We had a similar problem with Jasper, and it went on for more than 7-8 months; routine fecal tests were inconclusive. The vet finally put him on hypoallergenic food (Royal Canin) and it worked gradually. Also used probiotic supplements but those didn't seem to make much difference.

Below are two threads, one about Jasper and the other about the benefits of pumpkin in intestinal issues - it helped Jasper tremendously, I still thank Lisa for the info:

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/pets/msg111554249038.html

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/pets/msg0901283226715.html

With Jasper, our vet told us to feed him boiled chicken and rice for a while, that worked only temporarily. Shots of Colvasone and something (probably Betamox) else, also were temporary solutions.

I still feel that the stress (Jas and his sister Coco were at the cattery for 10-12 days - and they got fixed during this time as well) and improper kind of food at the cattery contributed to this. I gave the clinic the food Jasper and Coco used to eat but I'm sure they gave them what they gave all the other cats (Purina/other) - I know because I worked at the clinic later and realised how inefficient and disorganised the entire cattery operation was; that translated into about USD 400 for us - the stool checks, injections, different types of food ... not to mention all that anxiety!

All the best, keep us posted on what happens, Michelle.

Pranjal

I would switch to Innova Evo, Instincts, Ziwi peak or better yet a raw diet. If you must use dry Orijen or EVO is good.

Vets are not a good source for food- the corps that give them their food do so to make more $ and sick cats for vets to treat.

Thats why they say feed dry because unlike crushing raw bones, meat and organs. Dry will cause dehydration and dental disease. Cats need high moisture content and dry has about 10% or less moisture content. Plus most dry foods have grains to help reduce costs to the pet food makers, cat need less then 7% carbs, and grainy drys useally have 70 to 50% carbs.

Many thanks for all the thoughts about why this might be occurring. Our vet is pretty old school, so we'll see if he appreciates that we've generated some ideas to *help* him.

The antibiotic that the vet prescribed was metonidazole, if that's helpful information.

Meghane - Do you feel that it could still be worms even though only one of the cats seems to have this problem? They spend so much time together that it seemed to me if one had worms, the other one would surely also have them. That made me think it was likely some kind of physical problem, but now you have me wondering.

Thanks,
Michelle

I think your vet is treating your kitten for giardia (sp), which is a good idea.

There is another probability: Giardia is the "usual" suspect when it comes to intestinal bugs. But as Pranjal said, sometimes the Flagyl (same as the anti-bio your cat is on) doesn't do the trick.
There is another less common contagious intestinal bug called Tritichomonas foetus. It is hard to detect and it doesn't react to Flagyl.
My vet was reluctant to prescribe the necessary antibiotic because it may have toxic side effects and eventually, the situation usually resolves. Since my cat did not test positive for Giardia or worms (after 8 weeks on Flagyl), and she had been living in a shelter, we assumed that this might have been her problem...even though kittens are more susceptable than adult cats. With the pumpkin and a change in diet, my cat's case resolved (it took about 4 months) and she's been fine ever since.

L

Just an update - I began feeding both kitties canned pumpkin three days ago, as was suggested by posters, and amazingly enough, the blood in the stool seems to have gone away. This morning there was just some clear mucus. I will continue to keep a close eye on the situation, and want to thank all who offered suggestions. If the problem fails to clear up completely, I have a great deal more information to go on than I did two weeks ago! It's times like these when I just love the Internet....

Michelle

Has she ever been treated for ghiardhia before? I think all cats that were outside should be treated for it.

I didn't know cats could get Ghiardhia... I have heard of neglected dogs getting it from dirty water, and people too... check the water, if water is dirty use clean, if not, check for the Ghiardhia.

If its in your water, be careful!

Yes, they do get it. Especially kittens from feral mothers, or cats that are outside. Ghiardia is very tenacious in the soil, too!

Ferals make sense...... outside cats too... its in soil too?... oh dear.

Like many parasites, the eggs reside in the soil. That's why outside cats should be routinely wormed.

Ours are Indoor.

Glad to hear the pumpkin is working. I'm a big fan of that! Fiber-responsive diarrhea is not uncommon and canned pumpkin is a great treatment as long as the cat eats it. My friend's cat won't touch the stuff...

I've seen many cases where one littermate was sick and another perfectly healthy from parasites. In fact a client just lost a puppy to hookworms despite a blood transfusion, and the littermate, while infected, is doing just fine. Obviously they both got dewormed (twice for the surviver) but for whatever reason, only the female got sick and died. So yes, I do believe that one littermate can show symptoms of disease, or even be infected, while the other is fine. Has to do with individual immune system health, parasite load, etc.

I'm glad your kitten is doing better:)

To anyone that can help- :)
I have been struggling with some similar problems and has been going on with my kitten for months! I adopted a kitten who I new already had diarrhea ( I had no idea what I was getting myself into); day 3 I took him to the vet and he tested positive for Giarrdia began dozing Metronidazole and seperated from my other cats. He finished the dozing but diarrhea continued and thought we may have seen a tape worm segment. He didn't give a strong enough sample the second time but because Giarrdia is sometimes hard to get rid of he got another dose of metronidazole, plus pill for tapeworm, plus Panacur to help with any other worms and parasites. However, it has been January when I first got him and he is still in my bathroom with diahrrea. Negative for giardia but had to send in an $180 test of his diarrhea to sample for other bacterias and he turned out to have a strain of clostridium and has been treated for 3 out of 4 weeks but the only thing to have disappeared is the mucusy look still very runny. When we first got the first Giarrdia diagnosis we had him on a high fiber/bland prescription food and the last 2 weeks have tried some live cultured yogurt with his food (which was gradually changed to science diet kitten and grain free nibbles by natures balance). My vet is runnin out of ideas. Did I forget to mention he has been treated for ringworm for 2 months and they are finally going away but the diarrhea hasn't stopped. Any ideas that you or your vet come up with or anyone else would be helpful?!?!?? My husband and I have also tried over the counter product called bena-bac? Too soon to really consider food allergies. His last diarrhea looked heavier and grainy but still super loose.

my cat is 1 1/2 year old fied male indoor cat only has bloody red mucus diahera. acts fine. only feed him dry purina one salmon and rice food. CAN SOMEONE HELP ME OUT

You really need to have a vet check him -- that is not normal, and animals try to act okay, even when they are not feeling well.

My cat will be 3 this October. She was a stray and we took her in at about two weeks old. She is an indoor cat that is afraid of sounds outside. Her brother just turned 3 as well and equally does not venture outside. I feed them both the same thing, a mixture of purina one beyond and blue buffalo wilderness weight control. Just recently, about two weeks ago, I changed from the weight control to a salmon something or other by blue buffalo still.
Two days ago the female had loose stool with a bloody mucous. The male is fine. They have automated food and water dispensed so I know they constantly have both.
After reading some posts online, I figured it may be either bacteria or related to changing the food. Would it take two weeks to determine a food allergy or similar? Or if it was the food, would this have come about sooner?

omg i think i finally found some answers!!!
I adopted Lucky on Jan 18 this year from BARC he is a 5 month Siamese red point mix. I been having issues with his poop since i got him i go to the vet every week because it seems like every time he get some med it helps for like few days and after a week it starts all over again. today i am going back because it came back. he is eating the Royal Canin Kitten Spayed/Neutered Dry Food, i dont give him wet food because it seems like it just gets worst.
i ask my vet about the pumpkin :-) and yogurt
i hope she will have some answers for me today

LuckyP are they testing for giardia? What about worms? Some worms can cause blood! This is an old thread...what is the problem you are having with his stool exactly?

Little Mya has ringworms.
What can be cleaned?
What should be thrown out?
toys, cat tree, bedding etc.

Plz help my 10ans a half wk old kitren had a bowel movement that loond normal but it lookd like bloody mucus it also lookd like mucus with the soft food inside the mucus mayb not blood but the stool lookd normal abd the mucus stuff was inside twirld arond inside stool and ive noticed a change n his playn and not As axtive plz plz help hes part of my lifw i love him

Ans they wet food ws the cheap stuff some one give me i should of