Query about recurrent diarrhea.

[Yzma]

As some of you may already know, My kitty Mythie was on antibiotics for a long time. Almost two months. This was due to the fact that she was undergoing treatment for a large abcess... Now the abcess has healed over. Her stool however, started getting soft about a month ago, and has remained soft ever since.

The vet suspects it is due to an upset of the natural intestinal flora... And has put her on a digestive enzyme. She has been on the digestive enzyme for about 5 days now, but it doesn't seem to be working... Her stool is still soft. There are days when it has a little more shape than usual but on the whole it is soft.

We are due back at the vet on Thursday...

I've been doing some readin on the internet and have found something called Gastriplex... SHould I ask my vet about this? Does anyone else have any experince with this type of persistent soft stool?

So far the vet has tested for worms, but that is the only test he has done. Should we press him to do another stool analysis?

We're presently feeding her felidae.

Could it be Irritable Bowel Syndrome?

[Mona]

By all means ask to use this product. There are other products out there as well to correct intestional flora. this is most likely what is going on.

Start Mythie on this and see if it does not help. Also canned plain pumpkin and a pinch of Metamucil can help to firm stools.

Good luck.

Mona, Honeybun and Chloe

[Traci]

Instead of the gastriplex, ask your vet instead about simple acidophilus, this way, you won't be getting potential adulterants (or unknown herb efficacy from the gastriplex)

You might also talk to him about the diet, it may not be suitable for her, maybe switch gradually to a premium type diet. (and if you're feeding canned by chance, switch to dry)

As for fecal testing, this would be a good idea, as well as testing for giardia, or clostridium or campylobacter.

[Yzma]

You might also talk to him about the diet, it may not be suitable for her, maybe switch gradually to a premium type diet. (and if you're feeding canned by chance, switch to dry)

What do you mean by a premium type diet? I read somewhere that royal canine has a special diet for sensitive tummies, but then we specifically switched from royal canine to felidae after reading that felidae only uses human grade ingredients....

But i guess if we have to swop back, we will.

I have two questiopns which have been bothering me somewhat:
1. How long does this correction of the intestinal flora take?
2. And at what point will we know that it could be something more serious than just an upset tummy...

And just out of curiosity, I thought Gastriplex was a tried and tested product? i found it on a site called wellvet...

also, if i do add a pinch of metamucil to her diet, and the stool does harden up, does that mean that when i stop adding the metamucil, her stool will continue to be hard?

or will it revert back to being soft?

so many queries... Thanks for being so helpful.

[Traci]

For a definition of premium, please see here

1) that depends on the nature of the problem, usually only a few days. Need to also rule out parasitic problems or bacteria, as mentioned before

2) fecal testing should rule out bacteria, parasitic infection, may need to test more than once if change in diet is not effective or if soft stools or diarrhea is persistent, despite treatment.

Gastriplex is formulated with the "natural" theory behind it, meaning it also contains herbs that may or may not be proven to be effective (or safe). For all those "ingredients" in the product, you could spend much less and probably get the same effect with simple acidophilus, or metamucil as a conservative approach. Just because it is listed on a site promoting "naturals", or because it has "vet" in the title of the site, does not always make it a reputable or trusted source.

If using metamucil, you should probably see results within a day or two. Use ONLY a 1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon sprinkled over the food once a day. It won't "harden" her stool, it will help firm it, and create more colonic motility, but also ensure plenty of natural water consumption every day.

If her stool reverts to a soft stool, chances are, she 1) has a gastric intolerance to the diet, or, 2) has a bacterial infection or overgrowth of bacteria in the GI tract, or 3), has an intestinal parasitic infection.

Also do not feed her table scraps, milk, excess of treats, etc, these can also cause soft stools.

[Yzma]

Thanks Traci.
We don't feed her table scraps... or anything other than her immune support tabs and her kitty food.

These are the Ingredients as written on the back of the cat food packet. I read the section on 'premium' and, well I'm not sure if felidae is premium. We get it from our pet store, and it's weight for weight more expensive than most of the other brands such as royal canine, and the others...

The reason we picked it is for the ingredients... and also the knowledge that they use human grade products.

Here it is....In descending order of weight.

Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Brown Rice, Lamb Meal, Chicken Fat, (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Ascorbic Acid), Menhaden Fish Meal, Eggs, Flax Seed Meal, Sun Cured Alfalfa Meal, Sunflower Oil, Lecithin, Nutritional Yeast, Natural Flavors, Linoleic Acid, Rosemary Extract, Sage Extract, Amaranth, DL Methionine, Taurine, Kelp, Cranberry Meal, Apple Meal, Probiotics, (Freeze Dried Streptococcus Faecium Fermentation Product, Freeze Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product), Vitamins A, D-Activated Animal Sterol Vitamin D3, Vitamin E, Vitamin B12, Riboflavin, Niacin, Choline Chloride, Calcium Pantothenate, Folic Acid, Pyridoxine-Hydrochloride, Thiamin, Biotin, Amino Acid Chelated Minerals, Zinc, Manganese, Iron, Copper, Cobalt, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite, Bacillus Subtilis, Yeast Culture, Yucca Schidigera Extract.

www.canidae.com

Also about my first question, how long does it take... What's worrying is that she has had soft stool now for almost a month!

[Traci]

Well, I'd ditch the felidae and go to a premium. Looking at the ingredients, looks like they've added yeast, cultures, probiotics already, but you have no idea of the concentration, amount, etc, so given the list in order, I'd say she could be getting "too much of a good thing". Human grade or natural are not always what they seem.

How long does it take? Again, depends on the approach you take. Ask your vet FIRST about fecal testing for bacteria, parasites, etc....and if it's negative, then ask about acidophilus to add to the food. If that works but the stools resort to soft again, you can probably determine it's the diet. If changing the diet doesn't work, then you know she has a sensitivity problem, to either the ingredients, or due to a food allergy, in which you might try yet another diet that is geared for food allergies.

Keep in mind the number of, and the length of time Mythie has been on antibiotics, plus add stress to the scenario, healing is a stressful condition. She's probably fairing well at this point, but the soft stools are concerning, so you want to rule out the potential causes, one by one until it's resolved.

[kate & kobi]

My cats both eat Felidae, on the recommendation of my vet. I would consider it a premium food, though it's made by a smaller company than some of the others. I usually alternate with another premium brand every few months. You might want to switch her (slowly) to another brand like SD, just to see if it helps, even if only temporarily.

[Yzma]

Same here, i always thought felidae was a premium brand. But depending on how she takes to the lactobacillus, and what the stool analysis says, as well as what our vets recomendations are, we may swop to something for sensitive tummies.

If i have to go through the process of the elimination diet, i will. I don;t mind the hassle so long as we figure out what's causing the soft stool.