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CAT WITH DIARRHEA CAN BE AN EMERGENCY

By Dr. Michael Fox 8 min read

DEAR DR. FOX: I have an emergency with my cat: She has diarrhea. What do you advise I do? — E.M., Winston-Salem, North Carolina

DEAR E.M.: This is indeed a possible emergency. If the animal is straining and in acute pain, possibly even passing blood, that calls for immediate veterinary care. But if she is simply voiding runny or liquid stools, wait 24 hours, and if the animal is eating, drinking or passing firmer stools, veterinary care is called for. Your cat could simply be clearing out her digestive system of something she ate that is causing the system to react by producing a large amount of fluid and stimulating peristalsis. But if it persists, the animal will lose vital electrolytes and become dehydrated.

Don’t try home remedies such as over-the-counter human anti-diarrhea medications that can be fatal for cats. A short fast followed by a fresh batch of the usual food may help (buy a new batch of the same brand), since the batch you were using could be bad. Or your cat may have an infection or parasite, or has developed food intolerance or an associated endocrine disorder.

If your cat is old and could have fatty liver disease, not eating for more than a day could cause serious complications, so do not hesitate: If she does not quickly recover and appetite and strength return after the diarrhea, get to the vet without further delay.

DEAR DR. FOX: I feed my dogs around 5 p.m. Many times, they don’t consume the food until much later in the evening. On these occasions, the dogs sometimes defecate in their room. The room has a doggy door that is closed at night so they do not go outside and bark at all hours. The dogs are otherwise very well trained. We have two 8-year-olds and a 13-year-old. Do you have any suggestions? — M.S., St. Louis

DEAR M.S.: I have found that the best feeding and toilet pattern for dogs is going out for a morning walk or yard run and eating a light breakfast, then taking a walk around noon to 2 p.m.; before an evening meal (between 5 and 6 p.m.), go on a long walk or run. Then, before you go to bed, give your dogs another walk or more time in the yard.

This routine fits in with dogs’ behavioral cycle of eating and being active, and their need to go out to empty their bladders and bowels.

DEAR DR. FOX: I have always had pets, but never cats because of a severe allergy. My sister came to live with me for a few months several years ago, bringing her young cat. The cat got along well with my dogs (bonding completely with my dog of the same age), but I started to notice some strange things.

First, the yellow heads from my son’s Lego figures would disappear. Then, I couldn’t find the yellow spring eggs I decorated for the season. My set of paints was missing the tube of yellow that I knew should be there. When I couldn’t find my favorite shopping bag (yellow), I began to suspect the cat.

I spread out some multicolored pompons on the table where we kept his food and counted how many of each color there were; sure enough, by morning there were no yellow pompons, but none of the other colors had been touched. The same was repeated with multicolored feathers. When we checked the cushion of the cat’s preferred nap spot, we found a stash of yellow bits of paper, plastic and fabric; this cat had a favorite color!

We set out a small yellow blanket in the house, and he moved it to his nap spot. When he wasn’t drinking enough water, we started putting the water in a yellow bowl, and he stayed well hydrated.

I knew that animals could see colors (contrary to popular myth), but this was the only animal I have ever known to have a favorite color. Until the day he died, he kept his own little spot happily decorated in sunshine yellow. — R.C., Atlanta

DEAR R.C.: This is an interesting account of a cat’s color fixation, for reasons best known to the cat — feline aesthetics, perhaps!

Cats can see some colors and can tell the difference between red, blue and yellow lights. Also, they are able to distinguish between blues and violets better than between colors near the red end of the spectrum. Recent research has also revealed that they can detect ultraviolet light.

When we match what we know of cats’ multisensory abilities and recent comparative genetic research showing that domestication has done little to temper their wild heritage, we can embrace them knowing that they are, with some breed and individual exceptions, still more wild than domesticated.

Your sister’s cat may have found a way to create, through this game of color-selection, a degree of environmental stimulation for a complex little brain and spirit living in a relatively unstimulating home environment — the social enrichment of friendly dogs notwithstanding.

DEAR DR. FOX: We recently adopted a rescued female beagle who is about 8 or 9 years old. Shortly after we adopted her, she started to develop a slight limp in her front right leg for no apparent reason. It was very minor for a couple of weeks, but we monitored it and scheduled an appointment with our veterinarian. Before we could get her to the appointment, she awoke one night in an obvious state of extreme pain. Because we have other beagles who have neck and back problems, we suspected a disc problem might be the cause.

We took her to our vet, who prescribed tramadol and Rimadyl, but when that didn’t help control the pain, we took her to a neurologist. She performed an MRI, and we all expected to see a disc herniation; instead, the MRI showed inflammation of a nerve root (there was some very minor disc degeneration in another area, but she felt that would not cause the problem).

Our dog was prescribed prednisone and other painkillers to address the immediate pain and control inflammation. The limp lessened, but it was still apparent. Otherwise, she showed no signs of pain or discomfort, so we reduced the painkillers to only gabapentin, and we have maintained the dosage of prednisone twice a day. When we tried to reduce the prednisone to once a day, the limp became more evident, so we increased the dose again to twice daily. The neurologist also prescribed cyclosporine to see if it would help and maybe replace the prednisone eventually. Our dog seems to be tolerating that drug, and we will have her rechecked again this week.

Have you seen this type of condition in other dogs? Do you have any insights for us to explore that we and our excellent vet may not have considered? For example, have you seen other treatments such as acupuncture help with what appears to be some sort of pain syndrome? The limp is confounding because it came on so gradually that it almost seems to me like it may be a separate issue altogether, but I’d appreciate your thoughts. — R.M., Alexandria, Virginia

DEAR R.M.: You certainly have received the best of veterinary diagnosis and medical care for your poor dog.

She may have a condition similar to chronic regional pain syndrome in humans, which can follow trauma. In addition to the medications prescribed, I would add a daily dose of anti-inflammatory fish oil or half a can of sardines in water, plus a tablespoon of brewer’s yeast mixed in with her food. Add these supplements gradually, first in small amounts so she gets used to them.

A skilled veterinary acupuncture therapist may be able to provide some relief. You can also try electrical stimulation using the Alpha-Stim system, which effectively alleviates various painful syndromes in humans; some veterinarians have found it to be effective in various cases of chronic pain and lameness in animals. Lameness throws the whole body off-kilter so whole-body massage, as in my book “The Healing Touch for Dogs,” could be beneficial.

Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns

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