Why Cats Get Diarrhea And Cures

Diarrhea is a symptom of a problem.  if your cat has diarrhea you must work to treat the cat by finding the cause of the diarrhea and dealing with that.  If this guide does not help you diagnose your cats diarrhea, please contact your veterinarian.

Cat Food Allergies

Cats with sensitive stomachs will often either vomit or have diarrhea. Owners should check the food for known problem causing ingredients, pork, beef, soy, wheat, corn, and color dyes. Eliminating problem ingredients will often see total recovery. Cat owners must become familiar with reading pet food ingredient lists. The problem might be fixed by switching to a better quality hypoallergenic food, or by cooking for the cat, starting off with just chicken (or lamb) and adding ingredients to see when problems occur.

Cat Food that is Too Rich

Since cats are true carnivores and need a lot of meat in their diet, and most cat foods use very little meat, this is seldom a cause of diarrhea but should not be overlooked when a pet is on a super premium food. This can occur as well if a cat eats only canned food, or when an adult cat is being fed kitten food.

Sudden Diet Change

More often if a cat is suddenly switched from one food to another they get a bout of diarrhea. One can remove food for a short period, such as half a day, and mix it with the cats old food, or reintroduce the new food slowly if there is no old food left.  Foods that contain mystery meat - meat meal (unspecified meat source) can be different meat from one bag to the next, and this can cause tummy problems and diarrhea.

Worms and Bacteria

Worms and/or bacteria generally cause diarrhea in cats. This will often be bloody diarrhea, and may not be all the time. There are many kinds of worms or bacteria a cat can get so, while people often try to treat worms with worming medications they buy a pet stores, it should be noted that these do not kill every kind of worm, so a proper diagnosis from a veterinarian (through a stool sample) will help indicate what kind of worm (or bacteria)  the cat has, and the cat can be treated correctly.

Stress

Cats can get diarrhea as the result of stress. It is pretty hard to stress an animal that sleeps 16 hours a day, but in a hectic household, one where the cat is chased frequently, or if a new cat (dog, baby) has entered the home, the cat might be stressed.

Something they Ate

Cats are generally fussy eaters (unlike dogs) and so they seldom eat things that make them have diarrhea (they will eat grass to make themselves vomit).  One exception to this is milk!  Cats like might but many cats are lactose intolerant and they will get diarrhea as a result.

Lack of Litter Box Availability

Quite simply put, if a cat cannot find a place to do its business, and has to hold it for a while, it may have bad diarrhea by the time it can finally relieve itself. This can also be a problem when a home has more cats than litter boxes, or when a litter box is dirty.

Pregnancy or Heat

Some cats have diarrhea when their hormones change, either due to going into heat, or being pregnant. As pregnant, and nursing cats, need to be fed kitten food, this can also be a problem.

Keep in Mind

If your cat has diarrhea for more than one or two days, it can dehydrate, but equally important, your cat should see a veterinarian to have a proper diagnosis made (especially if it is a kitten). Do not just treat the diarrhea, find the cause and treat that!

Children should not be responsible for cleaning the litter as they may not alert you to problems.

Other Cat Health Articles

Care for Pregnant Cats

What to do when a Cat Stops Using its Litter Box

How to Care for a Starving Stray Cat