Conference misery::feline_v1

    You should be concerned if your cat is having prolonged diarrhea.  SHe
    could become dehydrated, and that could lead to other problems.  If she
    has diarrhea for more than a couple of days, I would take her to the
    vet along with a stool sample.  
    
    Also, boiled rice might be more appealing if it is boiled in chicken or
    beef broth, or mixed with baby food meat.  I have also added Pedialyte
    to the water bowls of my cats when one is having a temporary bout of
    diarrhea.  It helps replace electrolytes lost from diarrhea.  You can
    find it in the baby section of the supermarket.
    
    Jo

    You mentioned when you came home she was sick.  Were you on
    vacation or something and left the cat alone?  We had a german
    shephard and every time we went away, when we came back she had
    those symptoms for a few days....
    
    

    I was away for all day saturday and came home early sunday evening. So
    yes, Nutmeg was alone during that time. Though I left the windows open
    and the fans running, it was warm in the house. I thought some of
    it might have to do with the heat, as Nutmeg is a long haired money
    cat.
    

    My cat Zildjian (weights all of 7 lbs full grown) gets a bought of the
    big "d" as we call it about 2 or 3 times a year.  It is usually because
    I change brands of cat food.  I do watch it very closely, but she
    usually has it for aprox 6 days.  I know that sounds like a long time,
    but like I said this does happen to her every once in a while so I am
    kinda use to it.  She does have a good appetite and drinks alot of
    water while this is happenning, so I don't get too alarmed.
    
    I have tried KOPECTATE (sp?) (the vet recommended it) but she wouldn't
    touch that.  The boiled rice thing worked if I put tuna with it (she
    *loves* tuna).  
    
    I use to panic when Zildjian came down with this, but now I let it take
    it's course.  Of course, if it went on for over a week, I would
    definitely take her to the vet.
    
    Good Luck
    
    Anna/Zildjian/Spunky
    

a kitten (under a year old) is more susceptable to problems than an adult cat.
If your cat has loose stool, but can still get to the box, and is a kitten,
then allowing the problem to "run it's course" for 2 days might be okay...
however, the smaller the cat, the less body mass the cat has to waste and this
problem depletes the cat of important chemicals/fluids in the body.  the
potential for real problems is great; the cat can get too low of minerals that
regulate her hearbeat and/or her blood pressure for instance.  The cat can
also become generally dehydrated - and that will kill fairly quickly in a
small animal.  I would definitely get her to the vet unless you see real
improvement by today.

If the vet concurs, then an eye dropper full of kaopectate can stop the 
symptom and protect the cat from becoming dehydrated, but it won't cure the
underlying cause.  Be forwarned, cats don't like kaopectate - regardless of
flavor - it will have to be forced down her throat.  Of course, once you
administer it, the cat has a wonderful opportunity to be very dramatic and
froth at the mouth for an hour or so....quite a performance.  It's calculated
to make you feel hideously guilty for doing this to her.

    
    We have the same problem with Otis.  After 3 years we've finally
    figured part of it out.   He is a nervous kitty so if he is left
    alone with his brother he can get 'da trots' or if he throws up a
    hairball, two days later he gets 'da trots'.  The vet also says that
    he has a parasite which he could have been born with.  Two rounds of
    pills for 21 days did nothing better than boiled chicken and rice.
    The vet also recommended boiled hamburg and rice.  2 parts rice to
    1 part chicken.  'Da trots' last about 2-4 days and the chicken and
    rice has been known to plug him up for 48 hours after.  Sometimes you
    can't win!
    
    This cats acts fine, eats fine and plays but when he gets a bout he is
    apt to forget his litterbox habits.  The vet says he's trying to tell
    me something's wrong - well, I could figure that out when I scoop the
    box - He really doesn't need to be so blunt!
    
    I don't even have to take the cat in - they just want to test the stool
    sample.
    
    "C"
    

    If you're going to give Kaopectate I suggest using a syringe or 
    eyedropper.  Since I give my own shots I usually have a supply of
    clean syringes around.  Its got to do with how I draw up the
    vaccines but everytime I give a dose of vaccines I end up with an
    unused syringe sans needle.  So if you need one let me know.
      Nancy