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The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

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Original poster

Diarrhea - bit panicked tbh

24 replies

BibiBlocksberg · 26/09/2012 20:35

Was fussing Tigger on the sofa about 10 mins ago (he lies on his side and tramples and purrs) when the most almighty stench hit my nostrils.

Thought he'd farted at first but when the smell dispersed and then came back with a vengeance I finally noticed that some runny poo had leaked from his butt

Thank god for leather sofa's and easily washable throw!

First time this has happened with either one of my cats and just not sure what to do about it.

Can't take him to the vet til payday on friday and he seems normal other than the leakage - still has his voracious appetite, drinks, plays, goes out, demands fuss, sleeps.

Have done the dehydration test at the scruff of the neck and skin pings back quickly so don't think he's short of liquid yet and have found no other bits of leakage around his favourite sitting/lying spots around the house.

Should I take him off food altogether for 24 hours or feed something really bland (he won't touch cooked plain chicken with a barge pole btw)

Thanks in advance for any hints!

OP posts:

issey6cats · 26/09/2012 22:30

i would keep him off food for 24 hours and then introduce bland food over the next couple of days, would he eat lightly scrambled eggs , try this for first day then add some chicken and plain boiled rice the next day and then maybe sensitive diet cat food from pets at home and see how he goes, hes probably just eaten something outside he shouldnt have if hes still runny by friday then take him to the vets it will probably be a bug of some sort

cozietoesie · 27/09/2012 05:08

As issey said, probably ate something he shouldn't have - although I'm a little surprised that he didn't know it was about to happen and head to his tray or outside. Still - we can all be taken really short.

Off food for 24 and then back on to a bland bland diet until normal service is clearly resumed. Plenty of water around the place so that he can drink as usual.

Good luck with him.

cozietoesie · 27/09/2012 05:36

PS - he may not touch plain chicken with a barge pole now but wait and see what happens when he's been starved for 24 hours!

You'd best keep him in while you're starving him by the way - just in case he goes raiding for food elsewhere.

Lonecatwithkitten · 27/09/2012 12:51

Current advice has changed starving is no longer considered a good thing. Research has shown that the best thing to get the gut back to normal fast is to keep putting food in. Regular food is fine. If the diarrhoea last more than 24 hours or cat seems unwell then it should see vet.

cozietoesie · 27/09/2012 16:02

Ah - that's interesting, Lonecat. Trouble with that is that starving for a short defined period actually works. What's the basis for the research?

Original poster

BibiBlocksberg · 27/09/2012 21:22

Thank you all, there has been no more leakage of poop since last night but I have since discovered a hard lump the size of a large grape about a quarter of the way down his tail from the bottom (if you don't check them over inch by inch every day, sigh!)

OP posts:

Original poster

BibiBlocksberg · 27/09/2012 21:26

....twitchy fingers posted too soon - he keeps licking the lump every few minutes tonight and will only settle on a soft cushion (should have got him one of those inflatable rings humans suffering with 'bottom complaints' I think :))

Better get him looked at by the vet tomorrow, not fair to have him in this much discomfort.

Impeccable timing as ever since October is a long month money wise.....

OP posts:

Lonecatwithkitten · 27/09/2012 22:37

Cozietosie Research has shown that the gut returns to full normality 12 hours faster with feeding through than with starving. Often with starving the diarrhoea stops due to lack of gut content and restarts when food is first added back in. Modern veterinary advice is not to starve. Even to the extent that we feed dogs that have abdominal surgery the moment they can eat now.

devilinside · 27/09/2012 22:48

definitley wouldn't starve him, my elderly cat recently had the vet in a panic when her glucose level dropped to 1 after a bout of diarrhoea. They were worried she would go into a coma at that level, fortunately she scoffed some fish as soon as we were back from the vets. Hate to think what would have happened otherwise

cozietoesie · 28/09/2012 08:09

Thanks for that Lone and devil. Useful to know - although it's been some time since I had to deal with diarrhoea.

Any guidance on types of food to use? (Or should the animal's normal type of food be OK?)

mrsnec · 28/09/2012 08:27

Our cat is very fussy with what she eats. Only the Whiskas oh so range but when she had an upset stomach our vet sold us a small bag of some kind of science diet that settles their stomach. It cost about 8 quid for a few days supply but she actualy ate it and was fine afterwards.

Original poster

BibiBlocksberg · 30/09/2012 19:02

Well, we're just back from the emergency vet as tigger looked at deaths door about an hour ago (third eyelids up on both eyes, almost completely covering his eyes, floppy, unresponsive)

As soon as I'd paid the huuuuuge bill and got him home he ate like a horse, looked normal again and wondered outside.

Arrrrrgh!

OP posts:

cozietoesie · 30/09/2012 19:06

What did the vet say was wrong with him/what treatment did he get?

(Glad he's OK now.)

Original poster

BibiBlocksberg · 30/09/2012 20:14

Annoyingly, she couldn't really tell.

No dehydration, temperature is normal, lump on his tail diagnosed as a possible cyst, gave him an antibiotic, a steroid to help settle his stomach and a brown paste that I have to force down him twice a day.

Feel torn between thinking 'you idiot' for panicking and taking him but it's preferable to finding tigger dead on the doorstep

If that did happen I'd wish I'd gotten him seen no matter the cost so I'd rather eat beans for a month than see him suffer/wish I could turn back the clock :)

OP posts:

cozietoesie · 30/09/2012 20:20

No - you had to take him of course. Keep an eye on him for a little bit as well. (As she couldn't tell the malady.)

Original poster

BibiBlocksberg · 30/09/2012 20:40

Thank you cozie, the reassurance feels good tonight :)

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Samvet · 30/09/2012 20:51

To stress -NEVER starve a cat. They are not dogs, where even there advice is changing. Cats have a totally different metabolism to dogs and starvation even for short periods can lead to a serious liver condition (hepatic lipidosis). So everyone who posted this above - this is incorrect and dangerous advice. It may apply to cases of osmotic diarrhoea (e.g the Labrador who has eaten a dead thing) but cats must never be starved. Never ever. If your vet ever tells you this, they are out of date and an idiot.

cozietoesie · 30/09/2012 20:54

Thanks for that, samvet. I have to say that this was advice which I got from a previous vet via vet assistant - and wrongly thought was still current. Maybe the vets on this forum could do some writing to professional journals to ensure that the message is clearly understood at all levels?

Original poster

BibiBlocksberg · 30/09/2012 21:17

Yes, i was advised to starve tigger for 24hrs by the out of hours vet tonight.

Anyone who knows him would realise that starving this cat is impossible so glad to see that up to date advice is not to do that.

He's still eating and drinking as normal, just lick lick licking his bottom still and the third eyelids partially up.

Strangely enough, the licking stops when I give him lots of fuss and cuddles - if it wasn't for his ill looking eyes id almost think it was over grooming/attention seeking.

OP posts:

Lonecatwithkitten · 30/09/2012 21:35

Samvet and I obviously attend the same CPD .

cozietoesie · 30/09/2012 22:03

LOL - looks like it! But you can see that that's worrying. If there's clear latest evidence that starving is not good - and yet Bibi and I have been given the same recent veterinary advice.........well. Either the latest advice is not being accepted by vets in the field for some reason; or it's not making it out there. And for those of us who rely upon veterinary advice in times of difficulty that poses a problem. What do we do?

cozietoesie · 30/09/2012 22:10

Sorry - my comment should refer to all developments and not just the issue of starving of course.

Lonecatwithkitten · 01/10/2012 13:00

We publish on our website all the recent CPD our vets and nurses have attended. So for me I have done two days orthopaedics, one day emergency Medicine, chronic pain in cats workshop, workshop on cardiology, my clinical coach standardisation meeting and about 2 hours additional reading per week.

Original poster

BibiBlocksberg · 02/10/2012 20:37

After a short break yesterday tigger is back to constant licking today :(

Plus now his bottom is red raw with what looks like a skin tag protruding from his bottom.

Scared its a prolapse now (thank you google!)

I'm going to have to take him back to the vet tomorrow even though that really will mean beans on toast for me for the rest of the month.

Poor baby, pretty sure the 24 hour antibiotic from the emergency vet has worn off and he needs more. Knew I should have insisted on the long lasting two week one :(

He's sleeping on his favourite cushion atm - at least that gives his bottom a rest.

Sorry to go on - thanks for listening :)

OP posts:

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