Tests Are Back....

[sheryl]

I had both Sammie & Lilly's poop tested by Marshfield clinic. All came back normal. No giardia, camplobacter (sp), etc. Just don't know what to do now. they've been on Wellnes, the salmon formula for a few weeks now. Thought they should have adjusted by now. Hate to change their food for rear that will make it worse. ANY IDEAS???????? Their diarrhea is pretty bad. they never have a solid poop.
Thanks,
Sheryl

 

[ilovemysphynx]

Thats great all the tests are fine! My only thought is to change the salmon to A chicken if I feed any fish Leo throws up and gets diarrhea?

 

[Brooke]

Hi Sheryl,
I'm glad to hear the kitties aren't sick with Giardia, but it is so frustrating still not having an answer...

Have you tried giving the cats pumpkin? The high fiber in pumpkin might be helpful in firming up their poop.

I understand not wanting to change their food again -yes - that can upset an already upset tummy, but, 2 of my 4 cats do get runny stool from Wellness brand food and I've heard the same thing from a few other people about Wellness. Instead of doing another food switch, though, you might try changing from the salmon to chicken or turkey. The seafood flavors tend to be very rich, whereas chicken will be milder and easier on the gut.

 

[Maggies mommy]

I had both Sammie & Lilly's poop tested by Marshfield clinic. All came back normal. No giardia, camplobacter (sp), etc. Just don't know what to do now. they've been on Wellnes, the salmon formula for a few weeks now. Thought they should have adjusted by now. Hate to change their food for rear that will make it worse. ANY IDEAS???????? Their diarrhea is pretty bad. they never have a solid poop.
Thanks,
Sheryl

I gave Maggie wellnes & she had diarrhea to now she is on royal canin & her poops r solid, maybe try royal canin

 

[Pbinky]

Wellness is extremely rich and can cause issues with an already troubled gut. I would get some Medi-Cal Gastro from Royal Canin and you should be able to get it at the vets off ice. my cats are still on it since the giardia last month. Did you have the poop tested with a "fresh" sample taken from the kitty and looked at immediately under the microscope? this is called a fecal smear and that is how my boys were diagnosed with giradia.

 

[PitRottMommy]

I had both Sammie & Lilly's poop tested by Marshfield clinic. All came back normal. No giardia, camplobacter (sp), etc. Just don't know what to do now. they've been on Wellnes, the salmon formula for a few weeks now. Thought they should have adjusted by now. Hate to change their food for rear that will make it worse. ANY IDEAS???????? Their diarrhea is pretty bad. they never have a solid poop.
Thanks,
Sheryl

Brooke is right, have you tried pumpkin?

Also, how old are these guys? Was this a fecal exam or a culture and sensitivity with a out-house laboratory fecal?

 

[sheryl]

Yes....I've tried pumpkin. All it did was make the liquid poop, a little more thicker, liquid, if that makes sense.
Lilly is 5, and Sammie is 4.
The tests were done with fresh samples at an out of house lab for culture & sensitivity.
They've been on metronidazole.
Is the Medi-Cal Gastro by Royal Canin a dry food? Never heard of it.

 

[PitRottMommy]

Yes....I've tried pumpkin. All it did was make the liquid poop, a little more thicker, liquid, if that makes sense.
Lilly is 5, and Sammie is 4.
The tests were done with fresh samples at an out of house lab for culture & sensitivity.
They've been on metronidazole.
Is the Medi-Cal Gastro by Royal Canin a dry food? Never heard of it.

First things first, I'd recommend trying a little MORE pumpkin. You cannot overdo it. If they like it, I'd offer their normal meal in the AM with a tsp of pumpkin and letting them free feed off of the pumpkin throughout the day. Again, no harm. The worst my boys get out of his is orange poop. Trust me on this matter.

Do NOT switch to a lower quality food right now. This is the last thing you want to do. Wellness has been known to be a rich food and somtimes does cause diarrhea. If you want to try another food, don't go with royal canin, science diet or anything of lesser quality than Wellness. I know it's tempting, but resist. Try switching to felidae, merrick no-grain, taste of the wild, etc. At this point, it wouldn't be a bad choice to try another food--but going to a lower quality food may do even more damage.

 

[sheryl]

Thank You PittRottMommy....I so much wish I could get these two to eat raw. The two days that Lilly DID eat it - her poop was beautiful (if poop can ever be beautiful!), but after two days - she was done. Sammie wouldn't touch the stuff - period. Someone had suggested putting either a little canned food, or tuna juice on top of the raw to encourage them to eat it. But wouldn't that just add to the diarrhea issue? (I used rabbit - maybe there is a "smellier" raw protein that they would like?)And what happens once I start NOT putting the canned or tuna on top of the raw- will they stop eating it? Gosh this is frustrating. I am up at least twice during the night, because of hearing their "explosive diarrhea". I make sure that I wipe their little butts as soon as they are done, or it gets tracke all over the house, and, onto me! I'm wondering if it's possible they didn't like the texture of the raw, and maybe the freeze-dried raw would be better? But they like canned food, so that can't be it. I'm sorry I'm being such a pain in the but with all of this!
Sheryl

 

[sheryl]

I'm familiar with Taste Of The Wild, as that's what we have our dogs on. But....if I switch over to that from the Wellness (I just used the last of the Wellness this morning), I still have to mix it slowly with the Wellness, correct?
Sheryl

 

[admin]

Sheryl, your not being a pain in the butt, we want to help you with this. Im sorry I cant give you better answers right now, but here is some advice with a some what similar scenario. We had a sphynx male we adopted from an acquaintance. Max who is now owned by silliylilly's mother in law had diarrhea when we got him with a bloody stool, we did not know what his food was before we got him, so we switched immediately to Science Diet(we have used this food since day one with our cats and kittens, as well as both breeders we got our sphynx from.) indoor dry food (full dish all day) and regular science diet wet food (twice a day, half a can in the morning and half a can at night for one sphynxno seafood ) and after about a week or week and a half he came around with good solid poop. I honestly dont think a hard switch of foods right now matters under your circumstances, just my suggestion.

 

[sheryl]

I was kind of thinking the same thing about a hard witch. What's the worst that can happen - diarrhea, and that's already what's going on, so what do I have to lose.
Thanks for your kind words. I just want Sammie & Lilly to not have to deal with this diarrhea anymore. Poor Sammie's little butt is getting raw from cleaning herself.
Sheryl

 

[admin]

I have never been a fan of raw diet, but I do know some fillers like corn products can irritate a sensitive stomach which is in many of the so called "premium" store bought foods, but i have had nothing but good luck with Science Diet, what ever you choose to do, stick with it for at least two weeks. you will not get results overnight.
p.s. there are human OTC drugs your vet could recommend to you to help the diarrhea a bit too. Give him/her a call. and please make sure they are staying hydrated!

 

[sheryl]

I actually have endesorb here for the girls....but at 3mls/3 x's daily, it sucks! I always had persians in the past, and I cannot believe how much more water my Sphynx girls drink compared to my previous cats. So on that aspect - I'm very lucky!

 

[PitRottMommy]

Thank You PittRottMommy....I so much wish I could get these two to eat raw. The two days that Lilly DID eat it - her poop was beautiful (if poop can ever be beautiful!), but after two days - she was done. Sammie wouldn't touch the stuff - period. Someone had suggested putting either a little canned food, or tuna juice on top of the raw to encourage them to eat it. But wouldn't that just add to the diarrhea issue? (I used rabbit - maybe there is a "smellier" raw protein that they would like?)And what happens once I start NOT putting the canned or tuna on top of the raw- will they stop eating it? Gosh this is frustrating. I am up at least twice during the night, because of hearing their "explosive diarrhea". I make sure that I wipe their little butts as soon as they are done, or it gets tracke all over the house, and, onto me! I'm wondering if it's possible they didn't like the texture of the raw, and maybe the freeze-dried raw would be better? But they like canned food, so that can't be it. I'm sorry I'm being such a pain in the but with all of this!
Sheryl

If you were having diarrhea problems, tried raw and things improved--this is a diet issue. None of my cats are extremely picky about raw but Buffy does prefer canned food. You can certainly try tuna juice (not oil) over raw. Because it's water, no--it shouldn't case any problems. And raw is one of the only diets that is considered relatively safe to do a cold switch from food A to food B. Trying tuna juice over the raw to see if that helps would be my first step if you already know raw works for you.

 

[PitRottMommy]

I'm familiar with Taste Of The Wild, as that's what we have our dogs on. But....if I switch over to that from the Wellness (I just used the last of the Wellness this morning), I still have to mix it slowly with the Wellness, correct?
Sheryl

Yes, if switching from one brand of food to the next. Usually a switch within brands (like chicken to chicken and rice, for example) doesn't require a slow switch.

 

[PitRottMommy]

I was kind of thinking the same thing about a hard witch. What's the worst that can happen - diarrhea, and that's already what's going on, so what do I have to lose.

The worst thing that can happen on a fast switch is bloody stool or worse, ruptured intestines. Diarrhea already irritates the intestines. If chronic, consider it worse. To throw another factor into the diarrhea, you may wind up with one or both cats in the hospital. Take it from someone that has to go through this discussion without owners frequently because of fast food switches, take it slowly.

 

[Pbinky]

Sheryl, i got the Medi-Cal Gastro from the vets office. They put my boys on it when they had the giardia and i've had them on it for 7 weeks now. The boys are just getting over the upper respiratory infection now and they are done all their meds. We are now doing a very gradual switch back to Wellness as this is also my preferred brand. Why hasn't your vet recommended something? I agree with Pitrottmommy with giving them raw but if they won't eat it then you're stuck. Maybe you need to go to your vet and see what type of gut sensitive diet they have to offer. Remember this isn't going to be forever, just until they start going to the bathroom normally and you figure out what is wrong with them.
I'm glad to hear that they are drinking lots, my little guy drank so much when he had diarrhea from the giardia. poor little guy was trying to keep up with what he was loosing.
I feel your pain, only i had answers. I wish there was something we could do to help you
I can only give the advice that worked for my boys. Every kitty is different. I think the vet needs to be involved more..... have they run blood work?

 

[sheryl]

My vet recommended Science I/D, with little success. And yes - blood work was done. They are healthy in every other way except for this blasted diarrhea.
Sheryl

 

[ilovemysphynx]

How long did you use the Science I/D? Maybe give it A bit longer. Also ask the vet if you can use Pepto or something? Just A thought.
I feel so bad for what you are going thru, but with 2 cats having the same problem, I would double check and have some more tests done. Maybe the vet missed something? How could they both have just belly issues?
We had A very sick dog once and the vet tested and said everything was negative 3 times, the fourth time the same test came out positive. I know alot of times the tech will look at the tests maybe ask your vet to look himself.

 

[Pbinky]

I agree giving the Science Diet more time. Also i found the link for Medi - Cal Gastro and the Hypoallergenic Gastro. take a look.

http://www.medi-cal.ca/diets/diets.php?diet=43

http://www.medi-cal.ca/diets/diets.php?diet=29

I believe this is only exclusive in Canada.

I think the Hill's I/D prescription diet is similar and you can get that in the US. Give it time. my boys took over a month before their poops looked normal again.

 

[CoolSphynx]

(I apologize if this eventually shows up twice. I think when I posted before it was during the server update and I don't see it now)

Hi Sheryl,

I'm sorry the girls are still struggling. I hope it is a diet issue that will soon be resolved, but wanted to throw another idea our there-- has your vet mentioned testing for Tritrichomonas foetus? In the last 10 years, more has become known about T.F. as a cause for chronic, foul-smelling diarrhea in cats. Initially it was seen in cattery or shelter outbreaks, but it's been seen in single household pets too. A friend of mine has an Aby and a moggie who were treated for it -- I'm linking to site the head investigator for TF research and treatment. At the bottom there is some great info for TF diagnosis and treatment, etc

http://www.cvm.ncsu.edu/docs/personnel/gookin_jody.html

"Tritrichomonas foetus is a flagellated protozoan parasite of domestic cats that resides within the lumen of the colon and causes colitis and chronic, foul-smelling diarrhea."

 

[sheryl]

Coolsphynx....Thank You for the information. I am printing it all out, and giving it to my vet, as she is always interested in anything pertaining to veterinarian medicine, and actually, anytime I see her with some down time (which is very little!) she is always reading her vet books, new articles, etc. Her mind is like a sponge - she can never get enough!
Thanks Again,
Sheryl