Diarrhea and then constipation?

Some of you may remember that my mom's 8 yo female longhair had a sore
on her right hind leg. Several months ago, after changing a hard food
formulation food too quickly she developed diarrhea which solved itself
in about two weeks.

Well, it's now about three months later and I'm not sure whether it was
the shot of depo medrol, the removal of an old carpet or getting her off
of Fancy Feast wet canned food, but the sore seems to have disappeared.

The problem is that after a week of another bout with diarrhea, she seems
to be constipated. My mom has this habit of giving the cat different
protein sources every time she meows. Instead of sticking to Iams Lamb
and rice (which the poor thing doesn't seem to like anyway), and Purina
Pro Plan Chicken and Rice hard food (which she does like), she was
alternating with chicken baby food, turkey breast, and cooked chicken
along with the normal hard food. For four days last week, the cat had
diarrhea. For the last three or four days she hasn't passed a stool.
She urinates with no problem, drinks, plays, and nibbles at her hard
food. She doesn't strain as she doesn't seem to have any desire yet to
pass a stool.

Should we give it another day? Should we go back to Fancy Feast even
though we're not sure if she has skin allergies to it? We've tried
Wellness, Iams, and IVD allergy brand food, and she doesn't like them at
all.

I've read in some places where baby food squash is helpful as is
Metamucil, but other sites seem to indicate that MORE fiber in the diet
could also cause problems.

She may have inflammatory bowel disease and may have to see a vet.
Gail
wrote in message
...
Some of you may remember that my mom's 8 yo female longhair had a sore
on her right hind leg. Several months ago, after changing a hard food
formulation food too quickly she developed diarrhea which solved itself
in about two weeks.

Well, it's now about three months later and I'm not sure whether it was
the shot of depo medrol, the removal of an old carpet or getting her off
of Fancy Feast wet canned food, but the sore seems to have disappeared.

The problem is that after a week of another bout with diarrhea, she seems
to be constipated. My mom has this habit of giving the cat different
protein sources every time she meows. Instead of sticking to Iams Lamb
and rice (which the poor thing doesn't seem to like anyway), and Purina
Pro Plan Chicken and Rice hard food (which she does like), she was
alternating with chicken baby food, turkey breast, and cooked chicken
along with the normal hard food. For four days last week, the cat had
diarrhea. For the last three or four days she hasn't passed a stool.
She urinates with no problem, drinks, plays, and nibbles at her hard
food. She doesn't strain as she doesn't seem to have any desire yet to
pass a stool.

Should we give it another day? Should we go back to Fancy Feast even
though we're not sure if she has skin allergies to it? We've tried
Wellness, Iams, and IVD allergy brand food, and she doesn't like them at
all.

I've read in some places where baby food squash is helpful as is
Metamucil, but other sites seem to indicate that MORE fiber in the diet
could also cause problems.

She doesn't show the signs of IBD. There's no vomiting, she eats, looks
for other, more tasty food, and isn't losing weight.

Is there anything that will replace the love of Fancy Feast that she had
and is actually healthy for her?


"Gail" wrote in
k.net:

She may have inflammatory bowel disease and may have to see a vet.
Gail



wrote in message
...
Some of you may remember that my mom's 8 yo female longhair had a
sore on her right hind leg. Several months ago, after changing a
hard food formulation food too quickly she developed diarrhea which
solved itself in about two weeks.

Well, it's now about three months later and I'm not sure whether it
was the shot of depo medrol, the removal of an old carpet or getting
her off of Fancy Feast wet canned food, but the sore seems to have
disappeared.

The problem is that after a week of another bout with diarrhea, she
seems to be constipated. My mom has this habit of giving the cat
different protein sources every time she meows. Instead of sticking
to Iams Lamb and rice (which the poor thing doesn't seem to like
anyway), and Purina Pro Plan Chicken and Rice hard food (which she
does like), she was alternating with chicken baby food, turkey
breast, and cooked chicken along with the normal hard food. For four
days last week, the cat had diarrhea. For the last three or four
days she hasn't passed a stool. She urinates with no problem, drinks,
plays, and nibbles at her hard food. She doesn't strain as she
doesn't seem to have any desire yet to pass a stool.

Should we give it another day? Should we go back to Fancy Feast even
though we're not sure if she has skin allergies to it? We've tried
Wellness, Iams, and IVD allergy brand food, and she doesn't like them
at all.

I've read in some places where baby food squash is helpful as is
Metamucil, but other sites seem to indicate that MORE fiber in the
diet could also cause problems.

I would go to a pet store and look at the high quality canned cat foods that
are there. There are some very tasty ones in small cans that are high
quality. I would buy a few small cans to try them.
Gail
wrote in message
...
She doesn't show the signs of IBD. There's no vomiting, she eats, looks
for other, more tasty food, and isn't losing weight.

Is there anything that will replace the love of Fancy Feast that she had
and is actually healthy for her?


"Gail" wrote in
k.net:

She may have inflammatory bowel disease and may have to see a vet.
Gail



wrote in message
...
Some of you may remember that my mom's 8 yo female longhair had a
sore on her right hind leg. Several months ago, after changing a
hard food formulation food too quickly she developed diarrhea which
solved itself in about two weeks.

Well, it's now about three months later and I'm not sure whether it
was the shot of depo medrol, the removal of an old carpet or getting
her off of Fancy Feast wet canned food, but the sore seems to have
disappeared.

The problem is that after a week of another bout with diarrhea, she
seems to be constipated. My mom has this habit of giving the cat
different protein sources every time she meows. Instead of sticking
to Iams Lamb and rice (which the poor thing doesn't seem to like
anyway), and Purina Pro Plan Chicken and Rice hard food (which she
does like), she was alternating with chicken baby food, turkey
breast, and cooked chicken along with the normal hard food. For four
days last week, the cat had diarrhea. For the last three or four
days she hasn't passed a stool. She urinates with no problem, drinks,
plays, and nibbles at her hard food. She doesn't strain as she
doesn't seem to have any desire yet to pass a stool.

Should we give it another day? Should we go back to Fancy Feast even
though we're not sure if she has skin allergies to it? We've tried
Wellness, Iams, and IVD allergy brand food, and she doesn't like them
at all.

I've read in some places where baby food squash is helpful as is
Metamucil, but other sites seem to indicate that MORE fiber in the
diet could also cause problems.

At the risk of TMI, after my own bouts of the big D, several days often
pass before things get back to normal. Still, a call to the vet, if not
a trip in, may be in order to get an idea of how long is too long to go
without pooping.

Hope things resume their normal course soon.

Caroline S.


wrote:
Some of you may remember that my mom's 8 yo female longhair had a sore
on her right hind leg. Several months ago, after changing a hard food
formulation food too quickly she developed diarrhea which solved itself
in about two weeks.

Well, it's now about three months later and I'm not sure whether it was
the shot of depo medrol, the removal of an old carpet or getting her off
of Fancy Feast wet canned food, but the sore seems to have disappeared.

The problem is that after a week of another bout with diarrhea, she seems
to be constipated. My mom has this habit of giving the cat different
protein sources every time she meows. Instead of sticking to Iams Lamb
and rice (which the poor thing doesn't seem to like anyway), and Purina
Pro Plan Chicken and Rice hard food (which she does like), she was
alternating with chicken baby food, turkey breast, and cooked chicken
along with the normal hard food. For four days last week, the cat had
diarrhea. For the last three or four days she hasn't passed a stool.
She urinates with no problem, drinks, plays, and nibbles at her hard
food. She doesn't strain as she doesn't seem to have any desire yet to
pass a stool.

Should we give it another day? Should we go back to Fancy Feast even
though we're not sure if she has skin allergies to it? We've tried
Wellness, Iams, and IVD allergy brand food, and she doesn't like them at
all.

I've read in some places where baby food squash is helpful as is
Metamucil, but other sites seem to indicate that MORE fiber in the diet
could also cause problems.

wrote in message
...


The problem is that after a week of another bout with diarrhea, she seems
to be constipated.

She might be dehydrated from the diarrhea- which can cause constipation.
Diarrhea can also cause electrolyte imbalances- especially potassium
depletion which can impair colonic smooth muscle function making elimination
difficult. You might want to speak to your vet
about SC fluid replacement with a balanced electrolyte solution and possibly
an additional potassium supplement.

Constipation in cats must be resolved quickly because it tends to become
self-*perpetuating. The longer feces remain in the colon the drier and
harder they become and the more painful they are to eliminate. This can
make a cat voluntarily inhibit pooping-- which only makes the feces drier
are harder and even more painful to eliminate.

Phil

I've tried Wellness, Nutro, and others, but she just walks away from the
plate. The small can route is all we do as my mom always believes in
never serving old food. She doesn't want a large can in the fridge for
more than a day.






"Gail" wrote in
k.net:

I would go to a pet store and look at the high quality canned cat
foods that are there. There are some very tasty ones in small cans
that are high quality. I would buy a few small cans to try them.
Gail
wrote in message
...
She doesn't show the signs of IBD. There's no vomiting, she eats,
looks for other, more tasty food, and isn't losing weight.

Is there anything that will replace the love of Fancy Feast that she
had and is actually healthy for her?


"Gail" wrote in
k.net:

She may have inflammatory bowel disease and may have to see a vet.
Gail



wrote in message
...
Some of you may remember that my mom's 8 yo female longhair had a
sore on her right hind leg. Several months ago, after changing a
hard food formulation food too quickly she developed diarrhea which
solved itself in about two weeks.

Well, it's now about three months later and I'm not sure whether it
was the shot of depo medrol, the removal of an old carpet or
getting her off of Fancy Feast wet canned food, but the sore seems
to have disappeared.

The problem is that after a week of another bout with diarrhea, she
seems to be constipated. My mom has this habit of giving the cat
different protein sources every time she meows. Instead of
sticking to Iams Lamb and rice (which the poor thing doesn't seem
to like anyway), and Purina Pro Plan Chicken and Rice hard food
(which she does like), she was alternating with chicken baby food,
turkey breast, and cooked chicken along with the normal hard food.
For four days last week, the cat had diarrhea. For the last three
or four days she hasn't passed a stool. She urinates with no
problem, drinks, plays, and nibbles at her hard food. She doesn't
strain as she doesn't seem to have any desire yet to pass a stool.

Should we give it another day? Should we go back to Fancy Feast
even though we're not sure if she has skin allergies to it? We've
tried Wellness, Iams, and IVD allergy brand food, and she doesn't
like them at all.

I've read in some places where baby food squash is helpful as is
Metamucil, but other sites seem to indicate that MORE fiber in the
diet could also cause problems.

Thanks for your concern. Today she thankfully had a normal stool.
The only problem is that the sore on her right hind leg has returned.
So it's either another shot of depo medrol or a change of food and more
Tresaderm/Prednisolone. I'd like to rule out Fancy Feast and a wheat
gluten/corn allergy as the cause, but I can't because my mom told me she
was sneaking some Fancy Feast back into the cats diet over the last few
weeks because of her refusal to eat other wet food.

No matter how much I explain to her that 2/3 to 1 cup a day of Purina Pro
Plan hard food is enough as long as the cat drinks plenty of water, she
still believes the cat needs canned food for balance. Considering that
the poor little girl lost her little teeth at a young age, maybe just a
hard food diet is a little risky. However, I still have a feeling that
she may have an allergy to Fancy Feast, or else what our vet calls a
licky granuloma.


"Caroline S." wrote in
news:rm6Jf.4693$Tf3.4529@dukeread09:

At the risk of TMI, after my own bouts of the big D, several days
often pass before things get back to normal. Still, a call to the
vet, if not a trip in, may be in order to get an idea of how long is
too long to go without pooping.

Hope things resume their normal course soon.

Caroline S.

"Phil P." wrote in news:hhbJf.33447$0H1.30909
@trnddc04:

Constipation in cats must be resolved quickly because it tends to
become
self-ðperpetuating. The longer feces remain in the colon the drier and
harder they become and the more painful they are to eliminate. This
can
make a cat voluntarily inhibit pooping-- which only makes the feces
drier
are harder and even more painful to eliminate.


Thanks for info, Phil as I always respect your input. The constipation
seems to be over with as she had a normal stool. I'm back to worrying
about the recurring sore on her right hind leg which had disappeared for
3 months or so (after her last shot of depo medrol). It's either an
allergy to something or a granuloma. Somehow I've got to find out if
Fancy Feast is the problem. From what I can see from their labels, the
only food they make without wheat gluten is Turkey and Giblets. I'm sure
it has plenty of preservatives, though. It's funny how some cats can eat
anything and others are so sensitive that a minor change in their diets
can cause allergies or digestive problems.

How does Purina Pro Plan hard food stack up against the other top shelf
stuff - and is there anything to replace Fancy Feast as far as taste goes
that's healthy and provides the same H20 content? I will say that when
she just ate her Purina Pro Plan Chicken and Rice hard food and Fancy
Feast canned, one could set their clock by her regularity.