Diarrhea in Cats: Causes, Symptoms, & Treatment

Struggling with chronic diarrhea in your cat? In this video, Dr. Sarah Wooten, DVM, CVJ explains the causes, symptoms, and treatment of this condition. Watch on to learn the details.

Video Navigation:

0:00 Introduction
0:31 Chronic vs. Acute Diarrhea in Cats
2:11 Veterinary Disclaimer
2:46 Sources of Chronic Diarrhea in Cats
3:20 Symptoms of Small Intestinal Diarrhea
4:36 Symptoms of Large Intestinal Diarrhea
5:23 Causes of Diarrhea in Cats
6:12 Testing for Cats With Diarrhea
7:36 Treatment for Cats With Diarrhea
10:08 Suggestions for Home Treatment
12:13 Conclusion

[k.c.mcqueen]

If the vets weren't so darn expensive, we could have more visits there and treatments...

[patriciaantonucci-walsh]

When we rescued our new cat he had diarrhea everyday and was always crying. I tried changing up his food but that didn’t help and then gave him pre & probiotics and problem solved ! He’s a very happy boy now !

[MessyBeans]

Thank you, Thank you, thank you. I was doing all the wrong things and our vet was no help. Feeding only the boiled chicken breast, chicken baby food, and fortiflora has made a difference in only two days.

[brianc]

My furry cat often steps in her runny poo then zoomies on my sofa and furnitures to make sure she sprinkles it around the house!

[tenmiltenmil]

I live in a place where the veterinarians only know 3 things . 1 . neuter 2. Grooming 3. Put the animal down ! I brought a farm here approximately 21 years ago and through trial an error and help from other farmers I have learned to treat all my rescued animals with over the counter meds and antibiotics which are sold without a prescription ! We also grow herbs and plants like insulin etc ! For diarrhea I would give them corn starch and the diarrhea stoped within hours ! None of the farmers here trust vets because their animals would die after a vet visit so we all get together when necessary and figure out what to do on our own ! So far it’s working ! Thanks for sharing your video though ! Peace ☮️

[annawood]

Thank you for this video. My cat is extremely reluctant to be examined at the vets. A visit usually costs me a lot of money and results in me taking her home without being examined because she's too distressed 😭

[erniee]

Thank you so much. I really like your approach and willingness to reach out and address this issue. You’re a wonderful person.

[sindicta]

I tried all of the prescription foods, wet, dry, grain free, hydrolyzed protein, in the end nothing worked. Guess what did though: a raw diet. Literally fixed her diarrhea in ONE DAY of switching cold turkey. I'm so happy my girl can finally be comfortable.

[kolendrazpolski]

Thank you for talking about this subject. I've been dealing with this for 8 months now. It is hard and very difficult to look at my sweet cat having to go through it. Some people don't understand why I'm still fighting. So your words at the begging ment a lot to me 😻. Stay strong everybody and do your best 💪

[kevinpatrick]

I could somewhat understand someone having their cat euthanized if their cat is terminally ill and all possible attempts are exhausted to make their cat feel better and healthier, but how someone would have their cat euthanized because their cat has diarrhea, is beyond my understanding. Some people are selfish. It's sad.

[fritterfluff]

what a coincidence, my cat has had diarrhea for years, and we have tried managing it with hydrolyzed food he is very thin and it seems he hurts sometimes but our vet says he is not that thin but I would like to get a second opinion and this video has made me realize I should do that soon.

[bonnertyburski]

We've had our shelter cat for almost 4 months and the diarrhea is never ending. He had a parasite that took 3 rounds of medication to get rid of. But he's STILL leaking mucus, poo and some blood from his rear end. We've done antibiotics, a change of diet, probiotics and it's still never ending 😭 I just want to hold my cat without getting poo on me.

[mariaandreaspashi]

Thank you for your good infirmation, yes this is very helpful!

[markharrisllb]

My cats are only 7 months old and have never had diarrhoea since we’ve had them. They are house cats, eat food from the same supplier and we are very careful to defrost it daily and only eat 6 different varieties. I think if one of them suddenly got problems without the other one becoming ill would be especially worrying. If they both had issues I’d suspect it was something they’d eaten but I’d still take them to Paul (our vet).

Boiled plain chicken and rice has been the poorly cat go to for at least 40 years.

[emilyanschuetz]

I love my cats like family. My long haired 4 year old (who is an OCD groomer and struggles with hair balls) is super spunky and she has struggled with chronic vomiting mostly and intermittent diarrhea. Her bouts last up to a week. We’ve spent hundreds of dollars on tests, X-rays, probiotics and new food for the vet to tell us she has IBS due to stress. We try to keep stress low around the house (we don’t move furniture or change her environment). But it was only when we got her on a diet of wet sensitive stomach food and, MOST effectively, dry prescription gastrointestinal food that she has stopped vomiting! If we are unable to get our hands on the prescription food due to it being sold out, it starts back up again. But all in all I am happy we found a routine that works!

[steveb]

My cat who is now 14 began having chronic diarrhea when he was 12. It was a real struggle because he could see that he was distressed by it. Also, it goes without saying that it’s very messy and sometimes it would get on his feet and tail, which led to stressful cleanup and baths. After about four separate vet trips over two years I finally found a solution that works about 95% of the time. The vet prescribed kitty prednisone and also a probiotic called Forti Flora. For the most part, I just give him heavy doses of the probiotic when he has a flareup, but sometimes he needs to go on a course of the prednisone. It’s been a real lifesaver and he’s gained a lot of his weight back and for an old man at 14 he’s doing so much better than he was at 12 when everything was out of control.

[aanabs]

Nice video ma'am. Can u tell me which strains of bacteria make a good probiotic? Is plain greek yoghurt counts as a good probiotic for cats?

[protocol]

Thank you so much Dr🙏🫅🙏 from Singapore 🌴🌴🌴

[surangelsuarez]

My cats often have diarrhea once they eat any food that have poultry so I only give them a fish-based diet or meat (beef). I would recommend to check the ingredients of both dry and wet food products to make sure there isn’t any poultry products in the food. Also, another tip is to get them a probiotic or food product that contains pumpkin which helps them with poop health and digestion. I hope that helps!! ☺️

[ParisHughes]

I got two cats when they were kittens from a local shelter. They've been having diaherrea since I got them in June of 2021. I'm giving them food for sensitive stomach (soft) mixed with hard food (for sensitive stomach) its now September and they STILL have it. The doctor says that they're good and healthy but one of them did have worms. So now I'm deworming them.