How to Stop Your Cat's Diarrhea - Treating Your Cat's Diarrhea With Medication

All cats have digestive troubles from time to time, and diarrhea is not uncommon. Usually, diarrhea lasts a day or so and clears up on its own. Other times, it may last for several days and cause dehydration, weight loss and lethargy. When your cat shows these signs, you'll most likely need to treat her with medication and reconsider her diet.

1. Know when to go to the veterinarian. If your cat has diarrhea that lasts more than a few days, if she's also vomiting, or if she also seems lethargic (more tired than usual) she needs veterinary attention. Call your vet and ask if you should bring a sample of the feces with you in case your veterinarian wants to do an analysis of the specimen.

2. Take your cat to the veterinarian. Bring a fresh fecal sample that's less than 12 hours old. Small amounts of red blood in the stool may be a minor issue. If the stool appears black and sticky (or “tarry”), it may mean that digested blood is coming from the stomach and that a stomach ulcer may have formed. Your veterinarian will probably do some tests (blood work, fecal analysis for internal parasites, x-rays, ultrasound) and prescribe a medication.
- If your veterinarian finds intestinal parasites in your cat’s stool, the appropriate medication will be prescribed. If it's not an intestinal parasite, the veterinarian may prescribe a medication to slow down the diarrhea, such as Metronidazole, Prednisolone or Tylosin.

3. Give your cat the prescribed medication. Bring your cat into a small room and shut the door. Hold your cat firmly in your left arm (if you're right-handed) and wrap her in a towel like a cocoon if she will let you. Give the medicine using a syringe (or eyedropper) at the side of the cat’s mouth and administer a little at a time.
- Make sure the cat is swallowing the medicine and not just letting it drip out. Your veterinarian should include a syringe or eyedropper when they dispense liquid medications. It never hurts to ask for a second one just in case you need a back up.
- You may want to give your cat a second syringe with a small amount of room temperature water to swallow: this will help clear the medicine taste from his mouth.

4. Observe whether the cat improves. Be sure to ask your vet how soon you should see improvement. Some chronic conditions, like inflammatory bowel disease, may need medication for months, perhaps for life.[1][2][3] If the treatment plan is working for your cat, the diarrhea should improve or be resolved completely.
- Signs of Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are: weight loss, dehydration, vomiting, and diarrhea. Your veterinarian will need to run tests to determine if your cat has IBD, chronic diarrhea related to intestinal cancer, or regular diarrhea.