Starr's A Very Sick Little Boy

[jennielynn1970]

Awe... Poor Starr! I hope that you and the vet can figure something out shortly. You'll both be in my thoughts and prayers. Take care, hugs... Jennie

[Don Juan's mom]

Well this morning Starr managed to poop in the hallway, kitchen, and both living room and dining room. Some of it was very mushy and some was somewhat formed. If this contniues, I know I won't be able to wait 2 weeks before trying a new food for him. It's just so frustrating to see some improvement and then to go back to square one in a matter of days. Thanks for the continued prayers.

Ugh! Poor baby. Poor mom!

Liz

[krazyaboutkatz]

Starr decided to poop on the carpet this morning again. This time his poops were much firmer though which is a good sign. They looked black,tarry, and were very sticky so it was very hard to clean them up. Some of them were embedded in the carpet. He even pooped on top of the dining room table.

I keep talking to him and telling him that I'd really appreciate it if he'd poop in the boxes and that this would make me so proud of him but he just doesn't get it. It looks like it's more of a behavioral problem than a can't get to the litterbox in time problem. I may need to contact Nancy again. He also hates the yogurt so it's a battle to spoon some of it in his mouth.

[kb2yjx]

Any chance, did you report the tarry, black stools to the vet?? In humans, that is signs of an old blood in the GI tract OR too much iron supplement.

[wolflady]

Oh gosh, I'm so sorry that you're going through this with Starr. Was yesterday and today the only times Starr has not used the litterbox, or has he gone outside the boxes before? I can imagine how frustrating this is. Continued prayers for you.

**hugs**

[jazzcat]

Oh wow, poor you and poor Starr. I'm sorry to hear he is doing this. Do you think he associates bad things with the litter box? Do you think a new box in a new location, at least for a little while might help him?

[krazyaboutkatz]

No, I haven't called the vets about Starr just yet. I don't know how Starr would be getting too much iron because I don't give my cats any kind of vitamin supplements. I was just giving Starr some bene-bac and just started the yogurt too.

Starr has gone poop outside of the litterbox many times and I always thought that it was a behavioral problem. It started and got worse while I was painting my condo in June and July because the cats had to be cooped up in either my bedroom or my roommates bedroom. I used to use all covered litterboxes but have since taken the covers off of 2 of them because the pet psychic,Nancy Efrusy, said that Starr feels claustrophobic. It seemed to help for a while.

The litterboxes have been in the same place since July and I'm very limited as to where I can put them. I also haven't changed litter and Nancy said that he's fine with the litter. I added some fresh litter to all of the boxes this morning because I've also noticed that sometimes when they get a little on the low side that Starr will go outside of the box. Hopefully this will help. I have 4 litterboxes that I'm currently using and I'm scooping 2 times a day.

I used to also have 2 back in my bedroom but they really didn't get used very much so after I painted I decided not to put them back in use. I also keep my bedroom door closed when I'm not at home so the cats can't go in my room. I still have a bunch of junk and paint supplies in my room that I need to sort through and put away so until this is done I won't keep my bedroom door open unless I'm home. I think I'm going to contact Nancy again to see if Starr will let her know what's going on. Thanks again for all of your concerns.

[Barbara]

I am so sorry. Do you think it would help to add a little bit of fat (like cream) to the yoghurt.
We have 10% fat Greek yoghurt here- and the kitties are crazy about it.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I don't even think that the yogurt is helping him. This morning there weren't any messes on the carpet but when I came home this evening I smelled something. Starr had pooped on his placemat and it's back to diarrhea again. There was some more in the litterboxes so I guess that by adding some new litter it's helped him use the boxes. I gave him a little more yogurt and some more bene-bac. He actually likes the bene-bac. I think I'll call my vet tomorrow to let them know what's going on. I also e-mailed Nancy but I haven't heard a reply yet. I've also noticed that when Starr has diarrhea that he doesn't eat as well. I think that his tummy may be hurting him. I'm ready to go ahead and try a new diet. Hopefully something will work.

[Cataholic]

Tracey,
Forgive me if I missed this already, but, I was reading this am, kind of quickly, as Jonah will wake up any minute.

Anyhow, Georgia is going through what sounds very similar to Starr's issues. Somethings I have discoverd. Amoxicellin **CAN CAUSE** loose stools. So, sometimes it can be complicated by the antibiotic. Georgie needs calm. All the time. Monte had to go live with my mom because of his stressful nature. Georgie is now on the metronidizale AND the pred, to help things calm down. So far, it isn't working. Diarhea can be caused by a hyper thyroid. Has Starr been tested specifically for that? I made the mistake of switching foods from SD to Hills, as another herd member was having UTI issues. So, it is possible Georgie's condition is made worse by the food change.

Just some thoughts from my experience. I hope Starr gets better.

[emily_the_spoiled]

One of my guys had similar problems this past summer. It turned out that he had feline irritable bowel syndrome. Of course he was fussy enough not to want the prescription food so I ended up converting almost everyone over to a raw diet and that seems to have done the trick. I think that by removing the preservatives and dyes in commerical cat food it helped alot. There are also some holistic cats foods out there with no graing (e.g. Evo by Innvo). So you might want to give this approach a try...

[krazyaboutkatz]

Thanks everyone. I just found out the Petsmart carries a very good allergen food called Natural Balance Venison & Green Pea Allergy Formula For Cats. I think I'm going to try this for about a week before I call my vet. I really don't want to have to put Starr on steroids either because this will compromise his immune system which is already a weak one. Here's the link:Natural Balance Venison & Green Pea Allergy Formula. I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks again.

[rg_girlca]

Tracey I am so sorry to hear that Starr is back to square one. Poor baby and poor you.

Prayers and positive thoughts on the way that the new food will help him.

{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}} for you.

[jennielynn1970]

Poor Starr! I hope that the venison and green pea works. I know we used it at the one shelter for a certain kitty. We also have another kitty that is on the raw diet. She was pooping outside the box and having issues before the switch. She seems to be doing much better on the raw diet.

I hope you'll find something to make Starr feel better soon!! My pooper just poops because of emotional stuff I believe. Even when I moved the box to where he was pooping, he pooped outside of it. Sometimes it's formed, sometimes it's runny. He is supposed to go to the vet... had an appt. the other day but he hid from me for 45mins, and then the power went out for 3hrs, so needless to say, we didn't make it to the vet!

[Kirsten]

Poor Starr! The black, tarry stool got me concerned, too! I'd rather tell the vet about it on Monday.

Hopefully Starr will improve with the new diet! Poor boy!!

Best wishes to him,

Kirsten