Ragdoll Cat Forums

I updated my thread.........please read my initial post.

I've had several different pets suffer diarhea for different reasons including salmonella (greedy dog). In all cases I have starved for 24hrs then a diet of steamed fish/chicken and rice until the stools are once again formed rather than runny. Gradually introducing new foods as if you were changing their diet. This way you will be able to see the type of food that doesn't agree with them, going back to the fish/chicken/rice diet for a few days if the diarhea starts again and then trying small amounts of something new. The colon with be inflammed and will need time to settle back down.

Diane,I'm so sorry.
I know your beside yourself.What a horrible roller coaster ride you and the kids are on.

I'm feeding California natural which is a hypoallergenic pet food.The reason I'm feeding this food is this is the brand Cellos breeder was feeding and I just stayed on it, and I like the fact it is made here in the States.And its not that expensive 15lb bag is 28.00 or 30.00.
I can tell you I did approached a lady early on in the parking lot that had bought a bag of this food and ask her what she thought of it and she all but broke down in tears and said this food has changed her dogs life.She went on to tell me all the vet bill and vet visit she had before the food change and just how sick her dog was .Will now he is happy dog and has not been to the vet for any illness other then check ups.For the last few years.

Here is the site it is a hard food to find Pet stores around here don't carry it but the health stories do.
http://www.naturapet.com/brands/california-natural.asp

If you do decide to rest the gut, which can work as long as the irritant is not reintroduced, work with your vet. One protocol is to fast for two days - water only. You then start them back on a combination of baby rice cereal with crushed curds of fat free cottage cheese crushed in (rinse off all of the whey to leave the rinsed curds). Start with about half normal food volume. Slowly bring that back up over several days. Then mix in some digestible protein like turkey baby food. You can also mix in a bit of Hills AD wet food. Build that up over the following days and then start to intruduce cat food. If at any step they are rejecting the food then try to attract them to an alternative as close as possible. For example, you may be able to mix in some water from canned tuna - or even a small amount of tuna.

Sorry you are seeing this recurrence. It is a matter of trying different approaches until you find something that works. For example, some cats do well on unusual protein sources. (Wellness has some alternatives and there are probably other sources - venison, duck, ... )

Good luck and try not to become discouraged.

Diane

I'm sorry to hear that things have turned out bad again. I'm not a vet so really have no clue, but surely can understand how frustrating it has been for you. Our two kittens started having the runs yesterday but they're still nice and bright so I think they probably just ate something funny when they went outside and are now having an upset tummy.

It seems resting the gut is what a lot of vets & books recommend. Then you just give them cooked chopped up lean chicken mixed with rice. I've currently got my kitties on well cooked rice mixed with Iams kitten satches with lots of water. They love it and would polish it off in no time. I'll just keep an eye out on their poos and hopefully they'll come all right soon.

I do hope that you'll find the right type of meds for your kitties and they'll get well again soon!

Yesterday, we went to the big city to check on some grain free foods and stop by a petstore where I knew that a gal that has been heavily involved in rescue and rehome for many, many years would be there. I'd heard of her, but never met her before, but she came highly recommended. She's extremely knowledgeable on many things where felines are concerned and has dealt with serious disease and illnesses in felines and more often than not, turned them around when they were a day away from being euthanized by their owners. I had a very long discussion with her and she gave me her recommendations.

We decided to try a product called Vet's Best Hairball Relief Digestive Aid. She said it never failed her where loose stools and diarrhea were concerned when all known causes had been ruled out or following treatment for parasite infestations. The reason she uses it is because it contains Slippery Elm, Psyllium Seed and Marshmallow root. She herself suffered for more than a dozen years with IBS and that was what had helped her so she found this product, for pets, that contained them all. It's a large tablet and they can have 2 or more a day, depending on the stool. We gave each kid one tablet late afternoon, crumbled in pumpkin. Our piggy had no problem sucking it down, the boy ate much slower but did eat it all and our oldest decided she didn't like it much, but ate half her portion. There were no stools overnight. I gave them all their next tablet 12 hrs later, same appetite for each and we just had a stool, and it looks very good compared to what it has been. This is the most encouraged I've been since the return of symptoms since having completed the treatment.

She did feel that they were suffering from inflammation issues following the infestation of the parasite and felt this would help to calm things down. I also picked up a couple new kibbles and some kitten grain free canned and will begin to adjust their diet in a few days. I'll be phoning our vet tomorrow and see if they can tell us what's happening on the rerun TF test. At this point I feel in my bones that the TF is gone and we are left with dealing with the irritation and inflammation caused by it.

All paws are crossed here that we may be able to beat this yet.

Thank you all for your continued support, suggestions and genuine caring.

That sounds very encouraging,Diane, I hope the kids continue to improve, you have had such journey with them.

I hope maybe this will help. I'll keep my fingers crossed for sure!! Let us know how things continue going.

I would recommend contacting Dave of Highgait's Paws Abyssinians. He's a wealth of knowledge on a health group I'm a member of regarding TF. He's always nice and helpful, and he has worked with Dr. Gookin regarding TF. He may have some insight for you.

http://www.highgait.com/page/page/1661645.htm

Best of luck.

Hey Diane

Any updates on your pussy cats? Our kittens have been having diarrhea for over a week now. They've been wormed and treated for Giardia but it's not helping. They're currently poo'ing twice a day and the stools firmness has been up and down. Our usual vet is not open again till 4th Jan so we'll have to wait to do more feacal testing. Luckily they're both still very active and have a good appetite so I'm not overly worried.

Will appreciate to hear your updates and see if it'll help with our kitties.