[Rubyfree]

Forgot that I was out of cat food the other day and the store that carries my normal brand was closed. I grabbed a bag of Wellness at petco to fill in until I could get Bacon's normal stuff.

BIG mistake.

I've dealt with canine diarrhea plenty but never feline. Is the protocol pretty much the same? I'm not going to feed him today and will get his normal stuff this afternoon for when we resume meals, but is there anything I can give him in the meantime to help soothe his system a bit? I know cats cannot have pepto; what about famotidine?

While we're on the subject- how do I help keep him CLEAN back there? His loffly fluffy coat is not so loffly right now. Far from loffly, actually. I've been wiping him down but he's a REAL jerk about it. Would it be a total jacka** move to take him in for a sanitary cut right now?

[bdj]

I'd be very careful about not feeding him, because cats can have that weird hepatic lipidosis thing - maybe just very small amounts until you can get his regular food - or if there's some kind of a treat that he can/will eat, I might let him have that for a little while, just to keep him eating something.

And I'd totally take him in for a potty patch if he's not cleaning himself up and isn't willing to let you do it!

[Pancakes]

Cats can have Famotidine (Pepcid), 0.5mg/lb body weight once daily (might be hard to find in that size for kitties!).

It's OK to skip 1 meal, but I wouldn't skip more than that with a cat. The diarrhea will probably resolve in time when you get him back on his regular food.

[MeghanDACVA]

Famotidine won't do much for diarrhea though :-(

If you can't get a potty trail clipped, try just snippng with scissors.
I am going to assuem that a butt bath is out of the question!! (I wouldn't try it with any of my cats!!)

[Big_Grey_hunter]

You can try to force some canned pumpkin down him, but you probably will just have to wait it out.

As for grooming, maybe just cut off the worst and give him a bathe after the diarrhea is over. Long gloves are your friend for bathing

[Rubyfree]

He's actually much better today; he only had the Wellness two times so I think it flushed out of his system pretty quickly. The famotidine was just to make him more comfortable as the poor guy was obviously not enjoying this digestive turn of events. I got his regular food and gave him a bit last night as he was being SUCH a fantastic jerk (Bacon is a teenage boy. Ever seen a teenage boy go several hours without eating? Cranky doesn't begin to describe.) and he seems to be processing normally and no longer uncomfortable. Now to give him a bath..... if no one hears from me in 12 hours send a rescue squad!

[bdj]

Haven't been on the boards since Saturday and it's Tuesday -

Rubyfree, are you OK? Did you survive the bathing, or did you take the boy to the pros?

*And somehow, I totally blanked on the fact that this was THE Bacon when you originally posted - recent digestive insults aside, how is the handsome young man doing?*

[Rubyfree]

I survived! Thanks for checking in. It was harrowing at times but with perseverance, luck and whiskey fortification I made it through.

Bacon is doing QUITE well. He's a big, fluffy jerk face and I adore him. I tried to lay down on the bed with him after taking that picture and he bit me.

[bdj]

Awesome! (for the picture) and Whew! (for both of you surviving the GI 'incident')

"Big fluffy jerk face" - I love it...