Need advice for diarrhea in stray

Looking for any suggestions to quickly stop diarrhea in a extremely emaciated and disheveled stray that I found Friday.

Jasira has been having frequent, very foul-smelling diarrhea. She was vetted Friday night and the vet said not to give her any more wet food, so I've been giving dry Evo. Senior panel bloodwork was done (she could be from 5 anywhere up to 12 years old), but the results are not back yet. Jasira was dewormed so I'm not sure if that could be contributing to the diarrhea or smell?

I only have a little dry Evo left, and no local source for it. I will need to buy more dry food tomorrow. I'm thinking maybe Blue wilderness?

For today, should I get some chicken breast to see if that will help solidify her poo? Any other ideas?

thanks,
laur

 

laur,

have you given her any probiotics? ie culturelle, fortiflora.
and in that same vein, sometimes plain yogurt will help.

I had luck with using a bit of psyllium in the food -- it balances things out and works for both diarrhea and constipation. I used i on my civie for that. make sure there's some extra water given in the food with that.
hmmm the switch to dry..... well you could give a little of something else as a treat w / -- even the plain chicken and broth or how about some babyfood?

I remember someone on here ( prob more then one ) used immodium. here is thread. I have never used that on a cat and so I cannot vouch for it's safety --- maybe you can pm them about that?
viewtopic.php?f=28&t=18121&p=178897&hilit=immodium#p178897

also here is an article i received recently about diarrhea in kittens. perhaps there is something in there that would help your adult.
http://www.cliniciansbrief.com/column/p ... h6g9wbhZNG

I hope you can get to the underlying factor and get this stopped soon.

what a lucky kitty to have been found and cared for by you !

 

Cheryl,

thanks for that info. It's very helpful, especially the kitten info. That mentions using chicken to help with diarrhea, so I'll go pick up some and also I'll get some plain yogurt. I had been giving fortiflora with the wet food but didn't try it with the dry food. If that doesn't help, I will contact the vet again tomorrow.

Jasira is super sweet and friendly, but I really can't keep her. Nonetheless I think she's going to need several weeks of top quality food and rest before I can even consider getting her over to the local rescue for adoption. Her immune system is surely very weak. It is heartrending to touch her and feel every single bone in her body. Can you imagine a tiny declawed cat trying to fend for herself in the woods? It's just awful. But it is also awe inspiring to see Jasira's determination to live.

laur

 

When I found Pauline, she did not poop for a couple of days, then constipated and smelly greenish black poops.

After that, it went to diarrhea for a few days.

It took 7-10 days of good canned food nutrition for her body to re-establish normal bowel habits.

She was starving when I found her, eating who knows what, if anything, just to stay alive.

Also, an older de-clawed kitty left to fend for herself.

I would not switch around too much with food...give the kitty a chance to stabilize.

 

What meds were used for Jasira's deworming? Were "worms" (type) confirmed? Coccidia, a single-cell protozoan, is an intestinal parasite. Infection with it frequently results in foul smelling diarrhea. The "standard" deworming meds used for round and hook worms do not work for coccidia.

 

Ba$tards who dumped her!

 

thanks everyone. The dewormer was drontal, used purely as a preventive. A fecal wasn't done but will be, if the diarrhea continues. I don't know how long she was out there, but I can't imagine she could catch much besides bugs and moths, without front claws.

Jasira ate some chicken very happily so I hope that will help her.

Venita, what an awful thought to think anyone would deliberately dump her. Naively I was cursing them for not contacting animal control when she was lost. But to dump Jasira....! Yet it may well have been. The attitude around here isn't hostile to cats per se, but seems to be more along the lines of "there's plenty more where that came from."

laur

 

my neighbor's cat is out some of the time. he is front declawed. He pretty much sticks to their yard and ours.
well he likes to visit me for the treats ;-)
surprisingly, even w/ o claw he is a very successful hunter. chipmunks and birds are his specialties.
I don't fill up the bird feeder when he is out and about.

but some cats are better hunters than others.

I hope she gets to feeling better soon.

ed typo

 

Laur,

How timely is today's article on pet foods in the Fully vetted Blog. Here.

 

Re: Need advice for diarrhea in stray -- ok now

Thanks everyone. The chicken breast seems to have done the trick. Jasira had very stinky but well formed poops today. I did start mixing the Evo remnants with Purina One kitten food (only dry food I could find locally with meat as first ingredient). My hope is to get her on good meaty wet food soon, so the transition guide Venita pointed out will be a help there. Jasira drinks a lot more than I would expect, but then again I haven't fed dry food as anything more than a few pieces as a occasional special treat or training treat, so maybe it's just the dryness of the food. BTW her senior panel blood/urine lab work came back perfect.

I'll try to get some photos. Jasira's really very cute (looks a lot like my lovely Pearl, but with medium length fur). But boy, is she vocal! If her dish starts to get empty, everyone in the house knows about it. Heck, the neighbors probably know about it. :lol:

laur