Conference misery::feline_v1

    When I first adopted Nippa, she had the 'runs' very regularly. 
    It didn't help that mom abandoned her and she was bottled raised
    - so her diet was much to be desired....  mostly baby food and milk,
    she would not touch cat food.  I took her to the ver for shots,
    and she had a serious parasite/worm problem common for kittens...
    maybe Milady needs to be wormed again.  Also I just read herre that
    Tender Vittles is supposed to help the problem.  Does she eat any
    dry food?  I'd check with the vet, maybe you can move up your shot
    date, and combine it w/ the checkup.
    
    Michele & Nippa

    I have also been told by my Vet that Tender Vittles
    is good to feed them as it helps bind them... My
    cat had a bout with this on a recurrent basis. I had
    just gotten a kitten then and she was very upset
    about it. Aside from picking up a sore throat from
    him, I thought that maybe she'd picked up an intestinal
    bug as well. My Vet put her on antibiotics but this
    only cured the sore throat. After 3 weeks of this
    going on, my Vet thought it was probably stress because
    of the new kitten. He gave her an injection of something
    (I don't know what) and he said it was to quiet down
    her stomach -- like a mild mild sedative. And that
    cured her!
    
    Now I have the problem of her being a tuna lover and
    this happens to be too rich for her --- so I only give
    a teaspoon on top of her normal dinner. The Vet says this
    may be causing a mild intestinal upset, because tuna
    is very rich. So, I have to wean her off tuna for good.
    
    Are you feeding your cat catfood tuna? Also, I was told
    that milk gives some cats the runs and to avoid this,
    they sell a product known as LACTAID. I don't know what
    it is exactly, but it's like lactic acid or something,
    and makes the milk digestible. This could just be an
    allergy to milk.
    
    Some ideas. Hope this helps...good luck!
    
    Lynn, Pounce and Nutmeg
    
    

	Thanks for the replies so far.

	I've never seen anything called "Tender Vittles" in England, and if
	it's sold here in France it would definitely be under another name.
	What does it contain?  Mostly she eats Whiskas, plus a little dry
	food. 

	I don't think that it's a reaction to milk, because this is what I
	first suspected and didn't give her any while she was affected.
	I hadn't thought of stress, I must admit, but she doesn't seem the
	type to suffer from this, being the very much out-all-day and
	up-every-tree sort of cat.

        One possibility (that I can't easily do anything about) is that
        SOMEBODY ELSE is feeding her with milk or liver or very oily food,
        or something else that disagrees with her.  I could try to confine
        her to the house for a while (I'd have to bolt everything down,
        probably including her!) and see what happens, but, short of
	putting a sign "PLEASE DO NOT FEED ME" round her neck, I can't see
	how I can stop well-meaning neighbours.  I'm sure she asks them oh
	so prettily for a tasty morsel...

	In the meantime, while the visiting cats are allowed out (and,
	believe it or not, return to my house and not their own in the
	evenings!) I'll have to try to tempt her with a raw egg again.

	Any other ideas?

	Delia

    Do not give her raw egg whites.  They have an enzyme in them that
    cats can't digest.  Could this be causing her problem?
    
    As a temporary solution, try giving her a tiny bit of Kaopectate.
    Here in the states, it is diarrhea medication for people.  For a
    10 lb cat, about 1/2 teaspoon would be plenty.
    
    When we had outdoor cats, we tied a ribbon with a small note on
    Monroe's collar to let our neighbors know that he had special dietary
    needs and to please not feed him.  It worked.
    
    Good Luck,
    
    Jo
    
    PS - would it be possible to keep her inside for a day or two to
    see if the problem clears up?  That way you may be able to figure
    out if something she is eating outside is the source of the problem.
    Also, even if she doesn't seem to show it, having other cats around
    could be stressful for her.
    

    another good binder is boiled rice. You might have to mix it with a
    little fried, scrambled hamberg in order to get kitty to eat it.
    
    Deb

    re: .2 LACTAID  I'm not exactly sure of what's in it either,
    but the problem with milk - and some humans have it too - is
    that it contains Lactose which requires the enzyme Lactase  to
    be digested.  People and cats who have an intolerance to milk
    do so because they don't produce the enzyme on their own.
      I suspect that LACTAID is a lactase suppliment.  Check the
    label.
    
      If the cat is an indoor/outdoor cat it his highly likely that
    she has worms again.  If you talk to your vet, perhaps you can
    find a less expensive way to treat her. For example, a stool
    check would be much less expensive than an office visit and
    would diagnose worms.  
      Make sure she gets PLENTY of water.  There is always the
    danger of dehydration with diahreah.
      GOOD LUCK
    

    re: .5 - I recommend that you boil the hamburger, not fry it.
    Fried foods are hard to digest.  Boilled chicken is another good
    one - not turkey, tho.  
      Nancy