I'm sorry to hear of your baby's continuing problem. Unfortunately, confining her to the bathroom may only exacerbate the problem, since stress is a common cause of loose stool. Even if the I/D and probiotics solve the underlying problem, you may not know it if the stress of separation and confinement causes continuing stress-related diarrhea.

You might want to try slippery elm bark. It's a natural remedy that coats and soothes the GI tract. It can help with both diarrhea and constipation. I've used it in my own cats, sometimes with little apparent effect, and sometimes with almost miraculous effect. In any event, it's worth a try. You can read all about slippery elm, including dosing information, at the following link:

slippery elm bark information

Laurie

I noticed you said she was diagnosed with Coccidia... have you treated her for that (none of the meds you listed so far do anything against Coccidia)? I would at least give Albon or Ponazuril a try and retest for Coccidia several more times (it can show up intermittently in fecal samples). And many young kitties suffer from diarrhea for unknown reasons and seem to grow out of it.. good luck.

I personally find cats do not respond to ID the way dogs do, and just try to keep them on a good quality (low low low carb) canned diet like the over-the-counter 'pate' type diets (non-fish). Try to keep them off dry.

Oops yes, forgot to mention the Albon - she did have that. So far the fecal after that didn't show coccidia any more.

I will look into the slippery elm. Have read about that many times but haven't used. What about pumpkin which I've also seen recommended?

I know a lot of people don't think very highly of the prescription diets. I think I will stay with that for now though until I see my regular vet.

Somehow I don't think this is stress related. In spite of some periods of confinement she seems really well adjusted when she's out and about but what do I know. Other than I just can't have her pooping and peeing all over the house.

The vet did say this can sometimes happen in young cats and they can grow out of it. Something to do with "immature" pancreas function or something like that.

Well, we'll continue to carry on and hopefully there will be a solution soon. We really love this little cat.

What is Tucker's reaction if you put him in the room with her? Sounds like he misses her. : (

You know, I thought about putting him in there with her but so far decided against it. To some extent I felt like it was better to keep her isolated if her problem was parasites. And then I felt even worse about the idea of two cats in "jail" rather than one. I hate confining her but I figure it's better to have a home and be in the bathroom part of the time rather than not having a home and I keep telling myself it's short term in the big scheme of things. And she seems happy overall.

I have heard of cats who have had repeated bouts of coccidia and I have also heard that stool tests are not always conclusive and that they can still have it, but not be caught in a sample.

Since Tucker spends his time waiting for his little sister on the other side of the bathroom door, anyway, I'd be inclined to put him in there with her, too. At least that will reduce her feeling of isolation and any stress that may be worsening her condition. It's worth a try, anyway. You may find that Tucker is just fine being in the bathroom with his little bud.

Laurie

Coccidia and giardia can both be very difficult to get rid of. Animals can be treated and then become symptomatic again after a week or so, or later on if they are stressed. These protozoic parasites have eggs that are encysted and can survive in the intestines for long periods of time. Also these parasites often fail to show up in fecal smears. (I give very little credence to stool testing. I think they're just a money drain that leaves a pet untreated when they result in false negatives.)

I'd recommend treating your cat again with albon, and with drontal or metronidazole. It took 2 or 3 treatment courses to rid my dogs of both giardia, and later coccidia, when these nasty parasites infested them.

It's not a pleasant experience, so you have my sympathies. I feel bad for your cat's little buddy too, waiting outside the door for him!

Gibby,

Do you take your babies to a cat-only vet? I don't know if you have one near you but I have found a great one in my town and it has made a difference. Cats are very different than dogs, and many vets seem to treat mainly dogs.

My cat still doesn't like to go to the vet but I can relax and know she is getting the best care available.

Best of luck to you and your kitties.

I don't go to a cat only vet but I think my regular vet is competent with cats based on past experience with other cats. I'm not as confident in the "interim" vet I've been seeing. So we'll see what my regular vet has to say on Monday. Maggie has been treated 3x with Drontal but only once with metronidazole, albon and panacur. Sometimes I wonder if her gut is just a mess from all the medication.

In the meantime I'm trying pumpkin for a few days and if that doesn't do anything I'll move on to the slippery elm. I hope when this finally does get resolved that it proves to be the underlying cause of her litter box issues. I'm sure if I had the runs for two months I'd have some kind of aversion too.

Small ray of hope today. She pooped a formed stool for the first time since we've had her. I also don't think she's getting the urge to go as often. I did manage to give her a few teaspoons of pumpkin over several days before she decided she didn't like it and wouldn't eat any more. Not sure if that had anything to do with today's output.

Of course yesterday she pooped a pile outside the litter box so I don't know if today is the start of a favorable trend or just a fluke. For what it's worth I took yesterday's pile to the vet for yet another fecal test. Will see what if anything that shows when I take her to my regular vet tomorrow.

You are a good person, gibby. Poor kitty. I hope she feels better soon.

I'm assuming you haven't changed the litter again, correct?

I've used World's Best for the past 3 years and considered it the 'best', but a few weeks ago I decided to try Petco's bulk scoopable clay litter. I placed a new box w/new litter next to her old box and from the moment she saw it she never went back to the WB's litter box! It's a big improvement on dust and she doesn't chew on her nails like she did with the WB's.
Just thought I'd share...... : )

Otherwise, I still think your kitty will improve in time She's just had so much going on tummie-wise and the fact she did so well, even if it was for a short spell, is encouraging.
Thanks for all your updates.....I'm sure they will be of help to others going thru similar problems.

annz, I've actually been using the Petco scoopable since I switched from regular clay early on - it was one of the few I could find that was unscented. She seems fine with that. She does use all the litter boxes much of the time but I just can't count on it 100%.

Here's my update from the vet. Her latest fecal was clear - for what that's worth. I love my regular vet - he is so thorough and he just seems so passionate about the care he provides to our cats. He went through a detailed history on everything and thoroughly examined her. Also did another feline leukemia test since the other one was done by the shelter before I got her. It was negative fortunately. So based on all that he thinks it's a food intolerance.

In his experience the ID resolves this in the vast majority of cases if absolutely no other food is allowed. DH has not been at all careful about that - giving her the wrong food at times and not watching to make sure she doesn't eat the other cats' food. So we are on 2-3 weeks of strict ID and water only and no other food, treats, etc. I'm also trying to find out what she ate before I got her as I do think she may have had more normal stool when we first got her. Can't exactly remember as I was so preoccupied with her going outside the litter box which at that time was probably due to the box/litter.

Ironically when I got Tucker he had the runs too and once his parasites were cleared up, the problem was finally resolved by changing his food as recommended by this same vet. So based on past experience this seems like a reasonable approach.

He was optimistic that we can get through this and that once the diarrhea is resolved she will get over the litter box problems. So that's the plan - hopefully I can keep DH under control with his feeding practices. He really doesn't like keeping her confined at all so hopefully that will be incentive to pay close attention to what she's eating.

Thanks for listening - most people I know can't relate at all to what I've gotten myself into with this new cat.

Gibby,

That is one great function of this forum. Even when things are really bad and can't be fixed we are here to listen. Fortunately your issue sounds very fixable.

I adopted my cat 5 1/2 years ago and she was my first cat. I had read the forums and heard all about the many problems new cats can bring home with them. Well, I got lucky. She moved in and and took over in about 30 minutes and had no behavior issues at all - except being a princess. She now has some kidney and thyroid issues that are controlled by meds and she is doing great under the care of a great cat-only vet. But I know as she ages there will come a time when I need advice from you and the other forum members and I can learn from your experience.

I'm glad you got a good report on her and have a plan now that should work.

I hope all goes well from hereon out.

If you have small children you probably need to treat them and yourself for Giardia. I have had Giardia and it is very hard to diagnose, it is usually diagnosed as irritable bowel syndrome. All of my tests came back negative but the diarrhea continued. I emailed an American doctor who I met in Peru and told her the problem. She told me what to take and how long to take it and told me to give email to my doctor. Peru is rampant with all kinds of intestinal parasites. It is also rampant in the states due to hikers drinking out of streams and daycare providers not washing their hands after changing diapers.

We have no small children and no Giardia symptoms. From what I read there are different strains and what is present in cats usually is not transmitted to humans. Regardless we are very fastidious about cleaning and hand washing around animals.

We seem to be making progress on the ID and nothing else diet. Her poop is starting to shape up over the last few days, better each day. The vet said if this was the solution she would get better in 2-3 weeks. It's been about nine days. I'm cautiously optimistic. Still have to overcome the litter box issues but hopefully that will come naturally with normal bowel and bladder conditions.