We still have poop issues...update: slippery elm works!

Sooooo.....
Up until tonight Merlin has had soft poop as opposed to diahrrea. I could live with that even though I don't like it. Tonight he had liquipoo. I've been feeding him Evo dry and 1/2 can California Natural chicked and brown rice twice a day which is what he had in the shelter and he never was sick. The vet gave me metro which didn't work. Then he told me to try metamucil in his food which I give him twice a day and now his stool is soft but not normal.

I did give him a couple new treats tonight- a freeze-dried fish (he didn't like it) as opposed to chicken. Could this possibly have caused liquipoo?

I've been trying to find slippery elm that Hillary suggested. Since my BF has been in the hospital since last Wednesday, I've been quite distracted. I'm going to call GNC to see if they've got it-it's listed on their website.

I've had him for one month. In that time he's been to the vet twice. They didn't seem to think it was a serious problem because aI messed with his food when he got him here which caused him to be sick. After the second week I went back to what he was eating in the shelter and that's what he's been eating since. He's had a fecal test which was normal. He was tested for Leukimia and HIV and it was negative. I have not had blood tests. I'm going to try the slippery elm, keep him on the same diet. If this doesn't work I'll go back to the vet. He was in the shelter for 3 weeks with never any poop problems, however, he ate mostly Evo with only a tiny bit if wet. I could cut down the wet further, but he loves it. This really STINKS (pun intended)

Tonight when I was in the tub he walked on the edge which he's never done before. I noticed he stunk and then saw he had liquipoo on him. I stood, got out of the tub and put his hind end right in the water. He took it well and got nicely cleaned up.

Oh, and he doesn't seem sick at all. He plays like a mad man and has a great appetite. Very confusing!!!! Any thoughts are appreciated. He is one year old and has gained a pound since being with me - he weighs 9lbs now.

 

Re: We still have poop issues! :-(

Having the same problem with my cat right now! She's been having diarrhea since Thursday but is still eating and drinking normally, she's always purring and seems happy. I have no idea what it could be, I was trying to wait it out for a few days to see if it went away on its own but it doesn't seem to be. I haven't made any changes to her diet, the only change that has been made to her lifestyle the past week has been the fact that she was diagnosed with diabetes and I started her on insulin but I'm not finding much information that's connecting the two together so I'm starting to think it isn't related to the insulin at all. Ill be calling the vet tomorrow I think to see what they say, if you figure out whats wrong with your kitty let me know because he seems to be in the same boat as mine right now! Hope he feels better!

 

Re: We still have poop issues! :-(

Have you looked into the Feline IBS group on Yahoo groups? Donna

 

Re: We still have poop issues! :-(

Hi, Traci.. no ideas here.. just saying hi & showing support.. bumping your message might help too ;-)

 

Re: We still have poop issues! :-(

Hey Traci,
It may not hurt to have bloodwork done, since fecal was normal but he is still having issues. Could just be food related, but you never know.

As far as the slippery elm, you can certainly use that. It is wonderful for upset tummies and works for both constipation and diarrhea. Just make sure if you give it with wet food or baby food (I prefer to give it w/ baby food), that you add plenty of water and make it very slushy. Only give 1 or 2 times a day for a max of 3 days. You should see improvement by then.

BTW... I just did a quick Google search and Walgreens currently has Nature's Way Slippery Elm capsules (same brand that I use) on buy one get one free, so you can get 2 for $8.99. That's a good price. But, I think it's online only.

 

Re: We still have poop issues! :-(

Donna-

Thank you for your help!!! I didn't think places like Walgreens would have slippery elm - I thought it was holistic or something too "out there" for a Walgreens. I don't even care how much it costs - I just NEED it NOW. I hope the store has it too! If not, I'm going to a Whole Foods in another town to get it-I don't want to wait for the mail.
Thanks!

 

Re: We still have poop issues! :-(

Hi Traci,

Have you tried Fortiflora? Melek was having similar poop issues (though not the liquid), and it seems to have helped, though it took a week or two to really kick in.

Another thing we had to do was to use cath bath wipes to help him clean back there, he was overgroming and really irritating his skin around his li'l pooper. Keeping him nice and clean also helped him to be more comfortable.

I hope this helps - keep us posted as to what you find out!

mm

 

Merlin had his first normal poop last night since I've had him (a month)!

The slippery elm kicked in pretty quickly - I'm amazed!!!! Nothing else worked for him; I've tried the prescription metro, fortiflora, metamucil and now this. It's a powder in a capsule that smells like maple and brown sugar oatmeal. I mixed it in his wet food along with warm water and he ate it. Then a few hours later a normal poop! It was liquipoo earlier so this is a huge improvement.

I gave him another one today. I need to look into the dosing protocal. If I remember it's 3 days in a row max.

 

Hi Traci,

Glad to hear the SEB seems to be helping. It's good stuff! If you got the capsules, I would not give more than about 1/4 capsule (maybe even a bit less) per dose. That is just under 100 Mg per dose using a 370 Mg capsule.
And yes, do not give for more than 3 days in a row. I'm going to stress again that giving with a lot of water is imperative as the SEB can become constipating if not given properly. Then, you'll have the opposite problem!

Hope Merlin continues to do well!!