Help with a new cat

[Texas Proud]

OK, we lost our best cat Sept 1st... it was a big blow to us as she had shown no signs of any problems and then we had to let her go 10 days into her problems...


A week and a half ago we decided to get another cat... she is 7 months and a lovely small kitty... but we have a major problem we cannot solve..


She has diarrhea... not sure if she had it when we got her but we are sure that she did 2 days later when we took her to the vet (we did not take her for that)... we asked the vet and they gave us an antibiotic... that has not worked... the cat shelter said to put pumpkin in her food... she does not want to eat that... I bought some well & good for cat diarrhea and have been giving her for 2 days... and nothing...


I have added some fiber supplement to her food as I read that might help, the water soluble kind...



She has now pooed on some towels, on our carpet at the front door.. on one of my shoes and we see some small drops on the floor around the house.... we are at our wits end on what to do... we do not want her to go through life with this condition, but might have to give her back if we can not get it under control...


Any suggestions from cat lovers?

 

[MC Rider]

Back to the vet?


I have not had this issue. Cats poop in the box almost every time in my experience.
There is a problem, it is not normal. Good luck.

 

[badatmath]

Worms? Maybe test for food allergies? What was kitty eating at the shelter - maybe go back to that?

I'd go back to the vet with a sample.

 

[RetiredHappy]

Sorry to read this happening to your very young kitten. I will share my own experience with my 2 kitties. In mid-2019, the 14-year old cat started to get diarrhea. The vet saw him several times and said it was Irritable Bowel Disease and through the months, he started to get hardened lower stomach, like having a tumor which grew. Right from the start of his diarrhea, we changed food several times but it helped a bit and then it got bad again. He started to vomit. Lots of different meds to curb the vomitting and to improve appetite. In the end, we put him down in early 2020 as he could not sleep, because the tumor was causing difficulty with his breathing. He lost alot of weight and was totally miserable.

Our other healthy cat, was about 11 years old started to develop the same symptoms by the time we put down our other cat. Similar symptoms and same regiment. He was put down by the end of 2020. Up to now, we have no idea why they both died from the same disease. Was it the food, water or a contagious virus/bacteria? We threw out all rugs, cat beds, condos, toys etc as we never want another cat to suffer the same fate.

 

[MarieIG]

It sounds as if the vet needs to do a more thorough examination / testing as the antibiotics were not effective.

 

[aja8888]

Not a cat, but my 10 year old Terrier was suffering from diarrhea for a couple of months and I had difficulty getting it under control. Basically, the Vet tried all the usual stuff and then it slowed to just soft stool. Shortly after that, he started peeing blood. An ultrasound showed bladder cancer (big tumor) and I had to put him down.

During all this time, he didn't show any other symptoms and was lively and looked pain free.

 

[Turbo29]

I took in a young stray (<1yr) that had the same problem. Vet prescribed metronidazole but it didn't seem to do much to solve the problem. Vet suggested fish oil to help reduce inflammation. So for a couple of weeks I poked a hole in a Costco fish oil capsule and squirted it on his food. It finally went away. Don't know if was the metronidazole, the fish oil, the combination, or the cat just got over it.

 

[pb4uski]

As others have said, consult your vet. Perhaps a diaper until it sorts itself out?

And sorry for your loss. We lost our best cat ever a couple years ago. Still miss him but have many great memories of him.

 

[pjm-7]

Look into a product called FortiFlora. It is a digestive supplement that you add to the food everyday. I have volunteered at animal shelters over the last 20 years and it is a product with good success. When kitties have bad gut issues this helps correct that. Science Diet has prescription foods. The one for intestinal issues is ID. You might need to use both of these products to get the gut back to where it should be. I have personally used both products a time or two over the years and it has helped my kitties.

 

[Texas Proud]

Worms? Maybe test for food allergies? What was kitty eating at the shelter - maybe go back to that?

I'd go back to the vet with a sample.

I did not put down all the info on my first post...


Had a fecal sample and no parasites...


We are feeding her the same food that she had with her foster... it was wet Friskies and Purina 1 kitten food... she eats a LOT of food... surprising for a 5.5 lb cat...

 

[Texas Proud]

Sorry to read this happening to your very young kitten. I will share my own experience with my 2 kitties. In mid-2019, the 14-year old cat started to get diarrhea. The vet saw him several times and said it was Irritable Bowel Disease and through the months, he started to get hardened lower stomach, like having a tumor which grew. Right from the start of his diarrhea, we changed food several times but it helped a bit and then it got bad again. He started to vomit. Lots of different meds to curb the vomitting and to improve appetite. In the end, we put him down in early 2020 as he could not sleep, because the tumor was causing difficulty with his breathing. He lost alot of weight and was totally miserable.

Our other healthy cat, was about 11 years old started to develop the same symptoms by the time we put down our other cat. Similar symptoms and same regiment. He was put down by the end of 2020. Up to now, we have no idea why they both died from the same disease. Was it the food, water or a contagious virus/bacteria? We threw out all rugs, cat beds, condos, toys etc as we never want another cat to suffer the same fate.

Sorry to hear about your cats... We lost our 12 yo cat but still have our 11 yo... and the new kitty...



Did you ever get more kitties?

 

[Texas Proud]

Look into a product called FortiFlora. It is a digestive supplement that you add to the food everyday. I have volunteered at animal shelters over the last 20 years and it is a product with good success. When kitties have bad gut issues this helps correct that. Science Diet has prescription foods. The one for intestinal issues is ID. You might need to use both of these products to get the gut back to where it should be. I have personally used both products a time or two over the years and it has helped my kitties.

Thanks... I will see what I can get...


I am thinking of asking the foster to take her back and see if she recovers there...

 

[O2Bfree]

Maybe your kitty's problem is stress related? She could be feeling anxious and/or excited about being in a new home. Changes in food could cause it too.

The cat I grew up with had the runs a lot, though she always went in the litter box or outside. We didn't realize it at the time, but she was lactose intolerant and we often gave her milk. She had a long, healthy life though, lived to be 19.

 

[Sunset]

Hopefully OP is not feeding the kitty milk.

 

[Markola]

Yep, been there.

The cat might be stressed in the new environment. We’ve had good luck settling them down with Feliway. Get an infuser and some wipes, too, for wherever it’s favorite spot is.

And feed the kitty some high quality wet food of different flavors, like solid gold or Wellness. Ours can only handle fish varieties, nothing with chicken, so experiment. I think the dry foods might be too rich.

One of our cats periodically gets freaked out for days each fall for some reason only known to him, and poops outside of the box for a while, which is no fun at all for us. We can get him settled down with bland food, making sure the Feliway infuser hasn’t run dry and doing what we can to calm him.

Good luck!

 

[Cortina]

I did not put down all the info on my first post...


Had a fecal sample and no parasites...


We are feeding her the same food that she had with her foster... it was wet Friskies and Purina 1 kitten food... she eats a LOT of food... surprising for a 5.5 lb cat...

From this , it sounds like cat eats as much as it wants ?? (unlimited supply ?)


This to me is a NO NO. My Mog gets fed twice per day (so happens to be at 6:30 am and pm ... cat can tell the time !! . A Kitten (say - sub 6 or 9 months ?) I would probably feed 3 times in day ... BUT a set amount. It asks for more ? ...... Tough , wait till feeding time (message gets through quite quickly). Then there is of couse the issue of WHAT you feed it ... different topic.

 

[JoeWras]

Our geriatric buddy has the opposite problem of constipation. For that, the vet suggested pumpkin. He won't eat it. So I share your frustration with that. "Everyone" says cats love pumpkin. NOPE.

I echo a few of the above:
- No table scraps, no milk, no people food
- Limit the feed to 2x per day. No open feeding! Measure it out.
- Try a more hard core prescription food. Science Diet is not what it was, but isn't terrible. Stop the Friskies. We use Royal Canin cat gastro. Perhaps for you try Royal Canin Kitten Dry. Switch to dry for a while. Hey, the French know food, even cat food.

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

From this , it sounds like cat eats as much as it wants ?? (unlimited supply ?)


This to me is a NO NO. My Mog gets fed twice per day (so happens to be at 6:30 am and pm ... cat can tell the time !! . A Kitten (say - sub 6 or 9 months ?) I would probably feed 3 times in day ... BUT a set amount. It asks for more ? ...... Tough , wait till feeding time (message gets through quite quickly). Then there is of couse the issue of WHAT you feed it ... different topic.

Actually, I wouldn't recommend that with growing cats. Ours are 18 months and get as much wet food as they'll eat, and they are still skinny. It might be different if you use dry food, as that's higher in carbs, which cats aren't evolved to digest. After 2 cats in the last 15 years with diabetes (secondary to Cushing's Syndrome), we are feeding our "babies" grain-free wet food only (except for treats). They get 5-6 3oz cans a day, plus 3-5 Greenies and/or one Churu between them.
I hope you get some answers, Texas Proud; my guess is it's just stress.

 

[MarieIG]

A change in food sounds like a good idea.

When we adopted ferals we kept them in a large cage for a period of time per the advise of the shelter. There was a litter box in the cage and a smaller box within in cage in which they could hide. I would sit by the cage and speak to them and they eventually calmed down a bit. We eventually opened the cage but kept it for a while for them to use at will.

PS Do you have a smallish room in which you can confine her (with some type of a see through gate?) I recall now when I was a child we adopted two baby bunnies who went from nerves. We confined them in a small room until they calmed down and were litter box trained.

 

[JoeWras]

Actually, I wouldn't recommend that with growing cats. Ours are 18 months and get as much wet food as they'll eat, and they are still skinny. It might be different if you use dry food, as that's higher in carbs, which cats aren't evolved to digest. After 2 cats in the last 15 years with diabetes (secondary to Cushing's Syndrome), we are feeding our "babies" grain-free wet food only (except for treats). They get 5-6 3oz cans a day, plus 3-5 Greenies and/or one Churu between them.
I hope you get some answers, Texas Proud; my guess is it's just stress.

I think there's a between ground between open feeding and strict measured feeding.

 

[O2Bfree]

The cat might be stressed in the new environment. We’ve had good luck settling them down with Feliway. Get an infuser and some wipes, too, for wherever it’s favorite spot is.

What's the infuser? I Googled infuser and cat and came up with a bunch of kitty-shaped gadgets for making tea.

 

[Calico]

What's the infuser? I Googled infuser and cat and came up with a bunch of kitty-shaped gadgets for making tea.

I think maybe they meant diffuser?

https://www.amazon.com/CEVA-Animal-Health-MultiCat-Diffuser/dp/B01AVHPFDS/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=1IUN8OB2M4EAW&keywords=feliway%2Bdiffuser&qid=1698675986&sprefix=feliway%2Binfuser%2Caps%2C337&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1

 

[Charlotte]

When we adopted from the shelter about 6 years ago, our new cat had the same problem. Multiple trips to the vet, tested for parasites, antibiotics for infections, etc, with no success.

Turns out she was intolerant to the corn, wheat and soy that is in many less expensive cat foods.

We switched her to Grain Free and all was well. I’m sure the grain free food is healthier for her anyway!

 

[pacergal]

Perhaps vet visit again for lab work/blood work? Check kidneys/liver function, diabetes, heart worm, etc.
Is kitty losing weight?

Agree with prescription type food. In the past, one of our cats needed the urinary one, solved her problem of UTIs and peeing everywhere.

 

[Texas Proud]

Hopefully OP is not feeding the kitty milk.

My wife did the first 2 days she was here... I say this caused the problem... I just do not know why it has not cleared up...


To other posts... the cat seems really happy here... she is running around and playing, she comes to us to get pets (a little less now as we are forcing medicine down her throat)... and getting along with our old cat...


It could be stress as we never know what is happening, but she does not seem to show any...