The Definitive Guide to Treatment 2022

Cat diarrhea is not something to be taken lightly. It can be a sign your cat might be suffering from a serious illness or be having difficulty eating.

We will be discussing the reasons your cat might have diarrhea and how you can help. Don’t panic, there is hope. Let’s get started!

What is Diarrhea?

At some point in your lifetime, you have likely experienced diarrhea. Diarrhea manifests as loose or loosened stool. It can be sudden, and disappear quickly (severe or intermittent diarrhea), or it can last weeks to months (chronic diarrhea). Both types of diarrhea can have different causes and treatment.

Cat owners need to understand that diarrhea is not a sign of a disease. It is an indirect sign, meaning it is common and often accompanied with other clinical signs that veterinarians use to diagnose the condition.

It is not unusual for diarrhea to be the sole symptom.

A single episode of diarrhea usually is not cause for concern. It is important to not ignore diarrhea if it occurs often.

What Causes Diarrhea?

People often associate diarrhea and food poisoning with stomach upset. There are many causes of diarrhea.

What is the best way to find out? is causing your cat’s diarrhea is the first step in finding out how to stop it.

Pet owners can also prevent diarrhea from happening again by understanding the causes.

Dietary changes

Changes in diet are the most common cause. Most pet owners know what it’s like to have someone eat at their hands. After a while, your furry friend may not be able to appreciate the food as much as he used to.

You want your hidden cat to have a healthy and delicious diet. So you quickly switch to a different food option. Boom. Uhudo.

Consider changing your cat’s diet. This can reduce inflammation and help prevent vomiting, diarrhea, and other unpleasant symptoms in cats.

It is important to slow down when changing to a new diet. Gradually replace small amounts of the existing food with new foods. The last thing you want to do is change the good, fresh food at the expense of disrupting your cat’s delicate stomach in this process.

Low-Quality Food

The majority of pet food on sale has a given ingredient. These are ingredients that do NOT fit into the human food chain. This may seem intuitive to pet owners, until you consider the true nature of these ingredients.

Ingredients for cat food could include feathers, beaks, skin, hooves and eyes from birds. These ingredients are sources of protein and are processed to remove any harmful bacteria before being added to pet food. However, they may irritate the cat’s stomach.

We recommend you refer to cats who are human-level, which is defined as being edible to humans. If your cat friend is ill-mannered or has a weak stomach, it is best to avoid this. Cat food that is balanced for humans may not be completely nutritious. AAFCO quality human cat foods are guaranteed to meet the nutritional needs of cats.

Many veterinarians recommend raw foods whenever possible. Talk to your veterinarian and make sure you feed your cat the best possible food that meets your cat’s healthy nutritional needs. It can make a huge difference in the health of your cat.

Food Intolerances & Food Allergies

Cats can become diarrheal from food intolerance or food allergies. Domestic parents may not be aware that their feline companions can also be allergic to food.

Many cases of food intolerance and intolerance can be traced back to chronic diarrhea. This is a condition that can occur over a long time.

Cat allergies can develop when cats are given the same food for too long.

In time, food intolerance can be caused by feeding your prey the same protein every day, even if it is in high amounts. Discovering new ways to change your cat’s diet is a wonderful way to prevent GI inflammation, thus preventing allergies and diarrhea.

Good overall health is a sign that your cat might be allergic.

Are your cat’s energy levels normal? Does your cat have a healthy body weight? Is diarrhea a common occurrence in cats?

You might want to think about possible food allergies and make changes in your diet. You should also take this step slowly.

Milk – A Common Misconception

We’ve all seen videos and photos of kittens taking every drop of milk from their bottles. Many mammals prefer large amounts of milk, in fact.

However, the milk should come from the same type. Cats do not have the enzymes needed to break down the sugar in milk found in cow’s milk. Cats who are fed milk from other animals are at greater risk for developing secondary GI problems such vomiting and diarrhea.

Consuming soiled food

Many cats and dogs will eat anything that is available to them. If your cat eats spoiled food and goes to the garbage, it will most likely get diarrhea and vomiting.

This deadly form of diarrhea can be treated quickly and easily. Storing spoiled food and other non-perishable items for your cat is an easy way to ensure that your cat’s digestive system stays healthy.

Viral and Bacterial Infections

Your cat could have diarrhea from a variety of reasons, including an infection caused by bacteria or viruses. These diseases are often called simple stomach worms by many people. Infection in cats is however not an easy task.

Cats can become severely ill from GI tract infections or infectious diseases. This can lead to severe diarrhea and vomiting.

Severe diarrhea is often a sign of bacterial overgrowth in the cat’s small intestine.

Some bacterial infections will disappear on their own within a week. However, you should still keep an eye on your cat and seek medical attention when necessary. Only antibiotics will cure some GI infections.

It is also important to prevent the underlying cause of a viral or bacterial infection. Remember that diarrhea is not a disease. To prevent the infection from recurring, the root cause should be addressed.

Internal Parasites

Cat diarrhea is a sign of intestinal parasites, which enter the cat’s body and intestines through infected feces and contaminated water and food sources.

Although intestinal infections are usually mild and short-lived, they can be very serious if not treated properly.

Anemia, vomiting, and diarrhea can all be signs of an internal parasite infestation, which can make cats more vulnerable to other infections. The intestinal parasites can be more dangerous to cats, making defense more effective.

One troubling fact is that some intestinal parasites like Toxoplasma can be passed from cat to cat.

A veterinarian will examine stool samples to determine if the cat has an intestinal parasite. You should seek medical attention if your cat has intestinal parasites.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease

If you look at many diseases, you’ll likely find one thing common: inflammation. IBD is no exception.

IBD can include conditions such as gastritis and pancreatitis. People with similar symptoms may also be affected by these conditions.

Chronic inflammation and diarrhea are more serious than they seem. Conditions placed under the IBD “umbrella” have links that can be fatal.

Foster parents need to be able and timely diagnose their cat’s chronic diarrhea.

Chronic diarrhea can start slowly but eventually return.

Conventional Medications

It can be stressful for pet owners to know that their cat isn’t feeling well. Most of the time, a quick trip to the veterinarian’s office will leave you with a few treatments for whatever your cat is sick of.

Conventional medicine can cause side effects such as diarrhea.

Talk to your vet about other treatments that won’t cause diarrhea if your medical condition is severe. You may also want to avoid chronic diarrhea.

Kidney or Liver Disease

You are probably familiar with the importance of the kidneys and liver. These toxins are important for your cat’s health.

Diarrhea could be an indication that something is wrong with your liver or kidneys. Diagnosis of liver or kidney failure will not be made by your veterinarian if you have diarrhea.

Additional tests will be required to confirm kidney and liver function. It is important to get a diagnosis early in the case of kidney or liver disease. This will help to stop or slow down the progression of the disease.

Toxins and Chemicals

Cats can get diarrhea from eating poisons or chemicals. Depending on the toxin, this can cause severe or chronic diarrhea.

Toxicity – Acute Toxic Diarrhea

Cats that eat poisonous plants or other poisonous substances can often get serious diarrhea. Cats are curious creatures. You should be aware of which plants are poisonous so that your cat doesn’t get them.

Even plants that are not directly known to be poisonous can still cause serious damage to your cat’s stomach.

Wheatgrass (cat grass) is safe and very nutritious for your feline friend.

If used, the chemicals in herbicides, insecticides, and many household cleaners can cause severe diarrhea. To get very sick, your cat doesn’t need to eat a lot.

Chronic Diarrhea due to Poisoning

Chronic diarrhea may be a result of persistent toxins such as lead toxicosis.

It is crucial to determine the cause of chronic diarrhea. Lead poisoning can also affect pet owners and their family members, even if they are not aware.

Diarrhea Symptoms

You probably have a good idea of ​​whether your cat has diarrhea. If they aren’t sure, cat owners can look out for other signs.

• Fever
• Vomiting
• Lethargy
• Weakness
• Depression
• Weight loss
• Watery feces
• Abdominal pain
• Bathroom accidents
• Retraining to urinate
• Increased fecal quantity
• Feces may contain blood or mucus

These signs should be monitored. Make sure to note any problems and inform your veterinarian.

Your doctor will be more likely to diagnose and treat your cat quickly and accurately if you give more information.

When to Visit the Vet

When deciding when to take their pet to the veterinarian, there are a few things pet parents should keep in mind.

First of all, what is the normal state of your cat’s health? Is your cat old or too young for their age? Are they suffering from any health issues that could lead to dehydration?

Next, is your cat experiencing any other troubling symptoms like vomiting, fatigue or depression?

How often do you experience diarrhea? Is diarrhea too watery for you?

Finally, what does your cat’s diarrhea look like? What is your cat’s diarrhea color? Is it normal, healthy, or black and/or yellow? Internal bleeding can often be detected by yellow or black stool. This should be treated immediately. Seek medical attention immediately if your cat has black or wet stools.

It’s okay if you don’t know the answers to all these questions. If your cat doesn’t respond or your cat’s feces seem strange, it is time to take it to the vet.

Diagnosing Cat Diarrhea

Your veterinarian will do several tests to accurately identify the main cause of your cat’s diarrhea. These tests include:

• X-ray of abdomen
• Endoscopy for the GI tract
• Total blood count

Wild specimens, rectal swab (observation for intestinal parasites),

Most likely, your veterinarian will ask you to bring a sample of diarrhea with you so they can test for it.

Give your veterinarian as much information about any health changes in your cat as possible. This information will enable your veterinarian to diagnose some diseases and take into consideration other conditions.

Diarrhea Treatment

While it is important to treat the cause of diarrhea, you also need to prevent it from happening.

Pet parents have tried a variety of remedies to cure cat diarrhea.

Change the diet

Diarrhea is not a condition that requires the cat owner to keep the food down for long periods of time. You can put your cat at greater risk for developing a deadly liver disease called Hepatic Lipidosis if you don’t give up on food.

Make your cat food easy and make sure you don’t get food or table scraps.

Additionally, consider whether your cat’s diarrhea may be due to recent dietary changes. You may find your cat is not able to tolerate a new food source. In this case, you might want to return to the original diet until the problem is resolved. Talk to your veterinarian about this.

Finally, your cat may be allergic to foods you’ve been eating for years.

A gradual shift to a different diet can help reduce diarrhea.

Fiber

Low-fiber diets are beneficial for cats with diarrhea. Look out for brands that are highly digestible or suitable to cats with sensitive stomachs.

Some cats with diarrhea might benefit from a fiber supplement such as a can or pumpkin.

Water and Electrolytes

To prevent dehydration in cats suffering from diarrhea, they should always have water. Make sure your cat has access to clean water all the time.

Cat owners might also consider switching to canned cat food to increase the moisture.

Probiotics

Probiotic supplements are very effective in keeping a healthy number of bacteria in a cat’s gut. Normal food can only be digested if there is a healthy amount of bacteria in your digestive tract.

A reputable company can sell you a cat probiotic.

Kaopectate

Many cat owners wonder if they should give their cats extracurricular diarrhea tablets. We strongly advise against this.

Some folk remedies can kill cats. Some remedies, like kaolin-pectin are safe. Kaolin-pectin was once a part of some products, but there are other ingredients in Kaopectate that cat owners should avoid.

We believe it is safer to be safe than sorry. You should never use prescription drugs without first consulting your veterinarian.

FAQ

Why does my cat get diarrhea?

Cat diarrhea can be caused by many things. These include poor diet, food intolerances or allergies, bacterial infections, inflammatory bowel diseases, and internal parasites.

What can you give your cat for diarrhea?

Your cat should have easy access to clean water. Cats suffering from diarrhea need clean water. You may also consider switching to canned foods instead of dry foods to increase your cat’s moisture.

What home remedy can I use to treat my cat’s diarrhea?

Changing your cat’s diet can be helpful in combating diarrhea. Some cats with diarrhea may prefer a low-fiber diet, while others may be more comfortable with a fiber supplement like pumpkin. Probiotics can also help maintain a healthy amount of bacteria in a cat’s gut.

How can you treat a cat suffering from diarrhea?

Diarrhea is not a condition that requires the cat owner to keep the food down for a prolonged period of time. You can put your cat at greater risk for developing hepatic cholesterol if you don’t give up on food. Also, make sure your cat has plenty of water.

What time should my cat be taken to the vet for diarrhea?

Yellow or black stool can indicate internal bleeding and should be treated immediately. Seek medical attention immediately if your cat has black or wet stools.