# My cat has diarrhea - new to forum



## Kittygirl44 (Jul 10, 2006)

Hi everyone
I have been lurking on this site for awhile and it has been very helpful. My cat had problems with crystals and bladder infections a couple of months back and there were tons of helpful posts.
Anyways, for 2 nights my cat has had very runny bowel movements. He is not going more than normal, but just when he does go, it is runny. Aside from this he is acting normal, eating lots, drinking fine. His urine output may be a tiny bit less than usual but I assume that this is from the bit of fluid loss from the diarrhea. 
Two days before this diarrhea started he had a couple bouts of vomiting with furballs that stopped after he got a really big fur ball up.
He has also been on new food for about 2 weeks now without any problems (he is on hill's c/d to prevent crystals).
Does anyone have any suggestions as to why he has this diarrhea now? he's an indoor cat and doesnt get any human food. Though he has eaten garbage in the past, all of our garbage cans are closed so it is unlikely that he got into anything. Aside from the bladder problems 2 months ago, he has always been very healthy and had very firm stools. He is 13 years old.

THanks everyone!


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## nanook (Jun 12, 2005)

Hi Kittygirl and welcome!
Sorry noone's answered yet.
It could be the change in food. Is it dry or wet? Older cats can be more sensitive to diet changes and some suddenly don't tolerate dry as well as they used to. Since he's had crystals, you may want to read the sticky at the top of the page "Why canned is better than an all dry diet"
You can also try giving him a little (1-2 teasp. in his food) of pumpkin. Just plain, pureed pumpkin. 
That being said, if it doesn't clear up by tomorrow (that would be 3 days?) I'd bring him in for a check up.
Hope he feels better soon!


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

I agree with that. The timing between the introduction of the new food and the runny poops is suspicious. You could try switching back to the food he's used to, just for a short while, just to see if that clears it up. If it does, you know what the problem is. If it doesn't, you know you've got to see the vet again.  

If it gets worse or he shows other signs of being ill, then don't wait.


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## Lisa 216 (Oct 25, 2004)

Welcome, kittygirl  

I agree with Nanook and Tim -- the food seems to be the most obvious culprit. My thoughts are that either the new food doesn't agree with your cat, or you switched over to it too abruptly.

Can you be more specific about the cat's previous and current diets? Is the Hill's dry or wet?


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## Kittygirl44 (Jul 10, 2006)

Thanks for all the replies!!
He had another bout of diarrhea last night, at the time he would normally have his "regular" poop. He is still acting completely normal and eating good.
Anyways, he was on Hill's s/d for almost 2 months before this to clear up the crystals. He was only on the dry because he would NOT eat the s/d soft food. With this he had no problems, maybe even a bit on the constipated side.
Then I would say about 3 weeks ago we started slowly switching the food over to the c/d and this took about a week. and now he is completely on c/d.
I started out giving him mostly dry food, and a bit of soft at night (he doesnt eat much soft but will have about a quarter of a can sometimes). THen I didnt have any soft for a couple of days (4 i think) and this diarrhea started before I bought more soft, so about 3 days into having no soft food. I had since bought more soft food and he eats a bit of it as usual. Even though giving him soft food might sound counterproductive if he has diarrhea, i'm sort of concerned that he is losing fluid so i figure the soft food is giving him a bit more.
I think i'm going to buy the s/d again and see if that helps. I'm also going to call my vet and see what they have to say.
Thanks again anyone. i'll let you know how it goes. if you have anymore suggestions that would also be great!!!!


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

Yes, please let us know how it goes.


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## nanook (Jun 12, 2005)

Actually, you're right, he could be a little dehydrated from the diarrhea, so the wet food is a very good idea.
Keep us posted.


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## Kittygirl44 (Jul 10, 2006)

Well I have an update on my kitty
We just got back from the vet and he checks out ok. She seems to think that his new food is higher in fat than he is used to and that it is upsetting his digestive system. So he'll be slowly switching to a lower fat food. She also said that everything else about him is good! They are also screening his feces to check for any bacteria/viruses/parasites, so we'll know for sure about those in a day or 2. but she doesnt think that it is any of those either.
If the diarrhea persists even after the food change, she said that we have to start considering some metabolic problems like kidney problems, but she doubts this because usually the cat with this problem will lose weight and appear quite ill, while my kitty is healthy in every other way.

So anyways, I'm fairly happy, and hopefully his diarrhea will start to clear up soon and then i'll know that everything is ok.


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

Thanks for the update. :wink: Hopefully this problem will be solved soon.


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## nanook (Jun 12, 2005)

I just thought of something else. Even if the fecal tests come out clear, ask your vet about giardia and coccidia. They are often the cause of unexplained diarrhea and don't always show up on the tests.


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## Kittygirl44 (Jul 10, 2006)

I know the vet is testing for giardia, but she feels this is unlikely as he was on flagyl a month or 2 ago for the bladder infection. and I guess giardia is treated with this. I'm not sure about coccidia though. I'll ask when she calls with the giardia results. I was just wondering how else to tell if the cat has these if they dont always show up on the tests? 
Thanks for the tips and advice everyone. They have definitely made me feel better!


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## Lisa 216 (Oct 25, 2004)

If it's just the food, that is good news  Let us know how the tests turn out.


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## Kittygirl44 (Jul 10, 2006)

Hi everyone
Just wanted to let you all know that my kitty is better now! All of his tests came back negative and after a couple of days of adding more of his new food in (the lower in fat one, since the vet thought that maybe his intestines were sensitive to higher fat levels) his diarrhea is gone!! YAY!
I'm a very happy Mommy! He's a very happy kitty!
Thank-you for all your help and support.


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

That's great!!


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