Kaopectate for diarrhea

I have been battling the big "D" with my kitties and came across this warning link at ShowCatsOnline.com

It seems that the formula was changed in December 2003 and the new stuff has aspirin. Here is a clip:

The new formula of Kaopectate® may be deadly to your cat.

Kaopectate®, the diarrhea medication for humans, has also been used effectively on cats and dogs.

However, Kaopectate's® new formulation contains bismuth subsalicylate, an aspirin derivative that may be harmful to some dogs and can be deadly to cats

Why do they have to go and change good things??? Maybe we should protest!! Tell them we want the safe for kitties one back. I bet they didn't know that it was being used for cats and other pets and they hurt themselves by changing it.. WHY would you need asprin for the nasty runs anyway?

Just an FYI, I don't know about the strength of what they put in the kaopectate, but baby aspirin is ok for kitties. One every 3 days only though. Any more than that and it can build up in their system and become toxic. Also, I would only reccommend the St Joseph's brand. There is another brand that I can't remember the name of, it was either baby tylenol or baby ibuprofen or something, that cats cannot tolerate and it will kill them. But plain old St Joseph's baby aspirin (81 mg) once every 3 days is ok to give to kitties. However, another vet told me that the benefits they receive from it are questionable so he did not recommend it for cats with chronic renal failure because it does more damage to the kidneys than it helps.

Anyway, so it could be that if you give them kaopectate too many days in a row, there is now too much aspirin in it, so it's better to be safe than sorry.

Thanks for the update Debbie. :)

When Skinny had his problems my old vet had me give him Kaopectate. I chose the childrens (cherry). I was to give him 1/2 tsp 3/4x a day if memory serves me correctly for 5 days.
I spoke with pharmacist and was assured because of low doses and limited days it was safe.

Our new vet was in agreement it was ok for limited use and dose we had given. Since it didn't work we didnt use it again when going with new vet.

My advise, talk with your vets.

Yes, I understand the small amount would be OK. I still wish they would not change formulas when many of us might still think it was Kaolin and Pectin like it used to be!!
Meg told me about a product that is still plain old kaolin and pectin that she gets at an AgWay store called Pecticillin. I found plain apple pectin at my nutrition store and the guy told me that kaolin is clay and good for detoxifying. (didn't have any though) Now if I could just find the stuff:rolleyes: I think they might have it at a Farm Supply type store. I found a similar concoction online that is sold by the gallon - again pure kaolin and pectin for horses, cows, goats, dogs and cats.

Debbie,

When my Casey (RB Bubba Dude) was 5 weeks old, he had constant diarrhea. My vet told me to give him 1 cc of Pepto Bismal every day until I saw his poos start to firm up. It worked!!!

You can also try putting a little cooked rice in some canned food.