Prolonged Cat Diarrhea

[Smithy92]

Good evening all.

Our 15yr old cat has had prolonged diarrhea for around 2 weeks now but no other sickness symptoms (i.e. she's still eating fine, isn't throwing up, has gained weight in the past week following a course of antibiotics, isn't any more lethargic than normal, and doesn't seem to be in any discomfort).

Our Vet has said he believes it to either be Scar Tissue on the Intestines / IBD or Lympthoma. My question is, having done a lot of googling, of it were to be Lympthoma should there not be other symptoms too? As I've said she's purely got diarrhea at present.

On top of this I've read about other less severe illnesses like hyperthyroidism or liver / kidney problems causing similar things so I'm wondering if I should ask for these to be tested.

Thanks

[Mollycat]

What else have you had other than antibiotics? Antibiotics play hell with the gut lining so vitamin B should be given by injection, just for a start, regardless of the root cause. You can also get pastes like Pro-kolin that can really help calm the gut lining down. The problem with the Dire Rear is it's self perpetuating, the more it goes on, nutrients are not absorbed properly, the worse it gets.

After that, if it is lymphoma or IBD, they can look at steroids. It's not nice but steroids are the drug of choice for managing either of these conditions, so if you don't want invasive tests that are unlikely to be of much use, that's another option to consider. That's where we got to with my boy, he was also 15 and after 2 years the vitamin B injections were no longer enough.

A full blood panel would be a really good idea if it hasn't already been done and that would show up any kidney, liver and thyroid issues. Hypothyroidism is rare in cats (hyper is common - dogs, the other way around) but antibiotics with ongoing diarrhea wouldn't normally cause sudden weight gain so I think if your cat is otherwise fit and well a full screen would be money well spent.

[booktigger]

What were the antibiotics given for? I'm surprised your vet hasn't suggested a full blood panel including thyroid given her age. I've had a cat with intestinal lymphoma and she had diarrhea and poor fur condition, nothing else.

[Smithy92]

Thanks for the responses both. She was given 5day course of Metronidazole as initial thought was it was infection of some sort. This started last Thursday and ended earlier this week. We've also been told to up her Prednisolone (which she was already prescribed for some continual overgrooming / joint problems).

Aside from that blood tests were last taken 6m ago but no other tests suggested as of yet. I've emailed the vet this morning to suggest re-tests too.

[Mollycat]

Ah that makes a bit more more sense, increasing the steroid.

Years ago all human antibiotic prescription was accompanied by a vitamin B, because of the effect of the antibiotics on the stomach. Why this practice ceased I don't know, but it helps cats too, though the injection bypasses the digestive system where it can be of limited use if it shoots through the digestive system too fast to be absorbed.

The Dire Rear can be a side effect of steroids as well, has your vet discussed this with you?

[Smithy92]

He discussed it can be scarring from longer term steroid use but it sounded very similar to IBD if I understood correctly?

He's suggested going to Chlorambucil tomorrow given there's been no improvement with the increased prednisolone. Were just concerned we don't know the cause, and don't want to do a biopsy given her age so aren't sure whether we have 2 months or 2 years, and similarly when we should be thinking about helping free her from any potential pain.