Kitten Diarrhea after Neutering
 

Hello fellow cat lovers!
I have a question about my kitten's neutering procedure. He was neutered over a month ago and has had diarrhea ever since. He is 5 months old and we have been giving him prescription science diet (gastrointestinal health) ever since (due to the diarrhea symptoms). We also have given him a weeks worth of probiotics prescribed by the vet twice. Each time, a week after the pills run out he gets diarrhea again. Is it possible something bad happened to him when he was neutered? His stool has been tested and he has no parasites. He never had diarrhea before being neutered.

Any advice is much appreciated! I've talked to the vet about this issue 5+ times and we can't seem to figure it out.

Thanks! -- Olivia

Just curious have you tried another food source....I know they preach their food but sometimes its the cause of some of these things...NOt sure if its wet or dry but I would try something like Wellness or a Good Quality Brand.

In the past I have also used pumpkin. It sounds crazy but it works both ways for the animal. If they are constipated it helps or if they are loose it firms... It must be pure pumpkin not pie filling. I used to buy the can and would never finish the whole amount as it is too much so I place the leftovers in a ice cube tray and freeze it. You dont need much really just a teaspoon or less on their food for a few days...not sure if it will work for you but it did for us.

Good Luck I know you must be frustrated. I dont think its the neutering

I'm with Winston--I'd switch him to a new protein source and if he's not on wet food, I'd wean him over to that, as well. Do it slowly so as not to upset his intestine more--mix in a little more each day until he's eventually on the new stuff totally. Try to find a single protein food--and try not to duplicate the protein source he's eating now (so if he's on chicken now, switch him to a turkey or lamb or beef food--and try to avoid foods with grain in them).

Pumpkin is definitely worth a try, too. For a cat, you'd probably need less than a teaspoon of the pumpkin per meal per day. We use it a lot. In fact, I always have frozen pumpkin cubes in the freezer. Less pumpkin helps to firm the stool; more pumpkin helps to loosen it up. For our ~50-lb dogs, 1 TBSP is enough to help firm them up. If they need to loosen up a bit, we give them 2 TBSP. So it doesn't take much--and works like magic!

I'd continue with the probiotic--you can buy some to sprinkle on his food daily. Out of curiosity, did they give your little guy antibiotics after his neuter? He might just still be recovering from the affects of the antibiotics. In that case, the probiotics should eventually help to rebalance the organisms in his gut to normalize his stool.

And, when your little guy is feeling better, we sure would love to see a few pics of the little darling! :D

:)
 

Thank you both so much for your advice!! :) I really appreciate some feedback. It's been a stressful few weeks. We've tried the canned pumpkin before (100% pure, not the pie filling) and he loves it but it didn't seem to really help with the diarrhea for him. He got sick first about 2 days after his neutering and the vet said it was probably just the anesthesia which makes sense. But it kept up for at least 3 days so they put him on the probiotics. About a week after the pills ran out, he was right back to square once. And today is an exact repeat, so I'm thinking it's the probiotic that's keeping him stable.

Hopefully they will be able to prescribe me some for longer this time (not sure if he can take that daily indefinitely). He's on the wet food right now, but sometimes I sprinkle some hard food of the same exact brand and flavor into his wet food because he's a very hungry kitten and I want him to feel full. I'll cut him back to just the wet food and see if that helps. It seems to agree with him really well - his poop looks better than it ever had before when he's on the pills and the wet food.

I might try a second opinion with another vet as well just in case. I'll do just about anything to help him feel better. I just want my little guy to be able to roam free in the house and use the litter box.

I've attached some pics too! Neville is the black kitten and the orangish cat is his older brother Cooper. :)

What beautiful cats you have, Livster! :flirt: Thanks for sharing the pics!

If he's on wet food already, you might want to look into that different protein idea--it might be that your little guy has a protein intolerance for what he's eating.

I hope you get some answers soon! :goodvibes:

What sweet kitties ! :lovestruck: You should made sure your kitty is drinking enough water if he has diarrhea if new food doesn't help he should be taken to the vet. It not good for cat to have diarrhea more than 3 days.

Hi Livster:
Welcome to the forum. Hopefully we can be of some help.
I was wondering if the wee guy has had his vaccinations and when were they given? And when was his neutering? And was he given any antibiotics either by injection or mouth - you didn't answer that question posed by Hazelrunpack.
I'm enclosing a web site giving you some idea on prescription diets by Dr. Pierson, who is a vet in the states.
I also agree that you should seek a second opinion. Possibly try to find a vet who is integrative. They are knowledgeable on both allopathic and alternative medicines and have a good working knowledge on nutrition - more so than the conventional vet.
Also try to make sure they specialize in felines.

There is a lot of good information on this web site.

[url]http://www.catinfo.org/#Prescription/Therapeutic_Diets_[/url]

Something you might think about trying is Slippery Elm Bark. I've used it myself and have had good success.

[url]http://www.littlebigcat.com/health/slippery-elm/[/url]

It would also be good to go into Article Library on Little Big Cat. There are a lot of really good pieces there that might assist you now and in the future.

Please keep us posted.

Hi Livster,

I agree with the others on the neutering not being the cause of diarrhea.

You are already getting great advice from our community - I just wanted to give you a late welcome and tell you how cute your kitties are.

Thank you!!
 

Thanks again everyone so much for the advice :)

Neville is actually doing much better today. I've put him completely on his wet food and he is no longer having complete diarrhea, just a little soft. He hasn't missed his litter box at all during this round of stomach upset (knock on wood), which is amazing and making it much easier. I've also been making sure he drinks plenty and his behavior is still completely normal. I'm planning on getting another can of pumpkin to make the freezer treats so that I have something a little extra to give him that's easy on his system any time he has a little episode.

Hi Reg - Sorry I missed that question before. He wasn't given any antibiotics after surgery. But they mentioned the anesthesia alone could make his stomach upset, so I'm thinking that might have played a role.

I'm not sure what exactly caused him to become so sensitive to diet, but now that I know that just wet food seems easier on him, that's a great place to start.

I'm thinking that anytime he gets anything slightly different in his diet (even dry food), his system can't handle it anymore. I'm very good about keeping him away from our food and from our other cat's food, but the other day when I got out of the shower, I caught him chewing on a piece of hay from our guinea pig's cage (which I took away immediately). I'm thinking that was just enough to cause this round of diarrhea, so I moved where the guinea pigs food is so that he can't try to pull it through the cage bars. I vacuum daily and always try to keep a close watch on him to keep this kind of stuff away from him, but he sure is sneaky!

Forgot to add
 

Oh and if he has another episode that plan is try a second opinion from a different vet and to try a change in the protein type of the wet food :) I can't express enough how much you've all helped! I was all out of ideas before I came here and now I have a few jumping points in case things get worse again.

Glad to see that you are contemplating seeing another vet. If you are not getting the answers that you are looking for, you are best to seek out another vet who will give you peace of mind and have the animal's well being at heart.
It could be beneficial to your wallet as well.
Great looking pair of fur buddies. They deserve TLC as well.

I'm glad the little tyke is feeling better!