SYMPTOM: Feline Diarrhea
The Most Common Causes of Diarrhea..... Some of the causes of feline diarrhea are minor and easily treated, while others can be very major indeed. For instance, stress alone can cause a very nasty diarrhea. This happens frequently with events like bringingthe cat home for the first time, moving, adding a new cat to the household, etc. Also, some individual cats are just wound a little tighter than others, and so will be stressed out more easily. Food intolerance is another cause of feline diarrhea. Some pets just have a sensitive digestive system, and you will really have to search for the diet they they will do the best on. This can be especially difficult with cats, as they tend to be harder to switch foods around on. Remember also to do food changes gradually. A sudden change in foods can cause a bout of diarrhea too. Many cats seem to do better on the less processed types of diets. Those using whole foods rather than remnants andmeals left over from human food processing are generally well tolerated. Try to avoid high carbohydrate diets also. Parasites in the gastrointestinal tract are another common cause of feline diarrhea. Most people assume that if their cat has "worms" that they will see them in their stools. This is only true though for tapeworms, and for VERY large burdens of other worms. It's much better to find and treat intestinal parasites earlier than this.
Treatment is done specifically for the parasite or parasites found, as all medications do not work on all parasites. Please note, some feline parasites can be given to people too! When a disease or organism can be transmitted between people and animals, they are called zoonotic diseases or zoonoses.
Less Common But More Worrisome Causes of Diarrhea.... Any disease that causes a thickening of the intestinal wall will cause feline diarrhea. There are many diseaseprocesses that do this. What happens is that as the bowel wall thickens, its ability to digest and absorb nutrients from food decreases. Examples of these diasease would include lymphocytic-plasmacytic enteritis, cancer of the GI tract, severe inflammatory bowel disease, and a viral infection in the bowel called Feline Infectious Peritonitis, abbreviated FIP. The diagnosis of these diseases usually involves getting a sample of the intestines. This can be done with an endoscope, or via an abdominal exploratory surgery. Invasive types of procedures like these are usually only done after less invasive attempts at diagnosis were unsuccessful. You can anticipate doing routine bloodwork, fecal analysis, and likely x-rays before these procedures are offered. For these problems your best chance at a real diagnosis lies in getting that biopsy sample. The diagnosis then allows you to do a directed treatment, the best way to help your cat.
Treatments Cats are harder to treat than dogs. You shouldn't really hold them off of food like you could a dog, and they are harder to give medications to. If they've recently had a food change, you could try returning to their previous diet. If you have recently introduced a new treat, then stop giving it and see if that helps. DO NOT WITHOLD WATER! They are losing a lot of water in their stools, and need to be able to replace it! Probiotics, or beneficial GI bacteria, will sometimes help to resolve a mild innocent diarrhea. They can also help a chronic feline diarrhea case from coming back as much if used daily. Anti-diarrheals can help with the symptoms, but can also mask a real disease problem, that needs serious medical care. Don't use any product that has aspirin, or salicylic acid, in it, like Pepto Bismol or Kaopectate. If your vet has diagnosed a condition which causes bowel thickening, then they will recommend specific treatment for the disease diagnosed. None of these are "cureable" but most are treatable. The diagnosis of FIP, unfortunately, carries a very bad prognosis. Little can be done to help these cats.
The information presented here is not meant to replace the advice of your own veterinarian! A valid veterinary-client-patient relationship (created when you take your pet to see your vet) is essential to providing excellent individual pet care. If your pet is ill, call or go to your vet or an emergency veterinary hospital!
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Parasites are tested for by doing what is called a fecal flotation, usually just abbreviated as "a fecal". The poo is mixed in a special liquid, then spun in a centrifuge which causes the parasites eggs to gather in one spot. Then they are placed on a glass slide and looked at under a microscope, where the parasites eggs are seen and identified.
