cat with diaorrhea - but only when she goes outside

An odd one here.

We have two cats (mother - about 6 years old - and daughter); both
normally go out, both eat the same food (dry kibbles - neither will
touch wet food) which they've been on for years.

The mum has lately developed a problem with diaorrhea. But this only
seems to occur when she's allowed outside - keep her in for a couple of
days, and the problem clears; allow her out, and the problem recurs
quite quickly. She does seem very keen on eating grass from the garden
-- there are definitely no chemicals on it, but the amount seems to
have gone up; also she isn't making herself sick with the grass. Other
than the diaorrhea, she seems fine - alert, bright eyed, eating well, as
bossy as ever; no evidence of dehydration. She's been wormed recently -
but if it were a worm problem, just being indoors wouldn't clear it (I
think).

The daughter is fine.

It seems an odd one, and I'm not sure whether a vet would have much to
suggest. Any ideas would be welcome, thanks!


--
Mike Scott (unet2 at [deletethis] scottsonline.org.uk)
Harlow Essex England

Suddenly, without warning, Mike Scott exclaimed (5/21/2010 9:01 AM):
An odd one here.

We have two cats (mother - about 6 years old - and daughter); both
normally go out, both eat the same food (dry kibbles - neither will
touch wet food) which they've been on for years.

The mum has lately developed a problem with diaorrhea. But this only
seems to occur when she's allowed outside - keep her in for a couple of
days, and the problem clears; allow her out, and the problem recurs
quite quickly. She does seem very keen on eating grass from the garden
-- there are definitely no chemicals on it, but the amount seems to
have gone up; also she isn't making herself sick with the grass. Other
than the diaorrhea, she seems fine - alert, bright eyed, eating well, as
bossy as ever; no evidence of dehydration. She's been wormed recently -
but if it were a worm problem, just being indoors wouldn't clear it (I
think).

The daughter is fine.

It seems an odd one, and I'm not sure whether a vet would have much to
suggest. Any ideas would be welcome, thanks!




Well, the obvious answer is to keep her inside. She's eating
*something* that is disagreeing with her - my worry would be she's
catching poisoned rodents. I'd definitely take her into the vet.

jmc

"jmc" wrote in message
...
Suddenly, without warning, Mike Scott exclaimed (5/21/2010 9:01 AM):
An odd one here.

We have two cats (mother - about 6 years old - and daughter); both
normally go out, both eat the same food (dry kibbles - neither will touch
wet food) which they've been on for years.

The mum has lately developed a problem with diaorrhea. But this only
seems to occur when she's allowed outside - keep her in for a couple of
days, and the problem clears; allow her out, and the problem recurs quite
quickly. She does seem very keen on eating grass from the garden --
there are definitely no chemicals on it, but the amount seems to have
gone up; also she isn't making herself sick with the grass. Other than
the diaorrhea, she seems fine - alert, bright eyed, eating well, as bossy
as ever; no evidence of dehydration. She's been wormed recently - but if
it were a worm problem, just being indoors wouldn't clear it (I think).

The daughter is fine.

It seems an odd one, and I'm not sure whether a vet would have much to
suggest. Any ideas would be welcome, thanks!




Well, the obvious answer is to keep her inside. She's eating *something*
that is disagreeing with her - my worry would be she's catching poisoned
rodents. I'd definitely take her into the vet.

jmc

Or snails.....She could be eating garden snails, and they could be poisoned
by your neighbors.....

On Fri, 21 May 2010 21:10:10 -0400, jmc
wrote:

Suddenly, without warning, Mike Scott exclaimed (5/21/2010 9:01 AM):
An odd one here.

We have two cats (mother - about 6 years old - and daughter); both
normally go out, both eat the same food (dry kibbles - neither will
touch wet food) which they've been on for years.

The mum has lately developed a problem with diaorrhea. But this only
seems to occur when she's allowed outside - keep her in for a couple of
days, and the problem clears; allow her out, and the problem recurs
quite quickly. She does seem very keen on eating grass from the garden
-- there are definitely no chemicals on it, but the amount seems to
have gone up; also she isn't making herself sick with the grass. Other
than the diaorrhea, she seems fine - alert, bright eyed, eating well, as
bossy as ever; no evidence of dehydration. She's been wormed recently -
but if it were a worm problem, just being indoors wouldn't clear it (I
think).

The daughter is fine.

It seems an odd one, and I'm not sure whether a vet would have much to
suggest. Any ideas would be welcome, thanks!




Well, the obvious answer is to keep her inside. She's eating
*something* that is disagreeing with her - my worry would be she's
catching poisoned rodents. I'd definitely take her into the vet.

jmc

Absolutely take her to the vet.

And, keep her indoors.

Having diarrhea depletes various ions from the body required for normal
health.

Principally among them is potassium, which is strictly regulated by the
body. It is essential for normal cardiac activity, among other things.

Frequent bouts of diarrhea, and with some cats, only one or two, can
deplete potassium badly. The results can be sudden, and fatal, heart
failure.

You need to find out how low her potassium has gotten, since treatment
may be required.

Finding the cause of the diarrhea is also important.

Or, just keep her inside.

But do get her to the vet, ASAP.


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"Gandalf" wrote
jmc wrote:
Mike Scott exclaimed

The mum has lately developed a problem with diaorrhea. But this only
seems to occur when she's allowed outside - keep her in for a couple of
days, and the problem clears; allow her out, and the problem recurs
quite quickly. She does seem very keen on eating grass from the garden
-- there are definitely no chemicals on it, but the amount seems to

Well, the obvious answer is to keep her inside. She's eating
*something* that is disagreeing with her - my worry would be she's
catching poisoned rodents. I'd definitely take her into the vet.
jmc

Absolutely take her to the vet. And, keep her indoors.

You need to find out how low her potassium has gotten, since treatment
may be required. Finding the cause of the diarrhea is also important.

Reformatted a little but kept the gist. Vet time, yes and I agree, she's
eating something or has some dietary deficiency that is driving her to eat
something that isnt agreeing with her.

On Sat, 22 May 2010 10:54:49 -0400, "cshenk" wrote:


The mum has lately developed a problem with diaorrhea. But this only
seems to occur when she's allowed outside - keep her in for a couple of
days, and the problem clears; allow her out, and the problem recurs
quite quickly. She does seem very keen on eating grass from the garden
-- there are definitely no chemicals on it, but the amount seems to

Well, the obvious answer is to keep her inside. She's eating
*something* that is disagreeing with her - my worry would be she's
catching poisoned rodents. I'd definitely take her into the vet.
jmc

Absolutely take her to the vet. And, keep her indoors.

You need to find out how low her potassium has gotten, since treatment
may be required. Finding the cause of the diarrhea is also important.

Reformatted a little but kept the gist. Vet time, yes and I agree, she's
eating something or has some dietary deficiency that is driving her to eat
something that isnt agreeing with her.


Purrs and prayers sent you way that the problem clears up on its own
or with a vets help.

Good luck.

kraut wrote:
On Sat, 22 May 2010 10:54:49 -0400, "cshenk" wrote:

The mum has lately developed a problem with diaorrhea. But this only
seems to occur when she's allowed outside - keep her in for a couple of
days, and the problem clears; allow her out, and the problem recurs
quite quickly. She does seem very keen on eating grass from the garden
-- there are definitely no chemicals on it, but the amount seems to
Well, the obvious answer is to keep her inside. She's eating
*something* that is disagreeing with her - my worry would be she's
catching poisoned rodents. I'd definitely take her into the vet.
jmc
Absolutely take her to the vet. And, keep her indoors.
You need to find out how low her potassium has gotten, since treatment
may be required. Finding the cause of the diarrhea is also important.
Reformatted a little but kept the gist. Vet time, yes and I agree, she's
eating something or has some dietary deficiency that is driving her to eat
something that isnt agreeing with her.


Purrs and prayers sent you way that the problem clears up on its own
or with a vets help.

Good luck.



Thank you, and to the others for suggestions. We're keeping her inside
for the moment and keeping a careful eye on things.

(Oh, and I /can/ spell diarrhoea. Really, I can :-) )


--
Mike Scott (unet2 at [deletethis] scottsonline.org.uk)
Harlow Essex England

Gandalf wrote:
On Fri, 21 May 2010 21:10:10 -0400, jmc
wrote:

Suddenly, without warning, Mike Scott exclaimed (5/21/2010 9:01 AM):
An odd one here.

We have two cats (mother - about 6 years old - and daughter); both
normally go out, both eat the same food (dry kibbles - neither will
touch wet food) which they've been on for years.

The mum has lately developed a problem with diaorrhea. But this only
seems to occur when she's allowed outside - keep her in for a couple of
days, and the problem clears; allow her out, and the problem recurs
quite quickly. She does seem very keen on eating grass from the garden
.....snip....
Finding the cause of the diarrhea is also important.

Or, just keep her inside.

But do get her to the vet, ASAP.

I thought I'd give an update, not that it's helpful.

The problem persists, she's fine when kept indoors.

However, my wife took her to the vet today. He was just as stumped as we
are. Says she's a perfectly healthy-looking moggy, and has no idea what
could be causing the trouble. He wondered if more frequent worming might
help (probably not - the problem was there immediately after worming
recently) and wondered if a more bland diet might help on the offchance
her digestive system was a bit delicate. (We could try that; but he's
only guessing).

So, not really further forward.

--
Mike Scott (unet2 at [deletethis] scottsonline.org.uk)
Harlow Essex England

"Mike Scott" wrote in message
...
Gandalf wrote:
On Fri, 21 May 2010 21:10:10 -0400, jmc
wrote:

Suddenly, without warning, Mike Scott exclaimed (5/21/2010 9:01 AM):
An odd one here.

We have two cats (mother - about 6 years old - and daughter); both
normally go out, both eat the same food (dry kibbles - neither will
touch wet food) which they've been on for years.

The mum has lately developed a problem with diaorrhea. But this only
seems to occur when she's allowed outside - keep her in for a couple of
days, and the problem clears; allow her out, and the problem recurs
quite quickly. She does seem very keen on eating grass from the garden
....snip....
Finding the cause of the diarrhea is also important.

Or, just keep her inside.

But do get her to the vet, ASAP.

I thought I'd give an update, not that it's helpful.

The problem persists, she's fine when kept indoors.

However, my wife took her to the vet today. He was just as stumped as we
are. Says she's a perfectly healthy-looking moggy, and has no idea what
could be causing the trouble. He wondered if more frequent worming might
help (probably not - the problem was there immediately after worming
recently) and wondered if a more bland diet might help on the offchance
her digestive system was a bit delicate. (We could try that; but he's only
guessing).

So, not really further forward.

--
Mike Scott (unet2 at [deletethis] scottsonline.org.uk)
Harlow Essex England

Meanwhile you don't have a problem if you keep her inside.

cybercat wrote:
.....
The problem persists, she's fine when kept indoors.

However, my wife took her to the vet today. He was just as stumped as we
are. Says she's a perfectly healthy-looking moggy, and has no idea what
could be causing the trouble. He wondered if more frequent worming might
help (probably not - the problem was there immediately after worming
recently) and wondered if a more bland diet might help on the offchance
her digestive system was a bit delicate. (We could try that; but he's only
guessing).

So, not really further forward.

--
Mike Scott (unet2 at [deletethis] scottsonline.org.uk)
Harlow Essex England

Meanwhile you don't have a problem if you keep her inside.


No physical problem. But it's quite clear she'd really love to be
allowed out. Not that either cat ever goes far - but there are lots of
hidey holes and space to run in the garden.


--
Mike Scott (unet2 at [deletethis] scottsonline.org.uk)
Harlow Essex England