|  Dr. Danoff received her veterinary degree from the University of Florida in 1999, where she focused her training on exotic animals, including birds, reptiles, small mammals, and aquatic animals. She currently owns a holistic and rehabilitation practice in Vienna, Virginia where she integrates both holistic and traditional medicine into her treatment plans.
Dr. Danoff is a vegan and shares her home with 15 rescued companion animals. These include 2 physically challenged dogs, 4 cats, 5 parrots, 2 snakes and 2 lizards.
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| Aug 27 Written by:kim_danoff
Wednesday, August 27, 2008  Q: I have a cat that has diarrhea every time he uses his litter box. This has gone on for some time. He eats dry kibble and Friskies canned wet food. I have bought very expensive canned food for him and he refuses it. Can you give me any possible causes or a solution? A: Diarrhea can be a very non-specific sign of disease and can be caused by a bacterial infection, worms, inflammatory bowel disease, hyperthyroidism, cancer, poor diet, and the list goes on and on. Typically the way I start to work-up a cat with diarrhea is:a thorough physical exam, fecal exam to check for parasites and giardia, blood work to assesses organ function, x-rays, abdominal ultrasound, endoscopy... Many times it is diet related. I find that almost all inflammatory bowel disease cats (and dogs) is due to a poor diet, typically commercial foods with toxic ingredients in them or too high of carbohydrates. We have great success in treating cats like this using diet, nutritional supplements, and sometimes herbals. If your cat has already had a thorough traditional work-up, then you may want to consider a holistic approach next.
Tags: 8 comments so far...
Re: Stomach Upsets
Kim,
I've just gone through the same thing with one of my cats. The vet did all the right things and we did all the non-invasive tests done we could think of. We finally opted for exploratory surgery as opposed to doing a scope to avoid knocking him out twice (we were afraid the scope results would be non-conclusive and the surgery would be necessary anyway).
Thank goodness we did. He has lymphocitic (small cell) lymphoma. The more quickly it is found, the longer the survival time. Hopefully with all we're doing for him now, he'll be around for two or three more years.
It's important to test for all the things Dr. Danoff mentions, so please take your kitty to the doctor and be persistent in finding the cause of your kitty's soft stools.
By TheOldBroad on
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
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Re: Stomach Upsets
Kim,
I have six cats. some are purebred. one, in particular, will vomit and get diarrhea from his diet. I mostly feed my cats Adult Original Science Diet dry cat food. For canned, I never give them anything rich, like seafoods. I give them turkey and giblets and chicken. I try to give them healthy foods and it seems to keep their intestinal tract inline. Good luck,
puddietat
By puddietat on
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
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Re: Stomach Upsets
Kim,
You don't mention the brand of kibble you are feeding, but my experience has been feeding a higher quality dry food will help loose stools. I fed my cats Purina One for several years, and they all did well on that. I recently switched to Natural Balance, and that has worked really well. You might try feeding your cat a small amount of canned pumpkin (non spicy). They love the taste, and it will stop diarrhea every time. Obviously, these solutions will not help if your cat is suffering from a medical problem, but they do work if it's a diet issue or just a sensitive stomach. Good Luck!
By cabinpets on
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
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Re: Stomach Upsets
I agree...our cat went through this too, until we switched to a top quality food. It's like the vet explained to us- what would we rather have- french fries and chocolate or spinach and broccoli? Most people seem to prefer the better tasting choice, but it's so bad for us. Our cat turned her nose up when we first gave her the good food (Wellness brand), but after two days- she was ready to eat! We never had another problem and neither did the cat.
By kwndog on
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
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Re: Stomach Upsets
had the same issue with my 11 year old cat. he had diarrhea for several months and lost a lot of weight. we had all the tests and examinations done and the vet concluded it was immflammatory bowel disease. changed his diet to Hill's Science Diet Prescription d/d (vension and pea) and had him on 5 mg/day prednisolone for several months. I recently weaned him off the prednisolone and just keeping him on the d/d diet is keeping the diarrhea under control (knock on wood). good luck!
By Mom_of_Chloe on
Thursday, August 28, 2008
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Re: Stomach Upsets
I have this problem with 2 of my 5 cats. After the tests at the Vets and numerious medicstions, I fgound the Petdophalus, a pet form of Asodopholus works wonders. It can be found at your local holistic pet food store. Good Luck.
By sekkim on
Thursday, August 28, 2008
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Re: Stomach Upsets
My friend's cat also has stopped having issues now that she gets a teaspoon of pumpkin every day, i think. Worth a try...
But see a vet first!
By threecheers4pets on
Thursday, August 28, 2008
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Re: Stomach Upsets
Sadie is a year old mix lab/shepherd she has the worst gas I have ever smelled coming from a dog!!!!!!!!!!!!
What can i do to help her get some relief for her and her family???
Thank you
Shelley Henry
By shellandsadie on
Monday, September 22, 2008
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