Cats: behavioural diarrhoea??

[Laina]

Hi all

I'm appealing to your good nature and expert advice here because I am at the end of my tether!!

 

I have two cats, Millie and Maisie and for the last 6 months or so, one of them has been having diarrhoea overnight, intermittently, always in the same place ony kitchen floor (pretty disgusting!) and I don't know who or why. I've had them both at the vets after it started and they found nothing wrong but they had antibiotics and solidifying paste things just on case which had no effect. Since then I've begun to wonder if it's behavioural because:

-it only ever happens if BOTH of them are in over night (they don't have a cat flap (yet) and sometimes one of them will refuse to come in therefore stays out) which means I've never figured out which ones doing it-wish I had a video camera!!!

- they don't have a litter tray, but i had one down for a good month due to the diarrhoea and it barely got used, and no diarrhoea!

-it's always in the same place

 

They are both eating and drinking and being normal so I am Stumped. Like I say, vet says nothing's wrong.

 

So does anyone have any ideas? Can a cat have behavioural issues like this? Or am I barking up the wrong tree. They get on ok, aren't bestest buds like they used to be as kittens but they don't avoid each other etc.

 

Any advice/ideas etc would be VERY welcome

 

Ps sorry for the long post-on my phone so didn't notice how much I'd rambled!

[spats]

The Diarrhoea dilemma! Detective work always required when trying to get to the bottom of poo issues. Firstly..I would get your house prepared for keeping your two cats indoors for a while so you can assess what exactly is going on. You need to keep them in to a) determine which of your cats or if indeed both of them have the problem b) with them restricted indoors, you can moniter what you are feeding them & most importantly, this will prevent any access to a source of food outside the home which could be causing the problem.

Get a litter tray with cat litter they like (most prefer clumping clay sort) & place it in the area where they poo. Then you will have to moniter what you are feeding them & the quantity you give them. Most poo problems are the result of food too rich, the wrong type of food (if the cat has sensitivity problems) or too much food being given. Just give water to drink, not milk. Check the tray each time you hear your cats in it so you can identify the poo suspect & note the consistency of each passed poo. Other things to think about..when were they last wormed? How old are the cats? Has there always been a poo problem since kittenhood? With the cats kept in, you will be able to know exactly how often the diarrhoea occurs. It may be that the cat/cats affected do it outside where you dont see it.

Absolutely understand what you are dealing with first & then hopefully the problem can be addressed. I wouldn't worry too much about a medical or behavioural reason for the diarroea for now, it's most likely being caused by something not right with their diet.

[medusa]

The Diarrhoea dilemma! Detective work always required when trying to get to the bottom of poo issues. Firstly..I would get your house prepared for keeping your two cats indoors for a while so you can assess what exactly is going on. You need to keep them in to a) determine which of your cats or if indeed both of them have the problem b) with them restricted indoors, you can moniter what you are feeding them & most importantly, this will prevent any access to a source of food outside the home which could be causing the problem.

Get a litter tray with cat litter they like (most prefer clumping clay sort) & place it in the area where they poo. Then you will have to moniter what you are feeding them & the quantity you give them. Most poo problems are the result of food too rich, the wrong type of food (if the cat has sensitivity problems) or too much food being given. Just give water to drink, not milk. Check the tray each time you hear your cats in it so you can identify the poo suspect & note the consistency of each passed poo. Other things to think about..when were they last wormed? How old are the cats? Has there always been a poo problem since kittenhood? With the cats kept in, you will be able to know exactly how often the diarrhoea occurs. It may be that the cat/cats affected do it outside where you dont see it.

Absolutely understand what you are dealing with first & then hopefully the problem can be addressed. I wouldn't worry too much about a medical or behavioural reason for the diarroea for now, it's most likely being caused by something not right with their diet.

 

^^^What she says.

 

It's really very likely that the diarrhoea you see is part of a bigger pattern, so you need to learn the bigger pattern to sort the issue.

 

Good luck

[parcher]

Just a thought but this is definitely poo? The reason I ask is that my Hanni tends to sick up digested food when she has been thieving wet food, often in combination with a small fur sausage and it looks exactly like diarrhoea. In fact it wasn't until I saw her do it that I realised what it was, so disgusting was it.

[bogwoppit]

Yes Tigger does this. Unfortunately I haven't managed to train him to fur ball in his litter tray

[mc55]

interestingly our oldest male cat used to have the odd accident under the kitchen table and it was always diarrhoea. Since we moved three weeks ago, all cats have been kept in and they have all been using the tray and I've noticed no diarrhoea at all - so in our case it must be something he was eating away from the house. Good luck !

[Laina]

Hi all sorry for going AWOL after posting - manic week!

 

Thank you for all the advice , I'm 90% sure it's poo not sick... but then it does sound a little like Parcher says - ie sometimes there is a "something" in there now you mention it. Smells pooey though mostly! (TMI)

 

Anyway, have tried keeping them inside, only lasted a few days, but all poos were solid and no diarrhoea outside of the litter tray. Like I say, if a tray is down it doesn't happen. Even tried putting flour on the floor in the area they poo in to see if only one of them had floury paws but no diarrhoea whilst flour down - started again when floor clean! never did catch either of them with floury paws either! but worth a go as far as I was concerned!!

 

Since you nice lot replied to me, it's got me thinking it is perhaps is simply something one/both of them is eating outside. Maisie is a little plant obsessed and often found chewing plants in the garden (the few we have) which I deter her from doing, but who's to say she doesn't eat the neighbour's. They are both 3 years old, wormed with drontal and the problem has only occurred recently, not since they were kittens etc to answer Spats Q's. That would explain why no diarrhoea when they were inside, but doesn't fully explain why it doesn't occur should one of them stays outside overnight/when there is a litter tray down.

 

We are moving house next week so they will have to be inside for a while then so can properly monitor feeding etc and may get some idea of what's going on/who it is then. Although the move itself is at least likely to upset my stressy little Maisie (Millie is so laid back it's unreal... and incredibly nosey so I anticipate her loving every second of discovering all the new sights and smells of the new house...!!! She may surprise me however) so we will see if we get upset tummies etc anyway. Vet recommended Feliway for Maisie as she's quite nervous and since the diarrhoea started, she has also been overgrooming herself and now has only very fine fur left on her tummy and legs :-( (I am still inclined to think diarrhoea is Maisie's problem over Millie) I am still waiting to see if this has any affect on the overgrooming/diarrhoea (and figured it can't hurt to try it before the move at least).

 

Thanks again, hopefully we will eventually get to the bottom of it. Cats, eh!