I'm really beginning to worry if Luna is seriously ill

[Kirsten]

She still has diarrhea, no matter what I try, she's not getting rid of it! Sometimes it's better for a couple of days, but it never lasts long. :(

She has been diagnosed with clostridia in her colon last fall, a very resistant bacteria that settles down deep in the colon tissue. Most likely she got these bacteria from contaminated food during the last summer when we had very high temperatures, at least this was when her problems started.

She had treatments with two different antibiotics since, the ones that seemed to be most promising according to the resistance test. She has also been on i/d diet for a long time and got these kind of bacteria that helps the colon tissue to recover - it didn't help! :( Right now, it's really bad again, and she's back on i/d diet. She's doesn't use her box mroe than once or twice a day, but the stool is soft and - sorry Luna but I have to say that - very smelly. :o

According to the vet, it may take a long time till her intestines recover, but they have to. So she probably has to eat the i/d for a while now. This causes even more problems because she actually has to eat Hill's Indoors to get the right balance for her pH-value in her bladder (she has a tendency to an alcalic ph-value and developed struvite crystals last year). But there's no way she can eat Hill's Indoors at the moment, the fibres in it are making her problems even worse. Now I got a paste from the vet instead called Uri-Vet. She doesn't like it very much, and today, she has thrown up - slime and some hair... Poor baby! Usually she doesn't throw up very often.

I'm beginning to wonder if there might be some serious disease behind all these problems. :( It started soon after I got Lily last summer. In Germany, the vets usually don't test kittens for virus diseases, unless there is a certain suspect. Lily has been dewormed and vaccinated before I got her, and so was Luna. BTW, Lily doesn't have any health problems at all.

Apart from the diarrhea, Luna seems to be fine. She has a good appetite, her fur is shiny and her eyes are clear. She has gained a lot of weight lately but I found out that she must have eaten Lily's food also when they still ate together in the same room. She seemed to have lost a bit since I feed them seperated from each other, and now she's always hungry! LOL

I'm sorry, this is long, but I really wish my Luni-girl would finally be back to normal! I love her so much!

Kirsten

[slick]

Kirsten I'm so sorry to hear this. Diarrhea is bad enough for us humans to deal with; I can imagine how it must bother Luna. Prayers on way that things will clear up soon. Please keep us posted.

[Karen]

Poor you, poor Lunakitty. You'll be in our prayers. :(

Big skritches to you, Luna and Lily, too - Happy Valentines Day!

[krazyaboutkatz]

Kirsten, I'm so sorry to hear about poor Luna.:( I sure hope that the i/d diet will finally help her. Prayers and positive thoughts are on the way for both of you. Please take care and keep us updated.

[Craftlady]

Have you tried pumpkin pie filling mix comes in a can. 100% pumpkin no other addivites. At least tablespoon size 1x a day. It helps bind potty.

[kimlovescats]

Ask your vet about getting her some Diarsenal ... it is a dark colored paste that comes in a pump type tube. It helped stopped the diarrhea really well in my kittens who had Coccidia!!!

GOOD LUCK and hugs to sweet Luna!

[CatDad]

It sounds like you got some good advice here. Hopefully some of it will help.

Prayers for poor Luna.

Joey sends a special prayer for her, she really undertands.

[PayItForward]

You might remember reading about my Bramble who had the same problem for months.

But crossed fingers seems to have stablised at the moment.

My vet also started her on Hills ID food and antibiotics to clear up the poo.

My vet decided Bramble was reacting to byproducts (that are in Hills food and many other popular food)

So we are now feeding Burns dry food (Thanks Ebby's Chris for the suggestion) and Yarrah organic 50% human grade wet meat as a treat and fingers crossed she is doing well.

[Kirsten]

Thanks everyone for your advice and positive thoughts for my little girl!

I will ask my vet about that Diarsenal.
About these canned pumpkins... I'm afraid they are not available here, at least I have never seen them. :(

Kirsten

[slick]

Still keeping you and Luna in my thoughts and prayers!

[Kirsten]

Thank you very much! :)

Kirsten

[Craftlady]

Bummer on the canned pumpkin. Libby's (well known can food maker) makes the pumpkin filling. Always out in full force around Thanksgiving but available year round.

How do you make homemade pumpkin pies? The filling for these pies (if you don't make them from scratch) is what you can give kittys for binding potty.

[Barbara]

I hope Luna will be fine. However I think it is a good sign if she acts healthy and looks good!

I have no experience with soft stool but a lot with throwing up hair and slime which happens twice per week and cat here. It looks yucky but it is completely ok.

Regarding pumpkin pie -I am afraid nobody here makes this dish -not from scratch and not with bought filling.

[Kirsten]

Regarding pumpkin pie -I am afraid nobody here makes this dish -not from scratch and not with bought filling.

So true... We don't have it here, so there are no canned pumpkins available in Germany. :(

Kirsten

[Craftlady]

WOW.. I thought pumpkin pie (dessert assocated with Thanskgiving) would be world wide favorite. I'll have to do some research to see if their is an alternative to pumpkin. First thing that comes to mind is squash. How is grows is similiar to pumpkin on vines above ground.

[Kirsten]

Posted this is Cat General already, but wanted to update this thread also:

Luna was at the vet's office again this afternoon and got a shot which is supposed to cure possible inflammations in the colon tissue. Also, there's another change in her diet now, she'll get nothing else but Hill's r/d now, no i/d is allowed until her colon has recovered. Next week, I'll bring another stool sample to the vet's office.

To those who do not know: Clostridia have been found in her stool last fall, and she's through several antibiotic treatments, but not very successful so far.

She's sleeping in my lap at the moment and looks a bit groggy, most likely from the shot.

Kirsten

[Logan]

Darling, Luna, I hope you will be just fine, sweetheart.

As for the pumpkin, Kirsten, if you were to find it, you want pure pumpkin, not the pumpkin pie filling! It is made by Libby's, most often, in the states. Wonder if I could ship you some??? I'd be glad to do that if your vet and you think it would help.

You let me know by PM if you want me to try.

Logan

[AmberLee]

Does Luna like plain yogurt? It's used in humans to restock the 'good' bacteria lost when on antibiotics and can bind diarrhea, too. Many cats love it, perhaps you could try a little?

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

Kirsten, how in the world did I miss this?! I'm so sorry to hear Luna is still not doing well. I know you had such hopes that the last dose of antibiotics would do it for her. :(

Poor Luna, hugs skritchies and prayers going out to you sweetie. Snuggle in mommy's lap as much as you need, just get better real quick, ok?

[krazyaboutkatz]

Kirsten, thanks for the update. I sure hope that Luna's new r/d diet and the shot she was given will help her and make her feel better. Please get well soon Luna.

[Kirsten]

Thanks everyone!

I've found out something very interesting today! After Luna got that anti-inflammatory shot yesterday, her stool was NORMAL this morning, plus it's been the first time for many days that she was using her box again! :)

I haven't changed her diet yet, I first wanted to find out if there would be any improvement by the shot only, 'cause this should give the vet a hint. She's not in her office today, otherwise I would have called her already to tell her, but to me it looks very obvious now that there must have been inflammated areas in Luna's colon already. Clostridia is well-known for causing colitis if untreated and it looks like Luna's colon tissue is already damaged. :(

I will feed the last can of her old diet today to see what happens, than change her diet as discussed with the vet. On Monday, I will call her again to discuss further treatment. I hope this means we're on the right path now!

Thanks everyone for your support and advice, and for keeping my girl in your thoughts! :)

Kirsten

[HayleyRosie]

I'm so sorry to hear Luna is having this problem. I hope the shot worked and this is the end of her sickness.

[Felicia's Mom]

I'm glad the shot has helped, and Luna is improving.

[Randi]

I'm glad to hear the shot helped. Now, stick to the new diet and hope for the best. :) I think Amberlee's advise is worth trying also! ;)

Kisses to sweet little Luna! :)

[Cataholic]

Keeping Luna and you in my prayers!

[krazyaboutkatz]

Kirsten, I'm so glad that the shot has helped Luna.:) Hopefully this will help your vet identify her illness and hopefully it will be easily treatable. Prayers and positive thoughts are being sent your way.

[Kirsten]

Thanks everyone! :)

Well, she has pooped on the floor again this morning, but the stool looked still normal. That's a good sign, I think. I'm really believeing in my inflammation-theory now and hope it is treatable. Let's wait and see what the vets says on Monday.

BTW, about the pooping on the floor-thing... I'm beginning to wonder if Luna is doing that because she doesn't want Lily to cover her poo? Luna has never covered it but now Lily is doing that for her. Whenever she hears Luna is using her box, Lily would run to her, wait until she's finished and then cover her poo and pee. Maybe this is the reason why Luna is looking for places with solid surfaces? :rolleyes:

Kirsten

[smokey the elder]

I'm glad Luna is doing better.

As far as the toileting problem goes, maybe Luna would like her own litter box. Then she can get away from Lily when she does her business.

[Kirsten]

She has her own litter box. I have three boxes for two cats.

Kirsteb

[CatDad]

I was happy to hear that Luna is pooping normaly. If it is inflamation that is causing the problem, I know that there are anti-inflammatory pills that you can give her.

Sorry to hear that she went on the floor again, and at this point it may be a behavior thing rather then being related to her medical stuff. Maybe she just needs to readjust to using the litter box and it may get better with time. I wish I had some other suggestions but I don't. Also, 3 boxes for 2 cats is plenty.:)

Well, continued prayers for Luna and I really hope that you have found the answer.

[NoahsMommy]

If you took Luna to my work, I know they'd give her a prescription of Prednisone. If the anti-inflammatory shot worked, a daily dose of the pills (also now available in liquid) will work.

My Micah, who has Inflammatory Bowel Disease did well on Prednisone while he was on it for his teeth. Now I feed him a raw diet and Innova wet food.

You might consider something very natural for Luna's diet.

[Kirsten]

CatDad, today and yesterday, she has used her box again, and her stool looks still normal which is a good sign. :)

NoahsMommy, I have spoken to the vet today and told her that the shot worked very well. For the time being, Luna will continue to eat her r/d diet, and in case the diarrhea acts up again, she'll get anti-inflammatory pills, I figure that will be something like Prednisone. At this point it's not sure whether she has developed an Inflammatory Bowel Disease or Colitis, could be that it was only a temporary disorder caused by the clostridia. Right now, she's doing fine!

Kirsten