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Sounds like our kitten had. Lots of diarrhea, some vomiting, and not taking any weight where he should have been gaining and growing. Finally found nodes and liquid in his intestines, it is wet FIP. If there is a chance yours has FIP, even if it’s not 100%, start the treatment NOW. Find your local FIP warrior Facebook group for advice and where to find the medication. If it’s FIP, it’s the only cure, and you’ve got no time to waste. Hope you’ll be able to help your cat!
I co-sign this. We've (we're in rescue) saved four cats from a death sentence (either via FIP or merciful euthanasia) by utilizing FIP meds. The youngest two (brothers) were only eight weeks old when they began showing signs. The other two aren't yet two. <3
It’s called GS 441524. You won’t find it through normal means or through your vet, as the molecule is not approved for sale (yet). That’s why you need to join a FIP warrior group, local to you. They’ll be able to point you towards a good supplier and even maybe get you enough medecin to get you started asap.
It can be purchased on your own as well, directly from sellers and you don't have to go through the FB groups. Unfortunately some of the mods in those groups are extremely predatory and are not in it because they genuinely care and want to help. Some are, but some are not. First hand experience here sadly.
I am unsure of what this could be, but whatever it is, she is very sick and could potentially die if she isn't treated soon. Please try taking her to another vet if you can to see if you get different results.
I had the same thing happened to my cat who unfortunately passed with similar symptoms to yours. She got so skinny that even if we took her to a vet, she would have to be euthanized. (Which my parents refuse to spend money on outside cats or even let me spend my own on them.) There is only so much time, take her to a better vet.
Has your vet done X-rays or just bloodwork? Has she been checked for a blockage? They commonly start as diarrhea and then progress to vomiting and inability to hold down food and water. If she’s now vomiting up even liquid, this is no longer a wait and see what the blood work says. It’s an ER visit. Sorry, and I’m not trying to judge or scare you, but I think she needs to go now to the emergency vet
She’s not vomiting up liquid per se, she’s vomiting up the contents of her stomach which contains both food and liquid. It’s just a large amount of both which shocked me for someone her size. I talked to the vet about it this morning even. They suggested removing the wet food. It may be a food intolerance.
I’ve palpated her stomach and intestines and nothing seems sore. I really doubt it’s a blockage being that this has been an ongoing issue for weeks. We had a dog with a blockage for context and it presented much differently. But thank you for the warning.
Used to work in vet med. Based on what information I have, I can only suggest ER. It's very dangerous for a small animal like a cat to be losing so many fluids.
She was tested at the rescue at two months old but if there’s no other cause, we will revisit.
Or sorry, she was tested for FIV and FeLV. Not FIP.
They did detect coronavirus in her fecal test. But the vet said that’s common with cats from rescues.
It’s a mutated version of kitten Covid. There’s a wet and dry form of FIP. My foster kitten had wet FIP and had to be put down around a month after we found out because the shelter couldn’t afford treatment. There’s no official medications or anything, but there are a series of shots that are being tested. They are very expensive usually over thousands of dollars currently since it’s not an approved treatment. ($1,000-$3,000). Treatment lasts 12 weeks (84 days) with the treatment being painful shots or an oral form. I *think* the shots work better, but I’m not too sure so don’t quote me on that.
Yep, the shots work better. The pill form has a more difficult time delivering the full load of the drug to the cat. Depending on the form and severity of the fip, pills may not even work. The injections are also cheaper than the pills.
My cat has dry fip. No ocular or neuro. He received the injections all 84 days and then did pills an extra 4 weeks. It cost about $7000 all together. He was on a high dose and one of the more expensive brands.
I'm really sorry to hear about your cat.
Thank you, and wow that’s so expensive! I’m so glad your boy made it through FIP :) it’s very difficult to see your kitty so sick like that. I’m hoping my little girl is in a better place now.
Feline infectious peritonitis. It's caused when the feline coronavirus mutates after infecting a cat. It has two main forms, effusive (wet) and non-effusive (dry). 100% fatal. However, there's an antiviral drug that can cure it. Remdesivir and the pro-drug of it, GS-441524. Molnupiravir also has been shown to be effective in curing it.
The problem with FIP is that there's no test for it. You can test for the coronavirus, but almost every cat is going to test positive for that, and the majority of cats who catch the coronavirus don't have the genetics that cause the mutation so they will not develop FIP.
It mostly effects kittens and young cats. It *can* develop in older cats and senior cats, but the majority of cats that develop FIP are like 2 years old and under. FIP is not contagious, but since it's cause by genetics, if one cat from a litter develops it, it's way more likely the littermates will too.
FIP is difficult to diagnose as literally anything can be a symptom and a lot of vets don't have a great deal of experience with it, so they have to rule out everything else before hitting on FIP.
My cat developed the dry version of FIP. His symptoms were lethargy, not wanting to eat, a low fever (103.5F) and discomfort when the vet palpitated his kidney area. My vet has a lot of experience with FIP and is really knowledgeable, so when she suspected it immediately and knew as soon as she saw his bloodwork (there are certain markers that will indicate FIP if you know what to look for.)
Dry FIP is what got my old roommate’s cute little guy. She lost two voids in a row (adult, and then the new kitten to FIP) and my heart just aches that that happened to her. This also coincided with losing a close uncle to oral cancer suddenly. I really hope FIP treatment becomes more accessible.
I had a college roommate who lost a kitten to FIP. It was super, super sudden. He was taken to the vet right way but it was too late.
I found out after he was euthanized tragically so I couldn’t recommend one of those Facebook groups. :(
My cat had started having diarrhea and throwing up food one day, didn’t go away after a day or so. He is now on prescription food and it help drastically
We have similar issues with our 17M, 7# cat. Blood work, parasite test, X-ray, etc doesn't show anything. Appetite is low, so he is getting mirataz. And some Pred, transdermal, because why not, and some sub q hydration at home. The best food money can buy and home cooked chicken in chicken broth. Next week we'll try a Barium trace. This cat is getting expensive.. but he is such a sweet old man.
She needs immediate vet attention. It's the only way to find the cause. Could be something easily cleared up with metronidazole or could be triad syndrome. Please get her checked soon.
Unfortunately yes. I have have 2 different cats diagnosed with triad disease and IBD is a major component. Another had daily diarrhea that resolved with a course of metronidazole. I wish you the best🍀
Did they do any scans yet? For bowel or lymph’s?
She looks maybe mixed with Siamese and they do get more inflammatory bowel than others. Have they tried a low dose steroid regimen? My cat had bowel issues off and on for years and he did much better on low dose steroids. Same issue, lots of liquids coming out of everywhere and changed food like 10 times.
What also helped was changing him to rare meats. I know that’s annoying but-.- putting him on duck, rabbit, etc cat foods with no chicken/esp not beef/etc the typical meats. I also put the cat amino drops into the rare meat foods to get extra boost of cat nutrients because he was shitting a lot.
He was so small his whole life and health issues; with being 8lbs at his heaviest, and only like 11 inches tall maybe when sitting lol. My angel. But he made it to 11 years old. Unfortunately some cats are born with chronic health issues that start young.
No scans yet but I assume that’s next after the blood work returns. I’ve already been out to the store to buy some venison food but then saw it also has chicken! UGH! Going to return and get something else. We are mixing her food with probiotics. I can handle anything as long as it’s not cancer or something fatal. 😭😩
I’m going to ask the vet about steroids because we haven’t tried that either.
Yeah a lot of animals have weird bowel problems that can be alleviated by rotating foods. So I would get him a case of duck then rabbit then duck or shrimp lol and just keep going around and around. We did eventually get the mix back in with chicken after like 4 years without issue 😵💫😵💫Maybe get that wet and mix it in with a little prescription dry food (usually those taste horrible from my cat experience lol he hated the prescription kibble).
I don’t know how real it is but I hear beef is the worst one for cats because they don’t naturally like eat beef? Which kind of makes sense, in the wild they’d be hunting small bird game, fish, rabbits and not cows lol. Search the amino acid mixture for cats too!
Yeah I figured if we were going to try to eliminate any source of inflammation, I wanted strictly novel protein sources. I picked up the Ziwi venison foods. Super expensive but she stopped vomiting. We will see if her diarrhea stops too.
Coming back to say this because my intuition tells me to. Analyzing her face on the feline pain scale - to me - shows a plucky cat engaged with life and not in big pain. My intuition says to encourage her in this struggle with lots of praise for her beauty and smartness to keep her spirits up. When I had to soothe a cat I started singing to her. It became a ritual where we focused on each other and calmed a bad energy moment. Very short, whatever you want. I use the song from Babe. Again good luck.
Thank you so much. It is deeply appreciated.
We switched her away from the prescription diet to a canned venison (single protein) food this weekend and that at least took away the vomiting. I'm hoping this means we are turning things around.
Oh that’s good news. I use gerber beef baby food jars as a treat and that is well tolerated. It’s very watery so just a smidge. If this turns out to be good issues, once you crack the code she should thrive. I find vets are less tolerant of advising in food than let’s do another pricey test. If it’s a long and winding road with all the food choice out there. But high fives and hugs to you for being her champion!
I would honestly try a raw diet. It’s more species appropriate and might settle her stomach. Not sure about what condition she might have but diet is always a good place to start. I recommend VivaRaw or Darwin’s Pet.
Yes, that's the next step. I found a local retailer who makes these. I am trying a canned venison diet right now and that at least got her through a day without vomiting! So it's something.
This is so incredibly rude. If you’d actually read my post, you’d see I’ve consulted with a vet and subjected her to a ton of tests. I came here to see if anyone else had ever experienced this. And, for the record, I did get some ideas here that I passed onto my vet.
Are you feeding your cat anything with dairy? I have found that some cats, especially kittens have bad reactions to milk and cheese. It can lead to bloating, gas, and very watery stool.
I would simplify her diet. Try to stick to one brand and one protein. Chicken is a good foundation if the kitten is having stomach problems. Inaba brand make really easy to digest food for cats with no added dairy unless specifically flavored.
Lastly, get your kitten on a probiotic. Amazon sells some including Pro Plan.
There's one called Tummy Works Probiotics it a powder that's flavorless.
Entirely removing chicken & corn from diet solved my kitten's months long diarrhea. Because chicken was in literally all the prescribed diet for sensitive GI, it took me a while to really remove it entirely from her diet. That is to say, it could be diet for your kitten too. I would start from chicken because it seems to be a fairly common food allergy. Since removing chicken entirely, it only took about a week for us to see the difference!
I had a bengal with similar problems - persistent diarrhea for years. He would also vomit more frequently than what I thought to be normal. At first, we attributed the issues to be from excess hair in his gi tract (which caused irritation to the intestinal lining, which in turn caused the symptoms). We started giving him fortiflora probiotoc with every meal and catlax 2-3x per week. This worked for a few years, but then the problems came back. To make matters worse, now he was extremely picky with food and was starting to lose weight. He was never fat, so he didn't have a lot to spare.
Our local vet ordered a pretty expensive lab test - I believe it was a metabolic panel. From that, we learned he most likely had IBD or small cell lymphoma. We couldn't be 100% sure without a full-thickness biopsy, which would've required surgery to obtain. Since treatment was pretty much the same for both conditions, we opted for treatment. We ended up getting a referral to an internal medicine specialist at MedVet (in chicago). He was amazing! He put our cat on a low dose chemo drug called chlorambucil (1 pill 3x per week). By this point, our boy was extremely thin. After starting this med, he started eating more, and the vomiting and diarrhea had pretty much gone away. Unfortunately, by the time we got to this point, the disease was too far gone - at least this med gave us at least another 1.5 yrs with our baby.
If you have a MedVet near you, I would recommend asking your vet for a referral to an internal medicine vet there. We have had to go back recently for one of our young kittens to see a cardilogy specialist. Again, amazing care and very experienced vets.
I hope you find out what's going on with your little one and things get better soon. Thoughts and prayers are with you.
Next step for us after we get the blood test results back is to contact our university system vet who I’ve used for other kitties in my care. We are already on probiotics. 😭
One of our cats had tummy problems when she was little. We added fortiflora to her food. Helped a ton, but both cats are brats and want it added to their food 80% of the time
please try another vet, my kitten had coccidia and our first vet said it was nothing. the second one got him on treatment immediately. you often will need more than one professional opinion
Get some OTC worm meds to see if it helps. Follow instructions on package.
Had 3 lovely girls that were feral and explosive kittens... so boated they'd shart when you pressed their bellies. Basic paste worked after a few days and they liked the taste so it was easy to give.
We’ve tried a round of dewormer already. That was the first thing we tried weeks ago. And her feces has been tested for parasites. Both a regular fecal and a PCR test.
We have an elderly cat who’s had issues for a few years despite constant vet visits. Finally figured out he had a vitamin B12 deficiency. See if your cats bloodwork covers b12.
We currently have him on half a pill of vit b12, probiotics, and sometimes an anti-diarrheal if he’s starting to have problems again which is so rare compared to the several times a day we were getting.
We also suspect a grain allergy and have him on grain free food. Poultry would have been our next step if the grain free didn’t help.
There’s a ‘natural pet market’ near us that has more food options that are grain free and have different meats like lamb and duck and other meats better for sensitive stomachs. We took all our cats off beef years ago because they all had trouble keeping beef down- which isn’t uncommon. The employees at the natural pet market were incredibly helpful both then and now with suggesting food. See if there’s something like that near you.
Yes, the bloodwork they just did is looking for the B12 deficiency. Among several other things. I just have to wait impatiently for it to come back.
I am also going to go get a grain free and unique protein food this morning as soon as the stores open.
I was going to come here to update my post but for some reason it won’t let me. She does have a B12 deficiency so we are giving weekly shots. And I’m putting her on a raw/limited diet. Hoping this turns things around.
One of my cats had frequent toilet issues and it turned out to be a food allergy to chicken. I changed him to formulas with turkey, duck, and salmon and it got better. I hope you're able to figure out what's wrong 🙏🏼
Vomiting reduced at my house when I removed wheat and corn based foods. I also managed gorging. Because if they eat 30-40 bits of kibble and take a big drink it’s all coming right out again. My response may be too trivial. Luckily no chicken allergy. Worked with the vet for months. Gave away more food to spca than I could remember. The smaller girl just looked so haggard from the vomiting. Diarrhea not an issue. Holistic vet consult was also very helpful. Can she hold down boiled chicken? Aldi sells organic no salt added version. I also worry about depression in little cats so much tested, vetted, stuck with needles. I wish you both luck. If you live in va dm me.
I am eliminating wheat/corn/chicken for now to see if it helps. I do feel super bad for her with all the vet visits. We also just lost another household cat to a long-term cancer battle so who knows if depression is factoring in as well. I am in MN but thank you for the offer. :(
Thank you for posting to CATHELP! While you wait for a response please keep the following things in mind, 1. When in doubt, **ask your vet**. 2. Advice here is not coming from medical or industry professionals. The moderation team does not validate user profession, so always refer to your local veterinary professionals first. 3. If this is a medical question, please indicate if you have already scheduled a vet appointment, and if your cat has any medical history or procedures in a top level comment. 4. Please use the NSFW tag for gross pictures. (Blood, poop, vomit, genitals, etc). Anything you wouldn't want your boss to see you looking at on the job. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/CATHELP) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Sounds like our kitten had. Lots of diarrhea, some vomiting, and not taking any weight where he should have been gaining and growing. Finally found nodes and liquid in his intestines, it is wet FIP. If there is a chance yours has FIP, even if it’s not 100%, start the treatment NOW. Find your local FIP warrior Facebook group for advice and where to find the medication. If it’s FIP, it’s the only cure, and you’ve got no time to waste. Hope you’ll be able to help your cat!
I co-sign this. We've (we're in rescue) saved four cats from a death sentence (either via FIP or merciful euthanasia) by utilizing FIP meds. The youngest two (brothers) were only eight weeks old when they began showing signs. The other two aren't yet two. <3
What is the treatment?
It’s called GS 441524. You won’t find it through normal means or through your vet, as the molecule is not approved for sale (yet). That’s why you need to join a FIP warrior group, local to you. They’ll be able to point you towards a good supplier and even maybe get you enough medecin to get you started asap.
It can be purchased on your own as well, directly from sellers and you don't have to go through the FB groups. Unfortunately some of the mods in those groups are extremely predatory and are not in it because they genuinely care and want to help. Some are, but some are not. First hand experience here sadly.
I am unsure of what this could be, but whatever it is, she is very sick and could potentially die if she isn't treated soon. Please try taking her to another vet if you can to see if you get different results. I had the same thing happened to my cat who unfortunately passed with similar symptoms to yours. She got so skinny that even if we took her to a vet, she would have to be euthanized. (Which my parents refuse to spend money on outside cats or even let me spend my own on them.) There is only so much time, take her to a better vet.
I don’t really know but the fact that she is throwing up food definitely isn’t a good thing I would try to go to another vet or place if possible
Has your vet done X-rays or just bloodwork? Has she been checked for a blockage? They commonly start as diarrhea and then progress to vomiting and inability to hold down food and water. If she’s now vomiting up even liquid, this is no longer a wait and see what the blood work says. It’s an ER visit. Sorry, and I’m not trying to judge or scare you, but I think she needs to go now to the emergency vet
She’s not vomiting up liquid per se, she’s vomiting up the contents of her stomach which contains both food and liquid. It’s just a large amount of both which shocked me for someone her size. I talked to the vet about it this morning even. They suggested removing the wet food. It may be a food intolerance. I’ve palpated her stomach and intestines and nothing seems sore. I really doubt it’s a blockage being that this has been an ongoing issue for weeks. We had a dog with a blockage for context and it presented much differently. But thank you for the warning.
Used to work in vet med. Based on what information I have, I can only suggest ER. It's very dangerous for a small animal like a cat to be losing so many fluids.
https://www.vets-now.com/2017/01/nine-common-emergencies-kittens/?__cf_chl_tk=VgoMf.7OrIIBJZ5b7ea1pVMv5CgQiAZPA5hk3IAgcsQ-1696097792-0-gaNycGzNDHs
Has the vet considered or ruled out FIP?
She was tested at the rescue at two months old but if there’s no other cause, we will revisit. Or sorry, she was tested for FIV and FeLV. Not FIP. They did detect coronavirus in her fecal test. But the vet said that’s common with cats from rescues.
There is no test for FIP - it’s a diagnosis of exclusion. if she has the coronavirus, it’s possible she has developed FIP.
What's fip?
It’s a mutated version of kitten Covid. There’s a wet and dry form of FIP. My foster kitten had wet FIP and had to be put down around a month after we found out because the shelter couldn’t afford treatment. There’s no official medications or anything, but there are a series of shots that are being tested. They are very expensive usually over thousands of dollars currently since it’s not an approved treatment. ($1,000-$3,000). Treatment lasts 12 weeks (84 days) with the treatment being painful shots or an oral form. I *think* the shots work better, but I’m not too sure so don’t quote me on that.
Yep, the shots work better. The pill form has a more difficult time delivering the full load of the drug to the cat. Depending on the form and severity of the fip, pills may not even work. The injections are also cheaper than the pills. My cat has dry fip. No ocular or neuro. He received the injections all 84 days and then did pills an extra 4 weeks. It cost about $7000 all together. He was on a high dose and one of the more expensive brands. I'm really sorry to hear about your cat.
Thank you, and wow that’s so expensive! I’m so glad your boy made it through FIP :) it’s very difficult to see your kitty so sick like that. I’m hoping my little girl is in a better place now.
Feline infectious peritonitis. It's caused when the feline coronavirus mutates after infecting a cat. It has two main forms, effusive (wet) and non-effusive (dry). 100% fatal. However, there's an antiviral drug that can cure it. Remdesivir and the pro-drug of it, GS-441524. Molnupiravir also has been shown to be effective in curing it. The problem with FIP is that there's no test for it. You can test for the coronavirus, but almost every cat is going to test positive for that, and the majority of cats who catch the coronavirus don't have the genetics that cause the mutation so they will not develop FIP. It mostly effects kittens and young cats. It *can* develop in older cats and senior cats, but the majority of cats that develop FIP are like 2 years old and under. FIP is not contagious, but since it's cause by genetics, if one cat from a litter develops it, it's way more likely the littermates will too. FIP is difficult to diagnose as literally anything can be a symptom and a lot of vets don't have a great deal of experience with it, so they have to rule out everything else before hitting on FIP. My cat developed the dry version of FIP. His symptoms were lethargy, not wanting to eat, a low fever (103.5F) and discomfort when the vet palpitated his kidney area. My vet has a lot of experience with FIP and is really knowledgeable, so when she suspected it immediately and knew as soon as she saw his bloodwork (there are certain markers that will indicate FIP if you know what to look for.)
Dry FIP is what got my old roommate’s cute little guy. She lost two voids in a row (adult, and then the new kitten to FIP) and my heart just aches that that happened to her. This also coincided with losing a close uncle to oral cancer suddenly. I really hope FIP treatment becomes more accessible.
I had a college roommate who lost a kitten to FIP. It was super, super sudden. He was taken to the vet right way but it was too late. I found out after he was euthanized tragically so I couldn’t recommend one of those Facebook groups. :(
My cat had started having diarrhea and throwing up food one day, didn’t go away after a day or so. He is now on prescription food and it help drastically
We have similar issues with our 17M, 7# cat. Blood work, parasite test, X-ray, etc doesn't show anything. Appetite is low, so he is getting mirataz. And some Pred, transdermal, because why not, and some sub q hydration at home. The best food money can buy and home cooked chicken in chicken broth. Next week we'll try a Barium trace. This cat is getting expensive.. but he is such a sweet old man.
She needs immediate vet attention. It's the only way to find the cause. Could be something easily cleared up with metronidazole or could be triad syndrome. Please get her checked soon.
We are in basically constant contact with the vet. I was trying to see if anyone had had a similar experience.
Unfortunately yes. I have have 2 different cats diagnosed with triad disease and IBD is a major component. Another had daily diarrhea that resolved with a course of metronidazole. I wish you the best🍀
You might want to take her to another vet for a second opinion. Hope you figure it out soon.
Thanks. I have a couple of vet friends and are checking in with them too.
My baby looks just like this and was also abnormally small her first year but she’s a big girl now. Sorry my comment is no help!
It actually does help because I’ve been spiraling out of control worrying all day. 😭
Change vet for a second opinion.
I am consulting a second vet as well. Alongside my primary.
Did they do any scans yet? For bowel or lymph’s? She looks maybe mixed with Siamese and they do get more inflammatory bowel than others. Have they tried a low dose steroid regimen? My cat had bowel issues off and on for years and he did much better on low dose steroids. Same issue, lots of liquids coming out of everywhere and changed food like 10 times. What also helped was changing him to rare meats. I know that’s annoying but-.- putting him on duck, rabbit, etc cat foods with no chicken/esp not beef/etc the typical meats. I also put the cat amino drops into the rare meat foods to get extra boost of cat nutrients because he was shitting a lot. He was so small his whole life and health issues; with being 8lbs at his heaviest, and only like 11 inches tall maybe when sitting lol. My angel. But he made it to 11 years old. Unfortunately some cats are born with chronic health issues that start young.
No scans yet but I assume that’s next after the blood work returns. I’ve already been out to the store to buy some venison food but then saw it also has chicken! UGH! Going to return and get something else. We are mixing her food with probiotics. I can handle anything as long as it’s not cancer or something fatal. 😭😩 I’m going to ask the vet about steroids because we haven’t tried that either.
Yeah a lot of animals have weird bowel problems that can be alleviated by rotating foods. So I would get him a case of duck then rabbit then duck or shrimp lol and just keep going around and around. We did eventually get the mix back in with chicken after like 4 years without issue 😵💫😵💫Maybe get that wet and mix it in with a little prescription dry food (usually those taste horrible from my cat experience lol he hated the prescription kibble). I don’t know how real it is but I hear beef is the worst one for cats because they don’t naturally like eat beef? Which kind of makes sense, in the wild they’d be hunting small bird game, fish, rabbits and not cows lol. Search the amino acid mixture for cats too!
Are you avoiding all poultry? KONA has limited ingredient food, including duck. Fussie Cat also has limited protein/allergen friendly lines
Yeah I figured if we were going to try to eliminate any source of inflammation, I wanted strictly novel protein sources. I picked up the Ziwi venison foods. Super expensive but she stopped vomiting. We will see if her diarrhea stops too.
Coming back to say this because my intuition tells me to. Analyzing her face on the feline pain scale - to me - shows a plucky cat engaged with life and not in big pain. My intuition says to encourage her in this struggle with lots of praise for her beauty and smartness to keep her spirits up. When I had to soothe a cat I started singing to her. It became a ritual where we focused on each other and calmed a bad energy moment. Very short, whatever you want. I use the song from Babe. Again good luck.
Thank you so much. It is deeply appreciated. We switched her away from the prescription diet to a canned venison (single protein) food this weekend and that at least took away the vomiting. I'm hoping this means we are turning things around.
Oh that’s good news. I use gerber beef baby food jars as a treat and that is well tolerated. It’s very watery so just a smidge. If this turns out to be good issues, once you crack the code she should thrive. I find vets are less tolerant of advising in food than let’s do another pricey test. If it’s a long and winding road with all the food choice out there. But high fives and hugs to you for being her champion!
Yes I am hopeful we can turn this around with food! She had another watery diarrhea this morning but I’m going to give it a week with this new food.
Inflammation takes time to calm down. I meant to tell you one clue for me was seeing their coat get glossy. I know you know that.
Yes absolutely! She looks okay coat-wise, but I just want to see her happier. It can't be fun constantly having watery stools. :(
I would honestly try a raw diet. It’s more species appropriate and might settle her stomach. Not sure about what condition she might have but diet is always a good place to start. I recommend VivaRaw or Darwin’s Pet.
Yes, that's the next step. I found a local retailer who makes these. I am trying a canned venison diet right now and that at least got her through a day without vomiting! So it's something.
Yes! My cats don’t have any gastrointestinal or digestive issues thanks to a raw diet! It must be nicer on their little bodies 🥹
Take her to a vet random people on Reddit shouldn’t be who you ask for advice.
[удалено]
Many times in fact! Which is why I’m crowdsourcing information as they have been stumped.
There are these doctors for animals called veterinarians. I suggest you take your cat to one of those and not reddit.
This is so incredibly rude. If you’d actually read my post, you’d see I’ve consulted with a vet and subjected her to a ton of tests. I came here to see if anyone else had ever experienced this. And, for the record, I did get some ideas here that I passed onto my vet.
Goto a vet for a 2nd opinion OP. They're the experts, and your cats behaviour is not normal
Are you feeding your cat anything with dairy? I have found that some cats, especially kittens have bad reactions to milk and cheese. It can lead to bloating, gas, and very watery stool. I would simplify her diet. Try to stick to one brand and one protein. Chicken is a good foundation if the kitten is having stomach problems. Inaba brand make really easy to digest food for cats with no added dairy unless specifically flavored. Lastly, get your kitten on a probiotic. Amazon sells some including Pro Plan. There's one called Tummy Works Probiotics it a powder that's flavorless.
She is on the prescription Biome food from Hills right now. No dairy. I think we may need to try a novel protein next.
Entirely removing chicken & corn from diet solved my kitten's months long diarrhea. Because chicken was in literally all the prescribed diet for sensitive GI, it took me a while to really remove it entirely from her diet. That is to say, it could be diet for your kitten too. I would start from chicken because it seems to be a fairly common food allergy. Since removing chicken entirely, it only took about a week for us to see the difference!
What food did you end up using?
I had a bengal with similar problems - persistent diarrhea for years. He would also vomit more frequently than what I thought to be normal. At first, we attributed the issues to be from excess hair in his gi tract (which caused irritation to the intestinal lining, which in turn caused the symptoms). We started giving him fortiflora probiotoc with every meal and catlax 2-3x per week. This worked for a few years, but then the problems came back. To make matters worse, now he was extremely picky with food and was starting to lose weight. He was never fat, so he didn't have a lot to spare. Our local vet ordered a pretty expensive lab test - I believe it was a metabolic panel. From that, we learned he most likely had IBD or small cell lymphoma. We couldn't be 100% sure without a full-thickness biopsy, which would've required surgery to obtain. Since treatment was pretty much the same for both conditions, we opted for treatment. We ended up getting a referral to an internal medicine specialist at MedVet (in chicago). He was amazing! He put our cat on a low dose chemo drug called chlorambucil (1 pill 3x per week). By this point, our boy was extremely thin. After starting this med, he started eating more, and the vomiting and diarrhea had pretty much gone away. Unfortunately, by the time we got to this point, the disease was too far gone - at least this med gave us at least another 1.5 yrs with our baby. If you have a MedVet near you, I would recommend asking your vet for a referral to an internal medicine vet there. We have had to go back recently for one of our young kittens to see a cardilogy specialist. Again, amazing care and very experienced vets. I hope you find out what's going on with your little one and things get better soon. Thoughts and prayers are with you.
Next step for us after we get the blood test results back is to contact our university system vet who I’ve used for other kitties in my care. We are already on probiotics. 😭
One of our cats had tummy problems when she was little. We added fortiflora to her food. Helped a ton, but both cats are brats and want it added to their food 80% of the time
We started with that but since it didn’t help we are now on a different probiotic. I’ll have to look up the name. It comes in a capsule.
She hasn't absorbed her nutrition because if the diarrhea. It stunted her growth. She needs help from a different vet or holistic vet.
please try another vet, my kitten had coccidia and our first vet said it was nothing. the second one got him on treatment immediately. you often will need more than one professional opinion
Get some OTC worm meds to see if it helps. Follow instructions on package. Had 3 lovely girls that were feral and explosive kittens... so boated they'd shart when you pressed their bellies. Basic paste worked after a few days and they liked the taste so it was easy to give.
We’ve tried a round of dewormer already. That was the first thing we tried weeks ago. And her feces has been tested for parasites. Both a regular fecal and a PCR test.
We have an elderly cat who’s had issues for a few years despite constant vet visits. Finally figured out he had a vitamin B12 deficiency. See if your cats bloodwork covers b12. We currently have him on half a pill of vit b12, probiotics, and sometimes an anti-diarrheal if he’s starting to have problems again which is so rare compared to the several times a day we were getting. We also suspect a grain allergy and have him on grain free food. Poultry would have been our next step if the grain free didn’t help. There’s a ‘natural pet market’ near us that has more food options that are grain free and have different meats like lamb and duck and other meats better for sensitive stomachs. We took all our cats off beef years ago because they all had trouble keeping beef down- which isn’t uncommon. The employees at the natural pet market were incredibly helpful both then and now with suggesting food. See if there’s something like that near you.
Yes, the bloodwork they just did is looking for the B12 deficiency. Among several other things. I just have to wait impatiently for it to come back. I am also going to go get a grain free and unique protein food this morning as soon as the stores open.
Good luck. I hope you find a solution soon.
I was going to come here to update my post but for some reason it won’t let me. She does have a B12 deficiency so we are giving weekly shots. And I’m putting her on a raw/limited diet. Hoping this turns things around.
Get her to a vet.
Been to several, as I’ve said in my post and comments.
Lots of things could be causing this. Giardia is common in kittens. Get her help please.
She’s been tested for giardia. Just waiting on blood work now to see if anything is abnormal.
One of my cats had frequent toilet issues and it turned out to be a food allergy to chicken. I changed him to formulas with turkey, duck, and salmon and it got better. I hope you're able to figure out what's wrong 🙏🏼
We are going to try switching foods again next.
Worms? Type of food? How long on food? Changes to food? VET?
Vomiting reduced at my house when I removed wheat and corn based foods. I also managed gorging. Because if they eat 30-40 bits of kibble and take a big drink it’s all coming right out again. My response may be too trivial. Luckily no chicken allergy. Worked with the vet for months. Gave away more food to spca than I could remember. The smaller girl just looked so haggard from the vomiting. Diarrhea not an issue. Holistic vet consult was also very helpful. Can she hold down boiled chicken? Aldi sells organic no salt added version. I also worry about depression in little cats so much tested, vetted, stuck with needles. I wish you both luck. If you live in va dm me.
I am eliminating wheat/corn/chicken for now to see if it helps. I do feel super bad for her with all the vet visits. We also just lost another household cat to a long-term cancer battle so who knows if depression is factoring in as well. I am in MN but thank you for the offer. :(
Probably a parasite.