I hope I've put this in the right forum, if not, please feel free to move it

I'm going to try to apply brevity to this, as I could write an epic, so if you'd like more context, please don't hesitate to ask, if you feel it would be helpful.

On 19th December we acquired a 3.5 year old British short hair ex-breeding queen from a breeder in our area. She is a tiny little cat, who we're informed didn't get on well having kittens (she screamed through the births of her 2 litters apparently), and was also the lowest in the pecking order at the breeder's house, meaning she got hassled and bullied by the other cats.

She came to us with what the breeder described as "a bit of diarrhoea", although it now turns out she'd had diarrhoea for 2 weeks prior to us getting her (not disclosed at the time). The breeder also provided us with 3 doses of Pro Kolin to use.

We administered the Pro Kolin over the weekend, but the diarrhoea didn't improve, although we did take into consideration the upheaval/trauma that coming to a new house, new sounds/smells and new people could have on her.

On the Monday we took her to our vet, who wormed her, and gave us some more Pro Kolin and some metronidazole (flagyl suspension), in case the diarrhoea was being caused by a bacterial infection.

This dear little pussy cat found us administering the medication very distressing, and we weren't getting much of the flagyl down her, so we went back to the vet, who gave us some more metronidazole in tablet form (broken into quarters) so we could be sure she was getting it into her system. The diarrhoea continued throughout this week, apart from one day when she produced a fantastic log - it then went straight back to really runny diarrhoea of varying colours.

There was no improvement, and on New Year's Eve it was a diarrhoea disaster in the room we're keeping her in, when people at the back of us let off a long series of fireworks like Chinese firecrackers which frightened her to death.

We then thought that maybe all this upheaval and stress, including having us grab her 2/3 times a day to medicate her, might be the problem, so we decided to stop all medication for a few days, and keep her totally quiet and stress free - she slept most of the time, however, the diarrhoea continued and she started defecating anywhere but the litter tray. We've adjusted the environment for her now, so hopefully will be able to address this part of the problem.

The big problem we're facing is that the insurance won't cover the existing condition of diarrhoea, so we're going to have to foot any bills relating to its treatment - please know, this doesn't mean we won't get her treated, but it would help if we could be a little strategic about how we spend our money.

We're accepting that at some point we will probably need to take a fecal sample to the vet for testing, but wondered if it's worth carrying on with some other strategies before doing this (cost £90.00 odd).

We've decided to start giving her Pro Kolin again, which she seems to be accepting quite well, and she is reasonably perky in herself, although she is a very, understandably, vigilant pussy cat who seems to get anxious very easily, although she has a purr like a traction engine, and squeaks with pleasure when we go in to see her first thing in the morning.

The diet we have her on is Waltham's Sensitivity dry (she came from a totally wet diet of Whiskers etc) and also have some Hills dry, but don't want to introduce too many new things too her.

Is it worth us sticking with the Pro Kolin for another week, and also ensuring she has as much quiet, stress free time as possible, so she can get used to her environment and us in a better way, or should we just get on with taking a sample to the vet?

Well that turned into an epic anyway (heh) and is a bit of a 'how long is a piece of string' question, but any advice, thoughts, ideas or experiences greatly appreciated!

Thanks for your time

BB

Whilst still keeping her on the sensitivity diet I would perhaps try her on some cooked chicken (to which you could add a little boiled rice) and or cooked white fish.

Also bearing in mind the stress side of things invest in a couple of Feliway plug in diffusers as this may help her feel more secure and it may be an idea to introduce an additional litter tray.

I am sure someone else may come up with something more helpful and I do hope you manage to get this little girl better. It may perhaps just be a matter of time before her stomach settles down and you may need to try a different brand of the sensitivity food but I wouldn't change it just yet.

Bless you for taking her on.

Do keep us posted as to how she gets on.

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Kaz

For kittens, joy is for the asking and smiles are for the giving

Thanks for that - we weren't sure if we'd be introducing too many new things in too short a space of time, but will give that a go.

I think this is a good idea too. We've been spraying Feliway in her Glastonury/pyramid, and around part of the room. We didn't realise they do a plug in, so think that might be a great idea.

We introduced a second litter tray this morning, and have placed it in a less exposed location in the room, so fingers crossed

This is the thing, she's had so many changes in the last 2 weeks, it's difficult to try and work out what's at the root cause of this, without potentially stressing her more, and we don't just want to throw money at tests and stuff, if all she really needs is plenty of time and space to readjust to her new home. As it is, she's currently fast asleep in her Glasto tent, having snaffled a bit of tea and having a little bit of fuss, all on her terms.

We're suckers for an undercat, and I will let you know how she's doing!

Thanks for your response - appreciated!

BB

What was different 24-12 hours before she produced the 'log'? Can you remember?

It might be worth getting back in touch with the breeder. Assure her that you are not trying to give back the cat but try to find out if this has been a recurring problem or whether it has just materialised. Alternatively you could I suppose get in touch with the cat's previous vet for a medical history (or ask your vet to do that.....).

Whiskas isn't considered the best of cat foods. Cats need a high meat protein diet without added vegetable or carbohydrate bulking which a lot of the cheaper foods, including dry, include. It might be that the cat is intolerant to one of the bulking agents.

I am pretty sure that one of the forum members had a cat who suffered bouts of diarrhoea and she gradually changed him to high meat protein wet and raw diet combo. This meant firmer stools and far less smelly ones too.

Good question, and curiously, it was the day after we'd taken her to the vet Prior to this (3 days in total) we'd given her a bit of wet food mixed in with a dry Hills for adult cats, on the first evening, and following morning, then just Hills dry food between then and her producing the log.

We moved onto a sensitivity dry food about 6 days in, as we thought it might help, but perhaps there is something which doesn't agree with her in the Waltham's (?) Do we need to go back to a mixed wet/dry diet and perhaps try the Hills instead of the Waltham's?

We've been avoiding making too many changes in the last few days, as we'll completely lose track of what we're doing - perhaps I need to keep notes!

Or perhaps we should continue to mix a wet food with dry food - our other cat has never eaten anything other than dry food (won't even touch cooked chicken etc lol) so I'm not clued up on what wet foods are good - any guidance?

We've done this and had the most spectacularly defensive response from her, which is unsurprising, given she wasn't honest with us about this pussy cat having had diarrhoea for 2 weeks prior to us collecting her. She is also yet to provide us with her medical/innoculation history, and is currently ignoring my emails and not answering the phone!

I have to say, we were very surprised that the breeder said she feeds all her cats Whiskers, and wet Whiskers only - although given the conditions at her home, it's not entirely surprising - I may start a thread about the conditions at her house, but don't want to 'offside' anyone

I'll have a search about and see if I can find it.

Thanks for your time in answering!

BB

First of all, congratulations on your new cat! Would love to see a picture if you have one to share.

If I were you, I'd do the following:

1. Find out how & when the diarrhea started at the breeder
2. Find out previous medical history to help rule out any illness
3. Change diet to the most digestible of all: raw meat. Use chicken meat (95%) and chicken liver (5%), and sprinkle a little (half teaspoon or less) crushed eggshells on top for calcium. Feed nothing but that, twice a day. If she won't eat raw, boil it slightly.
4. Take fecal sample to vet for checking, just in case
5. Get Feliway plug-ins
6. Let her have as much peace and quiet as possible
7. Consider changing her litter as she may not like the one you're currenly using - some are hard on their paws

I would be wary of keeping a cat with diarrhea (dehydrating) on a dry diet (even more dehydrating) for any period of time. If you can't/won't feed raw, at least change the dry food for a good quality wet food such as Porta21 or Applaws Kitten. Both can be bought from online shops such as Zooplus.

And, should you be interested in reading more about cat nutrition, this is a good place to start: Feeding Your Cat** Know the Basi

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Fit for the sunshine so it followed her, a happy tempered bringer of the best, out of the worst.

This happened to my dog, and it was her diet, and ever since then she has been on a vet diet only food since she was 5 months old. Good luck and I am hoping that things well be sorted out soon, fur hugs!

Thanks for the replies everyone - it's given us plenty to think about and, as a result, we may have had a small breakthrough this evening.

We thought back and realised that amongst the many changes she's had in the last 2 weeks, we've moved her from a diet that we think was almost totally wet, to one that is totally dry; in about 3 days - Hmmmmmmm @ self!

This evening we mixed a little wet food (not Whiskers lol) with some Hills dry, and immediately saw a pussy cat with a real enthusiasm for her food.

She ate really enthusiastically, in front of me and my partner, which is great, as I think she associated both of us in the room as a bad thing, as it meant we were going to medicate her.

Of course this doesn't mean the diarrhoea is going to be magically sorted out, but we have a happier pussy cat this evening, for sure, and tomorrow we are going to organise some fresh white fish and chicken, and also look at the wet/dry foods suggested on this thread, and see how she goes

If nothing else we have a much more contented pussy cat this evening

Cheers

BB

And she's pooed in the new litter tray

Hurrah!

Just thought on - now can't remember whether it is Royal Canin or Hills but they do pouches of wet food especially for cats with sensitive stomachs - usually available at your vets - I think it is probably Royal Canin. The cats generally seem to find it palatable as have used it once or twice when mine have been off colour and they didn't seem to mind it considering my lot are usually on dry food. This may be an alternative if her diarrhoea doesn't improve.

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Kaz

For kittens, joy is for the asking and smiles are for the giving