A caring owner notices any change in the condition of his pet. Diarrhea in a cat is an alarming symptom that can be a sign of serious disorders in the animal’s body. However, not all people know how to help their pet without harming it.

What is the cause of diarrhea?

There are several factors that can lead to an upset stomach in a cat:

How to determine the cause of diarrhea in a cat?

Pay attention to the color and consistency of your pet's discharge:

1. The appearance of yellowish diarrhea is a sign of digestive problems.
2. Blood clots are a symptom of a serious illness.
3. When infected with worms, a large amount of mucus appears in the cat's secretions.
4. You can tell if your pet has a rectal disorder by having too frequent bowel movements.
5. White color indicates the absence of bile in the intestines. This is a reason to contact a veterinarian.
6. Diarrhea in a cat that has been poisoned by spoiled food takes on a greenish tint. The color change is associated with the onset of putrefaction in the intestines.
7. Attacks of diarrhea may occur after vaccination. This is a sign that the animal has a sluggish disease. The vaccine only worsened his symptoms.
8. Has your cat started defecating 5 times a day? If diarrhea occurs at a high intensity, therapeutic measures must be taken urgently.
9. An orange tint to the stool is a sign of the presence of bilirubin. This substance is released only when the liver is malfunctioning. Concomitant diseases must be treated.

Treatment of diarrhea in cats

Diarrhea in a cat leads to dehydration. You cannot feed the animal on the first day. But don't deprive your pet of water. Liquid is needed to remove toxins. This is a prerequisite for successful treatment of diarrhea.

During the treatment of diarrhea, it is best to use proven food that will not cause an allergic reaction in the cat.

The kitten's hunger time can be reduced to 12 hours. During the treatment period, exclude all dairy products that may provoke the urge to defecate.

You can stop diarrhea in a cat yourself only if he goes to the toilet no more than 4 times a day. At the same time, the pet does not have vomiting, fever or weakness.

You can use it to treat diarrhea. How to determine the optimal dose of the drug? To cleanse 10 grams of an animal’s body of toxins, you need 1 tablet of charcoal.

Chamomile decoction has healing properties that allow it to treat not only people, but also pets. By taking this herbal decoction, your pet's condition should improve.

Some cats cannot tolerate the lactose contained in milk. As a result, the animal's digestion is impaired.

A decoction of St. John's wort can help cope with the symptoms of diarrhea. The plant destroys pathogenic microorganisms. Attacks of diarrhea gradually recede.

You should not give it to your cat, as it has no effect on animals. Do not feed your cat after a diet. You can offer your pet chicken broth, boiled meat or an egg. Portions should not be too large.

It is advisable to reduce their size by 2 times. After the animal’s condition improves, you can switch to its usual diet. To prevent stomach upset from recurring, you should not feed your cat fatty foods. When choosing products, consider the animal's preferences.

Features of the treatment of diarrhea that occurs after switching to a new food

How to treat diarrhea in a cat when changing food? Buying food from another manufacturer is a test for a cat’s stomach. Your pet may experience diarrhea in response to the ingredients in the new product.

To prevent such a reaction from occurring in a pet, experts recommend using veracop or elarsine. They are designed to maintain normal bowel function.

When stomach pain appears, the cat begins to meow pitifully. The animal behaves restlessly, walks from corner to corner. You can help your pet with the help of a no-shpa.
Diarrhea in cats can occur due to the owner’s forgetfulness when he does not fill the water bowl in a timely manner. When switching to another food, the animal should not suffer from a lack of water.

How to treat diarrhea in a cat due to poisoning

After eating rotten food, putrefactive processes may begin in the cat's intestines. The animal's body tries to get rid of toxins that are released after food poisoning.

To cure a cat, limit its diet. Give your pet food in small portions. Taking rice water, which cleanses the animal's intestines, helps with poisoning.

You can speed up the animal's recovery if you give it or Bifidumbacterin. Use to get rid of toxins.

Traditional methods

There are several traditional recipes that can help your cat with diarrhea.

1. Scrape the inner membrane from the chicken gizzards. It contains food enzymes that help stop diarrhea. Before use, the film must be ground and dried.
2. You can eliminate the consequences of diarrhea with the help of a quail egg. It needs to be beaten with a small amount of sugar.

What to do if the cause of diarrhea in a cat is infection with worms?

Therapeutic diet for diarrhea

Diarrhea is not the time to feed your cat delicacies. For treatment to be effective, you need to adhere to a certain diet:

• Boiled rice will help improve the functioning of the stomach. This product is completely safe for cats. It speeds up the recovery process after microbes enter the body.
• A boiled egg will have a beneficial effect on the cat's intestinal mucosa.
• Chicken is best boiled rather than fried. This product will speed up the healing process.
• On sale you can find special foods that have medicinal properties. The packaging must have a corresponding sign.

Prevention

To prevent your pet from getting diarrhea, just follow a few tips.

Unfortunately, cats, like other animals, suffer from intestinal disorders from time to time. In the most severe case, the cat has frequent loose stools accompanied by pus mixed with blood. There can be many reasons, from severe overeating to acute infection. As a result, the colon becomes overcrowded, and poorly digested food moves intensively into the sections of the colon and then the rectum.

Why does a cat have loose stools?

We list the main possible causes of intestinal upset:

1. Eating sick rodents.
2. Carrion.
3. Poor quality and damaged.
4. Dead birds.
5. Fatty foods and vegetable oil.
6. Eating spices.
7. Ingestion of paper, plastic, pieces of rags, and other various items indigestible by the intestines.
8. Toxic substances and poisons.

Sometimes it appears in a seemingly ordinary situation. Food that is completely normal for a person or other animal causes severe upset in a furry pet. Problems with a cat’s stool may be due to its body’s intolerance to a certain type of food. Even ordinary chicken, corn, soy, horse meat, although rare, provokes diarrhea in some cats.

The mental state of the animal often causes intestinal disorders. Living things can all be subject to stress. A cat sometimes develops loose stools in a state of severe fright, after an unexpected move, or a sudden change in diet; such reasons should not be discounted either.

Treatment of diarrhea in a cat

At home, short-term intestinal disorders that are not associated with bloody discharge and large loss of fluid from the body are treated. Children are excluded from food for 12 hours, adults - for 24 hours. Water is given in limited quantities. When the cat's loose stools stop, treatment will consist of a strict diet. Chicken, boiled rice, egg whites, and special foods are suitable.

The “initiator” of new diarrhea is often the eating of large amounts of carbohydrates. At first, give half as much food as usual. Usually, over time, the cat's loose stools stop and his body returns to normal.

Diarrhea (diarrhea) is one of the most unpleasant disorders of the digestive tract in cats. Usually it is a consequence or syndrome of some disease or disorder in the body, but not the cause.

Diarrhea develops as a result of increased intestinal motility under the influence of bacterial toxins or substances that irritate the intestinal mucosa. Diarrhea is characterized by frequent bowel movements, as well as an increase in the amount of liquid feces. But it is worth paying attention to the fact that there is also pseudodiarrhea, or false diarrhea, which develops against the background of constipation and is manifested by squeezing out a small and thin amount of feces with mucus.

Diarrhea can be acute, chronic (if its duration is more than 14 days), and also recurrent.

Causes of diarrhea in cats

Diarrhea is the very first sign indicating a disorder of the motor and secretory functions of the gastrointestinal tract. Diarrhea develops with various non-contagious and infectious diseases. The following factors influence the occurrence of diarrhea in cats:

• improper diet, feed intolerance;
• feeding with low-quality feed;
• sudden change in diet;
• too much feed;
• presence of helminthic infestation;
• drug intolerance;
• intoxication (poisoning with drugs, chemicals or toxic substances);
• the presence of a general infection (viral or bacterial etiology);
• the presence of an intestinal tract infection (caused by enterobacteria);
• metabolic disorders;
• gastroenteritis.

Symptoms of diarrhea in cats

The main symptoms most often encountered with diarrhea are:

• animal oppression;
• decreased or lack of appetite;
• frequent bowel movements;
• with prolonged diarrhea the animal loses weight;
• dehydration of the body;
• liquid feces, possible impurities of mucus, blood, undigested food particles;
• There may be bloating.

Diagnostics

There should be no difficulty in recognizing diarrhea in a cat. But in terms of diagnosis, the most important thing is to reliably determine the cause of diarrhea. The effectiveness of future treatment depends on how correctly the diagnosis is made.

During your appointment with your veterinarian, you should describe in great detail everything that you think has been unusual in your pet's behavior or condition over the past few days. In a veterinary clinic, a specialist will act as follows:

• will measure the temperature;
• palpate internal organs;
• determines the degree of dehydration.

This will allow him to assess the extent of general violations. In addition, to clarify the nature of diarrhea, it is necessary to conduct a number of additional studies:

Treatment

Treatment for diarrhea depends on the severity, duration of the disease, and the underlying cause of its occurrence.

In the case of simple diarrhea caused by poor diet, feeding poor quality food, etc., symptomatic treatment is limited. For short, uncomplicated diarrhea, a fasting diet for one to two days will be sufficient. The first few hours reduce the amount of water (especially if there is vomiting). An important point is to ensure peace for the cat.

To compensate for minor loss of fluid by the body (if there is no need for intravenous drip injections), oral (through the mouth) administration of fluid in small portions is used. To do this, use lightly salted chamomile decoction, boiled water or a special solution (sodium chloride – 3.5 g, glucose – 20 g, potassium chloride – 1.5 g, sodium bicarbonate 25 g) are dissolved in 1 liter of water.

You can start feeding your cat on the second or even third day. The amount of feed is increased gradually. Good results for uncomplicated diarrhea are shown by the use of rice and oatmeal decoctions. Antibacterial therapy is not indicated. After completion of treatment, it is necessary to follow a diet, otherwise there is a chance of relapse and the transition of acute diarrhea to chronic.

If diarrhea is a consequence of other diseases (infection, infestation, poisoning, etc.), then in addition to all of the above measures, it is necessary to treat the underlying disease. In this case, it will not be possible to do without the help of a qualified specialist.

Depending on the severity of the process, the following may be prescribed:

• intravenous infusions of sodium chloride with glucose and ascorbic acid;
• antibacterial therapy;
• anthelmintic drugs;
• restorative therapy.

Prevention

Measures to prevent diarrhea come down to compliance with all rules and regulations for keeping and feeding animals:

• maintaining the cleanliness of cat areas;
• disinfection of toilet trays and utensils;
• feeding with good quality food;
• timely vaccination;
• periodic treatment against worms;
• eliminating the possibility of toxic substances getting into the feed (household chemicals, medications, etc.).

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Diarrhea in a cat is a rather unpleasant phenomenon. Its appearance is due to disruption of the digestive processes, pathologies of the digestive organs, poor quality food and other reasons. Owners should remember that diarrhea is a consequence of the problem, but in no case the cause.

The mechanism for the development of diarrhea in a cat is associated with increased intestinal motility, which occurs under the influence of certain substances or microorganism toxins that irritate the mucous membrane. Manifestations of diarrhea include increased frequency of bowel movements, as well as loose, profuse stool. There is also such a thing as false or pseudodiarrhea. It occurs against the background of constipation. In this case, a small amount of feces is released, which contains mucus.

Experts distinguish acute and chronic forms of diarrhea (diarrhea that lasts more than 10-14 days is considered chronic).

Causes of diarrhea in cats

Diarrhea in a cat is one of the first manifestations of disorders of motility and secretion of the digestive organs. This disorder can occur with various infectious and non-infectious pathologies. Factors leading to diarrhea in a cat may include:

• incorrect, too sudden change in diet;
• consumption of food of inadequate quality by animals;
• individual reaction to a certain food, intolerance to any of its components;
• inappropriate diet;
• metabolic disorder;
• too much food;
• poisoning of an animal with poisons, drugs or other chemicals;
• helminthic infestations;
• infectious diseases of the digestive system;
• reaction to taking medications;
• inflammatory diseases of the digestive tract;
• common infections of various nature.

Signs of cat diarrhea

Symptoms accompanying diarrhea in a cat are in most cases the following:

• deterioration of appetite or its complete absence;
• increased number of bowel movements;
• the animal is lethargic, apathetic;
• dehydration is noted;
• possible bloating;
• feces are liquid and may contain impurities such as blood, mucus, and particles of undigested food;
• with prolonged diarrhea, the pet noticeably loses weight.

Diagnosis of diarrhea in a cat

There are usually no difficulties in diagnosing diarrhea in cats. It is more difficult to determine the cause of this condition in an animal. The effectiveness of treatment depends on a correct and timely diagnosis.

The cat owner should pay close attention to changes in the pet’s condition. When visiting a veterinarian, it is necessary to describe the entire course of the disease, the time of onset of symptoms and behavioral disturbances of the animal. The specialist, in addition to collecting information, also measures the temperature, palpates the pet’s abdomen, and determines the presence and degree of dehydration. Based on the results of all these manipulations, a preliminary diagnosis is made. To confirm it, additional examinations of the cat may be necessary: ​​examination of feces for worm eggs, urine analysis, blood test, examination of feces for the presence of hidden blood. In addition, radiography is often required. This method allows you to identify what disease caused diarrhea in a cat: peritonitis, intestinal obstruction, pancreatitis or other pathologies.

Prevention of diarrhea in cats

Prevention of diarrhea in cats consists of following the correct diet and feeding regime of the animal. It includes the following activities:

1. Regular disinfection of the cat's litter box, dishes and feeding area.
2. Selection of suitable quality products and feed for feeding the animal.
3. Timely implementation of necessary vaccinations.
4. Avoiding contact of the cat with toxic substances, preventing household chemicals, medications and other similar substances from entering the pet’s food.
5. Periodic intake of antihelminthic drugs.

Treatment of diarrhea in a cat

Determining the necessary course of treatment for diarrhea in a cat depends on the reasons that caused this problem. However, there are general points.

A single loose stool, provided that there are no foreign impurities in it and the animal’s condition is not suffering, is not a reason for a mandatory visit to the veterinarian.

If it is noticed that the animal has eaten something suspicious, if there is a sudden change in its diet, or if the pet has eaten low-quality food or plants, it is necessary to pay attention to the cat’s behavior. At the same time, the following factors should be eliminated if possible: remove garbage where the animal cannot reach it, maintain a suitable diet, and prevent eating plants and harmful substances.

If a cat has repeated diarrhea, as well as in the presence of other signs of illness, such as vomiting, especially with an admixture of bile or white foam, deterioration of the condition, etc., you need to call a veterinarian at home. Indeed, in such cases, transportation of animals is contraindicated. When visiting the clinic, your pet's condition may deteriorate sharply.

If it is not possible to call a veterinarian at home, then you should call the veterinary clinic or go there without the animal. At the same time, the following recommendations are followed:

• the animal is given medications prescribed by the veterinarian;
• You should not feed a cat with diarrhea during the first 24 hours until its condition recovers;
• If the animal does not vomit, then it needs to be given clean water to drink, this will help prevent dehydration.

If a cat develops diarrhea, the animal should be switched to a more gentle diet, including only food that is easily digestible. You can give your pet homemade food, such as boiled crushed potatoes, boiled rice, etc., in small portions. At the same time, it is worth monitoring the amount of food eaten, since too much food eaten at one time can lead to repeated vomiting. After feeding, even if the animal is not full, it is better to wait 1-2 hours. If during this time the cat’s diarrhea does not recur, then you can feed him again. The animal is fed every 3-4 hours in small doses until its condition improves. After this, you can gradually increase the single portion and reduce the number of feedings per day. A gentle diet should be maintained for at least two more days.

After this, if the cat's diarrhea does not return, he is put on a normal diet over the next few days. This needs to be done correctly. First, dietary and regular food are mixed in equal parts and the animal is fed this mixture. The next day, the proportions change slightly, the ratio of regular and dietary food is 3:1. If there are no consequences, on the third day you can completely switch to a normal diet. Thus, the transition from dietary food to the usual menu takes three days.

During periods of illness, it is better to take your animal for a walk on a leash. This will allow you to monitor your pet, find out if he has had vomiting, diarrhea and the number of urinations. When self-treating at home, the cat requires careful observation and control.

Do not give any medications without consulting a veterinarian. If a cat has acute diarrhea, taking medications can cause unpleasant consequences. Medicines intended for dogs are strictly contraindicated for cats, and vice versa.

If your cat’s diarrhea does not stop even if you follow all the recommendations for caring for the animal or appears again after a short period of time, you should immediately call the veterinary clinic. The reason for contacting a specialist is impurities in the feces (blood, greens, mucus, foam, etc.), as well as lack of appetite, lethargy of the pet, weakness, apathy.

A cat's loose stool will definitely not go unnoticed by a loving owner. If this happened once, there may be no reason to worry. But when diarrhea repeats every time you visit the toilet for more than one day and several times a day, your pet needs to be urgently shown to a veterinarian. The doctor will find out the reasons that caused the diarrhea and prescribe treatment for the cat.

Main reasons

It may not be possible to independently determine why a cat has loose stools, since there are plenty of reasons for diarrhea. This is why you shouldn’t even try to pretend to be a “cat doctor”; the best thing to do would be to go to a veterinary clinic at the first suspicion of problems with your cat’s health.

Loose stools in a cat are possible for several reasons.:

1. stress, worries (moving, new owners, severe fear, etc.);
2. after taking certain medications (for example, antibiotics can make stool loose due to disruption of intestinal flora);
3. changes in diet (sharp change in usual foods, switching from food to homemade food or vice versa, changing the menu for small kittens to adult food, etc.);
4. homemade food of poor quality or food prohibited for the cat’s diet;
5. poisoning by food, plant poisons or chemicals;
6. worms (here, frequent loose stools are accompanied by pain in the pet’s belly that has become tight, the presence of mucus or blood in the stool, darkening of its color and a tarry consistency);
7. diseases of the colon (loose stools, with mucus and/or blood);
8. diseases of various organs (thyroid, liver, kidneys, as well as diabetes mellitus or cancer);
9. problems with the pancreas (loose, intensely yellow or greenish stools, accompanied by weight loss and an insatiable appetite).

Whatever the causes of loose stools in a cat, you should not give the animal human medications. Among the latter, only a few are suitable for both people and their pets, while all others work exclusively for the benefit of the human body. Therefore, only a veterinarian should prescribe medications.

How to help your pet with diarrhea

In a number of simple cases, first aid can be provided to a cat with loose stools:

• arrange a day of hunger strike for the animal (but it is necessary to give the animal drink, in abundance and in constant access!);
• offer your pet decoctions of oak bark, chamomile, rice or blueberries; you can also give your cat plain, clean water;
• to reduce intoxication after poisoning (if this fact is known for sure), give a barely pink solution of potassium permanganate (1 ml at a time);
• Sorbents, for example, activated carbon (1 tablet per 1 kg of body weight), can help with loose stools;
• put starch mixed with water to the consistency of a thick porridge into the cat’s mouth to hold together loose stools;
• put your pet on a diet.

If these actions helped, the cat became noticeably better, the stool is no longer liquid - still, you should not suddenly return your pet to its usual diet too abruptly. The animal’s stomach and intestines have experienced stress, and they are not ready to immediately begin their activities with the same strength. Therefore, after the diet, you need to reintroduce the foods that the cat ate before the problem occurred very gradually. It is not recommended to give food rich in carbohydrates at first.

If the pet clearly does not recover after the measures taken, the cat still passes loose stools or feels noticeably worse, there is no need to think any more about what to do to help the pet at home. In this situation, only a doctor can cure the animal.

When do you need veterinary help?

If your cat constantly has diarrhea, and it has been going on for a day, it’s time to take your pet to the veterinarian. You especially need to hurry if loose stools are observed accompanied by other signs of poor health of the animal:

• the cat is worried, meowing in pain;
• there is a strong thirst;
• it is known for sure that the cat was severely poisoned by a chemical, a poisonous plant or spoiled food;
• liquid feces in a cat with mucus or bloody impurities (and in large quantities and often - more than 5 times a day when the norm is 1-2 times);
• the animal is clearly weakened;
• the pet’s mucous membranes have turned pale;
• weight falls quickly;
• the pet has convulsions and has an elevated temperature;
• The pet vomits repeatedly throughout the day.

When visiting a veterinarian, you need to accurately describe the symptoms that were observed from the very beginning of the appearance of loose stools. A detailed story will help to guess what happened to the animal, and the diagnostics carried out after this will determine the exact cause. Once a diagnosis is made, the pet will be immediately prescribed the necessary treatment.

The problem of diarrhea in kittens

Even a banal upset stomach can be relatively difficult to bear in a small body. By nature, a kitten does not have enough strength to adequately resist diseases, so at such a tiny age, a cat’s soft stool can lead to torment for the baby and more serious consequences.

Unlike adult cats, kittens can suffer from diarrhea not only due to the reasons for its occurrence described above, but also due to the elementary transition from breast milk to adult food. A stomach that is not sufficiently prepared for such food may not be able to withstand such a serious load and give a reaction in the form of upset and loose stools. Therefore, you need to start transferring the kitten to the main diet very carefully, observing all the subtleties of changing the menu. You can learn about these nuances from your veterinarian.

If kittens have loose stools, contacting a doctor for at least a consultation should be mandatory. Any disease with not yet established immunity will develop quickly and cause serious complications. As a result, curing a kitten even from mild indigestion (not to mention more severe illnesses) will be much more difficult.

Liquid bowel movements in cats are initially not normal, and it does not matter what caused this phenomenon. Your pet will have to be treated in any case - be it simple indigestion or a serious infectious (or even worse - cancer) disease. Therefore, the main task of every caring owner is to closely monitor the health of the pet and take appropriate measures in a timely manner.