The cat with the exploding bum

[Catbird]

Thanks to all who replied on this.  I am delighted to report that Dot is much better, with nary a squitter in sight    I have received the 2 Orijen samples I ordered and I am oh-so-slowly introducing them (pretty much a kibble at a time!) to her diet.

C.

[Mark]

It's OK it's the same one as in the pic. OH has always had it for pumpkin pie - I forget what goes in it but it's spices etc. I don't like it 

One year he couldn't be bothered to make it and we were visiting his best friend from school who also lives here. He went to a bakery in Farringdon and asked them to make one without checking the price. When we collected it, it was £25  - admiddedly it was huge  but.............

[Tiggy's Mum]

Mark - be careful that your tin isn't pumpkin 'pie filling' - the Waitrose one I put a pic of is just pure pumpkin.

[Mark]

Something to bear in mind as we have some in the cupboard - with OH being American, standard Thanksgiving meal includes (sweet) Pumpkin Pie (  ) we always get our pumpkin from Waitrose.

[Catbird]

Helen and Mark - 

I have ordered 2 trial packs of Orijen from zooplus and I will go and look for the pumpkin tomorrow - the ice cube tray idea is a good one.

Dot's new cat tree arrived this morning and she is flinging herself around on that with great joy 

C.

[Tiggy's Mum]

Thanks - link works now.  Apparently, pumpkin and rice babyfood does the trick!

Yes I have heard that pumpin is good for upset tumies as the fibre in it helps absorb water and control the consistency. I have no idea where you would get pure canned pumpkin from in the UK and I've not seen pumpkins in shops except coming up to Halloween.

You can get canned pumpkin from Waitrose... It's in the canned veg aisle - you could freeze it into ice cube trays and take out what is needed each day.  Can't get the link from waitrose to work so have attached a pic

[Mark]

Mark - would you suggest trying to change her food now, or delaying it and trying later in the hope that things have quietened down?  Frankly I don't really care what I pay for Dot's food if it does the trick (I can always sell one of my livers.... oh, wait...).

Sorry I can't advise on that but I changed mine over quite easily. It does seem like a proper quality food, unlike Hill's etc that are made cheaply. Intersingly, it is only a couple of pounds more than Hills or RC. - It probably works out cheaper as less needs to be given as it it all food and no empty fillers.

[Feline Costumier]

Somewhat disturbed I have read this thread even though I have little to no advice. What is it with the Brits and bodily functions?!

Anyway, butternut squash is readily available, I often get it from Tescos to make soup, yummy. They also have seasonal varieties in sometimes.

Hopefully I have helped a little. I'm off to look at cats playing with balls of string or something now and stop looking in all the pooh and fart threads 

P.S. Invest in a very good veggie peeler, the skin on pumpkins and squash is tough, oh and a good sharp knife as it is very firm flesh when raw.

[Catbird]

Mark - would you suggest trying to change her food now, or delaying it and trying later in the hope that things have quietened down?  Frankly I don't really care what I pay for Dot's food if it does the trick (I can always sell one of my livers.... oh, wait...).

[Mark]

I highly recommend Orijen dry food as it is totally grain free. It's 75% meat & fish with 25% veg, fruit & botanicals, including psyllium husk which expands with water and helps gut transit. It also has pre & pro biotics (not sure ehat the difference is) + glucosamine & chondroitin for joints. It really is the ultimate food for around the same price as prescription food which usually contains grains which are unnecessary for cats. It also has no artificial additives like colouring.

Zooplus sell it. You can order small 400gram bags to try for £2.50

[Catbird]

Thanks - link works now.  Apparently, pumpkin and rice babyfood does the trick!

[Team Svartalfheims]

http://www.fabcats.org/breeders/infosheets/tritrichomonas.html
just copied and pasted this link from the FAB page so this should work now (hopefully!)

It's pronounced tri-trick-a-moan-ass foetus (or just T.foetus for short!)


Yes I have heard that pumpin is good for upset tumies as the fibre in it helps absorb water and control the consistency. I have no idea where you would get pure canned pumpkin from in the UK and I've not seen pumpkins in shops except coming up to Halloween.

[Catbird]

Curse of the double post.  Team S - I tried the link in your message but got 404'd.

C.

[Catbird]

Team Svartalfheims - please tell me how you pronounce that, as I've tried it twice and my screen's now covered in spit!  That's very interesting info and I will print and peruse/act on/keep.

Gillian - I am so very tempted to wean her back on to the Maine Coon but I have given her breeder a ring (a shining example of breederhood(?) who has stayed in touch with me constantly over the year I have had Dot and has always given good advice)and she thinks I should stay on the prescription stuff for now. She has suggested taking a wait and see approach as Dot is eating, drinking, doing Dot-like things and the explosive rear-end isn't terrifyingly explosive yet.  She also suggested pumpkin or squash (the fruity/veggie thing, not the drink) might help.  Has anyone tried that?

C.

[Gillian Harvey]

They have indeed tested a poo sample and it came back totally negative.  Dot won't eat anything other than dried food - she is on Royal Canin prescription, which is very bland, and her previous food was RC Maine Coon, which she was fine on for ages.  I have tried her on all varieties of meat and fish and she absolutely WILL NOT eat any of them.  I asked about a probiotic when she was put on the long course of flagyl and was told it's a no-no - don't know why, didn't ask (d'oh). 

I think it might be because the flagyl will destroy good bacteria  as well as bad, but the probiotic boosts good bacteria - so giving them at the same time doesnt work, but after a course of anitbiotics etc is usually recommended.

Many cats are intolerant to the carbs in dry food, but its difficult if you've got a cat thats addicted to dry! Have you tried her back on the RC maine coon food again?

[Team Svartalfheims]

Might be worth asking the vet to keep Dot in for a day and testing for Tritrichomonas foetus as it is not checked for on a standard poo test but definately worth checking for seeing as Dot's problem keeps recurring.

T. foetus is a self limiting bug caused by a protazoa and causes runny poos often with mucus that doesn't clear up with diet changes and the runny poos can come and go but affected cats aren't poorly and are fine in themselves.  There is an antibiotic treatment (T. foetus doesn't respond to normal protazoa treatments like fenbendazole and metronidazole) but it can have nasty side effects and is not licensed for use in cats. If the protazoa is left untreated it usually clears itself over time.

It can be a pain to diagnose as vets need a very fresh poo sample (less than 10-15mins old) to try and identify the protazoa but a negative result doesn't always mean they don't have it which is not helpful 

http://www.fabcats.org/breeders/info...ichomonas.html

[Catbird]

They have indeed tested a poo sample and it came back totally negative.  Dot won't eat anything other than dried food - she is on Royal Canin prescription, which is very bland, and her previous food was RC Maine Coon, which she was fine on for ages.  I have tried her on all varieties of meat and fish and she absolutely WILL NOT eat any of them.  I asked about a probiotic when she was put on the long course of flagyl and was told it's a no-no - don't know why, didn't ask (d'oh). 

[Gillian Harvey]

Not sure what else have you tried, but you could try feeding just plain cooked chicken to see if that helps, you'd need to do it for about a week to know if its going to make a difference or not, and what about probiotics? something like Lacto-B or Slippery Elm Bark - they would be worth trying. Have they tested a poo sample?

[Catbird]

Dot the Maine Coon has got a previous problem back again.  She has been treated for this twice before and was prescribed flagyl for short courses.  This cleared the problem up immediately but when she stopped taking it, the problem came back within 5 days.  So, she has just finished a 6 week course of flagyl, during which time she has eaten only prescription food. I have not missed a single dose and have pretty much ditched my social life to make sure of that - I even missed my mum's 70th because I couldn't go to Yorkshire and leave Dot.  She finished the long course over a week ago and I really thought we had it sussed but she has just had a very loose (but still just about solid) movement.  I can't tell you how disappointed I am - mainly for her because the vet said that if this didn't work she was considering an exploratory op and I don't want Dot cut open if I can avoid it 

Help, advice, magic wand, anyone?  Please?

C.