together quickly for you.

Thank you for your response. The short story is that we adopted him this year, and we think he was kept in the cage for a long time because he would not walk completely upright when we brought him home. Also, the breeder said the cat would sometimes not eat every day. The food he was eating with the previous owner was like kibble or something of not good quality.

So we started giving him much higher quality of food, and he is walking upright now (we never keep him in a carrier/cage).
But I am wondering if the switch to higher quality of food began to give him colitis??

We are going to keep him on the high-quality bland food for another week or so and hope his stool starts hardening up.

You are right, we should start logging everything.
Thank you very much, and if anyone else has insights, I am all ears!

 

[Sheldon13]

How are things going now?


Love and Sphynx ~ It’s all you need

 

[pussiette]

I just clicked on the photo and that isn't diaorrhea per say it's a loose stool. But bowel movements definitely that are softer and don't resolve and are not USUAL then need investigation. I have a sensitive girl who has a history of loose stools, if I am concerned I get a poo sample and tests done from the vet.

 

[Yoda mom]

@Nicole622 , checking in for updates

 

[Nicole622]

How are things going now?


Love and Sphynx ~ It’s all you need

Hello! He has been on the new vet prescribed bland food for a little over 3 weeks now. His stool seems to getting a little bit less soft, but still not great. There was also a little bit of blood in his stool the other day.

We are going to another stool sample test next week.

 

[Nicole622]

I just clicked on the photo and that isn't diaorrhea per say it's a loose stool. But bowel movements definitely that are softer and don't resolve and are not USUAL then need investigation. I have a sensitive girl who has a history of loose stools, if I am concerned I get a poo sample and tests done from the vet.

Yes, there was the hope that after 3-4 weeks on the new food, it would start to get better, and it seems to be a little bit better. However we are planning on getting another stool sample next week.

 

[Yoda mom]

@Nicole622 , hugs n positive vibes continue. sharing when my sphynx were on the new acana formulas it just did not work for them. blood loose stools. switched foods and it was a game changer. please continue to keep us updated.

 

[Nicole622]

@Nicole622 , hugs n positive vibes continue. sharing when my sphynx were on the new acana formulas it just did not work for them. blood loose stools. switched foods and it was a game changer. please continue to keep us updated.

Hello! Which foods did you switch to?

 

[Yoda mom]

@Nicole622 , checking in for updates.. I am in the US and switched to Nutrisource cat and kitten food many years ago with my crew.

 

[Condo commando]

@Nicole622
You say your vet said it was colitis, but this is a "default" diagnosis when your cat has diarrhea and all the routine tests come back negative. In fact, the only way to know conclusively that it's IBD (which colitis is a form of IBD) involves doing an endoscopy or taking a surgical biopsy. These are invasive procedures so vets will "default" to saying the cat has IBD.

Diarrhea and vomiting happen because of inflammation in the GI tract. But what is causing inflammation? It could be a simple allergy, or it could be IBD or something else. A change of diet is the first thing to try because it's not anything invasive, and for what it's worth a lot of times the change of food works. It's a very good thing to try first.

The hard part is that you have to "test" several proteins AND each one must be the only thing the cat eats for a minimum of 2 months. This is because, depending on how severe the inflammation is, ANY food you give may lead to diarrhea or vomiting. It's not because of the food; it's because the cat's GI tract is so inflamed that it can't handle it. So sometimes it appears there is no improvement, but keep going because it might be working but needs more time.

I was told one of my Sphynxes had IBD last year because she was throwing up. I ended up changing her food and she has been fine, no meds or anything. In my case I ended up consulting with a veterinary nutritionist and getting some recipes for food I can make at home. It's a commitment for sure, so I'm not sure if you want to go there. The other kind of food to try is a hydrolyzed protein diet. Most vets sell it or I've also seen it for sale online.

I hope this helps.

 

[Condo commando]

I'm just going to post a link to the veterinary nutrition service that I used for reference:
VNC putting your pet's health first .. for more than 20 yrs! | PetDiets


They sell therapeutic diets as well as basic diets for healthy animals. The basic diets are very reasonably priced at $25 for the first one and $12 for additional recipes. In the case where one is checking for allergies, I would suggest getting 3 basic recipes and trying them out. If the problem is allergies, hopefully one of these recipes will work and the problem is solved. If not, then a therapeutic diet would be needed but those are more expensive. I'm just saying it's worth a shot trying the basic recipes as long as the IBD diagnosis isn't conclusive which I don't think it is from what I read.

 

[Condo commando]

@Nicole622 , hugs n positive vibes continue. sharing when my sphynx were on the new acana formulas it just did not work for them. blood loose stools. switched foods and it was a game changer. please continue to keep us updated.

Worth a shot @Nicole622 @Yoda mom

 

[Nicole622]

Thank you very much for your reply!

He has been eating royal canin: gastrointestinal dry food and royal canin: gastrointestinal wet food, moderate since October 1st.

For about 6 weeks before that, he was eating royal canin: ultamino dry food and hills: z/d food sensitivites wet food

He has also been eating prescribed probiotics 'Fortiflora SA feline', since October 12th. The original prescription was for 30 days of probiotics, but after 30 days, his frequent pooping (15x a day) has come to about 4x a day. Since that helped, he is potentially going to be on these probiotics for life...at least for the foreseeable future.


-2 basic stool samples came back negative
-blood work came back with elevated ALT liver values and a little high neutrophils, but the doctor said this was consistent with IBD situations..
-we went to a specialist to see if an ultrasound would be the next step, or the DNA test for the stool, and it was decided that he probably has IBS, so now he just started taking a steroid that is targeted for the inflammation in the gut.

I will definitely look into the nutritionist you recommended. From some of the vets I called in the Los Angeles area, an endoscopy and biopsy seems to be extreme. But of course, we have to consider all available tools.

If you have any other information or thoughts, i would be very happy to hear them. Thank you so much!

I'm just going to post a link to the veterinary nutrition service that I used for reference:
VNC putting your pet's health first .. for more than 20 yrs! | PetDiets


They sell therapeutic diets as well as basic diets for healthy animals. The basic diets are very reasonably priced at $25 for the first one and $12 for additional recipes. In the case where one is checking for allergies, I would suggest getting 3 basic recipes and trying them out. If the problem is allergies, hopefully one of these recipes will work and the problem is solved. If not, then a therapeutic diet would be needed but those are more expensive. I'm just saying it's worth a shot trying the basic recipes as long as the IBD diagnosis isn't conclusive which I don't think it is from what I read.

 

[Condo commando]

Thank you very much for your reply!

He has been eating royal canin: gastrointestinal dry food and royal canin: gastrointestinal wet food, moderate since October 1st.

For about 6 weeks before that, he was eating royal canin: ultamino dry food and hills: z/d food sensitivites wet food

He has also been eating prescribed probiotics 'Fortiflora SA feline', since October 12th. The original prescription was for 30 days of probiotics, but after 30 days, his frequent pooping (15x a day) has come to about 4x a day. Since that helped, he is potentially going to be on these probiotics for life...at least for the foreseeable future.


-2 basic stool samples came back negative
-blood work came back with elevated ALT liver values and a little high neutrophils, but the doctor said this was consistent with IBD situations..
-we went to a specialist to see if an ultrasound would be the next step, or the DNA test for the stool, and it was decided that he probably has IBS, so now he just started taking a steroid that is targeted for the inflammation in the gut.

I will definitely look into the nutritionist you recommended. From some of the vets I called in the Los Angeles area, an endoscopy and biopsy seems to be extreme. But of course, we have to consider all available tools.

If you have any other information or thoughts, i would be very happy to hear them. Thank you so much!

I would change the food to homemade at least for a while until you can get the inflammation under control.

Inflammation is a life long thing....it starts gradually and by middle age is when you see problems. Exactly the age of your sphynx in other words. But I would bet the inflammation has been caused by whatever food he ate years ago. Now you're trying to manage it in a few weeks...that's tough, not impossible but tough. Like I said before, once the inflammation is there, almost any food can come out diarrhea. That is why they recommended bland food is to try to not make matters worse. However, remember that all pet foods are highly processed. It's like a gourmet frozen meal so it's still not as good as a basic home cooked meal, which is why I'm suggesting making the food yourself even if you only do it for a week. If you see improvement, maybe that will be the incentive you need to keep going. And yes, with real food most cats do show significant improvement in 1 week.

You could do an ultrasound, but I think what it will show is inflammation. You already know this so I'm not sure it's worth the money.

Probiotics are necessary when a cat is taking antibiotics because the antibiotic kills everything including good gut bacteria. They are also recommended in general to make sure your cat gets enough probiotics in his diet. However, if you make food at home, meat naturally has probiotics so you won't need to add them. I don't add them to the food I make. Commercial pet foods are cooked to an extreme heat which is why everything has to be added back in after cooking.

So again if it were me, I would try to make food at home. I think this is what the vet nutritionist will tell you. Now when I went to them, I signed up for a consultation because my local vet had told me it was IBD. But in the end, the vet nutritionist recommended a "healthy cat" recipe and not anything special. I can't argue with her recommendation because it worked; however, I wish I had known that before I paid for the consultation. That is why I'm thinking you can try their standard recipes because it might be all you need.

Hope this makes sense.

 

[Condo commando]

@Nicole622 if you decide to go for homemade food, I've got a bunch of tips and tricks. If you decide to go there, ask me.

 

[Nicole622]

@Nicole622 if you decide to go for homemade food, I've got a bunch of tips and tricks. If you decide to go there, ask me.

Hello!

I am now looking into communicating with a cat food nutritionalist. You mentioned that you had some tricks and recipes? Could you please share them wtih me?

I went to the website you recommended, but the consultation was a bit expensive for me, so I am going to keep searching for another nutritionalist.

Thank you so much!

 

[Nicole622]

Another thing, is my cat has had a high ALT value since we adopted him. We adopted him at 7 years old, so I am assuming he had a high ALT liver value before we adopted him. Any insight into that, along with the IBD?

 

[Condo commando]

Hello!

I am now looking into communicating with a cat food nutritionalist. You mentioned that you had some tricks and recipes? Could you please share them wtih me?

I went to the website you recommended, but the consultation was a bit expensive for me, so I am going to keep searching for another nutritionalist.

Thank you so much!

Hi!
What I meant by tips and tricks is things that are not part of the recipe, but that I learned by going through the process. For example, when I brown meat in a skillet it forms chunks. The recipe says to add water, so then I had chunks of meat in water. My cats looked at me like, "what is this?" So what I've been doing is using an immersion blender to turn the food into purée. When I'm finished with the immersion blender the blade comes off and it's very easy to wash. If you don't have an immersion blender, you can use a regular blender but it's more work to clean the regular blender. This is just one of the things I learned along the way.

Another thing, is my cat has had a high ALT value since we adopted him. We adopted him at 7 years old, so I am assuming he had a high ALT liver value before we adopted him. Any insight into that, along with the IBD?

I googled ALT and a high value of that is a sign of liver disease. This is something I would ask your vet about. Is there supposed to be less of something in the diet? More of something? I'm afraid I don't know.

However, you can't go wrong with making food at home. Whether it's cats or humans, highly processed food is not good food. Of course we all eat for convenience sometimes, but we know that the best thing for us is to make our own food. So if you can make food for your Sphynx, I'm sure it can only help. That goes for liver disease, IBD, and anything else. The only requirement for the homemade recipe is that it be BALANCED, meaning it has all the nutrients, vitamins and minerals in the right proportions. But as long as it's balanced, homemade is better than highly processed.

You can actually make free recipes using BalanceIT on their website. BalanceIT ships worldwide.
BalanceIT.com

The thing to note about the BalanceIT recipes is that these are "standard" recipes for a healthy cat. When a cat is not 100% healthy, each case is unique so therefore each recipe must be unique. This is why they force us to get a consultation. So a consultation is the best way to go, but at least making a balanced recipe at home with natural ingredients is better than anything in a can or a bag.

The BalanceIT company has 3 different supplements that can be used for making cat food. The recipes that they give you for free use BalanceIT Carnivore. My recipes use BalanceIT Feline. There is a third supplement called BalanceIT Feline K (which I think is for certain diseases).

Hopefully you can find a nutrition vet in Sweden. I'm sure they exist. Here is a vet in Spain, a little bit closer, that specializes in nutrition:

Nutrición natural y dietética veterinaria con Mónica González Tovar

Mónica G. Tovar es especialista en nutrición natural y dietética veterinaria y dieta BARF. Porque la salud de tu perro depende de lo que come

monicagonzaleztovar.com

Another idea is contact a veterinary school in Sweden and see if they can give you a referral to a specialist in nutrition. Vets know other vets.

 

[Condo commando]

@Nicole622 if you need help using the BalanceIT recipe tool, just let me know. I found it confusing to use at first. It's good because it lets you create recipes using your own ingredients. You pick the ingredients and it will tell you how much supplement to add.

 

[Nicole622]

Hi!
What I meant by tips and tricks is things that are not part of the recipe, but that I learned by going through the process. For example, when I brown meat in a skillet it forms chunks. The recipe says to add water, so then I had chunks of meat in water. My cats looked at me like, "what is this?" So what I've been doing is using an immersion blender to turn the food into purée. When I'm finished with the immersion blender the blade comes off and it's very easy to wash. If you don't have an immersion blender, you can use a regular blender but it's more work to clean the regular blender. This is just one of the things I learned along the way.


I googled ALT and a high value of that is a sign of liver disease. This is something I would ask your vet about. Is there supposed to be less of something in the diet? More of something? I'm afraid I don't know.

However, you can't go wrong with making food at home. Whether it's cats or humans, highly processed food is not good food. Of course we all eat for convenience sometimes, but we know that the best thing for us is to make our own food. So if you can make food for your Sphynx, I'm sure it can only help. That goes for liver disease, IBD, and anything else. The only requirement for the homemade recipe is that it be BALANCED, meaning it has all the nutrients, vitamins and minerals in the right proportions. But as long as it's balanced, homemade is better than highly processed.

You can actually make free recipes using BalanceIT on their website. BalanceIT ships worldwide.
BalanceIT.com

The thing to note about the BalanceIT recipes is that these are "standard" recipes for a healthy cat. When a cat is not 100% healthy, each case is unique so therefore each recipe must be unique. This is why they force us to get a consultation. So a consultation is the best way to go, but at least making a balanced recipe at home with natural ingredients is better than anything in a can or a bag.

The BalanceIT company has 3 different supplements that can be used for making cat food. The recipes that they give you for free use BalanceIT Carnivore. My recipes use BalanceIT Feline. There is a third supplement called BalanceIT Feline K (which I think is for certain diseases).

Hopefully you can find a nutrition vet in Sweden. I'm sure they exist. Here is a vet in Spain, a little bit closer, that specializes in nutrition:

Nutrición natural y dietética veterinaria con Mónica González Tovar

Mónica G. Tovar es especialista en nutrición natural y dietética veterinaria y dieta BARF. Porque la salud de tu perro depende de lo que come

monicagonzaleztovar.com

Another idea is contact a veterinary school in Sweden and see if they can give you a referral to a specialist in nutrition. Vets know other vets.

Thank you very much for this information!
The vet said that the high ALT value was understandable with his IBD condition. I think they want to focus on one problem at a time though.

I will definitely look into you helpful suggestions! THANK YOU!

 

[Condo commando]

Thank you very much for this information!
The vet said that the high ALT value was understandable with his IBD condition. I think they want to focus on one problem at a time though.

I will definitely look into you helpful suggestions! THANK YOU!

OK. IBD is a common diagnosis when there's a gastrointestinal problem. However, to confirm IBD there would need to be a biopsy taken. Since taking a biopsy is a big procedure, vets first try to switch food to see if that takes care of the problem because a lot of times it's not really IBD but a food allergy. So this is the first step - change the food. This is what I did and the problem went away.

The important thing when you change the food is to feed ONLY ONE protein at a time. Allergies are inappropriate reactions to protein. So then, you have to feed this one protein exclusively for at least 2-3 months and see how your cat does. That is how you can figure out what you can feed your cat. As you can see, this process is trial and error. It's very important to feed each protein for at least 2-3 months.