My cat has diarrhea for days after eating turkey & wreath. What to do?

You can try withholding food for 24 hours. Allow small amounts of water or unflavored PediaLyte. Resume feeding a bland diet in small, frequent amounts until the stool is normal. Ideally, since she's lethargic and has diarrhea, she should be examined by your veterinarian. If a fast and bland diet does not resolve the diarrhea or if she develops other symptoms (lethargy, loss of appetite or abdominal pain), then Tabby will definitely have to go to the vet.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. If he is otherwise normal and still eating / drinking, I would withhold food for at least 8 hours and initiate a bland diet as outlined below. If he continues to vomit even on the bland diet or he worsens, I would get him examined by a veterinarian so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. GENERAL INFORMATION A bland diet is a diet that is soft and highly digestible. It is low in fiber, fat and protein and is high in carbohydrates. Bland diets are generally composed of a single carbohydrate source and a single lean protein source. The most common bland diet is boiled rice and boiled lean chicken breast, without skin and bones. Since bland diets are low in fiber, stool production slows and defecation is less frequent. Bland diets are fed to rest the gastric system and to help promote normal stool formation. Animals that are physically sick should not be fed bland diets as a method of treatment. PRIOR TO FEEDING A BLAND DIET Pets should be fasted for 12 to 24 hours. Young animals should not be fasted for more than 12 hours. Fasting will allow the intestinal system to relax and minimize acid secretions that may irritate and inflame the intestinal lining. During the fast small amounts of water or ice chips may be provided. Never fast a sick animal, it may cause disease progression and death. BASIC BOILED RICE AND CHICKEN BLAND DIET RECIPE CARBOHYDRATE SOURCE: Boiled white rice LEAN PROTEIN SOURCE: Chicken breast, no skin and bones BOILED RICE: 1 part white rice with 3 parts water boiled for 20 – 25 minutes or until the rice is easily crushed. BOILED CHICKEN: De-fat chicken breast and boil in water for 10 – 15 minutes or until the chicken meat is easily pulled apart and cooked all way through. MIXING INSTRUCTIONS: Finely chop the lean protein and mix 2 cups carbohydrate source and ½ cup lean protein source. STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS: Bland diets can be premade and stored in the refrigerator for a maximum of 48 hours. The bland diet can be cooked in a batch and frozen in feeding sized portions to minimize preparation time. Thaw and warm the frozen diet prior to feeding. PERMITTED LEAN PROTEIN SUBSTITUTIONS Pork loin, egg whites, low fat cottage cheese. 7% low fat hamburger, plain low fat yogurt. PERMITTED CARBOHYDRATE SUBSTITUTIONS Boiled potatoes, boiled spaghetti, Minute rice. PERMITTED COMMERCIAL BLAND DIETS Science Prescription Diet I/D, Eukanuba Veterinary Diet Low Residue, Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Intestinal HE. FEEDING INSTRUCTIONS Estimate 25% of your animal’s diet and feed that amount of the bland diet every 6 – 8 hours. Smaller animals will require less and larger animals will require more adhering to the same carbohydrate to lean protein source ratio. The bland diet should be fed for 4 -5 days with no treats or other food sources until stools are firm. TRANSITION BACK TO A NORMAL DIET Never transition back to a regular diet rapidly. Transition back to the regular diet over a 1 week period. Start by adding 25% of the regular diet to 75% of the bland diet and feed that combination for 2 days. If stools continue to be firm then continue substituting the regular diet in 25% increments and feeding the combination in 2 day time intervals until the diet is 100% regular diet. Minimize treats for 1 week after moving the diet back to 100% regular diet.

Stopping the diarrhea usually requires stopping the cause of the diarrhea. In a young cat, it is often an infection that causes them to stop eating/drinking with diarrhea. However, this can happen with other illnesses or poisoning. Diarrhea is actually beneficial with infections, because it's the body's way of getting rid of the toxin/disease. And, most diarrhea resolves on its own within three days. The concerning thing with Samantha's case is that she could quickly become dehydrated if she is not drinking and continues having diarrhea. If this continues for more than a day, then she will need to go to the vet for an evaluation and treatment to keep this from being a serious problem. Other criteria for going to the vet are as follows: 1) Blood in diarrhea 2) Very watery diarrhea 3) She starts acting very depressed 4) Diarrhea lasts longer than three days You can help her get through this by feeding bland food (boneless chicken and tuna is good). Feed small portions (1 Tbsp or less) three times a day. Ensure fresh, clean water is always available. I hope this helps and Samantha gets better soon.

Diarrhea and a decrease in appetite could be a sign of a number of different problems. Intestinal parasites are possible, even for indoor cats, as are some infections or diseases like colitis or inflammatory bowel disease. If the diarrhea continues for more than 24 hours or seems to be getting worse, or if her appetite does not improve during that time I'd recommend seeing your veterinarian. They may treat her symptoms or recommend some testing like blood work or a fecal analysis depending on what they find during a physical examination.

Poor Gini could have a GI illness, may have eaten something rotten, or could have a foreign body. I can give you a home remedy for her to see if that helps. Withhold food for 12 hours, then feed a bland diet of boiled white meat chicken (no bones) in small amounts several times a day for a couple of days. Then slowly add back in her normal diet. If the diarrhea continues on the bland diet, she starts vomiting food, stops drinking water, starts vomiting water, or becomes very lethargic, she will need to see a vet right away. I hope this helps!

It sounds as though the chili sauce caused a bit of an upset stomach for Holly. Since she is still active and eating/drinking normally, it is perfectly reasonable to wait another 24 hours before seeking veterinary attention. You can try offering her a bland diet of boiled white meat chicken to try to settle her stomach over the next few days. However, if Holly stops eat and drinking, becomes lethargic, or experiences vomiting or more frequent diarrhea, she should be examined by a vet more urgently. I hope this helps and that all goes well!

Withhold food for so long in such a small kitten is not recommended. Diarrhea is a signs referring to a intestinal problem. It could be due to parasitic infestation (very common in kittens) dietary indiscretion, inflammatory disease, bacterial diseases or viral diseases. You could provide bland food (boiled breast chicken or white fish or gastrointestinal commercial diet) for a 24-36 but, if she continues to have diarrhea, might get dehydrated and therefore need to be checked by a veterinarian. Also if you can spot blood in the faces or if she get lethargic and not eating, or if she start vomiting, I would suggest to have her checked by your veterinarian as soon as possible. 
Good luck and post again on the forum if you need further advices. I hope my answer was helpful.