poopy cat

[Hellojosie]

We have a 1 1/2 year old male cat, Stewie. We've been having problems with him having diarrhea on an off for about 6 months or so. The last time it happened we took him to our vet, who put him on Endosorb which seemed to clear things up right away. We had a couple incidents here and there where it came back, but always seemed to clear back up again. However, over the past three weeks now it's come back with a vengeance. And the problem is that he's not going in his litter box, which is upstairs in a spare bedroom. He's been going in our family room downstairs, in the same general vicinty every time (in the corner by the TV). It seems like he makes the specific trip downstairs to do this, as he knows where his box is and has no problem urinating in it.
Our vet hasn't been very helpful. He's already been there twice- they ran a fecal test and blood tests and everything came back negative. At first she put him back on Endosorb, which worked for a day and then it came back. So then she put him on another anti-diarrhea medication (not sure of the name), and Albon, and both of these did nothing for the problem. Now he's on an anti-inflammatory medication, and for the first three days it seemed to be working, but now we're back to square one. The vet said the next procedure will be some sort of 'scoping' test, which can cost upwards of $800. Obviously, that's a heck of a lot of dough to spend on a cat we rescued from a shelter...and needless to say I can't really afford it.
We have taken him off his wet food completely (he only ever got 1/4 of a can of Friskies at nighttime), and now I'm starting to introduce Nutro food to him- he's not a picky eater and has been eating Whiskas since he was a kitten.
We love Stewie to death, but cleaning up his poo EVERY day is becoming quite a chore. If anyone has ANY suggestions for what else I could maybe try for him, I'd greatly appreciate it!!

[kimlovescats]

Many of us here have and are still battling the same thing. Sometimes they are carrying really nasty bugs that only certain antibiotics will kill. It takes trial and error alot of times to finally get the right one. Also, some have had good luck feeding can pumpkin to help with their tummies. My vet also suggested I switch over to Hill's Science Diet A/D for feeding. Hope some of this helps.

Kim

[Hellojosie]

Thanks! I started reading some of the previous threads people had written about having the same problems, and definitely got some good ideas. I bought the Science Diet for Sensitive Systems last night...is this the right food? I'm also trying Nutro as well- just introduced that to him last night. Our other cat, Ollie, seemed to like it as well, which is wonderful. Ollie is a picky eater when it comes to dry food so finding something the both of them likes (or that Ollie likes and doesn't make Stewie sick) can be tough. I also wish we had an explanation for why he's going downstairs instead of in the litter box...

It's just nice to know that there are others out there who have gone through this problem...and Stewie is a wonderful cat otherwise! He's a sweetie and even "talks" to us. Makes us laugh every time.

[Soapets]

Maybe you should put a litter box in the place where he has been going to do his duty, also, so that he'll use it there. It might be inconvenient for you, but I would think it would be better than having to clean up his messes from the floor or rug or whatever he is currently using.......

Deb

[Hellojosie]

We actually did just put a box downstairs yesterday in the vicinty of where he's going, but unfortunately, he still went in front of the TV this morning. I just don't know what else to do at this point. He won't eat the plain yogurt anymore, and the Kaeopectate doesn't seem to be working at all either. I guess I'll be calling the vet tomorrow and see what other medication we can try...I really just want to get to the root of this problem!! I'm trying to be patient though...I know it can take a lot of time. Just seems like we've tried everything we can think of and nothing is working!

[QueenScoopalot]

It sounds to me as though you may be better off seeing a new vet! Often coccidea can't be seen in the fecal float test, and it sounds worth a try putting Stewie on a course of Albon & Metronidazole (aka flagyl) to hopefully get rid of coccidea, or giardia if that's what he could have. Also Kaeopectate (I'm pretty sure) has been reformulated, and is now dangerous to give cats. Another possibility is Stewie is allergic to some ingredient in the food...but this often causes itching.