What are the best treatments for an FIV+ cat with chronic diarrhea?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Diarrhea can be observed with conditions such as colitis, gastroenteritis, dietary indiscretion, intestinal parasites, among many other possibilities. I recommend that you have Archie evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. They may choose to check for parasites and to start medications for diarrhea depending on the results. Good luck! Hoping for a speedy recovery!

Hello, sorry to hear about Greg. GI signs in cats can be caused by infections, ingestion of foreign material and less likely by a dietary indiscretion (cats don't often eat other types of food they should not). Other common causes in middle or older cats include inflammatory bowel disease IBD or even GI lymphoma in older cats. With Greg having FIV, he is even at more risk of developing infections or other diseases such as IBD. He would require further diagnostics (in addition to blood and urine tests) to confirm these. It may include stool samples and an abdominal ultrasound. Even more, GI biopsies may be recommended if your veterinarian suspects that Greg may have IBD or GI lymphoma. You may try however, offering Greg a bland diet in case this is consistent with a dietary indiscretion. The bland diet could consist of plain white rice, skinless and boneless boiled chicken, and/or low fat cottage cheese. If these help then perhaps Greg may have a dietary indiscretion and will be ok within a few days. However, if he does not improve, has persistent diarrhea, develops a decreased appetite, lethargy, or vomiting then he should be seen by his veterinarian sooner. Hope this helps and best of luck.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I would get a probiotic like Purina Fortiflora. If the metronidazole isn't working I would ask for tylan and Hill's i/d to help control the diarrhea. The drug can cause GI upset seen as vomiting and diarrhea. You can discuss trying a lower dose with your Vet when they call you back. Lowering the dose will make it less effective against the lymphoma. I wish you the best!

I would recommend to try switching them to just a plain boiled chicken diet for a few days to see if this settles their stomach and add in some probiotics. I believe you can buy proviable paste online and give as directed. My concern though is that they may have a parasite or bacteria that they aren't finding in their fecal samples. If they aren't improving, contact your vet to see if you can either bring in just a fecal sample or deworm both of the prophylactically. I hope this helps!

Please don't waste your money on those expensive grain free foods. They are not necessary to use except in extreme cases of an actual diagnosed grain allergy which is rare. Grain free diets are now linked to causing heart disease in dogs (we are not sure yet about cats). I recommend you discontinue use of that type of food. My suggestion would be to use a long term course of a probiotic called Fortiflora. Put one packet on his food every day for at least one month. This will help correct any imbalance in good vs bad intestinal bacteria. DO NOT use human probiotics or things like yogurt. Fortiflora is the best in my opinion and it is palatable so cats like to eat it. ( http://www.allivet.com/p-1890-purina-pro-plan-veterinary-diets-fortiflora-cat-supplement-box-of-30.aspx ) As for diet. I would use this one: ( https://www.royalcanin.com/products/royal-canin-feline-care-nutrition-digestive-care-dry-cat-food/2555 ) If your local pet store does not have this food they can surely order it for you or you can order it online. If these things dont' help, he may have inflammatory bowel disease or something along those lines. You would need to discuss diagnosis and treatment with your vet. Hope this helps. Best wishes!

Hi. Poor Misty. Many times plder kitties can have diarrhea from 2 of the most common causes. Irritable bowel syndrome, or GI lymphoma (gastrointestinal cancer). Unfortunately that is on the list due to age. Of course parasites or overgrowth of bacteria should be ruled out by a fecal float and culture. As far as IBS, the signs can be just like your kitties. It is treated via a diet change to a prescription bland food, and steroids. Lymphoma looks exactly alike, except it doesn't respond to treatment as long as IBS. The only way to definitively diagnose is a GI biopsy. That is onvioulsy intense. So many choose to do the diet and steroids and hope for the best. Others do the biopsy and if cancer, may consult w an oncologist. I would recommend starting with an exam, fecal float, fecal culture, xrays of abdomen, and if all normal, diet change and steroids.

She has received a lot of medications and this can upset the normal bacterial balance in the bowel. I would feed boiled chicken or fish plus a probiotic and fiber supplement such as fortiflora exclusively for 7-10days to allow the bowel to rest and recuperate. Investigation for chronic inflammatory conditions may be required if persisting