My 16-year-old cat has a runny tummy. What food should I try?

Chronic diarrhea in an older cat with vomiting can be a sign of an inflammatory bowel disease or intestinal cancer. The only way to differentiate between the two disease is a surgery to take biopsies of the intestines and have them analyzed. Based on the diagnosis, the diet may be changed or vitamin supplements or steroids may be added to manage her symptoms. They will check for parasite and check her labs for any renal or endocrine disease

Thank you for submitting your question regarding PJ. You can consider a diet change. If she is a high anxiety kitty, I like Royal Canin Veterinary Diets Calm. It is an anti-anxiety food. You could also add a probiotic such as Fortiflora or Proviable to help with her digestive health. If all of these changes do not help, then I would recommend further testing. There is a parasite known as Tritrichomonas in cats that will cause soft stool. She may also require a blood panel specific to GI disorders. It measures two pancreatic values as well as cobalamin and folate levels. I hope this information helps!

It sounds like your cat has a severe case of colitis, or an inflammation of the colon. This condition causes diarrhea. Colitis can be caused by many different things. Some of the more common causes include intestinal parasites, dietary indiscretion, food intolerance, irritable bowel disease, pancreatitis, a foreign body/blockage and viruses. Food intolerances/allergies can start at any age. This is why it may only now be affecting Ella when she has been eating the same food for a long time. If the diarrhea is server you may want to consider taking Ella to the vet. She may need fluids to correct any dehydration, a fecal examination performed and antibiotics and/or probiotics to help the diarrhea clear up. There are specific prescription diets that your vet can recommend to help with this type of issue. Two I commonly recommend are Hill's i/d and Royal Canin GI low fat. A hydrolyzed protein diet may also be helpful. If you want to try an over the counter food first I would recommend something that is labeled as "limited ingredient" or for "sensitive stomachs". I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

You can change her food to a hypoallergenic or sensitive stomach formula such as science diet I/D. These are very bland and easy to digest. You can also get probiotics for cats to add to the food to help Sometimes vomiting can be from an infection, cancer or inflammatory bowel. Your vet can start testing for these thing if the above doesn’t help

Considering what you described, I would suggest to withhold food for the next 8-12 hours and then start feeding with a bland diet based on boiled chicken/white fish and rice in small portion every 6 hours for the following 48hours. Then gradually reintroduce the normal diet over 5 days. I would definitively recommend a veterinary check up if the signs persist or you notice diarrhoea, more vomiting, lethargy or inappetence. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

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.

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! While adding fiber to the diet can firm up the stool, I do not recommend feeding dry bran to your cat as it can cause constipation. Daisy may be having runny stool due to parasites or inappropriate diet (too many treats, human food, etc) or because she only eats soft food. Because she is a little older, I recommend having her seen by a vet to rule out intestinal inflammation, cancer, and maldigestion. I hope this helps and am happy to answer any other questions you may have!