# Can anyone help us to find out what's wrong with my cat Will



## Oscar&Will (Jan 3, 2009)

Hello everyone.

I have two six month old kittens and one of them has been quite ill for about 3 months now. He has muccus coming out from his behind which is sometimes mixed with diohreah. He is often sick when he eats and is suffering. When he is not ill he is a very loving, happy kitten. The vet says that if we can not find a solution he may have to be put down which would be terrible. 

This all started when he had his vaccinations. So far the vet has given him two lots of anti-biotics and we have tried giving him a gluten-free diet. Neither has helped. He has had tests done from a sample that we gave and one night he was so bad we had to take him to the PDSA hospital. They gave him an anti-sickness injection which made him feel much better and he was eating everything he could get his little paws on! But the mucus problem was/ is still occuring. We are spending a lot of time clearing up his mess and washing his beds. I just want to find out what is wrong with him so he can feel better and have a nice life. I feel like i'm not doing enough to find out what is wrong with him and i don't know where to turn. The next step with the vet is that we are going to get another sample which will be tested for a new cat disease.

Has anyone else ever experienced a similar problem? Any advice would be very appreciated.


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

I am not a vet, but it sounds like a gastrointestinal problem. Humans have problems with those symptoms (mucus, diarrhea, weakness, loss of appetite and lethargy) and the most common causes are Crohn's Disease, Ulcerative Colitis and other Irritable Bowel problems. Perhaps your kitty needs to see a feline gastrointestinal specialist to see about getting a firm diagnosis and dietary changes, probiotics, anti-inflamatories and other meds to treat this. However, before doing that, your vet running more tests can help eliminate several cat problems like giardia and another called tri-tri-something, which both have similar symptoms.
Best of luck,
Heidi


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## Oscar&Will (Jan 3, 2009)

Heidi n Q said:


> I am not a vet, but it sounds like a gastrointestinal problem. Humans have problems with those symptoms (mucus, diarrhea, weakness, loss of appetite and lethargy) and the most common causes are Crohn's Disease, Ulcerative Colitis and other Irritable Bowel problems. Perhaps your kitty needs to see a feline gastrointestinal specialist to see about getting a firm diagnosis and dietary changes, probiotics, anti-inflamatories and other meds to treat this. However, before doing that, your vet running more tests can help eliminate several cat problems like giardia and another called tri-tri-something, which both have similar symptoms.
> Best of luck,
> Heidi



Thank you for your fast relpy. The vet is testing for the Tri disease that you mentioned. I will look into seeing a feline gastrointestinal specialist. x


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

I put a call into a friend of mine who is the diarrhea expert. I will post several options and routes you can pursue when she calls me back today. We deal with this a lot because we TNR and take in sick kittens and abandoned cats. Im unforntunately the ringworm expert in our group! :roll: 

Just a heads up on vets. Not all vets are experienced in cat maladies because they dont have to treat them often. Several of our vets have gotten a crash coarse on cat thru us. One vet we were lucky to find, who is a 45 min drive from us, but fabulous, interned at Cornell and will research when we bring in mystery problems. She finds a coarse of treatment for us. But there are some who Id never darken their door again. I guess its the same with human doctors ~ good ones and bad ones. Just cuz you graduated doesn't make you a good vet.

There are homeopathic remedies also you can try. check out the Little Big Cat site. This vet posts on our site occasionally and is good. If your kitten turn up with tri tric there is a website I will get for you with current info and a community of people dealing with it. Dont give up on your little guy. There is something out there to treat him and bring him back to health.


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## doublemom (Feb 17, 2008)

I just saw this post, and I don't know if this might be it at all.. but it's worth a try. One of our cats cannot tolerate ANY type of grains, and you would be amazed at how much corn, wheat, soy, barley, etc. is used in cat foods. He also cannot tolerate any dairy products, even one or two treats that have cheese in them. He had chronic diarrhea for the first two years we had him, though he was otherwise healthy. We have switched all of our cats to dry/canned foods that have NO grains and no dairy in them, and the difference in our little Monkey is amazing. He has not had diarrhea for months, and you can just tell that he feels better. 

I know this is a long shot for your kitty, but it's worth a try or worth mentioning to your vet. I know it helped our Monkey immensely to be put on to dry kibble of a mix of Wellness Core and Solid Gold Indigo Moon (which does have potatoes, but doesn't seem to bother him), as well as canned Wellness food daily. 

Hope your kitty gets better soon, and that you can figure out the problem and help him feel better.

Hang in there!!!

Andi


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

Ok Im gona try to organize this information for you. First off keep a journal of when/what happens to help when diagnosing this. Its invaluable for a vet when trying to eliminate or research symptoms because different types of diarrhea are very similar . Or if your doing research yourself or talking with people, like my friend, who could help you narrow this down to whats going on. I PMed you her email address. She said shed be glad to talk you thru all this.

Giardia, Tritric, clostridum all have specific smells. More than one can happen to a cat so you may treat one and then diarehha is back! TFFfelines.com is a really good website for information on tri tric & will give symptoms to help you evaluate which parasite is going on to cause the sickness. Another good website ~ youll have to google this cuz she only had the print out with info~ google Todd Tams VCA West Los Angeles Veterinary Hospital. Also Google information on Clostridum Perfringens Enterotoxicosis. There is also an online IBD group at yahoo you might like to tap for help.

If you have given your cat antibiotics and retested for Giardia you have to wait 7 days or youll get back a false negative. Plus unless your cat is shedding the parasite at the time of the test you will again get a false negative. This has happened to us many times. You mentioned mucus. Is there blood with this. Then its very possible could be giardia.

When trying different foods for a cat to see if that helps. If he has a protein intolerance you can put him on a special food but do know that with this intolerance (which causes diarrhea) after 3 months you will have to switch types of proteins, and have to switch foods! He could be intolerant of fish, which one of our fosters is, which we found out by elimination. Keep trying.

I would suggest giving your cat plain yogurt or a pro-biotic if he has been on rounds of antibiotic to help restore his digestive system . Or slippery elm might help releive him while you are trying to find out whats going on.

Also know that certain labs only test for certain parasites. We did our research and had to give one of our vets the test code so he could find a lab which looked for Tritric. He will have to send out of office for this test. only a few places do it.

You mentioned that after the vaccine this happened. LittleBigCat has a Spirit Essence product to give after vaccines to help. I know its a bit late to learn this but you might be able to help someone else with the info.

Two of our fosters kept getting diarreha on and off. Another foster just had streaming diarreha all the time, which typical treatments wouldnt cure. We kept researching and trying till we found which parasites and maladies for each type that they exhibiting. It would of been nice if our vets had known but they didnt. It took alot of persistance. Finally our one vet (who interned at cornell) found it in researching for the streaming diarreha. It was tritric for that specific case.

It can be exasperating and frustrating but there is light at the end of the tunnel. do email my friend she is a wealth of information. Shes been thru several kinds of diarreha with our fosters and found answers for each kind.


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## Oscar&Will (Jan 3, 2009)

Thank you for your replies. Poor Willow suffered a prolapse tonight. I have never seen anything like it before. He was straining so much and I was expecting more mucus to come out but I was very shocked when I saw the prolapse as I didn't know what it was. 

I rang the emergency vets and they said we need to keep him in our bedroom tonight and check him every two hours incase it happens again. I will be looking into everything you have all advised me and am very grateful for your help. xx


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## Oscar&Will (Jan 3, 2009)

Mitts & Tess said:


> Ok Im gona try to organize this information for you. First off keep a journal of when/what happens to help when diagnosing this. Its invaluable for a vet when trying to eliminate or research symptoms because different types of diarrhea are very similar . Or if your doing research yourself or talking with people, like my friend, who could help you narrow this down to whats going on. I PMed you her email address. She said shed be glad to talk you thru all this.
> 
> Giardia, Tritric, clostridum all have specific smells. More than one can happen to a cat so you may treat one and then diarehha is back! TFFfelines.com is a really good website for information on tri tric & will give symptoms to help you evaluate which parasite is going on to cause the sickness. Another good website ~ youll have to google this cuz she only had the print out with info~ google Todd Tams VCA West Los Angeles Veterinary Hospital. Also Google information on Clostridum Perfringens Enterotoxicosis. There is also an online IBD group at yahoo you might like to tap for help.
> 
> ...


There is little bits of blood in the mucus.  There is a lot of mucus.


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Oh, I hope your Will-kitty feels better soon and the vets can do something for him. I know they can 'tack' a rectum inside so it doesn't prolapse again, but it is best to get the underlying problem fixed, too.
Sending good thoughts and healing wishes.
h


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## Stryker (Apr 2, 2007)

Just one quick interjection - you need to ensure that the kitten is drinking/has water intake....cats "operate" on very little water anyway, and, surely he is losing lots with this current issue.

If he's eating wet food, that's a bonus for hydration. Placing small containers of water in unusual places throughout the house can also be an enticement.

You haven't mentioned his diet at all - what types (wet/dry) is he eating...what brands/varieties?


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## gunterkat (Aug 19, 2006)

I hope your poor little baby gets better.
May the kitty guardian angels keep watch over him, and help him back to good health.


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## Stryker (Apr 2, 2007)

I've been thinking about this. Straining - and, to the point of causing a rectal prolapse, is a classic sign of constipation. When a cat is "blocked", often diarrheal fluids will seep out around the blockage. The Vet should be able to palpitate the colon - or, some type of imaging could be carried out. As well, the kitten might have ingested something that is now blocking the tract.

BTW - I can't believe that the Vet would have even mentioned euthanasia before having any sense of a diagnosis.....beyond belief! Is there a cat-only practice in your area? I think I'd be looking for a second (competent) opinion - the DVM after their names is (sadly) too often where the equality among them ends!


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## Oscar&Will (Jan 3, 2009)

Hi everyone.

Monday night/ Tues morning got worse. Will had the prolapse thing happen again at 4am. We took him to the emergency vets/ hospital and they said he is very ill and needs to be operated on straight away. They said he has an interceception (which wasn't right in the end). They were going to open him up, but then decided we needed to go to a specialised hospital which is 1.5 hours away. We drove Will there and I cried my eyes out thinking I may never see him again. The specialist there was amazing and spent a hour and a half going through the consultation. They said we are looking at £5000 at least to pay for the op that he needed. Sadly we realised he is not covered by my insurance as I took it out the day he first had diorhea. The specialist said she would do an ultra-scan for me for free. She was very sweet. I was crying my eyes out because 2 vets said I may have to put him to sleep and except that he may die. I can't put a price on my gorgeous cat. 

The ultra-scan showed that he doesn't have an interceception after all. But it did show he has thickening of the bowel. Will is now on steroids but still we don't know what is wrong with him.


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Does thickening of the bowel mean Mega-Colon? If it does, I think it can be managed to keep the cat comfortable with diet and meds...

http://www.thensome.com/megacolon.htm


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## Smirkitty (Apr 19, 2008)

Okay, megacolon just sounds *wrong*, they seriously need to make up a better name for that condition. 8O 

So, it's both good and bad news, which leaves you hanging in the wind again. I've never heard of thickening of the bowels, your vet doesn't know what causes it?


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

I know if two things that cause the bowel walls to thicken...IBD (true IBD, not the catch all phrase for cats with food sensitivities) and lymphoma. Neither of which are diseases I would necessarily jump to with a 6 month old kitten. Although the symptoms he's having are indicative of both. I don't believe Megacolon causes thickened walls, it's a motility problem. Cats with Megacolon usually have constipation issues, not diarrhea.


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