Diarrhea in cats can be a simple irritation caused by a minor change, or it can be caused by a treatable disease or life-threatening ailment. Persistent, chronic feline diarrhea should always be treated by a veterinarian, who can run a full blood panel to show possible problem’s in the cat’s body. But before running to the vet, there are natural diarrhea treatments for cats that can be tried at home.
1. Slippery Elm Bark is a natural herb that has been used for centuries to soothe the digestive tract. It is found in health food and vitamin shops in capsules and powder form. To treat feline diarrhea, mix about a teaspoon of powder or up to one capsule full of slippery elm powder into water and mix in with the cat’s food. Alternately, the powder can be mixed into wet food. This treatment can be used daily but an improvement in stools could be seen in as little as one day.
2. Check the cat’s food label for any grains and fillers like corn, wheat gluten, and rice. If those ingredients are listed, slowly switch the cat over to grain-free food over a week. On day one, feed the cat 90% old food with 10% of the new, grain-free food mixed in. Slowly increase the new food to old food ratio over the next 5-7 days. Switching a cat’s food too fast can be the sole cause of diarrhea, as their digestive systems need time to adjust to new foods.
Cats are carnivores whose bodies were not made to digest the grains that are added by many of today’s pet food companies as low-cost fillers. This is the case with cats who have IBD, or Irritable Bowel Disease. Switching to a completely grain-free food and eliminating vegetables from the diet often ceases diarrhea and vomiting in these cats.
3. Probiotics can be given to cats with diarrhea to introduce helpful bacteria into the digestive tract. Probiotics made for humans are often more beneficial, because they contain more than one strain of bacteria. Refrigerated probiotic capsules found in vitamin and health food stores usually contain around 7 billion microorganisms per capsule. Half of a capsule can be mixed into the cat’s food twice a day, or mixed with the juice of canned cat food and give via syringe. (Do not mix into tuna juice or human milk; milk made for cats is ok.)
4. Another method to introduce extra beneficial bacteria into a cat’s digestive tract is with plain, fat-free yogurt. Many cats love the taste and can be given one or two tablespoons a day. If the cat won’t eat the yogurt, try mixing it into her food. Only fat-free, plain flavored yogurt should be used.
5. 100% pure canned pumpkin–not pumpkin pie filling–adds fiber to the diet. Pumpkin is a beneficial treatment for feline diarrhea and also helps with constipation in cats. Again, many cats love the taste and can be fed a tablespoon or two per day.
Warnings:
- Cats with diarrhea need extra fluids to guard against dehydration. Dehydration is a serious byproduct of feline diarrhea that will make matters much worse. Canned food is preferred, as it is much higher in moisture. Premium, grain-free canned food will not cause or worsen diarrhea and its moisture content is much healthier for all cats, healthy and ailing.
- Other ways to ensure cats with loose or runny stools get enough moisture is by giving water or cat milk via syringe, or mixing it into canned food. Many cats will also drink more water out of a fountain than from a bowl.
- If none of the above methods of treating diarrhea in cats produces improvement, see a veterinarian.
[...] are also some natural treatments for diarrhea in cats that can be given instead of, or in conjunction with, antibiotics. These include probiotics and [...]
My cat had diarrhea for over a year. I tried every
thing the vet prescribed. She lost half of her body
weight. Nothing worked. (Slippery Elm helped but was not enough.) Finally I saw an email from a man who had used Eagle Pack Holistic Solution. It is a
probiotic powder. It worked immediately. She has
not had diarrhea since we have been using it. (4 months). What can I do to help her gain some weight?
Congrats! Are you feeding dry or canned? I would feed canned or raw if I were you (check out this post for more info: http://www.thepawsitter.com/blog/how-i-cured-my-cats-diarrhea-and-saved-his-life/)
The moist food including both canned and dry has better (fresher) fat and water content. Dry food dehydrates. I never feed dry anymore.
However does the vet say she needs to gain weight? Being underweight isn’t necessarily a problem. I will say however that once you find the best food for her, she should appear healthier looking within a month or two.
[...] It is unprocessed and grain-free, and it might be just what your cat needs.There are also some natural treatments for diarrhea in cats that can be given instead of, or in conjunction with, antibiotics. These include probiotics and [...]
Hello, my kitten (8 months) has had diarrhea since we adopted her (3 months ago) and we took her to the vet after about a week. He said change her diet to Purina Kitten Chow from Meow Mix (for the fact that Purina doesn’t use dyes). We did and now (about a month later) she still has diarrhea. He also prescribed 1 cc of kaopectate twice daily and neither change helped. However, I looked up what kaopectate was and the internet had the general consensus that it was unhealthy for cats. Anyway, we have two other cats and I’m afraid if I purchase raw food, it’d be terribly expensive. I was wondering if there were a cheaper alternative that still cured my kitten.
Hi! If you need to feed dry food just make sure it is grain free. This will be healthier for your other cats. You could also feed some grain free canned food a few times a week and add digestive prebiotic powder to it. You can find that at a site like entirelypets.com probably. Also, a cheap grain free canned food is fancy feast classic, any one WITHOUT wheat gluten in it. Flavors include chicken, beef n chicken, chicken liver, beef n liver, chopped grill. Make sure you get classic, not grilled or flaked.
Rebeca, I thought that too about raw, and I have a feral colony (15 cats…4 indoor an 11 outdoor.) But after losing one to a tumor, another to Kidney failure, and another coming down with diabetes, mega $$$ vet bills for years, I was done with that.
Now everyone is switched to raw, and coats are soft, no more runny eyes, or diarrhea. PLUS I kept track and I don’t spend anymore than I did on commercial, sometimes less. We haven’t been to the vet in a while! I use a mix from Feline Instincts, and buy ground turkey and mix it. http://felineinstincts.com You can also call the number and they are very helpful.
After losing Reo to kidney failure, despite fluids twice daily, the best food from the vets, best care, he died anyway, 6 months after Frankie. I was heartbroken… Raw is best. They are cats for heaven sake! Let me know if I can help further and good luck!
coming home from church today , I came across something coming out of the woods. I realized it was a cat looked like she had been hit by a car … I went to go pick her up she was stumbling over to me .. She was Severely dehydrated and Has sever frost Bite .. I gave her my left over Dinner she scarft it Down .She was so Hungry and thristy. I brought her to Petsmart, Looking to see if they could help her. The lady took her back and came out 2 minutes later, She said that she would need alot of care, Saline bags for her dehydration she may not recover. they had said i should put her down!!! Even though she was drinking on her Own and eating .. I left there and returned Home and am giving her tuna from the can with lots of water in it, Had her on a Heating pad with towels , she is and has been warm, she has diarrhea i have medicine for that … got her on half and a quarter of water and pedialite non flavored … I am New at this when it comes too cats with frost bit and Dehydration … I have no money to take her to the vets she is doing alot better .. been constently taking care of her for now 6 hrs need advise …
Hi,
Try giving non fat plain yogurt or mixing in some probiotic powder (not expensive) into her/his food, worked on mine and I give her and him some plain yogurt from time to time just to keep everything healthy. I find it even made their stools slightly less stinky. I’ve had lots of cats over the years and have seen many health problems.
Good luck, Chris.