I got Ralph our 5 year old Bengal from the local animals in distress rehoming centre back in November after we lost Jeff to liver cancer.

Ever since we have had him, he has had runny poo, and seems to want to go anywhere he likes apart from when he is being 'supervised' then he will use the tray.

We have had him checked over, and the vet seems to think it's a kind of IBS issue. Stool samples were done and came back with nothing bacterial.

My wife is getting really fed up with Ralph messing, and says if he doesn't stop she will take him to the shelter again (which isn't an option in my opinion).


The vet gave us (well more like we paid for) I/D and that seemed to make little difference. He is a bugger for trying to get the other cats wet food, which makes him really bad so supervised feeding is the norm now, other than the dried whiskas that we leave down that they all eat.
He is no different on the sole whiskas dry food than he was on the I/D so I'm looking to find some sort of alternative.

We have tried - wainwrights, I/D, royal canin sensitive, whiskas and now having done some research, I'm thinking to try some sort of raw diet!

Can anyone help with suggestions regarding litter tray issues - I think it's linked with his IBS as I think he panics and just goes when he needs - wherever that is!

I really don't know what to try now - Im a bit worried that I'm losing this battle to keep him!!

Chris

Has your vet taken stool samples and tested it for TF, Giardia etc?

he said he did a complete screen and nothing untoward was found.

Ask specifically how the test was done and what it looked for.

Tritrichomonas Foetus, TF, does not show up in normal fecal testing. It is only reliable when tested using PCR method. It is also severely affected by any antibiotic and wormer so testing less than two weeks after having any antibiotic or wormer can result in a false negative.

Look into food without chicken in it. One of my cats has an allergy to chicken.

Also, there are some hypoallergenic foods that contain rabbit, venison or duck as they are a little more easily digestible.

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Lollo

Hi grumbleweed

Have you tried James Wellbeloved wet food (they do dry as well) as I believe that's geared towards sensitive tummies and is hypoallergenic? Its a shame the Royal Canin Sensible dry food didn't work as one of my boys has a sensitive tummy and this cured his runny poo. He has wet as well, James Wellbeloved and Purely (pets at home) neither of which seem to upset him. The other food I was advised to introduce and that both my boys tummies can tolerate is Arden Grange dry food. This is grain free and apparently easier to digest. Might just be a gimmick, however I have a fussy eater on the dry food front, and he loves it and it doesn't seem to upset his brother's stomach either if he manages to steal some!!

Probably not a popular option, but have you introduced more litter trays around the house so he's never far from one if he suddenly needs to go? Not ideal I know but until you find a food that suits him, it might be worth trying if you haven't already.

How many cats and litter trays do you have at the moment? Bengals can be very particular about their litter trays and in addition he may not like sharing!

Good luck and I'm sure you will get plenty of good advice on here that will hopefully help.

We have three cats. We have 4 trays around the house, and one of these is a big size, the other 3 are normal size. All uncovered.

I've tried changing the depth of the litter and no luck.
Tried changing brands - no luck.

I've managed to find some of the canin sensitive wet food which after speaking with the shelter he was ok on.

Also, having looked through some other sites, IAMS dry fish one apparently is quite good for sensitive cats.

Fingers crossed!!

Do check what the vet tested for and how. Most uk vets do not test for TF.

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Lollo

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The little monsters 3

Thanks for that - I've been doing some research on TF and looking at the symptoms and the potential causes, looks more likely than IBS.
I will contact the vet to test for it, and see what happens.

I guess it makes sense that he is better on the dry food having read the research!
I'm not giving up on him - he's been through far too much for that!!!
Chris

Hi Chris

Do let us know how you get on with the tests. I see the shelter you adopted him from also put them through vet screening - do they give you much information on his background and how he ended up there? Has he integrated well with your other cats?

He'll be worth the time and effort you are investing in him once you get to the bottom of it all and I am sure you will as you are doing all the right things. So glad you won't give up on him, he did well being adopted by you!

Best of luck and keep us informed.

The vets we use are the same as the ones used by the shelter.
At this rate - i may go for a second opinion if needed!
I have no info on why he was put there - He is like my shadow most of the time and there's no way i'm sending him back.

He is in good spirits other than his runny ass!!

I wouldn't have thought the vets have heard about TF. It's certainly not something he mentioned when we took the samples down

In that case I would definitely get a second opinion and get the test done as well to put your mind at rest. Take a print out of what you have found on the internet in case the next vet hasn't heard of TF either - it seems common that they don't know about it for some reason.

Good to hear he is in good spirits otherwise.

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The little monsters 3

http://www.cvm.ncsu.edu/docs/documents/ ... _final.pdf -AN OWNERS GUIDE TO DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT OF CATS
INFECTED WITH TRITRICHOMONAS FOETUS is a great article.

Try worming him. Runny poo can be indicative of worms.