Diarrhea is the clinical sign that most indicates intestinal disease in the feline species, being frequent in older cats, as well as the opposite: constipation or constipation. While in young cats diarrhea is especially caused by adverse reaction to food, parasites or infectious diseases, when cats get older it is more often result of diseasesorganic, hyperthyroidism, inflammatory bowel disease or tumors. Some causes are easy to treat, but in others the life expectancy of our cat can be greatly affected.
Do you want to know the causes and treatments of diarrhea in older cats? Keep reading this article on our site to find out why your older cat may have this clinical sign.
Types of diarrhea in older cats
Diarrhea occurs when there is excess water in the stool, which can lead to increased frequency of defecation, stool fluidity or stool volume. In diseases of the small intestine, diarrhea occurs when the intestinal content exceeds the absorption capacity of the large intestine or causes chronic secretion of water, while that of the large intestine occurs when there is no segment of the intestine where water can be absorbed..
small bowel diarrhea is characterized by:
- Large volume stools.
- Normal or increased frequency.
- Consistency totally lost.
- Digested blood may appear.
- Accompanied by weight loss, vomiting, or systemic signs.
The large bowel diarrhea presents:
- Frequency greatly increased.
- Normal, increased or decreased stool volume.
- Urgency to defecate.
- Presence of mucus.
- Consistency lost or formed.
- Fresh blood may appear.
On the other hand, two types of diarrhea can be differentiated according to their duration over time:
- Acute: lasting less than two weeks.
- Chronic: that which persists for more than 2-3 weeks.
Causes of diarrhea in older cats
Diarrhea in older cats can be caused by multiple pathologies and infections Although kittens are more prone to infectious diarrhoea, in kittens older can also occur, especially with certain bacteria, fungi, viruses and parasites. In cats up to 6 years of age, diarrhea due to inflammatory bowel disease or adverse reaction to food is more common, while in older cats intestinal tumors tend to be more frequent than inflammatory bowel disease. However, these diseases can also occur in older cats and should be part of the differential diagnosis.
In general, possible causes of diarrhea in older cats are as follows:
- Hyperthyroidism.
- Intestinal lymphosarcoma.
- Intestinal adenocarcinoma.
- Intestinal mastocytoma.
- Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency.
- Pancreatitis.
- Hepatobiliary disease.
- Renal disease.
- Colourectal polyp.
- Strange body.
- Abrasive colitis (ingestion of toxic plants or inappropriate foods).
- Intussusception (when part of one intestinal loop slips into another or folds onto itself, causing blockage or obstruction of the passageway).
- Hernia or perianal tumor.
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).
- Protein-losing enteropathy.
- Drugs: NSAIDs, antibiotics.
- Adverse reaction to food.
- Bacteria: Salmonella, Campylobacter, Clostridium perfringens.
- Virus: Feline coronavirus, leukemia and feline immunodeficiency.
- Parasites: Toxoplasma gondii.
- Fungi: Histoplasma.
Symptoms of diarrhea in older cats
The symptoms that the cat manifests will depend on the disease that causes it and the type of diarrhea it is (small or large intestine). In general, an older cat with diarrhea will present with:
- Weightloss.
- Vomiting in many cases.
- Variable appetite, sometimes anorexia or polyphagia (hyperthyroidism).
- Flatulence.
- Dehydration.
- Weakness.
- Lethargy.
- Arched back (indicates abdominal pain).
- Pale mucous membranes if there is anemia due to gastrointestinal blood loss.
- Jaundice if liver or bile duct disease is present.
- Polydipsia (drink more water) in some cats to compensate for losses due to kidney disease or hyperthyroidism.
- Polyuria (more urine) in kidney disease.
Those cats with small intestine problems will present large volumes of watery-type diarrhea which may contain blood, but in this case digested, while if the damage has occurred in the large intestine, the stools will be smaller, but very frequent and with greater effort in defecating them. A combination of both occurs in most cats and classification is difficult. In other cases, its determination is practically impossible because they defecate outside the home or have several cats at home that use the same litter box. Although if the diarrhea is severe, they may have leaks at home or soft stools under the tail indicative of the process.
Diagnosis of diarrhea in older cats
As we have mentioned, diarrhea in older cats can be caused by different problems and diseases, so a differential diagnosis must Make a differential diagnosisof all with a good clinical history and anamnesis, as well as tests such as:
- Blood tests and blood chemistry.
- Determination of total T4 and palpation of the neck area to rule out hyperthyroidism.
- Feline pancreatic lipase determination to rule out pancreatitis.
- Feline leukemia and immunodeficiency test.
- Low folate levels to determine absorption failure in the proximal intestine and vitamin B12 to assess absorption in the distal intestine (ileum). They serve to determine the place of damage. In addition, low levels of vitamin B12 are seen in chronic liver or pancreatic disease.
- Serial stool analysis by flotation and sedimentation on three different days to detect parasites.
- Rectal cytology by inserting a swab into the rectum moistened with saline solution, performing the cytology on a slide and viewing under a microscope after staining them with Diff Quick to assess the presence of bacterial infection (Clostridium, Salmonella, Campylobacter), having to settle for stool culture and PCR for Clostridium perfringens, Salmonella and coronavirus.
- Intestinal biopsy to differentiate inflammatory bowel disease or neoplasia.
Blood test and biochemistry are done to assess:
- Anemia due to inflammatory disease or gastrointestinal blood loss, together with hypoproteinemia, thrombocytosis and increased urea.
- Leukocytosis if there is inflammation.
- Eosinophilia if parasites or food sensitivity are present.
- Dehydration if hematocrit and total serum protein are increased.
- Increased liver enzymes may be indicative of liver failure or pancreatitis.
- Increased creatinine and urea in kidney disease.
It must be taken into account that older cats can present several diseases that cause diarrhea together, so the approach to the case will be different depending on each cat and its diagnosis.
Treatment of diarrhea in older cats
You must treat all the diseases that the cat has, so you can use:
- Immunosuppressants in inflammatory bowel disease.
- Chemotherapy if intestinal tumors are diagnosed.
- Kidney disease treatment.
- Treatment of liver disease.
- Treatment of hyperthyroidism.
- Vitamin B12 supplement when deficient.
- Fluid therapy to replace fluids and electrolytes if there is dehydration due to diarrhea and vomiting in some cases.
- If you have gastrointestinal histoplasmosis antifungal treatment with itraconazole.
- If infected with toxoplasmosis, use clindamycin, trimethoprim/sulfonamide, or azithromycin.
- Prebiotics and probiotics to modulate imbalances in the intestinal flora, for at least 4 weeks, although sometimes the treatment must be prolonged to achieve advantages in the cat's immunity.
- Pancreatic enzymes in case of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency.
- Pain relievers such as buprenorphine in case of pancreatitis.
- Elimination diet, hydrolyzed or hypoallergenic if adverse reaction to food is suspected.
Because there can be several causes of diarrhea, it is very important to go to the vet if your cat has diarrhea and the anus irritable, persistent loose stools and other symptoms as described.
Forecast
Older cats are more prone to the development of numerous diseases, many of which can lead to diarrhoea, as well as other serious and sometimes devastating clinical signs. Cats are specialists in hiding their ailments from us and sometimes when it becomes evident it can be too late. Due to this, it is necessary to be very aware of any change in the behavior, habits and state of the cat, since they can be a warning sign of some disease.
Once they reach 7-8 years of age, the risk of the appearance of numerous serious and debilitating processes begins, with frequent veterinary check-ups being especially essential in senior cats (from 11 years of age) or geriatric (from 14 years old), with or without clinical signs.
