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When I adopted Karma kitty from the shelter, he was suffering with soft stool. First, I tried canned pumpkin, as the vet had recommended it for our dog in the past. Karma gave it a try but was not too impressed.
Next, again on the recommendation of our vet, we started giving him about a tablespoon (he is a good size cat) of plain low or nonfat yogurt each morning. That did the trick. Now after he has given his kibbles fair attention, he sits and waits for his yogurt.
Please note that some pets may be lactose intolerant and the yogurt may cause its own set of gastric problems. I hope that this works for your furry friend.
By R Barbara from Bremerton, WA
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
We have a one year old cat that has severe diarrhea. The vet said there are no worms, but really didn't offer any good advice on how to cure her. Does anyone out there know of what I could give her to help? She poops all over the house, and I'm talking like 10 times a day! Thank you.
Live active culture plain yogurt. The cat will probably like it, but if not, smear a little on the cat's paw or mouth and the cat will lick it off. Also, I took my cat (who is sitting in my lap now) to several vets before a friend who is a vet in another state said "he's allergic to his food". Try Hill's Science Diet. Also, and most important, I would try another vet, because your vet should take serious diarrhea in a cat very seriously. The cat can easily get dehydrated and need emergency care.
I have 10 cats & 4 dogs and this works for them...steam or cook down a carrot in a bit of water. Save the water-you can add it(a tsp. or 2) to broth or to canned food. You can mash up a bit of the carrot into some wet fod too. This is a remedy from an herbalist I know. You should also add some acidopholis(from health food store) to the food. This helps balance the good and bad bacteria in the gut and intestine.
You can grate a red apple and let it turn brown and feed to the kitty, this should stop the problem.
Please DON'T ever give your cats (or dogs) cow's milk. I've heard that goat's milk isn't bad, but I KNOW that cow's milk will definately cause diarrhea in them. Just a thought.
I have heard people give dogs with that problem
teaspoons of canned pumpkin not the one with
the spice for pumpkin pie just plain canned pumpkin. Hope kitty feels better soon.
The suggestions on diet previously given are a good start. If there is no improvement, find a DIFFERENT Vet. Your other Vet should have been much more helpful and concerned about you pet.
FIND ANOTHER VET THAT CARES !!!
Find another vet, for sure, but in the meantime you can give a little peptobismol; also feeding the cat rice can help, since this is bland .....the yogurt idea is a good one...it will restore what's called the cat's 'normal flora' ....the good bugs in the cat's intestinal track that help the animal digest. And make sure the cat gets enough to drink- diarrhea and vomiting can quickly cause dehydration.
I have posted here before, but I will note again....I have had this as an ongoing problem for over a year with a cat I was given. He takes 1/2 of an immodium every other day and then his diareah will clear up for a few days, sometimes a week and then start again, and I will give him another 1/2 a pill and we start the cycle all over again.
Regarding the post about giving your cat Pepto Bismol for diarrhea, DON'T EVER GIVE A CAT PEPTO BISMOL!!
we have a kitten who has had bouts with diarrhea. We tried the yogurt first, and now have him on the science diet ID. that seems to keep him in check.
DO NOT GIVE YOUR CAT MILK - that causes loose bowels and watery stools. Give her/him dry cat food and water. no people food.
I wouldn't use pumpkin as I used it as a stool softener for my border collie after she had colon surgery.
To stop the symptoms, (not necessarily the underlying cause), ask your vet for a prescription of FLAGYL. I give it for short periods of time, while treating the underlying cause of the diarrhea.
These other diarrhea remedies work for my Persian cat...who has IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease), which causes the diarrhea due to colon/ intestinal disorders:
- Active Cultures in Plain Yogurt, is a probiotic. Mountain High and Dannon Activia Plain yogurt are good brands with plenty of these active cultures.
- Purina FortiFlora 30 day packets are also very good (they have the active cultures found in yogurt and are sometimes easier to administer)....although a bit more expensive, approx $18 - $25. You can buy them from your vet or on eBay
- Prozyme for pets is an effective enzymatic "prebiotic" which works well in conjunction with the "probiotic" active cultures found in yogurt. Great for colon health and your cat will absorb more nutrients from his/her food. The price is around $20 and can be bought at Petco as well as online. The powder will last approx. 3 - 4 months. www.prozymestore.com/
- As an alternative, AFTER your cat is stablized, (since this also has some fiber in it), you can also try adding a little Inulin powder (1 tsp.) daily to the plain yogurt cultures, or to wet cat food. Inulin is also a "prebiotic" which encourages the growth of healthy intestinal flora. First, you must replace that flora with the "probiotic" active cultures found in the plain yogurt. Inulin can be found in food shops for humans for about $6 - $8, an approximate 4 month supply.
My 6 cats have had diarrhea off and on for the past couple of months. They were treated with antibiotics with no relief or improvement. I gave them plain pumpkin and it seemed to clear it up right away. After slowly introducing their food back, mixing with the pumpkin, they seemed to not have a problem anymore. It only recently started back up again. You should have a cat box for each cat you have or if not have 1 for every 2. The feces/diarrhea is spread to every other cat when they urinate/deficate and the virus or whatever the other cat has is spread to the next cat. Just a suggestion. Always make sure they have lots of water so they don't get dehydrated. Anyways the pumpkin works really well for our 6 kittens. It is worth a try.
Editor's Note: Danielle, make sure their food is not on the recall lists.
I have a 15 year old with the same problem. Go to Vitalityscience.com and purchase luxolite and also a product called feline comfort. They totally stand behind their product and if it doesn't work they actually refund your money. Unfortunately it did not work for my cat. Good luck
it is not necessary to use pharmaceuticals on your feline every time they have problems. water is an amazing cure, withhold food until they stabilize, try to figure out if their diet needs to change or if you changed it too drastically.
Someone reccomended Gatorade on another site. No way! introducing sugar and corn syrup is weird & wrong.
organic, pure, plain whole-milk yogurt in small amounts (no fruit flavors- no corn syrup!) is therapeutic for the intestinal flora & settles my cat's symptoms quickly. No processed cheese, no processed human foods! Whoever said cow's milk is bad- is only partly right. live active cultures are good, a bowl of milk is not.
Cat's with Bad Diarrhea can have it because they have the "Giardia" parasite. This can be creared up with Metronitizale. It's way more common than people think. Although your cat with hate this medicine, it does work.
My cat had diarrhea for a whole month and the vet tried numerous things but nothing worked. I then tried pumpkin, and the diarrhea was gone instantly. Pumpkin only treats the symptom of diarrhea though, and diarrhea is often caused by something serious so a visit to the vet is essential when it lasts more than 48 hours. (The first thing they advise is that you don't give food for 24 hours).
It's not a good idea to give pumpkin on a permanent basis - not because it's bad for the health but because it masks the sign (i,e diarrhea) of serious illness.
Please note that pumpkin works for both diarrhea and constipation. You must use 100% pure pumpkin which is difficult to find in UK shops. I get mine online and use Libby's 100% pure pumpkin (make sure you don't get the pumpkin pie filling as it's mixed with other things). Add two teaspoons to the food twice a day.
I can't stress enough that you need to get a diagnosis from a vet when your cat has diarrhea for more than 48 hours.
If your cat has an imbalance of good/bad bacteria in his gut that can cause diarrhea. You will then need to give pro-biotics to balance it out, and yogurt does work for this. However don't give dairy, give plain soya yogurt which should be available at your local health food shop. I hope this information is helpful to someone. Laura
I want to say something about cats and milk. First of all, my cat had diarrhea for 18 months; I started to give him buttermilk and it seemed to be working, this was the first week of the problem, but the vet had a coniption fit, and I stopped; I thought it might kill him or something. So for 18 months I wiped his behind, poor guy, and poor me, and finally I thought: the only thing that ever worked was buttermilk. So I bought some, and gave him all he wanted, and in three days he was over the diarrhea. In addition, I've found if he wants milk, let him drink it. All cats are apparently not the same; it used to keep him regular (now he has megacolon so its not the same). He knew when he needed it; that's the thing. If your cat gets gas from the milk, give him a little bit of infant gas-x in his water. Or directly into the mouth. Works wonders for my cat (who has to use Lactolose every day, which causes gas.) Live and learn; wish I knew then what I know now.
I have had Persians for 30 yrs and just found out something that has completely cured my boy!
I stopped using food that contains corn/wheat. Chicken soup for cats is what worked for my very flat-faced black beauty. No more diarrhea or tugging at bad hair mats. No more weeping eyes to wipe out either. Plus, he's more social. An unbelievable difference in this cat and how I wish I had known this years ago.
My cat had bad diarrhea for 10 months. $2000 in vet bills. I finally got it to stop with a combination of:
Pumpkin pie filling (fiber)
Baby food (beef, chicken, pork)
Fortiflora (healthy bacteria for intestines)
My cat had bad diarrhea for 10 months. $2000 in vet bills. I finally got it to stop with a combination of:
Pumpkin pie filling (fiber)
Baby food (beef, chicken, pork)
Fortiflora (healthy bacteria for intestines)
Both my cats had Giardia, and had diarrhea for months. Metronidazole was not effective in our situation. Had several rounds of this, & did not knock it out. Two rounds of Panacur was successful! Thought it would never end! Giardia will not show up in a regular stool sample test for parasites. You have to ask for it! Looking back at symptoms of Giardia, I think a previous long term cat of mine had Giardia his whole life, thought it was food allergies!! Fortiflora made their symptoms worse, when they had Giardia! Now they get it daily and love it sprinkled on their food. My cats eat grain free food only and thriving! Hope sharing my nightmare is helpful to someone!
These all seem to be a lot of good ideas about how to remedy this problem in cats. I have tried the vet's medication of lomotil with limited results. I even tried immodium on one cat without any better luck. The lomotil pill he prescribed only worked on one tiny kitten! My cats absolutely gag at the taste of pet pectillin or milk of magnesia. I had better luck with a pill of milk of magnesia for a cat with a bad worm.
My cats have diarrhea on and off at random, to this one and to that one, with two chronic cases of mud-like stools that don't really bother the two tomcats afflicted. I read that otc fiber drinks or pills for people might fix them. I have never found a really effective cure for diarrhea and my cats tend to have to tough it out for 3 or 4 days everytime they get ill. Thanks for the new possibilities to add to my list. And does anyone know if squash has the same properties as the pumpkin pack? My cats might eat baby food with squash in it.
Also, Gatorade is for dogs and men. For rehydration there are many otc electrolyte/rehydrators at various pet medication sites on the internet that I want to try on my kitty crowd. I have been using the Comforts brand of pedialyte mixed with honey for a few years and most of my cats do well on this. Puppies really like the mix.
This picture is of my cat Zoeball that has had a gravy bottom for 2 years now! He could use a real remedy that really satisfies him.
My cat gets really bad diarrhea several times a year. He has a really sensitive stomach. Certain foods and any kind of antibiotics will tear his tummy up. My mom has a home remedy book for pets and told me to try this. Its awesome! works every time for my cat. (You can use this for cats and dogs). You boil a boneless chicken breast, cut or shred it. Boil white rice, the real kind, not the instant. Mix them together with a pinch of salt. Take their regular food away and give them this for about two days. If they don't eat it when you first give it to them, don't worry, they will. ( When I first gave this to my cat it took him about 2 hours, before he would touch it, cause it wasn't his usual food). I also give him plain Pedialyte in a syringe at least twice a day, to keep him from getting dehydrated. My cat won't drink Pedialyte, so I have to give it to him orally. It's really easy to do it this way. You can buy a syringe from the vet for around 2 dollars. This is a very cheap and easy remedy. I don't know why, but this really works. Hope this helps.
Thanks for all the ideas. I have some strays I've been taking care of. A young mother cat had kittens and they've all been in my house for about 7 weeks. I'm going to give the yogurt and pumpkin a try.
He is two years old, goes once a day, but his poo is like pudding. Just his daily duty. He is active in all other aspects, tearing around house and all. He weighs 9 to 10 pounds, has been dewormed and changed food multiple times, blood work is fine. The vet has no clue. I will add he came from Korea as a kitten, but other than that is fine. So I am totally lost as what to do. Is there an over the counter human treatment that can be tried, without harming him?
By Marie from Savannah
You can try adding a little regular, plain Metamucil (or store brand equivalent) to his food. My vet advised me to do this years ago, when my dog had diarrhea for a while. It helps firm up loose stool and soften hard stool, so it's good for both problems. It sounded illogical when the vet first told me this, but it does work. Be sure to use the regular type, not the white powder type, and not orange flavored. Good luck!
Hello,
I hope I can help you. My cat had the same problem for several months. Our Veterinarian did all the usual tests and they were all negative. Dr. Hinkle, our Vet is one of the most knowlegable Doctors we know and we trust her with the health of our pets. Our Dr. did some research and prescribed the following for our pet. it is called
RX Biotic
This holistic medication works great. It says on the label that it: Helps maintain normal, healthy intestinal micro-flora and normalize bowel ecology. We used this for a few days and our pets stools were back to normal. We use it every day in his food. We just sprinkle the amount for his body weight in his food, and he is now just fine. You can ask your Veterinarian for you can buy it online through Amazon, the cost is about $25.00, and it lasts a really long time. I hope this helps you. Good luck
I need help. My cat Lola was a stray. She was not quite a year old when she had 6 kittens. I took her in. Before she had the babies, she had explosive diarrhea. Even after having the babies, the diarrhea continued. We also found out that she had worms. By the time kittens were 8 weeks, I had dewormed her twice and had given her 2 types of antibiotics.
She still continues with the diarrhea. Last week, it was like a big pile of bloob! Not super running but like a big pile of cow poop. So these past few days, I have feed her nothing but chicken and rice. Now she is dripping light yellow stool with rice in it and has a numerous amount of poop with rice in it. But it almost looks like bile. I plan on getting blood work tomorrow, but does anyone have any suggestions?
By Maria B
I am glad you are getting your Vet. involved. I hope he has good answers for you. Some cats cannot handle cooked foods and have diarrhea until switched to raw foods. It may be worth a try for your kitty. A veterinarian has written extensively on it at www.catinfo.org. I use her recipe for my cat who has epilepsy. It keeps his seizures to a minimum. He has been on it for 5 years and is very healthy. There are many recipes on the net but hers are nutritionally balanced and carefully thought out by someone who knows how to do it. Good luck with your kitty.
If your current Veterinarian can not rectify this problem seek a second opinion ASAP in the best interest of the poor animal as this prolonged situtation needs immediate attention. Good luck keep us all informed.
Yes, talk to your vet. But in the meantime you can give her small doses of Pepto Bismol. No more than 1/2 tsp every 6 hours. It works on cats and dogs just like it does with people and does not hurt them.
About 20 years ago, one of my dogs had diarrhea & my vet recommended putting some Metamucil in his food, as it helps with both constipation and loose stools. The fiber in the Metamucil helps loose stools to firm up & hard stools to soften. You might try a half teaspoon per meal to start with, for a cat. I don't remember the dose for the dog, but he was large. Good luck! I hope you find the answer soon, because this poor cat will never be really healthy until this stops. Please let us know how she does.
My 3 1/2 month kitten, Sockzy, had gotten into the dog food about 3 days ago and since then he has had soft stool for about 2 days and today he has diarrhoea. I'm really worried about him :(
By Jodie L.
Call the vet and ask what you should do to keep the kitten hydrated like adding Pedialyte in water and how much if that is safe to do.
Usually a change in food causes diahrrea, so it's a symptom from your kitten having gotten into the dog food. In a few days the stool should be normal after the dog food passes out of its system, but just to be on the safe side, I'd still call a vet to make inquiries. The kitten needs to stay hydrated.
Please secure your dog food where the cat can't eat it. Phone the only professional person who can help you called a veterinarian your poor little cat needs immediate attention.
This is a page about remedies for a kitten with diarrhea. Consulting with your veterinarian is advisable when you have concerns about your pet's health.
