Cat diarrahea

aonb

my rescue and first cat ever, Tux, had diarrahea yesterday.
Had to give her a bath - now theres a learning curve for a new-to-cat-owner!!

Seems to be fine today, thankfully, so wont need the vet.

Just a quick question - with the dogs, if theres diarrahea, I would just 'starve' them for 24 hours (and then to vet if its not correcting) - but wondering if thats ok with cats too, or is there a recommended route to settle a cats tummy (before going to the vet obviously)?

shes asleep on my shoulders right now, smelling of very expensive bath gel, so she has forgiven the bath-trauma :cool: - assume there are cat shampoos but (1) she stank so badly it required the nicest smelling product (2) never intend to repeat that experience! But what would one wash a cat with, should the nightmare ever need to be repeated?!?

SillyMangoX

You can get cat specific shampoos, though I just use the pet head ones when I'm washing Dude! Ive gotten the cat specific ones from some groomer suppliers before, they do seem gentler on the skin!
As for diarrhoea, I wouldn't go starving them because cats can be fussy about going back eating after starvation, plus if they starve for too long it can lead to fatty liver syndrome. What I normally do with my guys is take away their normal food and feed them the hills ID for a couple of days and then slowly re introduce their normal food. If I can't get my hands on this, I'd just give them boiled chicken for a day or two!

aonb

SillymangoX, thank you for this - as I say, havent a clue about cats - they really are so wierd Im so glad I have her though - think I'll never be without a cat after Tux!

Ive always stocked some of the tins special foods for the dogs, so will get a tin for Tux too. Shes not much of a one for boiled chicken unfortunately, though will give her some of the dogs chicken now to see if shes tempted. Can cats eat rice?? (If not I can pick out some of the nice boiled chicken out of the dogs pan!)

Nody

aonb wrote: »

Just a quick question - with the dogs, if theres diarrahea, I would just 'starve' them for 24 hours (and then to vet if its not correcting) - but wondering if thats ok with cats too, or is there a recommended route to settle a cats tummy (before going to the vet obviously)?

No cat should ever go without food for 24h; if they do that's a reason to go to the vet for intravenous feeding as it can be deadly for them. Instead it's very small amount of kibble/wet that they been known to work for before spread out over the day and offer plenty of water.

shes asleep on my shoulders right now, smelling of very expensive bath gel, so she has forgiven the bath-trauma :cool: - assume there are cat shampoos but (1) she stank so badly it required the nicest smelling product (2) never intend to repeat that experience! But what would one wash a cat with, should the nightmare ever need to be repeated?!?

Cat shampoos; normal soap should not be used because it removes essential oil from their fur and can irritate their skin before we start talking about he chemicals in it that they will lick up. Also the best way we've found is to try to use a bath tub and a soft wet cloth to wash give them a was that way rather than trying to wash the under running water or similar. Far less panic that way but if need water it's to be 37 degree and of course ensure the cat is properly dried with a towel afterwards.

aonb wrote: »

Can cats eat rice?? (If not I can pick out some of the nice boiled chicken out of the dogs pan!)

Rice is pure filler for cats; meat only I'm afraid is the recommendation.

wehuntmonsters

Had this problem with my kitten that we found before Christmas. Was a month after we rescued him that we started to notice his poo was extremely watery and he seemed to be having a hard time going to the toilet (blood in his stool). Naturally, we were worried and took him to the vet who prescribed us medicine for the little fella. Gave it to him for two weeks yet it didn't do anything. Anyway, in the end we just changed his food and stopped giving him so much and eventually the diarrhea went away. He is nearly a year old now and as healthy as anything. I would just take the cat to the vets to be on the safe side though.

aonb

Thanks Nody. The bath! Well it was all over in minutes shes the gentlest of cats, she was so good. I used a warm bowl of soapy water (organic-cost-a-fortune-pure-natural-anti-everything-stuff that smells nice) and a cloth as you suggested - just washed her rear-end (poor cat) and dried her well in towels. She was pretty gobsmacked!! So was I! Such growling! All clear and clean today.

When I put her to bed last night, I did give her a sachet of her fav food, so glad I did now, didnt know that cats shouldnt be without food She ate it up, and today had her breakfast.

Any other serious no-no's for cats that we dog/horse/hen people havent a clue about?

e.g. Know cats have an extra eyelid, anything there?
I put sudocrem on dog/hen/horse cuts, ok for cats?
Foods they shouldnt eat?
I guess I wouldnt know about cat constipation as I would about the dogs - anything there?
Clean the dogs ears, anything about cats ears? I use Advocate which I know treats cat ear mites?
Anything else?

Must get myself a cat care book and have a read I guess

Nody

aonb wrote: »

When I put her to bed last night, I did give her a sachet of her fav food, so glad I did now, didnt know that cats shouldnt be without food She ate it up, and today had her breakfast.

Basically cats don't store up energy so they start to burn fat in the liver which can become toxic and poison them. Hence maximum fasting is usually 12h if needed.

e.g. Know cats have an extra eyelid, anything there?

They can scratch it/it can become lose. Simply keep an eye if they appear to have problem opening the eye and / or if puss starts coming out of the tear ducts (small amounts) as this can indicate a infection.

Foods they shouldnt eat?

High lactos content such as milk (but greek yougurt may work fine); anything with sugar (i.e. no fruit yougurts), flowers as several are toxic, onion & garlic (in larger amounts), beef is to be avoided if possible along with limiting fish to once a week and preferably small over large fish due to heavy metals. No caffeine, chocolate, grapes, raisins, mushrooms, avocado etc.

Now cats are in general unlikely to go for most, if any, of those foods so the big once to keep an eye on are really the flowers you get in a bouquet and keeping down the fish content.

I guess I wouldnt know about cat constipation as I would about the dogs - anything there?

Actually excellent thread on the topic here from about page 3 but in general plenty of water, add a tiny amount of additional fibre (such as psyllis husks) to help things move along if needed. Laxatives only on direction of the vet as the amount given due to their size is critical.

Clean the dogs ears, anything about cats ears? I use Advocate which I know treats cat ear mites?

Just have a look at them if they start to get dirty (healthy cats they will be clean) and if needed you can get washing fluid to put in (cats hate it) and then clean out with cotton. In general though if they start to get dirty it usually means mittens and/or some type of infection.

Anything else?

Only to keep in mind cats are great on hiding pain so if they stop to eat something they eaten before bring them in to have their teeth checked (common reason they stop eating something is a broken or lose tooth) and if you can't find them or if they appear to hide a lot go to the vet (hiding usually indicates they are ill / in pain but don't want to show outward weakness). Also as a tip if a cat runs away from you is to look under the bushes; they are more likely to go low than up in the sky to hide and tend to return to the area they escaped to hide under the bushes with in hours.

aonb

All good to know, thank you. One last question - I give her tinned (spring water) Tuna for breakfast 3 or 4 mornings/week - just a large teaspoon, is this too much? Should I try tinned mackeral or herring or other small fish if I can get in water - or would all fish store heavy metals nowadays Jeez u cant win!

Shes a fussy eater, no interest in food really, trying to get her to eat anything is a chore

Nody

aonb wrote: »

All good to know, thank you. One last question - I give her tinned (spring water) Tuna for breakfast 3 or 4 mornings/week - just a large teaspoon, is this too much? Should I try tinned mackeral or herring or other small fish if I can get in water - or would all fish store heavy metals nowadays Jeez u cant win!

In general once a week only on fish; tuna even less often but that's for a full meal so a teaspoon should be ok

Shes a fussy eater, no interest in food really, trying to get her to eat anything is a chore

Trust me as someone who knows a food whore (they will literally speaking eat ANYTHING from white bread by eating through plastic bags to trying to jump on the table to steal the pot roast to jumping into the washing machine to lick plates) that's not necessary a bad thing . In general though a cat will not go hungry so if they are a fussy eater and have access to a good quality kibble they will eat some even if they don't are happy about it.

aonb

Nody wrote: »

In general once a week only on fish; tuna even less often but that's for a full meal so a teaspoon should be ok

Trust me as someone who knows a food whore (they will literally speaking eat ANYTHING from white bread by eating through plastic bags to trying to jump on the table to steal the pot roast to jumping into the washing machine to lick plates) that's not necessary a bad thing . In general though a cat will not go hungry so if they are a fussy eater and have access to a good quality kibble they will eat some even if they don't are happy about it.

wow, once/week/tuna = yikes! glad to know that, thank you.

Hmnnn, food whore vs couldnt-care-less, not sure which is worse really. I buy her new varieties of food, she laughs in my face for most of them, so donate them to shelter. Ive got two brands of good quality wet food that she will eat, and will maybe eat James Wellbeloved Turkey Adult kibble at a pinch, but if they wont go hungry I should just stop worrying - the other animals would eat your hand as well as the food, so this fussy first cat is a learning experience. Thanks for all that info/advice

Bunnyslippers

If my cats ever get diarrhoea they get starved for 12hrs just to give their little gut a chance to calm down and heal, then I give them a couple of tablespoons of live yoghurt with a small bit of honey, 2hrs later they get a very small amount of their normal food and basically introduce their normal food back in little and often amounts, always works well.

Shower wise if they desperately need it then just water and if anything stuck to their coat then some pure soap or even a tiny bit of fairy liquid to shift and rinse really well - gardening gloves are also useful if you have a real wriggler!!

As someone else said be careful of the big Lilly flowers - the ones that produce lots of orange pollen and smell nice, they're poisonous, as others have said they usually won't eat things that are toxic as cats are normally pretty fussy, at least mine are and they're all rescued ferals so you'd think they'd eat anything!:rolleyes:

Wounds I use salt water to clean, I never bother putting anything on them unless on their head where they can't reach, simply because it just makes them lick the wound even more. Abscesses which cats seem to get now and then if they get bitten by their lunch or another cat, then again burst and irrigate with salt water, they look horrendous but they heal very fast, see a vet if worried or the cat is quieter than usual as may need antibiotics.

Ears I use ear cleaner as a couple of my oldies get bad ear wax, ear mites you can get stuff from vets - same as you would for a dog, Ive never found the Advantix spot on stuff makes any difference to mites, topical stuff works better.
Flea stuff I use frontline although some people have found fleas are becoming immune to it, so I never routinely flea mine as often as they say to, I just check my lot at least once a month, Hoover evryday and wash all their bedding at least once a week, I haven't needed to treat mine for the last 9 months which is great and I have 16 of the little buggers!:o.
Worming is something I do 3 times a year as a good few of mine hunt a lot, I use either drontal or droncit, don't bother with DrJohns stuff it's rubbish!

Teeth I check as they get older, when you worm them is the best time, any gunk or loose teeth then a dental at the vets is a must.

Claws don't need any attention unless the cat is elderly, I have 2 I have to trim their front claws now as they don't do very much so don't wear them down otherwise they can grow into their pads.
Other than that cats are pretty common sense pets and most things are easy to treat, you'll know if they're sick if they change their habits or behaviour then that is always the first clue, figuring out what is wrong is the hard part!:)