RE: loose stool

[Hideyo Yamamoto]

I wonder whether there are some viral thing going on to cause loose stool – I have a couple of kitties having a very loose stool (almost water) for the past week or two, also.  Ghandi and one of his brother, Fonzie, are among them.. and they area also having URIs of some sort..   From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Nina Sent: Wednesday, March 15, 2006 9:55 AM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: Re: loose stool   Michelle, You answered a couple of questions for me that I just wrote you in an off-list post.  I understand given your history with cancer why you would worry about lymphoma, but if Patches immediately goes back to normal stools when you change her diet, it seems a pretty good bet that it has to do with that.  I'd take her off the flagyl, if it was going to help, I think it would have already and it's a pretty nasty abx.  If it were me, I wouldn't be considering taking her to the vet at this point.  I would call them and ask for diet suggestions, (not that I put a lot of faith in vet's opinions about diet!).  I would consider adding a bit of rice bran, and/or pumpkin to her diet to see if it has any effect. N [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi. I am deciding whether or not to take Patches to the vet. I already made and canceled one appointment. She is positive, and recently, for no apparent reason and with no diet change, went from having one solid stool per day to having 3-4 very loose stools. I have had her on metronidazole (flagyl) for almost a week with no change. When I put her on w/d food for 2 days, it completely cleared up and she had one solid stool again. But she can't stay on that because she has urine ph problems and needs more acidic food. So I put her back on her normal diet (s/o mixed with Felidae), and the problem started again immediately.  What I am worried about most, of course, is intestinal lymphoma. But she is eating a normal amount and acting normal, just this change in stool. She did vomit this morning, but she has always done that on and off when I do not give her Laxastat for hairballs, which I have not done recently because it is also a laxative.   Do you think I should bring her to the vet to have her abdomen palpated, etc.? I was thinking of dropping off a stool sample this morning on the way to work and then making an appointment for tomorrow or Friday. I hate to stress her with vet visits unnecessarily, though. Does anyone have any thoughts? Do you think that the fact that w/d cleared it up means it is not lymphoma? What else, besides something that should respond to flagyl, would cause this problem all of a sudden?   Thanks, Michelle