Why is my cat still lethargic after recovering from diarrhea?

How lovely of you to take in Figaro and give him a good home. He did have surgery recently so he will still be recovering from that, which may be why he's more lethargic than usual. It's good that he's eating and drinking, and I would be really concerned about him if he wasn't eating or drinking. One of the side effects of antibiotics can be diarrhea, so that may be the cause of it. I would try feeding him a bland diet to see if that helps his stomach. I would give him boiled white meat chicken (no bones) in small amounts several times a day. Feed him this for a couple of days and if the diarrhea clears up, slowly add back in his normal diet. If the diarrhea continues on the bland diet, he stops eating or drinking, or the lethargy continues over the next 48 hours, then I would be worried and have him seen by a vet for a check up. Good luck, I hope this helps!

Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. It sounds that your cat had a thorough investigation at your vets. Some cats are lethargic and less playful when they have fever (I guess that was checked by your vet) or painful condition, for example muscle pain, joint pain, spinal pain and more. If his activity is not back to normal in 2-3 days I would suggest trying a short course of anti-inflammatory medications.

If no abnormalities were found on the x-rays but she is still lethargic despite treatment, I would recommend an abdominal ultrasound to see if there are any other abnormalities and then go from there. In older cats, I worry about intestinal lymphoma but it is possible this could be inflammatory bowel disease as well. However, there is still additional testing that needs to be done to help rule out other causes of Stella's symptoms. Changing the diet to a prescription low fat intestinal diet like Hills low fat I/D may be something to consider as well but I would discuss this with your veterinarian first. 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.

That is very unusual that he is not better and I think he should have a work up to try to figure out the cause. Your vet can run some bloodwork to rule out potential medical problems. Most cats are usually better within a few days after having a reaction to a vaccine and three weeks seems like a very long time. If your vet can't do a work-up then you should go to a different vet for a second opinion and work-up. So sorry that he is having this problem.

The lactulose should be out of his system by now, but it's possible that the diarrhea triggered by the medication will continue for a few days. If he has had diarrhea for the past three days and it seems to be getting worse I would recommend seeing your veterinarian. Sometimes diarrhea will continue unless treatment is started. If this is the first day Mau has had diarrhea it's also possible that the lactulose is not the cause: if he is otherwise healthy and eating/drinking well with no vomiting I think you could monitor him for 24-48 hours but if it does not improve during that time you should see your veterinarian.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Since you are in day 1 of the antibiotics I think it would be fair to give it a bit more time to see if Musika gets better. You can try to entice his appetite with things like tuna, tuna water and chicken. If his appetite does not improve by tomorrow, let your veterinarian know as anorexia can be detrimental to a cat's health. Good luck and have a great day!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Loss of appetite can be observed with many conditions such as gastroenteritis, dietary indiscretion, kidney disease, pancreatitis, among many other possibilities. I am more concerned about the fact that she is not eating well and that needs to be further addressed as it is unlikely to be due to a urinary tract infection. I recommend that you have Luchadora reevaluated by your veterinarian on Saturday for further assessment and treatment. Keep in mind that if she is not feeling well, they may not proceed with vaccines that day. You may take in a urine sample that day. They would be able to check for these possibilities and others depending on the findings on exam. Treatment would be based on findings. Good luck and have a great day! Hoping for a speedy recovery!