Any tips for a sick cat?

[Anna C. 4]

Hi cat lovers,

I have had cats forever, but never one with diarrhea. I think it's from the food we changed to recently, so I bought the old brand yesterday. She is otherwise fine: no fever, hungry, normal playful behavior, drinks a lot, no mucus or blood in the feces. I just had to bathe her though, she's a long hair... The stuff looks like the cat food bites (color and consistency, as if she didn't digest it)...

Do you have any advice and at which point should I go to the vet? It seemed to have started with the new food.... She also pointed it out, sitting in front of the bowl and asking for more food, even though there was enough. When I served her the old brand, she was overjoyed and meowed happily and purred....

I had to bathe her with gloves, I'm pregnant - my mother in law cleans the box, but hubbie is at officer training school in Alabama... So someone had to bathe her. I was jsut tested for toxoplasmosis on Wednesday (negative), so I think that's not it (indoor cat anyway).

Help....

[Mags 112]

First of all, check if she is hydrated enough. Pull up her skin on her back - if it stays up she is dehydrated and should go to the vets immediately, imo. If it springs back into place then she is fine on that score. As to the diarrhea, it could be the food change that is doing it. Diet changes in cats should always be done slowly over a period of a week or two, replacing a larger ammount of the old food with the new food to each feeding - never overnight.

If the change back to the old diet doesn't stop the diarrhea in a day or two then a vet appointment should be made, asap.

Good luck!

Edited March 21, 2008 by Mags

[Sister Fracas 5]

Also, because her tummy might be still upset from the other food, I'd keep her meals small for now and work back up to a normal size meal. You could feed the same amount, but spread out over several meals if she is still hungry and see if she still has the runs. If she keeps having problems after a few days, I'd take her to the vet.

Edited March 21, 2008 by Sister Fracas

[Anna C. 4]

Thanks... She is hydrated... Luckily... We changed the food slowly, but it started to occurr once she was totally switched. It was some organic weight control food, I guess she really doesn't like it. Poor thing though!

[GaryC 7]

Another thing you might look at is a worm problem. Cats can have diarrhea because of that. If the cat hasn't been fixed and is in heat that can also cause diarrhea. I know that Bruha had terrible diarrhea when she was in heat and it went away when we got her spayed.

[Nagishkaw 510]

First of all, check if she is hydrated enough. Pull up her skin on her back - if it stays up she is dehydrated and should go to the vets immediately, imo. If it springs back into place then she is fine on that score. As to the diarrhea, it could be the food change that is doing it. Diet changes in cats should always be done slowly over a period of a week or two, replacing a larger ammount of the old food with the new food to each feeding - never overnight.

If the change back to the old diet doesn't stop the diarrhea in a day or two then a vet appointment should be made, asap.

Good luck!

Purrrrrrrfect.

[Sinergy 3]

Organic??? Well that could be it. Think about it, even a human, if youd never eaten organic and you do one day, your body isnt used to it and will clean it out. Thats what was happening prolly

[djcess 0]

If you watch "The Office" Dwight place Angela's cat in the freezer.. Ooopps

Take it to the vet..

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

I had a very badly hurt cat once - poor thing go hit by a car. I was just about to whack him over the head to put him out of his misery when dad came and said that we can get that leg - which was literally just hanging on by the skin - all patched up. We actually managed to put a cast on that cat's leg and it worked. A few weeks later, the leg was healed (not 100% straight but fully functional) and Garfield - yes, he was a big ole' red cat which we named Garfield - lived a full, long life after that. He died a few years back at the proud age of 18.