Chronic Feline Diarrhea
Chronic gastrointestinal problems are frustrating for all cat owners. GI problems such as vomiting, diarrhea and even constipation can cause your cat discomfort, abdominal pain and even lead to the development of cancer. If your cat is experiencing GI issues, treating the underlying cause, and not just masking the symptoms, is imperative to maintaining your cat’s overall health for his entire life.
The Importance of a Healthy Gut
While there are a myriad causes of diarrhea in cats, the underlying factor in all gastrointestinal problems in cats is linked to a weakened immune system and a lack of balance in the GI tract.
In a healthy gut, there is a variety of micro-flora and microorganisms that work to break down food, absorb and utilize the nutrients and vitamins in the food, and eliminate waste in an efficient manner. When this balance of “good bacteria” in the gut is disrupted by illness, medication, or inflammation and irritation of the intestinal lining, the body cannot properly utilize food. In addition, the inflammation that always accompanies GI problems leads to impaired digestion. Diarrhea and vomiting are the result as the body attempts to eliminate the contents of an acidified and toxic GI tract as quickly as possible.
Veterinarians treat most episodes of vomiting and diarrhea with medication. Drugs such as anti-emetics help to temporarily mask symptoms but do nothing to treat the root problem. In addition, antibiotics are frequently prescribed to treat vomiting and diarrhea. This is counterproductive since the most common side effects of antibiotics are vomiting and diarrhea.
Moreover, most cases of vomiting and diarrhea do not have an infectious cause. Antibiotic use for these cases almost never solves the underlying cause. Unfortunately, antibiotics are highly effective at killing off all bacteria in the gut, including the “good” bacteria necessary for proper GI function. Antibiotic use for these cats only serves to further incapacitate the already precarious condition of the GI tract.
Treating Intestinal Problems with Probiotics
Treating feline diarrhea and cat vomiting is easy with the right supplements and probiotics. The cause of most episodes of vomiting and diarrhea are often related to an insufficient and unbalanced supply of enzymes, nutrients, and probiotics in the gut. Supplementing and replenishing the gut can solve GI problems quickly and effectively.
In the wild, the cat’s natural diet of fresh meat was supplemented by eating grass and soil, the source of microorganisms in nature. Once abundant, these good bacteria have been greatly reduced from our food sources by decades of pesticides and insecticides. The highly processed and rendered nature of pet foods have served to further eradicate these essential micro-nutrients from your pets diet, leading directly to the common and chronic nature of intestinal illness!
In cats, chronic intestinal upset has a far more sinister side effect than simple GI problems. Chronic irritation and inflammation of the intestines has been linked to the development of GI Lymphoma, a type of cancer in cats. Feline vomiting and feline diarrhea are early warning signs of future illness. If these symptoms are ignored, or masked with medications without treating the underlying causes, grave physical consequences will result.
Better Intestinal Health Through Diet
Many intestinal problems can be traced to diet. The by-products, filler and excessive levels of carbohydrates predispose your cat to an unhealthy immune system (due to the inability of the cats body to absorb nutrients from these sources). The lack of digestive enzymes or probiotics in these foods further incapacitate your cats digestive system, leading to chronic intestinal inflammation, irritation, vomiting and diarrhea.
In the wild, cats are pure carnivores. The ancestors of today’s cats evolved in the desert, surviving solely on raw meat. This meat was their primary source of nutrients, with the sole source of water and grain/carbohydrate intake coming directly from the fresh prey. In that setting, a cat’s diet was 65% water, and a very small amount of carbohydrates.
By contrast, most cats today subsist only on dry cat foods which often contain greater than 30% carbohydrates and less than 10% water- leaving their intestinal tracts at a disadvantage as it tries to utilize a virtually unfamiliar and unusable nutrient source. In addition, the severely reduced water content of today’s cat foods has forced cats to rely on a supplemental water source to stay hydrated, a habit that goes against 40 million years of evolution.
As a result, many of our cats are suffering from chronic dehydration, which has lead to a steady rise in many health problems such as kidney failure and urinary tract disease.
You can feed your cat as nature intended by providing fresh, raw or home cooked diets that are rich in quality meat sources, and proper levels of nutrients, enzymes and vitamins. Together with providing the necessary micro-nutrients and probiotics to assist nutrient absorption, you can solve your cats diarrhea problems by correcting the underlying cause. You will be pleasantly surprised to find that the simple act of supporting and correcting the balance in the gut will directly affect the overall health, behavior and vitality of your cat.
Having bred Maine Coons for 25 years now, I can appreciate the wisdom and insight of Vitality Science, and have recommended this company to many a client over time.
Now, I want to list them on our website to get more clients using their wonderful products, as we have; it’s sharing the wealth (of knowledge and remedies with the various intesinal upsets).
Thank you, Vitality Science, for your very intelligent discoveries and all your help.
My Blacky cat has severe diarrhea, diaper at night. Has been at my vet for 4 days ($600) with no positive results…slight improvement when given steroid shot, along w/B-12 shot, then back to normal. will only eat canned food, Friskies his fav w/Fancy Feast. Turns his nose on prescription canned food and BlueBufflao (no grain),,,He was a drop off years ago and is now 14 and a big love. No vomit, eats 6+times a day, only weighs 5#….can you please help? Was on aloe (something) for weeks and it seemed to help, but then his body went back to diarrhea…..
Whenever GI symptoms are treatment resistant, I recommend a comprehensive and holistic approach to regain stability.
Our latest and most effective approach to resolving treatment resistant cases encompasses food, water, supplements and other guidance. They go together and must be implemented in a coordinated fashion. We are here to guide you along the way with our email tech support. Even if your pet has to stay on drugs or return to drugs, it is essential that you stay in touch by email. We will show you how our supplements provide a significant benefit regardless of drug status.
I recommend our Feline Comfort (for general GI problems), Pet Flora (to regain weight, reduce gas and normalize smell), Luxolite (for toxicity and general GI problems), and our Super Pet Enzymes (to maintain and regain weight and to reduce gas and inflammation). These four can all be given at the same time and are usually accepted by finicky cats.)
https://vitalityscience.com/product/pet-flora/
https://vitalityscience.com/product/super-pet-enzymes/
https://vitalityscience.com/product/luxolite/
https://vitalityscience.com/product/feline-comfort-2/
(copy and paste URLs)
The combination of these products produces a powerful healing effect that cannot be produced by any one alone.
Everything must be tested incrementally, starting with one product at a time and increasing over a series of meals and adding supplements until you get GI stability or weight gain or improved vitality and appearance. You can start with any one of the supplements.
We will be here to guide you with email tech support.
Our supplements are safe and beneficial for all cats young or old, sick or healthy.
The diet is key and must be assessed and reassessed as the process continues as clinical and sub clinical reactions are impossible to exactly determine in advance of experimentation. However, some rules are more important. No corn, wheat, soy (hydrolyzed protein is soy), or chicken, and sometimes no guar gum, or carragenean. “Single protein, limited ingredients” venison or rabbit are the way to reduce variables.
Vaccines and pharmaceutical drugs, including flea repellents, heart worm medications, and dewormers, are also problematic and should be reduced or removed when possible.
Vaccines are always a problem. They were a big part of what caused the problem. It doesn’t matter how long ago the last vaccine was given. The damage never goes away. Vets admit the rabies vaccine can cause injection site carcinoma. The medical establishment is pushing a vaccine that can cause cancer, GI problems and many other health issues to protect against a disease that almost all cats are extremely unlikely to get.
Hi Steve, really appreciate the article. My cat Buddy developed acute chronic diarrhea a couple years ago and lost a lot of weight. After 3 months of trial and error with food, probiotics, and various medication, a doctor prescribed Prednisolone and that seemed to cure him. I also switched to Wellness grain free dry food with probiotics and their grain free wet versions. However, 2 months ago the diarrhea started to come back. I added Proviable probiotic supplements, but that didn’t help. Next my vet gave him Metronidozole, but no luck either. Any thoughts on the best way to start incorporating your products? I’m also looking at the Nature’s Variety foods – any thoughts on where to start there? Thanks
Hi Sarah, everyone has the same question, and understandably so. The problem is that there is no one food, schedule, dosage that fits all cats. But there is almost certainly one that fits your cat. Your job, along with our help, is to find that program.
Advice on dosage:
(1) Start with any one product.
Proceed little by little. Incrementalism creates steps in the dosages and combinations. Keep a diary if necessary. By proceeding in steps, you can back up to a previous dosage, stay at the present dosage, or move forward by increasing dosages and adding additional supplements. These products have no toxic dose, so you can test safely, without the risk of serious side effects.
(2) Judge your animals reaction at each step. Are the symptoms getting worse? getting better? or are they staying the same? This will help guide you as to whether you should increase, stay the same, or go back to a previous dose.
(3) If at the first step, you get an increase in diarrhea or vomiting, stop that supplement, and try another. If there is no change, continue raising dosage until you start seeing symptoms getting better, or add another product to the first, as they could work better together
(4) If you reach a step where symptoms seem to get worse, go back to the previous step.
(5) At the step that symptoms improve, stay at that step, unless you feel there is room for even more improvement, then keep increasing.
(6) Feed only one type of food. Preferably “Limited ingredients, grain free, single protein”. Rabbit or venison. No snacks or food variations. This will eliminate variables.
Hi Steve, the Vitality Science Feline Comfort powder helped to eliminate my cat’s issues with diarrhea almost immediately (within 2 days)! Before getting it, I switched to Nature’s Instinct Limited Ingredient Rabbit canned food which Buddy loves and was giving him the Proviable probiotics. I plan on switching to the Pet Flora when I’m out of that. Thank you for providing to top quality products and helpful advice. I shared my experience with my vet in the hopes that future pet patients will benefit from my experience. Keep up the great work!!!
My 2 year old cat Boopster was a rescue. He has been having some loose stool issues with a little blood and mucous. I took him to vet and he took a stool sample and found no Protozoa or bacteria so he said it is probably IBS so he told me to start feeding him Hills ID can food until it gets under control. I was feeding him Pure Vita Salmon and peas dry food and was doing well on that until recently. I just ordered him a probiotic from Pet wellbeing which has good reviews before I found this site. I should have it in the mail this week so my question is. ….is there one of your products that I could add to the probiotic or should I get him on probiotic first see what happens? Also i don’t like feeding him the Hills ID so I’m trying to figure out if maybe I should try the canned Pure Vita? Any suggestions?
Hi, I suggest anything without corn, wheat, or soy as a food. Here is a food doc below:
Cat Food
We recommend what not to feed. Especially avoid corn, wheat and soy (hydrolyzed protein is soy) and for some cats carragenan and guar gum. Next, for many cats but not all, no grains and no chicken.
Next, unless dry is all the cat will eat, no dry. Dry food dries them out. (Who’d would have guessed!) Canned is not so great either. Imagine yourself living out of cans! Canned and dry food are devoid of enzymes and the proteins are denatured. These deficiencies can be remedied with supplements.
The best is raw but some cats cannot handle raw. We feed our cat Nature’s Variety frozen raw carried by most large pet stores. Nature’s Variety also sells a very good canned and dry. That said not all cats will eat Nature’s Variety.
Of all the proteins, rabbit, lamb and venison are the best. Avoid all birds (chicken, turkey, duck) since many cats are allergic to them, especially the chicken.
All food changes should be done incrementally. A 10% change per day is recommended. If at any time the GI problems get worse, then that food is not recommended.
Avoid too many variables by using only “single protein, limited ingredient” foods.
Here is a link to limited ingredient single protein food, which has been successful for many but which may or may not be the right food for your cat:
https://www.instinctpetfood.com/cats/limited-ingredient-diet/instinct-limited-ingredient-diets-canned-cats-rabbit-formula
If your cat has a thyroid condition, avoid lamb, venison, and chicken as they are too energetically hot. For hyperthyroid cats, duck, rabbit and pork are beneficial. Also, for hyperthyroid cats avoid seafood and supplemental iodine. For FIP cats no pea protein.
Super Carnivore Bone Broth Supplement
Bone broth can be bought frozen, shelf stable, and refrigerated. But the best bone broth is home made.
(1) Breville Slow Cooker is recommended. A very slow slow cooker is necessary so that the bones can cook for days.
(2) Ingredients: 5 lbs bones, 5 table spoons Apple Cider Vinegar, clean water
(3) Cook on low setting for at least 48 hours. Stop when bones are brittle.
(4) Although bone broth could be a staple food. It is time consuming to make so the dosages should be adjusted for weight. At least a few teaspoons for a 10 lb animal and a few ounces or more for a 100 pound animal
Stay in touch for further guidance if needed.
Hi Steve!
Love what you do! Thanks for helping us out. My 2 year old Cat.. Diareah, last 6 weeks, on and off. Many changes in last 3 months, new kitten, moved house, new food… Taken to 2 vets who suggest antibiotics. I declined. I read all articles above . If i was to purchase 2 products, which are the most effective? Really appreciate what you do. I am in Australia, how quickly can i get the products? Kind regards!
Andrea