Why is my rescue cat still underweight with loose stool and vomiting?

There can be lots of causes for diarrhea or loose stools in a cat, including food intolerance or allergies, intestinal parasites, inflammatory bowel disease, intestinal lymphoma, among other things. If Vinnie is eating well and has a good activity level, I think it is ok to wait until things outside start to clear up. Vinnie may need to go on a hypoallergenic diet, try other prescription medications, have an abdominal ultrasound, or special blood work to determine what is going on.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding your foster kitten. His hair coat appears rough and he may have a crust on his nose. Has he experienced any respiratory signs such as coughing or sneezing? This would be unrelated to the diarrhea, but a compounding illness could result in poor weight gain. I would recommend checking him for panleukopenia just to be sure. If the vet will not run bloodwork, you can test a fecal sample with the dog parvovirus test. Otherwise I would consider a new diet if seeking a second opinion is not an option. I like Royal Canin Veterinary Diets Gastrointestinal High Energy canned formula. The veterinarian should be able to write you a prescription for the diet. I hope this information helps!

Stray cats can pretty nasty parasitic infections. I would check to see if the vet ran a fecal examination + a Giardia test. Both of these can pick up on many parasites that can cause persistent diarrhea. However, if these tests were already done and were negative, then additional testing may be needed to find other not so common causes of diarrhea like the one ran by Idexx. Http://www.idexx.com.au/pdf/en_au/smallanimal/reference-laboratories/diagnostic-updates/realpcr-canine-feline-diarrhea-panels.pdf Any pet with diarrhea should be on a broad-spectrum dewormer, probiotics and potentially and antibiotic for treatment regardless of any of the tests mentioned above. I would suggest going back to the vet for additional treatment and these additional tests if not done already.

If she hasn’t had a broad spectrum deworming done , then I would request that. There is a parasite called Physaloptera that causes vomiting in cats and is very hard to diagnose, so I usually do a trial of the dewormer to see if it resolve. Also a chest X-ray to make she she isn’t coughing from feline asthma. Best of luck and I hope she improves soon. Thank you for using Pet Coach.

Antibiotics, diet change, and a new home causing stress can all cause loose stools, so it could be a combination of these things causing it, however I would schedule Gizmo's checkup anyway since that's always a good idea to do with any new pet, especially one that is already currently on medications. Your vet can rule out any other health issues, deworm in case of parasites, and help you get started on a vaccination plan or treatment plan for any other underlying issues.

It's possible. It could also be the kittens are a bit stressed out from going to a new home. If you changed their diet when you adopted them, that can also cause GI upset which can lead to vomiting and diarrhea. If possible, continuing to give them their original food (or slowly switching to new) and giving them a day or two to settle in may help. If the diarrhea or vomiting continue, or worsen, then seeking out a veterinary exam to make sure the giardia hasn't returned or there is another underlying cause is best.

I would talk to your vet about submitting a GI panel or performing biopsies. Even with normal ultrasounds, IBD or lymphoma may not be able to be diagnosed. Empirical deworming may be indicated. Steroid trials may help. Has the thyroid level been checked? There is so much more information we need to be able to help you in this complicated case. I would recommend choosing a Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach consult so we can better evaluate what the tests and results have been to help you decide what steps should be next.