What do you do for a cat with diarrhea?

Question

For the last few days my cat has been leaving messes and puddles all over the place. He does this for days at a time every couple of months. Is it the food? Is he just sick? or what. I'm getting very aggravated. I have a new baby coming and probably shouldn't even be cleaning this and it's ruining everything! Please help if you can.

Answer 1

Clean up your cat's diarrhea with a tissue or paper towel so that you can see if blood is present. If there is no blood, call your vet and ask about over the counter medications to give your cat.

If there is blood, let your vet know: you may need to bring in the cat and/or the fecal sample for examination. Typically, red blood is viewed as not so bad, but black blood can be a sign of a serious problem higher up in the digestive tract. The vet may give you prescription veterinary medication or food for your cat. However, even with the more serious scenario, you may still be able to resolve your cat's diarrhea with over the counter medication (which is probably less expensive) if the vet agrees.

To give your cat liquid medication, get a syringe and the medicine, and a towel.

Measure the proper amount of liquid by pouring a small amount in a small dish (the dose cup that comes with some liquid medicines is great). Push the syringe plunger all the way in, dip the tip (no needle, for goodness' sake!) into the medicine, and pull the plunger out until the level of the medicine reaches the amount recommended by your vet.

Bring the cat into a small, easily cleaned room and shut the door (bathrooms are ideal).

Hold your cat firmly in your left arm (if you're right-handed). Wrap him in a towel like a cocoon if he will let you.

Pry his jaws open and squirt the medicine into the back of his mouth. Shut the mouth quickly so he can't spit it out.

You may want to give your cat a second syringe with a small amount of room temperature water to swallow: this will help clear the medicine taste from his mouth. This also helps prevent the cat from disliking the treat because of associating the treat with the taste of the medicine. (Make sure the water is not too cold because cold water can cause stomach cramps.)

Wait for your cat to stop jumping around, shaking his head, and foaming at the mouth. At this point you can wipe his mouth, but he probably won't want you anywhere near there.

Let him out of the room. He may head straight for water. Do not give him any solid food.

Clean up the splashes of medicine with a damp towel. Cats can't spit, but they will dribble most of the medicine out. Be prepared for a mess!

Observe whether the cat improves. Be sure to ask your vet how soon you should see improvement.

[edit] TipsIf possible, determine how the diarrhea started so you can prevent a recurrence. Food allergies, renal failure, cancer, poisoning (from houseplants, rat poison, human medications, etc.), parasites, and infectious disease (among other things) can result in diarrhea. Obtain veterinary assistance if it is an ongoing problem - there may be foods with fewer allergens, or treatments for a disease which will reduce or eliminate the diarrhea.

If your cat is not vomiting, help your cat stay hydrated by providing fresh, clean water, and by adding water to your cat's regular food. If vomiting, wait 6-8 hours then frequently offer small amounts of clear liquid (water, Gatorade, Pedialyte, or other electrolyte solution, if appropved by your vet). (see article on diarrhea at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content...

If your cat goes outside, check that your neighbors aren't feeding your cat -- eating too much or eating food they aren't used to can give cats diarrhea. Check your yard and your neighbors' yards for poisonous plants that your cat may have nibbled. Your vet should be able to give you a list of poisonous plants.

Stress can also cause diarrhea. Moves, new animals, deaths of other animals, basically, any changes can stress a cat. Used correctly, the over the counter product Feliway, can help manage your cat's stress. Be sure to check with your vet before using any over the counter medication for your cat.

Confine your cat to a room without carpet and with food, water, and litter until the accidents are under control.

You may want to lay down newspaper or PeePee pads to make cleanup easier.

Your vet can also provide syringes (minus needles) for administering liquid medication.

Often, dietary adjustments can go a long way toward helping the suffering of a cat with diarrhea. Reducing the amount of food ingested for a few days may be helpful. Also, removing any rich foods and serving only a bland diet can be beneficial.

[edit] WarningsVeterinarians now warn that Pepto Bismal and Kaopectate can be poisonous to cats due to salicylate toxicity. Check with your vet on the correct medication and dosage for the weight and age of your cat. Some vets have prescribed Imodium AD for diarrhea in cats-be sure to check with your vet if they recommend it, and, if so, the proper dosage.

If this is your first time dealing with cat diarrhea, call your vet, especially if you are unsure about what type or how much medicine to give.

Do not scold your cat for the accidents. He can't help it, and adding stress will only make his diarrhea worse.

For an adult and otherw

Answer 2

Let it eat grass. Or let it stay out for awhile. If it doesn't stop for 1 day you should call the doctor.

Answer 3

Go to a pet store ask them what they have.

Answer 4

is it an adult? kittens get the runs a lot.

you should be feeding him dry food only. if you're feeding him only dry food, it could be illness. might check with the vet.

Answer 5

Get a bucket.... or go with the "call the vet" idea.

If your pet is sick you shouldn't be relying on random people on the internet to tell you what to do. You can consult a website on pet health like http://www.petside.com/pet-vet but you should at least have spoken to a vet or have an appointment first.  

Answer 6

take him to the vet or make it share the diapers with the baby preferably the first one

Answer 7

You can give himanimal ddiapersor just wait it out. Give him rice and food that will make him feel better.

Answer 8

Hi honey, first of all Congrats on the new bub coming hope all goes well, how exciting!!!!

Cats are like us and can get tummy bugs as well, but as you said it is happening every few months, has he been wormed?  It is best just to let him have dry food, cut out any tin food for a while, as the dry food will help and also when they are not well they usually tend to eat grass as it contains a milky substance to help settle there tummies.

If you can afford it, it would be best to take him to the vets, and have him checked out, if you can not afford it, they do have a payment plan.

(I wish they had a medicare for animals, as it is very expensive)

I hope all goes well for your cat, the poor little thing does sound like he is not well.

Good Luck hope all goes well with him.  And you and your bub.

Minny ;-)

Answer 9

With dogs you give them canned pumpkin..maybe it'll work on cats too.

Answer 10

You really need to take your cat to the vet. This isn't normal at all. If it was happening to you, you would have already been to see a doctor, correct?

Answer 11

Treatment depends on the severity of the symptoms. If your cat is reasonably bright, not passing large amounts of blood and not exhibiting any other major symptoms, then home nursing may be all that is required.

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      Starve for 24 hours

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      Keep in the house for 3 days with a litter tray to evaluate faeces and to prevent feeding elswhere.

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      Remove water and offer Lectade to prevent dehydration. In the first 24 hours this should be given at the rate of 5 to 10ml every half hour by mouth. This can be continued as per the directions for a further 3 days as required. However, if dehydration is severe, especially if there is concurrent vomiting or the cat is collapsed, you should consult your veterinarian at once.

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      A bowel regulator such as Peridale will help ease motility, absorb fluid and produce a formed motions. This should be started at the beginning of treatment. At the same time we would try and re-establish normal bowel bacterial flora using a probiotic such as Protexin

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      Change to a low fat, low fibre, medium protein diet such as Hills Feline i/d for a minimum of three days (feed 4 small feeds daily).

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      Worm your pet with tapeworm Droncit and roundworm tablets Endorid

Answer 12

It probably is the food, you should change the food immediately...or find a correlation to the kind of food (if you feed multiple kinds).

While you are doing that you can add a little cooked rice in with some wet food.  alternatively you can buy some baby food that contains rice and mix that in with some wet food.

Answer 13

thats  for dogs dumbo who  sayed that

Answer 14

First you might have to think about changing your cat's food it isn't proper. None of the can foods. Water only. Also a single pill at the vets clinic will remedy  your cat's problems. In a couple of days it will harden. Worms will do that also and the pill will clear that to.

Answer 15

get him to the vets to see whats up with him. He might of picked something up. You need some medication for him because it won't be helpful for you or the baby if he carrys on with this.

xo

Answer 16

I should take him to the vet who can test to see if it's a microbe causing the problem. There's a danger he couuld be picking up poison too. Make sure he has plenty of water.