My Lucky has had diarrhea since Feb can you help me keep him?

[bjchristian7]

My daughter gave me a belated Christmas present that was delivered to me on Jan.18th.  He was 4 pounds and 4 months old and I could feel every rib. He has had about 3 weeks of normal stools and the rest has been diarrhea, and at times explosive due to all of the gas.  One of the vets at Banfield Vet Hospital said he was extremely  gassy but wasn't in any pain with it. Lucky has been through a 10 day regimen of flagyl, then a 14 day round of flagyl.  He's been through 2 rounds of 14 days of tylason (I'm told it's a strong antibiotic)  and 3 weeks ago he was put on steroids.  The vet didn't seem to think it important that his stools had tuned yellow and mushy as long as they had some form to them.  Last Tues. he was weaned down to the maintenance dose of the steroids and this morning, 6 days later, he had a yellow puddle of stool, not liquid but definitely not formed.  I've been told that IBD is very expensive and I need to find him a loving home with someone who has the money to invest in him.

Lucky has emerald green eyes, black tuxedo cat with another white patch between his back legs.  He loves to play fetch and will follow me around no matter where it is with his ball gently clamped in his mouth.  I'm told by people on the website "Cat Site" that have a kitten with IBD is very expensive, not curable but manageable.  He can't stay on steroids all the time.

Some one any one please help me be able to keep my Lucky boy.
A distraught,
**

[jemma116]

My son had a ginger young cat that was "catnapped" by his next door neighbour.  He told the neighbour they could keep the cat, but not to feed it with Whiskas because it gives it diarrhea.  

I looked after his other pregnant cat in April and was given the cheapest cat food.  The cat had diarrhea.  I went on the web to learn about feeding the queen and when I started to feed her with kitten food and cat food, she was OK.

I was looking after one of the kittens yesterday and was given a cheap can of cat food, shortly afterwards the poor kitten (born on 10th April) had bloody stools.

So when your Lucky is weaned off the medications, I would feed it with kitten food.  You can buy different kitten foods as well as dry kitten food to give your young cat variety.  You can also buy kitten milk.  Don't give Lucky any cows milk.  Kitten milk or water only.

Best wishes.

[FurballsMom]

You can also try adding probiotics to the cat's diet.  If you give the cat wet food, it's very easy to give the cat probiotics.  They don't seem to know you've given them any "medicine".  You just open a capsule of the same probiotics you take yourself and mix it into the wet food.  It's actually hard to overdose on probiotics.  I believe it was the cat's vet who told me to just give the cat the same dose of probiotic in a capsule that I take.

As I'm not sure how to give the probiotics in dry food, but wet food is better for cats.  I totally agree about being very slow about changing any food you give the cat since he has an upset digestive tract.

Many cats are allergic to grains, as mine is.  So, I completely agree about considering the grain free diet.  The brand I'm using is Wellness grain free, and it is working well for the cat.  I buy the economy cans, which are about the same size as a soup can.

Yes, try the pumpkin.  Years ago before I knew about grain free food and the importance of giving such food to cats, I had an IBD cat that I pulled from the brink of death twice with canned pumpkin.  It is soothing to their digestive tract.  Some cats will even eat pumpkin or squash willingly.  Not always, but sometimes.

[Jade59]

I remember something else I suggested...

Have you tried a little Pumpkin (no sugar or additives added).  This would help form her stools better.  Not much is needed; less than a small tsp.  And the best part is, it it Natural! :)

[Jade59]

So sorry; I am referring to Lucky as a 'she' when Lucky is a 'him'.  Believe it or not, I had it right in that post that disappeared.  Very annoying to lose such a long post.  

Also, if you should decide to change his diet, this is done v e r y slowly to avoid more tummy upset.  Just a little new food added to the old, then increased over time.

We will be looking forward to your update. :)

[Jade59]

UGH! I just spend at least an hour answering your question, giving suggestions, etc. I hit send and the entire thing disappeared with no warning...and it wasn't even as long as Your post, so idk. :(.  

I'm afraid I have to run, but will try to recreate it later.  I will say, I am encouraged with Lucky's stools this morning and have every reason to believe she will be alright once all these antib's, etc., clear his system.  I am happy to hear the steroid use is being slowly discontinued, as steroids can cause diabetes.  I will think some more on this.

I remember I suggested the brand "Welness".  Have you tried that?  That too, is grain free.  You want to stick to wet food as much as possible, as male cats are notorious for getting crystals in their bladder; a very painful condition .  It could be Lucky's food is not agreeing with her...on top of everything else; you know?  

I wish you and Lucky the very best.  Please keep us updated.  So very sorry;  I had so much more written, and I tried my best to retrieve it, but it's gone.  Whatcha gonna do. lol

Hugs and prayers to you and Lucky~

  

[bjchristian7]

When Lucky came to me on Jan. 18th at 4 months old he had been eating adult dry food for the 2 months he was at my ex's house.  His first 2 months was living as a feral kitten in the mountains where they live.  I don't know if he was eating the fake flowers and plants but my sister said one of her rescue kittens had sporadic funky looking loose stools.   Deb said that he'[s used to eating what ever he could find in the outdoors and they don't know the difference between real and fake grass, plants  flowers.  So I put all of them in the closet.  Dr. A, I used to caller her Dr. Lindsey, decided we had changed several things every visit so lets leave him on the every other day maintenance dose of steroids and add dry food to the wet food because she thought he was going hungry.  Deb said if he was allergic to grain he could also be eating his corn husk litter as she's had several rescue kitties that ate it especially if he was hungry.  I agree with youthat his poor system has been overwhelmed.  So the my plants are in my closet and I also got trash cans with lids that he can't get into since yesterday I saw him trying to get into one of the open trash cans.  So now paper goes into the regular trash cans and every thing else goes into the covered trash cans that he can't get into.  I also took up the corn litter and put down scoop away 24/7.  His stool this morning was a puddle but it was brown not yellow.  I figure being reintroduced to the wet food might have caused the change in consistency.  Any way we decided to take every thing away that he could possibly snack on at night when I'm sleeping.  Plus I was able to leave my door open and Lucky didn't wake me up until 8:15 this morning.  Yesterday he sat in Dr. A's lap for the first time ever.  Plus while waiting on Dr. A he was roaming around the exam room and I caught him on his tiptoes looking through the open space where they have a trash cans and all kinds of wires.  He has just started purring when he's being held.  So we are going to let his system rest and leave him on the steroids and if his stools go back to formed then I can taper him off of the steroids.  I'm still giving him his probiotics mixed in with his wet food.  You're right he was on 14 days of antibiotics and she restarted them with the steroids because she waafraid his normal flora was going to be comprimised.  He did have formed brown stool on the salmon and peas in between the spordtic yellow stools.  I have no clue what he gets into at night but Dr. A agreed taking away possible night time snacks and covering the trash cans that he could possible forage in.  He used to have liquid stools all the time but after transitioning to salmon and green pea around 6 weeks ago he was having solid stools but would start with the liquid yellow stools.  Plus Monday morning when I cleaned up his diarrhea I also cleaned out formed brown stool and since I had emptied the litter box at 11:30pm the night before we think he got into something during the early hours.  Which is why we are going to less things in hopes his system can recover.  He's not dehydrated and Dr. A said he was being a feisty kitten yesterday as he was investigating every thing.  She said for him to sit in her lap for the first time ever, we
have been seeing her every 2 weeks for months showed he was finally feeling good.  So I'm hoping he's not an IBD kitten but she said if he was then a maintenance dose of steroids every other day for now wouldn't hurt him She said her IBD kitty lived 15 years and has happy and for the most part healthy.  I can't afford the venison, duck or rabbit.  If he did snack on the fake flowers and grass she said his stools would be runny until tonight at least.  The fact that it's a light brown and not yellow is encouraging to me.  So what do you think about the less is more for Lucky?  Dr. A believes that Lucky will heal once his system adjusts to not having anything to snack on that he should have access to.  She also agreed with Deb that having been an outdoors kitten in the mountains he ate whatever he could to stay alive.  So he came to me with digestive issues but being that he was eating my exes cat's food, she's 12 years old, at such a young age messed him up but good.  He's back to wanting to play fetch his every waking hour like he did when he'd have normal stools.  He's also back to br4inging his foam ball to bed so I can throw it and I told him again we don't play fetch at bedtime.:o)  What do you think? We never just changed one thing but several things every time.  It's diarrhea this morning but not liquid instead it's a puddle of light brown stool.  Thanks for listening to mine and Lucky's story.  I can go back and tell you all of the treatment.  But in Feb. he was put on flagyl which didn't help and then put on alban as his stool was positive for something that starts with cocc.  He was on that for 4 weeks.  The steroids started 3 weeks ago when the yellow diarrhea came back.  

We're praying that once his system gets used to nothing to eat but his food, I leave the dry salmon and green pea out over night and give him the wet version with probiotics during the day but still leave the dry down in case he gets hungry.  Hopefully this is going to work.  I don't mind cleaning up diarrhea as long as he's going to recover.  However, I did find a Guardian Angel Program here in Raleigh that take in kittens and cats with health issues to re-home if the owner can't afford the cost.  Dr. A and my sister don't believe I'll need to do that.

Thanks for listening,
** & Lucky

[Jade59]

Hello...okay, I'm trying to get a timeline here, so let me ask you a question.  

You got your darling little boy at Xmas.  His stools were normal for 3wks.  Did Lucky eat the fake flowers and grass, THEN get diarrhea?  If not, the continuing diarrhea can be due to all the antib's he's been on.  I also wonder if the Salmon and Green Pea is simply not agreeing with him?  From your post, I am not so sure he is an IBD kitty, but in fact, his little system is just overwhelmed with antib's, change of food, discontinuation of steroids....see what I mean?  

I'll let you answer my question before I say anything else.  :)

[bjchristian7]

Lucky has been on the Natural Balance salmon and green pea diet for over a month now.  I couldn't afford the venison, duck or rabbit on my limited income.  I switched him to the wet version and have been putting probiotics in his food twice a day.  His vet did this first thing along with the first round of strong antibiotics that he go with the 4 weeks of alban.

I don't want to give him up but I've been told that it's expensive to keep an IBD kitten. I found a guardian angel program that takes in cats with any health issues and do their best to put him with someone who can afford treatments that are expensive.

He sees his vet this afternoon.  My sister takes in sick kittens and said to try baby immodium, get rid of all artificial flowers and plans and start putting the white rice back in his food.  Is it possible after chewing on silk plants that have fake grass in them it could be making him sick?  He had one week of normal solid brown stools and it changed to yellow puddles yesterday.  Since you have an IBD kitten is it possible to keep him on a limited income?  Thanks for your response,
** & Lucky

[opus88]

oh my Lucky sounds like a beautiful kitty, no wonder you have fallen in love....no a cat can't stay on steroids, it nearly killed my IBD cat a few years ago.
what food are you feeding? have you tried a GRAIN FREE canned food? I wish I had known than what I know now abt how grains are so bad for IBD....I will send you a site that talks about diets. wishing you both all the very best.

http://www.catinfo.org/#Inflammatory_Bowel_Disease_%28IBD%29