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Oh boy.... Phaedra went to the vet today to see about her constant abnormal soft (not diarrhea) bowels. Since we got her over 3 years ago, her bowels have always been too loose, not formed normally. This time they got a stool specimen and found it contained an abnormal number of bacteria. Also blood... but that was what alerted us to the problem in the first place. We saw watery blood on the fur around her butt. And stool sticking to her breeches which we trimmed as close as possible. She's eating normally and acting normal... but the blood is not normal. The vet doesn't know what's causing this since her coccidia were treated when we first got her as a 5 to 6 week old kitten. Something is inflaming her intestines. She has two meds to take plus probiotics.
We also had to buy Revolution for the FLEAS!!!!! Yes, FLEAS! Disgusting blood sucking miserable itchy fleas. The cat-from-hell and the stray black cat sometimes come up on our deck and although the outside enclosure is also screened in, a #(*&^%$ flea managed to get to my precious kitties and raise a flea family.
Fleas! I once went to a person's house, and came home, with a red rash literally up to my knees. Flea bites! I threw the shoes away!
Yep, $200 is my "norm" at the vet.
Hope Phadrea will get better.
We're both pretty upset as giving her a capsule and a pill plus the pro-biotics didn't go to well. We both ended up bleeding from her claws as she struggled as if her life were at stake. But that we could live with. Scruffing didn't help much. Some cats can still fight when scruffed and she is one of them. We couldn't even get the pill shooter in her mouth after the capsule. I don't think she got much of the pro-biotics as it ended up all over her face. By the time we were done she was gasping, panting, drooling and foaming at the mouth. She seemed dazed and in shock when we put her back on the floor. And we have at least another 7 days of this, twice a day no less..... it doesn't look good.
If my cat was experiencing problems with something related to her digestive system, the first thing I'd suspect would be something she's eating.
You say your cat has had loose (not liquid, but soft and abnormal) stools since you got her 3 years ago. And now you're discovering too much bacteria. I'd switch up her diet. You've been gradually switching her to raw. Maybe your recipe isn't optimal. Try ditching the raw and giving her just canned stuff for awhile. If that solves the problem, then you'll know it was your recipe, and you just need to adjust the recipe.
Sorry kitty is having such difficulty I hope she recovers soon. Scruffing Orion doesn't help either although he doesn't scratch. I've learned to papoose him, it's less traumatic I think and I'm not as fearful of hurting him. I have to be sure the towel is very tight though or he can wiggle out. If you're concerned about breathing, as long as kitty can protest it's breathing fine =)
He too gets more liquid meds on his face than in his mouth but being a cat I figure he'll wash it off so he still gets it just not quite by the route intended =)
If my cat was experiencing problems with something related to her digestive system, the first thing I'd suspect would be something she's eating.
Her vet doesn't seem sure of what's causing this. She's had her stool checked a few times early on and nothing showed. She was even x-rayed at one point. She said it can be anything from unusual stress to something she's eating.
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You say your cat has had loose (not liquid, but soft and abnormal) stools since you got her 3 years ago. And now you're discovering too much bacteria. I'd switch up her diet. You've been gradually switching her to raw. Maybe your recipe isn't optimal.
No recipe. Just up to 15% raw gizzards, hearts and the usual stuff. The rest is mostly canned Friskies. She, by choice, eats little kibble. The kibble they get as a treat/snack is a mix of the grain-free brands from PetsMart. I keep switching brands to avoid problems if one should be recalled. The thinking is they'd get too little to kill or really sicken them. When I asked at the shelter what they fed the cats the woman said they all got kibble - a variety from what people donated.
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Try ditching the raw and giving her just canned stuff for awhile. If that solves the problem, then you'll know it was your recipe, and you just need to adjust the recipe.
The thing is, we just got back from 7 days at the lake where she got no raw food at all. We both forget to take the little containers we keep it in in the freezer. So she just got canned and the few kibbles she munched on and got WORSE! Her stool was very soft and then there was the watery blood on her breeches. That's why we took her to the vet as soon as we got an appointment. With the large assortment and variety we feed them, trying to isolate just what's causing this intestinal problem looks almost impossible to sort out. When separated from the others at the kitchen "feeding station" they will not eat at all.
Sorry kitty is having such difficulty I hope she recovers soon. Scruffing Orion doesn't help either although he doesn't scratch. I've learned to papoose him, it's less traumatic I think and I'm not as fearful of hurting him. I have to be sure the towel is very tight though or he can wiggle out. If you're concerned about breathing, as long as kitty can protest it's breathing fine =)
He too gets more liquid meds on his face than in his mouth but being a cat I figure he'll wash it off so he still gets it just not quite by the route intended =)
We may have to go the towel route. She fought is like a tiger last night and we're about to treat her again here in a few minutes. She's such a sweet gentle laid back cat we couldn't believe how crazy she got. I dread this.... we both do.
We're both pretty upset as giving her a capsule and a pill plus the pro-biotics didn't go to well. We both ended up bleeding from her claws as she struggled as if her life were at stake. But that we could live with. Scruffing didn't help much. Some cats can still fight when scruffed and she is one of them. We couldn't even get the pill shooter in her mouth after the capsule. I don't think she got much of the pro-biotics as it ended up all over her face. By the time we were done she was gasping, panting, drooling and foaming at the mouth. She seemed dazed and in shock when we put her back on the floor. And we have at least another 7 days of this, twice a day no less..... it doesn't look good.
Boy, can I relate to this scene!
What kind of probiotics are you using? Have you tried Fortiflora? We've used that on our cats, mixed in with some food, and they really like it.
That was an excellent suggestion. We went the towel route and that worked better than scruffing. She can almost turn around in her skin. It also seemed to calm her and she fought a lot less. I restrained her and DH got the meds into her. It's better this way as he's too afraid of hurting them so isn't good at restraining them. Phaedra is his "baby" and so he's extra gentle with her.
Her rear end is clean as the vet shaved the area where the feces were sticking.
What kind of probiotics are you using? Have you tried Fortiflora? We've used that on our cats, mixed in with some food, and they really like it.
The vet gave us a product called Proviable-KP. She gets 1 CC twice a day. I never gave any of our cats a pro-biotic before. None of them have intestinal problems or unusually soft feces. This kitty had soft movements right from the start. We took both kitties to the vet on the way home from the shelter and so thought the ensuing soft movements were due to the coccidiosis she had. She also had a serious URI she was treated for at the same time. But after treatment her feces remained softer than normal. This has been an ongoing condition since day one. She was between 5 and 6 weeks old when we got her. Barely weaned. She should still have been with her mother.
The more I read up the more I think this is more diet related than anything else. She has no stress in her life 99% of the time. She's a calm gentle laid back kitty. We wont go into her kittenhood which we didn't think we'd survive....
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Yes, FLEAS! Disgusting blood sucking miserable itchy fleas. 
So she just got canned and the few kibbles she munched on and got WORSE! Her stool was very soft and then there was the watery blood on her breeches. That's why we took her to the vet as soon as we got an appointment. With the large assortment and variety we feed them, trying to isolate just what's causing this intestinal problem looks almost impossible to sort out. When separated from the others at the kitchen "feeding station" they will not eat at all. 
The towel route....
We went the towel route and that worked better than scruffing. She can almost turn around in her skin. It also seemed to calm her and she fought a lot less. I restrained her and DH got the meds into her. It's better this way as he's too afraid of hurting them so isn't good at restraining them. Phaedra is his "baby" and so he's extra gentle with her. 
