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Theoretical : Will diarrhea go away if there is no intervention?

661 views 10 replies 4 participants last post by  OrientalSlave 
#1 ·
Hi, I am a proud owner of a tabby bengal mix, he is 4.5 months and extremely playful and mischievous. He recently had diarrhea when I drove him up to my place, and I found it to be due to stress. I took him to the vet and he had his deworming done but all in all his poops were and are fine now.

It did get me thinking however, if a cat has no parasites, no medical problems and has diarrhea only due to either stress or diet change will the diarrhea resolve on its own without human intervention?

(provided ofc that the cause of the stress is addressed and for the diet change new food is simply fed as normal + hydration is monitored)

‘I’m trying to learn as much I can.

Has anyone ever done not done anything in this case and found that everything worked it’s way out?


My reasoning is, that if cats are really such fragile, weak creatures then surely all abandoned cats would have already succumbed to the side effects of diarrhea (dehydration and lethargy) yet unfortunately even though I see that happening a lot here, the cats seem to quickly adapt to their new habitat and by the looks of it, it’s new food (which around these parts is mainly garbage eating)

‘so what’s up? Are we being fooled? Please help me understand.

thankyou
 
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#4 · (Edited)
Hi, I am a proud owner of a tabby bengal mix, he is 4.5 months and extremely playful and mischievous. He recently had diarrhea when I drove him up to my place, and I found it to be due to stress. I took him to the vet and he had his deworming done but all in all his poops were and are fine now.

It did get me thinking however, if a cat has no parasites, no medical problems and has diarrhea only due to either stress or diet change will the diarrhea resolve on its own without human intervention?

(provided ofc that the cause of the stress is addressed and for the diet change new food is simply fed as normal + hydration is monitored)

'I'm trying to learn as much I can.

Has anyone ever done not done anything in this case and found that everything worked it's way out?

My reasoning is, that if cats are really such fragile, weak creatures then surely all abandoned cats would have already succumbed to the side effects of diarrhea (dehydration and lethargy) yet unfortunately even though I see that happening a lot here, the cats seem to quickly adapt to their new habitat and by the looks of it, it's new food (which around these parts is mainly garbage eating)

'so what's up? Are we being fooled? Please help me understand.

thankyou
You asked "Are we being fooled" ? No, I promise there is no conspiracy going on. :)

In the circumstances you describe (i.e. a cat with no parasites, no medical problems) it is certainly possible for an episode of acute diarrhoea to resolve on its own. I am sure this is what happens with many stray and feral cats when they get diarrhoea from eating whatever they can find, when they are hungry.

Cats are very resilient creatures and can survive in amazing circumstances. But there is the fact that once a cat stops eating wet food and does not compensate by drinking large amounts of water the cat will suffer from dehydration which will quite soon make them very ill. This is especially a risk with a kitten, who can go down hill quickly if they get dehydrated. Dehydration is not a risk I would care to take with a young, vulnerable kitten.

I have in the past quite often seen very poorly rescued kittens (at the Shelter) who have become dehydrated from lack of fluids (perhaps the mother cat was almost starving and could not produce enough milk for her babies). It has been touch and go whether these babies would survive even with a couple of days of constant care. Some of the kittens could not be saved.

An adult cat has a better chance of surviving dehydration than a young kitten does. Our domestic cats are descendants of desert cats and they have the inherited biological ability to concentrate their urine. They use this survival skill to extract as much moisture as possible from their urine to supply their organs etc. But this ability to concentrate their urine is hard on their kidneys.

I have seen how ill my own adult cats (past and present) have become from dehydration when they are inappetent due to illness and refusing to eat, or drink enough to compensate. The longer they go without eating the harder it is to get them started on eating again. They can give an impression by that stage they are ready to give up on life. It is quite frightening to see.

For this reason I never let any of my adult cats go for longer than 12 hours without eating, or drinking plenty of fluids to compensate. Because I have seen how ill they can become. Once I get the cat eating their wet food again I can very soon see that they are going to recover.

Leaving a poorly adult cat without eating or drinking for 24 hours may not kill them, but Is not something I would do, simply because I do not want my cats to become even more ill than they already are. A life-saving emergency dash to the vets, for the cat to be given IV fluids is expensive, so it makes sense to nip any risk of dehydration in the bud and get the cat eating wet food or drinking lots, if possible.

For a stray or feral cat it is of course a. case of 'survival of the fittest'. In a situation where a feral or stray cat becomes ill and gets dehydrated some will survive, some will not.
 
#5 ·
@chillminx i seriously don't know how I'd get answers to my crazy questions if it weren't for you. I'm really thankful to have you as a guide. So it's mainly the dehydration that's the danger when it comes to diarrhea in healthy cats otherwise as you stated strays would just normally go through the week and have it fixed.

I just kept thinking "why are we babying cats so much" in Dubai summers the heat can go up to a fiery 45 degrees Celsius and there are many Arabian maus thriving.

This was, as all your answers have been, awesome. This helped my curiosity :D. Oh, I've also been looking for pumpkin purée unsweetened (its hard to find here) just in case of any dietary issues. Thanks again

'cheers
 
#7 ·
I don't see how helping a cat be more comfortable is "babying". As a pet owner, our responsibility is to see the pet has the best quality of life, free of suffering. A stray or feral cat, having to wait it out, suffers during that time, and the whole body and immune system is weakened and very likely does not recover back to full robust health. Damage is done that may be permanent, both physically as well as possibly mentally. A well cared for cat is spared all that. I don't call that "babying", I call it giving proper health care. :)

There are better things than pumpkin for digestive issues, depending on what the problem is. You would do better to ensure you have slippery elm bark and probiotics, and s.boulardii at hand, if you expect to be dealing with digestive and gastro issues.
 
#6 ·
@Parsa - I'm glad to answer your questions. :)

Yes, diarrhoea can cause dehydration in a cat due to the body's loss of fluids.

But a cat who doesn't have diarrhoea and simply stops eating and drinking for a whole day when they are ill, will also become dehydrated. Cats have adapted to living in a hot climate (as their ancestors were desert dwellers) and they get along fine with such climates as long as they keep up their fluid intake. If illness or injury prevents them eating wet food or drinking plenty of water, that becomes a risk factor for dehydration.

I understand there are a lot of street cats in Dubai and several animal welfare organisations who try and help them as well as using TNR schemes to stop the cats breeding producing more and more kittens. Life for a street cat is hard and many kittens do not survive because of their vulnerability to disease, and injury. I have read that the life expectancy of a street cat is about 4 to 6 yrs old. So they often have a short, harsh life even if many of the young adults look as though they are thriving.
 
#9 ·
@lorilu oh definitely, I'm already planning on spoiling my cat with all the worldly comforts. It's just keeping in mind how quick cats are to adapt to even the harshest conditions here in Dubai, I just find it hard to believe a measly diarrhea with obvious us as humans observing their hydration levels should not resolve given some time.

I want to emphasize, I am in no way saying that I wouldn't take my cat to the vets anytime I suspect something, but all the narrative about cats with digestive issues seem to be that cats are extremely weak and fragile, which I seriously doubt.

Then again, I'm still learning and the whole point of my questions on this forum is to learn all I can, and everyone can relax I'm definitely always going to put my cats health first, not that I think they're weak but because I want him to live and be healthy for as long as possible hahah.

@OrientalSlave we have a stray under our building thats been here since we moved in which was around 6 years ago. A lot of them do die as it's mostly when they try to cross roads, other than that I'm thinking they usually have the same life expectancy of 4-6 years
 
#11 ·
<snip>

@OrientalSlave we have a stray under our building thats been here since we moved in which was around 6 years ago. A lot of them do die as it's mostly when they try to cross roads, other than that I'm thinking they usually have the same life expectancy of 4-6 years
A well cared for pet cat here in the UK has a life expectancy of 10-15 years. Those which are allowed to wander freely often are killed on roads younger than that.
 
#10 ·
I wasn't implying that you wouldn't properly care for any pets in your care. I was pointing out that letting diarrhea "run it's course" can have long lasting, possibly permanent, consequences for any animal's health. The reason many pets have so many digestive issues today is in part (a very large part) the poor quality commercial diets they (or their mother when carrying them) are fed.

As for how long a stray might live, in my opinion longevity is not the main goal, in any animal's life, quality of life is what matters. That stray may have lived there six years, but those years might be pretty miserable, unless you are taking care of him.
 
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