Cat has loose stool and has lost weight. Do I need to lower insulin?

E

epps89

New Member
I have a short hair female named Ellie that has had diabetes since I adopted her from one of my friends. She weighed close to 15lbs when I got her but through switching her to a wet food diet and very limited dry food i have her weight being steady between 10-11lbs. She takes Lantus insulin with two units on the syringe in the morning and evening.

Recently about a few weeks ago she went through a rough patch of being sick of throwing up and having bad diarrhea where she would go out of the box a lot but also make it to the box. She was given fluids and an antibiotic shot at the time and after a few days she started to get back to normal appetite and bowl movements were better but still soft and mushy, not solid stool. At this point, her stools still haven't returned to normal and she has gone through a short period of explosive diarrhea but has returned to soft, mushy stools.

She acts hungry and wants food but then will maybe take a couple of bites and walk away. She drinks water with no issue. I've tried several different types of dry and wet food that have a higher fiber content and high protein but have been keeping her on just a wet food diet. I've also been adding FortiFlora to her wet food as well but doesn't seem to be helping. I've also tried Nutri-Vet Anti Diarrhea Cat liquid but haven't seen a noticeable difference from that.

Part of me is wondering that if she is on too much insulin since her weight loss and that could be causing her soft stool? Any advice would be appreciated on this!
 
Hello and welcome to you and sweet Ellie. So good of you to adopt a diabetic - thank you!

Can you tell me what wet food she is currently eating? Has she had a visit to the vet and blood work recently?

I can think of a few reasons for a kitty to lose weight and possibly contribute to stool problems. One is a GI issue such as a food allergy that means she can't properly digest her food. Low B12 levels might also be a part of that. Hyperthyroidism can also cause weight loss. And so can unregulated diabetes, meaning too low an insulin dose. Blood work would be a first step.

Are you home testing her blood sugar values? We are strong believers in three tools to help with our diabetic kitties. One is a good insulin, and Lantus is a great choice. Second is a low carb diet, under 10% carbs and preferably all wet or raw food. Third is home testing blood sugars to keep our kitties safe and help get them regulated.

Fortiflora is not a very good probiotic, it is only one strain of probiotics. It is good as an appetite enhancement. There are plenty of other good probiotics out there, maybe your vet can recommend some. I used a human grade probiotic on my cats. Proviable Forte (available from vets) can provide both a decent probiotic and help with runny stool. That is just one example of a brand. The S boulardii product also helps with diarrhea - more info here: Probiotics – IBDKitties

Finally, some information on setting up your signature and other details that can help us help you better: New? How You Can Help Us Help You!
 
I've tried many different wet foods but currently have her eating IAMs pate salmon and turkey but have also had her try fancy feast grilled tuna and also had her on the Purina Pro Plan wet food as well but I'm open to suggestions though.
It's been a couple of weeks since she had bloodwork when she was at the emergency vet but she was in the mid 200s for her Glucose level but hasn't had any testing since then.
If it is a GI issue what steps can I take to help her with that?
Should I slightly back off her insulin dose to see if that helps with the loose stool because it seems like it doesn't matter what food I switch her to I can't get it taken care of.
 
Common protein allergies are fish, chicken, and beef. Right now she's getting fish. Could you try an all turkey, rabbit, lamb, or venison food. Note, you do have to read the ingredients carefully, many FF varieties (and other products) also contain fish. Some cats are allergic to other ingredients like corn or gums. GI issues usually get diagnosed starting with an ultrasound, to see if there is inflammation. GI blood work panels can also help. If kitty has IBD, then a novel protein diet with a good probiotic can help. By novel I mean a protein she hasn't eaten before.

A good probiotic and S boulardii can really help.

Are you open to learning how to home test blood sugars? This post has a bunch of videos showing how people do it. Hometesting Links and Tips Cats at vet clinics are often way higher at the clinic than at home. It isn't a reliable way to determine insulin dose. I once had a non diabetic test over 220 at the vet's office and 53 the next day at home when I tested.
 
The food charts are here: Sticky - Food Charts - USA, Canada, Mexico, etc Well, they're also here on .com but I can't find them at the moment.

If you're in the US, Fancy Feast Gourmet / Classic pates are suitable. Friskies pates are also good. Weruva and Tiki Cat has some good low carb varieties. The Catinfo.org chart is what many US members use to find suitable foods. Anything under 10% carbs is good for diabetics. Many gravy and sauce based foods are too high in carbs to be fed but keep some on hand in case your cat shows signs of hypoglycemia.

If you're looking for novel proteins, that limits your choices a bit. Nature's Variety Orignal rabbit is low carb. The LID one is considered medium carb, good for a hypo but not for every day. Koha and Rawz have novel proteins but are expensive. There are other brands out there.

Changing up the diet too quickly can upset the tummy. Stick with one or two brands for now. Did the vet suggest Flagyl to help with the loose stools and diarrhea? The liquid Flagyl tastes nasty to cats so get the capsules. Your vet may have to have a compounding pharmacy do this. Wedgewood Pharmacy is a popular place with an online site. Capsules can be hidden in a Pill Pocket or something similar or just open the capsule and mix the contents into something yummy that you know the cat will eat up right away. Try a seafood canned food or even a can of tuna in water from the grocery store.
 
Other brands are Identity (was Wild Calling), Lotus, Hounds & Gatos, Natures Logic, Ziwipeak or some of the freeze dried raw products.

Flagyl isn't the best product for an upset tummy, it can further harm the gut biome. I just had a talk today with a vet about my cat with loose stools (on antibiotic). As she said, they used to prescribe metronidazole (Flagyl), but no longer.

If seafood is the allergen, seafood water from cans won't help. But you can boil some chicken or turkey, purree it in the liquid and make a mush out of it. Or even try all meat baby food, they have chicken, pork, beef, turkey flavours. Check the ingredients list for nothing but meat. Beechnut and Gerbers have suitable varieties.
 
Flagyl works for Leroy but he's also a weirdo with a weirdo body 🤪 OP should discuss the GI issues with the vet again and come up with a plan on how to treat. A better probiotic may be helpful as well as S boulardii with MOS.
 
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