URGENT: Rory has had explosive Diarrhea and is now vomiting

We already have a vet appt Friday morning *this morning* but I don't know if I should feed him a bit right now before his shot, Something is not right and he is super uncomfortable...he was drinking and eating last night even with diarrhea but this morning he seems way more in discomfort...do I feed him or let him wait until dose time or skip does time all together before his visit?

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oSoPm1f5IK0OvHIxuiNQVRdl-V1FEz374zj-KjOPL3w/edit?usp=sharing

 

Oh no, this is awful for him to be so sick. Have you tested his BG yet this morning. Did this just come on very suddenly -- like yesterday?

 

Yesterday is when i noticed he was having really bad diarrhea, he threw up foam at 5pm but i think that had more to do with me picking up his food at 2pm cause i have a feeling that now that he's on YA fully this might be what is causing the diarrhea...but this morning he's been pooping and throwing up foam since 4 and I'm at a slight panic about it

 

Do you know what his BG is?

 

I'm assuming that you don't have any Cerenia on hand to help control the vomiting? Vomiting foam could just be from an acid tummy also. 1/4 of a Pepcid AC regular strength tablet can really help with that. This is assuming he can keep it down. They will probably give him a Cerenia injection at the vet anyway. What time is your appointment?

 

hes at 163

 

I really think he needs something on his stomach. Do you have plain meat baby food like Gerber (or Beech Nut) chicken or turkey baby food. Very plain food. He may throw it up, but you have to try.

 

i dont have any other food but the YA right now...i ordered the dr elseys clean eating but it wont get here until after his shot time...i don't know what to do and I'm at a total loss on how to help him

 

I have wet food that he refuses to touch...he wont eat it I've placed some for him and he walks away

 

That's right. I forgot he hates wet food :-( I'm sorry. I am glad you ordered the Dr. Elsey's Clean Protein. My cats love the stuff (non-diabetics and they only get it for treats and food toppers, but they'd eat it all day long if I would let them.)

 

I have heard from some other people that the Young Again simply does not agree with their cats digestive system. Not everybody of course, but enough to take notice.

 

he actually did really good when YA and Dr elsesy were mixed when I was switching him...i think that was when he was hitting his greens was when his food was at its most mixed

 

If he won't eat breakfast -- or can't keep it down, I don't know if I would give the shot if he were my cat. Perhaps I would try a token dose of .25 units to keep him from going too high. If you can give him 1/4 of a Pepcid AC tablet (which is very commonly given for cats, by the way -- cats with CKD take it all the time because they tend to get acid tummies), this really may help him. Would he eat a few kibble afterwards to make sure it goes down all the way.

 

I know he would eat, he's hungry...like the throw up was all foam and he's prone to those when he gets super bad acid reflux...and last night he slept 12-4 he didn't eat during and once i picked up the food i think he was super hungry cause he keeps pooping so much...his poor little butt and legs...he's gotten super wobbly in the last two days as well

 

I'm worried about that wobbliness. Is he drinking water? I'm concerned he's getting dehydrated. Soooo glad you have a vet appointment. What time is the appointment? I know it's only almost 5:30 a.m. there.

 

Since you say he's had acid reflux in the past, do you ever give him Famotidine (Pepcid AC) for that or has the vet given you (or recommended) something else for this? Omeprazole is also used in cats.

 

his appt is at 930, they don't open until 8 am so I cant call them to see if I can rush him in sooner...I'm really thinking to skip his food but then he will be completely empty...i just don't know what to do....i don't think I'm going to shot him at his scheduled 6...I noticed he hasn't touched his water this morning but then again he's just kind of laying near me and I'm away for his bowl

 

Well I would let him eat if he's hungry. Hopefully you have already done this. Was your concern that it would influence his BG and you wouldn't know how much to shoot? I don't remember what your shot time is -- I thought it was pretty early.

 

also i have never given him anything his past vets in California never told me too...just said this happens when I miss his feeding times

 

I would probably take him in at 8 a.m. I would also let him eat. I would not let him go any longer without food. He clearly needs something on his stomach.

 

His shot time is 6 am, I haven't feed him yet cause he was so all over the place with pooping and vomiting...i wasn't sure if I should wait until his shot time or feed now

 

do you think I should add some of his higher carb older food to his meal or just leave it with the full YA knowing its going to upset his tummy

 

I would give him the food least likely to upset his tummy, whatever it is. Of course, his BG will go higher, but maybe since you are headed to the vet that's okay. This is an extraordinary situation.

 

Plus you are only 30 minutes prior to your shot time so you can actually shoot his insulin now without messing things up -- you can shoot 30 minutes early or 30 minutes late without any big impact on BG.

 

Should I shoot him at .25 since I'm giving more of a high carb meal?

 

hes at 155 right now should i shot at .25?

 

Do you mean should you give him the regular dose of 1.25 units, or do you mean should you give him just a token dose of only .25 units instead of skipping the shot entirely? I just want to be clear.

 

do a dose of .25U ...he just threw up again before I fed him so im just really worried right now...I'm giving him is fancy feast dry food that is loaded in high carb

 

I think you will be safe with .25 if you do not want to skip the dose entirely due to his illness. I would feed, see if he keeps it down, then shoot the .25 units if he keeps the food down for 30 minutes.

 

maybe its best to just skip, hes eating fine...he's scarfing it down actually..once the vet opens ill call them to see if we can rush in there sooner

 

Okay. Please keep me posted. I'm really worried about him now. I am happy that he's eating though. He clearly needs something on his stomach with the foamy vomit.

 

We ar getting ready now to take to the vet, after he ate the high-carb food he was back to normal...no instant diarrhea, vomiting gone and he was drinking so much water! the Dr Elsey just arrived i am going to try and work that back into his diet...I'm wondering if i just take YA completely out or keep it mixed with DR elsey

 

I doubt if I would feed YA after that. You can try a piece or two mixed in gradually, but I don’t know since he seems to have had a violent reaction to it.

 

How did it go at the vet?

 

How is Rory doing?

 

I hope you will check in with us this morning We are concerned about Rory. Paws crossed that he's back to normal this morning.

 

I am at a loss on what to do, the vet said he was fine come home that night and he had explosive diarrhea and vomited all night, this morning he ate a bit was able to shot low but had diarrhea all day no vomit but I don't think he's drinking water, tried gravys, wets anything and he will not touch it...went to feed him dry and he wont eat that either so I decided Not to shot cause I need to run back to work...i am really scared right now

 

Sorry for the late response...i have been so overwhelmed monitoring him...i cant tell if this is something serious or just a upset stomach...he's alert and present but I can tell he isn't drinking water...he hasn't peed all day and I'm about to go back to work..i don't know if I should just have my partner rush him to an ER vet or wait until I get home to take him...money is getting tighter and i don't want to rush a ER visit if we don't need to..but i am truly scared

 

I am very worried. Can you tell me what the vet did? Did they do bloodwork? I am very worried that he is dehydrated and that something else is going on.

 

Are you still feeding YA? Might take a few days to settle down and a food change may also make him off.

Are you giving s boullardii? It's really good for diarrhea.

Did you check for dehydration?

Did they check his temp, or take a stool sample?

You did not need to skip the shot, you could have done a reduced dose but no harm hopefully.

 

I do not think your vet is taking proper care of Rory. If they didn’t do bloodwork to check his major organ function and to check for dehydration— they didn’t give sub-q fluids, they didn’t give a Cerenia injection to control vomiting, etc.

 

If his diarrhea is not stopping also, the stupid vets should have prescribed Metronidazole to stop it. It is very effective and works quickly. I am telling you, and I have had so many cats, foster cats, rescue cats for my whole life, and this is not the standard of care. Did they do anything?

 

Sorry i am at work, she did blood work for a diabetic profile...not sure what that all entailed cost us about 400$ but when i called her today she said something about a possible gastric issue that she will run the blood on..i picked up some pills to help with vomiting but im not home so i dont have the name in front of me...i think im just going to rush him to an ER vet when i get home...this is to long and im scared to wait any longer

 

I am so sorry this is happening. It may be dangerous. We don’t know and can’t tell from here. Please get the bloodwork if you can and share it here.

The pills for vomiting and nausea are most likely Cerenia and you need to give them as prescribed as soon as possible which is probably one a day - did he have one today already?
About the bloodwork— most importantly, please bring it with you to the ER if you go. Perhaps they did not think he is dehydrated? I hope they checked.

 

he hasnt vomited at all today only small diarrhea today...but he hasnt peed and barely ate....the vomiting only seem happen around midnight....hes been perfectly fine all day...even played alittle..which is why we are so hesitant to rush him to ER if its not serious as money is really tight right now...but i dont want to be wrong and it be to late...i just dont know what else to do...hes just nibbling and i guess he took a couple siips of water but this is not normal for him

 

Not sure if image is attached

 

dont think you can see that sorry..it was a receipt with what was done

 

@Suzanne & Darcy

 

Suzanne is awesome you are in good hands. She has helped me so much. Panzer wouldn't be where he is now without her. I tagged her for you so hopefully she will see it & be able to read it. Good luck with your baby, I will be praying for you.

 

@Suzanne & Darcy he alert and laying down spreadout (very relaxed) im not home yet to fully monitor him but partner is with him says he drank a super tiny bit and nibbled..he hasnt vomited at all today and had two things of diarrhea super small compared to the last two days..should i give him his vomit pill or just go straight to ER...i feel like ive kept putting it off that what if im wrong and he truly needed them?? I am just so dang lost right now on what to do

 

I would find out what exactly is in a “diabetic monitoring profile”… $400 is a lot of money for blood work. Maybe she did a fructosamine, which you don’t really need because you home test. How frustrating you won’t have blood work results until Monday.

 

I’m concerned about his hydration level. If he will drink more on his own, that’s good. But if he won’t drink enough to catch up with his dehydration, then he needs fluids from a vet.

 

He likely isn't having diarrhea because there is nothing TO diarrhea.

Can your partner check for dehydration? Tacky gums, the "scruff snapback" test. I would also feel his ears and see if they feel unusually warm/hot to the touch (fever).

Dehydration is my main concern. Secondary to that is a missed infection, which then also leads to ketones concern. Have you checked ketones recently?

I would try to assist feed (and water) at this point if he won't on his own. But if he has the signs of dehydration I mentioned above and/or ketones in urine I would take him in. Or if he starts acting very lethargic/off.

You can only give Cerenia once a day.

The ER vet would likely run bloodwork (probably similar to what your vet has already done but hard to know for sure, like CBC, chem panels), check for dehydration, check urine, give fluids, possibly prescribe metronidazole like Suzanne said (it's really good for GI infections). Plus they'll probably try to oversell you some stuff like FortiFlora (don't do it, many better probiotics out there for less money).

 

Already ordered the Fortiflora...tried to use it with some wet food to see if he would try and he didnt even want it..walked straight out the room...he hasnt peed today to test so i think it might just be best to take him in

 

Hes drinking water!!

 

@FrostD

 

He took his pill pocket with his Cerenia, he's eating again and drink water more...i feel better monitoring him tonight...if he has another episode we will just rush him to the ER

 

Okay. So he took the Cerenia last night and ate a little and drank some water. This is good. I do totally understand about trying to keep away from the ER vet. In fact, I have frequently been in that position lately (sigh.) Please update me when you can on how things are with Rory this morning (well it’s the middle of the night for you!) I am on Eastern time so three hours later than you. And if you can get those labs and share them, it would be good. Has he urinated, pooped, vomited, eaten? Hopefully he just had a serious gastric upset and is getting over it — but there are many possibilities such as an infection (which would put him in danger of DKA) or even pancreatitis. Anyway, I will wait to hear your update later on this morning.

 

So he slept through the night, he woke up just now and drank a good amount of water...he ate a bit more last night before bed but hasn't eaten much since he woke up and I am about to pick the food up as he does his testing at 6am. He hasn't peed yet but he just started drinking more and he hasn't pooped since 2pm yesterday...i have a motion camera on his litter so nothing from him yet.

 

@Suzanne & Darcy Hes eating fine, was able to give him his dose now just waiting to see him poop and pee...he's drinking normally which makes me super happy so I'm expecting pee today!

 

This is great news! I’m really happy to hear it. If he’s drinking and eating, then he should be using the litter box soon.

 

That’s too blurry for me to see except it looks like they took a urine sample via cystocentesis so it’s good they checked that. Also I don’t know what is meant by a Diabetic Monitoring Profile. Hopefully its a panel of bloodwork including a CBC and Chemistry. Well, for right now I am just taking the good news that he’s feeling better and being happy. You should have results tomorrow.

 

Okay, because “inquiring minds want to know” (and I am impatient) I did a little searching about the diabetic monitoring profile. IDEXX labs has a blood panel by that name and it includes a CBC and Chemistry panel, an SDMA and a fructosamine test. They really only needed to do the CBC, serum chemistry and the urinalysis but… it is what it is, right? It takes 1-3 days for results.

Diabetic Monitoring Profile (21559999)


1 test selected
remove
Diabetic Monitoring Profile(21559999)

Diabetic Monitoring Profile(21559999)
Chem 11 with IDEXX SDMA® Test, IDEXX CBC®, fructosamine

1-3 days | 2 mL serum (no hemolysis), 1 mL LTT

 

@Suzanne & Darcy rory just peed in the litter box, we are just waiting on a poop...see if he's still has the runs or if they are getting more solid. I am just so happy he's eating and drinking water again!!!

 

Yay!❤️❤️

 

Me too! I can imagine your relief.

 

❤️❤️❤️

 

My vet messaged me this today: He came back negative for chronic pancreatitis as his value was 2.2 with the high end of the test at 3.5...so I still have no idea why he got so sick, paid so much money to still have no answers..so frustrating

 

Well, let’s take a look at the bloodwork tomorrow. Ask her about giving him a 1/4 of. Regular strength 10 mg Famotidine (Pepcid AC) to Rory when he gets the acid tummy. I’m glad things are getting better.

 

So glad Rory is doing better. Hopefully he continues to & once you get his bloodwork maybe we will get it figured out here.

 

@Suzanne & Darcy so rory had a bowel movement around 4pm today and when I came home to test and give his shot he had explosive diarrhea again!! he wont eat now, he was perfectly fine earlier today...i don't understand what is happening

 

i read somewhere that this is a common reaction to food allergy...i am wondering if he's allergic to the high-protein foods...i mixed some high carb with his dr elseys (which he didn't seem to have an issue with before) to see if would eat and he did...also gave him another vomit pill to be on the safe side.

 

I'd probably bring in a stool sample at this point. Could be parasitic or GI infection like giardia.

Could also be food allergy. It wouldn't be to high protein foods, it would be to an ingredient in the foods. Luckily you're already feeding fairly limited ingredient stuff, so it would be fairly easy to rule out.

I know one of the companies (drawing a blank on YA or Elsey's) had some supply issues and ended up using more egg? Or more flax? Than usual so it could be that as well

 

He's peeing and seems to be acting completely normal except for that episode...i don't think he'll need to be rushed to the er but I am so worried that its something bigger and the vet keeps missing it and its costing us more money and we have to find a new place to live by Dec 1st...to say I am panicking is an understatement.

 

Did you get the bloodwork back? Has he had a normal bowel movement recently? Or is it always explosive diarrhea?

Cats do have bad timing when it comes to being ill (although there is never a good time.). I am going to make a few suggestions that are going to cost money. I am very sorry about that. I have quite a few cats so I basically run a constant tab on my Care Credit account or at my vet’s office. So I am just saying that I do understand.

Now, having said that, I think that (1) we need to take a look at that bloodwork, (2) take a stool sample to the vet as Melissa suggested (that’s usually not super expensive and you would not have to bring Rory in for an office visit.) There are more expensive stool tests that can be run but not before bringing in a regular sample to the vet to check for parasites. Honestly, my vet would probably put my cat on a course of Metronidazole at this point to help clear up anything. Metronidazole (Flagyl) is antimicrobial, antiprotozoal and anti inflammatory in the GI tract. It is used as an adjunctive therapy in inflammatory bowel disease as well as other conditions. I have seen it bring relief very quickly in my own cats.
Anyway, back to what else can be done for Rory — and here’s where it can get a little more expensive… these are only things to be considered for the future and not yet — (3) run a GI panel (Texas A&M GI panel) that’s a blood panel that can tell you a lot about what’s going on in the gastrointestinal tract. It can point toward inflammatory bowel disease or other conditions. I’m not saying to do this now - I am just saying that, down the road, it’s something that you may need to consider. Of course there’s also an abdominal ultrasound, but you are definitely not near needing that yet, from what we can tell.

These problems did seem to begin with the food changes, right? I don’t know how rapidly you made the food switch, but it is generally advisable in cats to make any food changes slowly so as not to upset their tunnies. He’s had quite a few new foods thrown at him lately due to needing lower carbs.

It would also be a good idea, if you are not already doing it, to start Rory on a good probiotic such as Proviable DC. That’s a small capsule. I give one to my inflammatory bowel disease boy every day. There are some kinds of probiotics designed to be mixed with food. Also, and I think this has been mentioned before, s. Boulardii is a type of yeast used as a probiotic. Some people have great luck using this in their cats with diarrhea (and it can’t hurt him.). I have purchased the human formula before (Jarrow or NOW brands.). There are a lot of different things out there for cat diarrhea but watch out for those containing any type of sugar.

If Rory were my cat, I would take in the stool sample, ask for a course of Metronidazole, start some probiotics and play around with the food to see if it’s the food. If necessary as a last resort, I would go back to the old food and reintroduce the new food very gradually. I know you don’t want to do that since it will raise his numbers. If you can get some metronidazole from your vet, it may not be necessary at all.

 

@Suzanne & Darcy I am not sure if you are up but Rory just tested at 178, not sure how to shoot right now..do I lower?

 

forgot i am adding some of his high carbs to the food so I went with the 1.25 also adding some fortiflora to see if that helps

 

I think you should be fine with the 1.25 especially with HC in the mix. What is your work schedule like? I mean, what time do you usually have to leave in the cycle and when can you test? I don’t think I have ever asked you that before.

 

I’m off today, though we might go look at homes not sure but today I will be mostly packing so illl be able to test him. It’s Thursday-Saturday that are hard as I have work 3-930 but I’m allowed to run home to test and give shot, so that helps but I can’t really monitor.

 

I hope you can find a new place quickly and get it locked in for December 1. It’s really stressful when you need to move and don’t yet know where you are going.

 

I had a similar experience back in February. Multiple trips to the vet, 2 courses of metro and still had diarrhea. I thought food allergy as well and started buying all sorts of limited /novel protein foods. We never had to try them. The S Boulardi recommended here quelled the diarrhea quickly and since then she’s been on a probiotic that also has a prebiotics combined. No further issues. Have you tried the S boulardi?

 

Yes, the s. Boulardii is worth a try. As I said above, other people I know have had good luck with it, although I have used it on a couple of my cats and it did not work for them - but they had other problems that needed different, less common meds to resolve (as I later found out with more testing.) But it is reasonable to try the s. Boulardii first. You should know fairly quickly if it will help. It can even be purchased at a local health food store. I bought mine from Amazon. Hopefully he has been fine today and eating well.

 

I got both the S boulardi and the pro/pre biotic combo from vitamin shoppe. For the probiotic I researched the ones that were mentioned here and got the equivalent from vitamin shoppe.

 

That sounds great. The Vitamin Shoppe brands are usually less expensive and seem to be good quality when I have tried them. Which probiotic are you using? I use the Proviable DC (dog/cat) and purchase it from Chewy, but I give it in capsule form and do not sprinkle on food since my IBD boy (Bingley) is a sweetheart and lets me do anything.

 

So it appears my other cat just had diarrhea, he's been fine to me but then again I've been so focused on rory I have been watching him when he poops...this has me a bit more freaked out if both are having runny poops!!! Im waiting for the vet to call me back..shes been in surgery all day so its taking longer but this has me a bit worried

 

Okay, so it's probably not food related because they aren't eating the same food? or are they? They could have Giardia or something else that could have passed to each other via the litter box. Time for that stool sample(s) to go to the vet. She may insist on it, in fact.

 

Kobe will sometimes eat the food rory eats, but he's more of a wet food eater...but I don't know if this is the first one or not he's acting completely normal...I'm so stressed out I don't know how Im going to catch a stool sample with them with it being both so damn watery and i have school tomorrow and work...i feel like the so much is stacked against us right now

 

Tried to upload picture of the probiotic but it wouldn’t let me. It’s Solaray super multidophilus 24 strain 30billion CFU. I split 1 capsule a day in her mid AM and mid Pm snack. So far so good. Since I don’t really know why she had issues back in Feb I now also wash off all my cat food cans as the only thing I could come up with was maybe some sort of bacteria from a can?

 

You can grab a stool sample out of the box. Try to monitor when she goes - grab a plastic utensil and take from the top into a ziplock. My vet says even a bit of litter in it is ok as they only use a small amount.

 

Well when you get time in the next day or so you can scoop a small amount into a ziplock bag. A lot of times the vets will give you little plastic cups to put some in (free of charge.). I would take a sample from Rory and take it in. If they find something just mention that both cats are affected and they’ll most likely want to treat both cats. This would also save money. Sorry this is happening. Just do it when you or your partner can. Did vet call back?

 

vet did not call back

 

So we ended up rushing Rory to the ER vet cause he was pooping and crying we had blood work and ex rays done…They found he has a slight enlarged heart which she said she noticed a small murmur, also found he has arthritis in his back left leg, they aren’t sure about why he’s shutting and said I’ll have to do a poop test with his primary vet. They gave meds to help with the diarrhea and gabapentin for the pain and stress.