Anyone had this experience with an elderly cat? My cat is 12 years old,

[raccoon]

and for the past year, whenever I go away and leave her for a long weekend (by herself in the house, with lots of food and water) or a week (by herself but a friend fed and cared for her in the house), she gets diarrhea. She does use her box faithfully (thank goodness) but still it's messier than usual.

She is eating the same food she usually eats, so I guess it's stress. I leave the TV on for her. Other than boarding her, any suggestions?

[emilyg]

1. How about a furry companion?

[raccoon]

2. That's an idea, but sometimes this one drives me nuts and two of them,

well, I can hardly imagine...

[spooky3]

3. is there any chance that your friend is giving her Temptations?

All of my cats love these, but one consistently gets diarrhea if she eats more than one at a time.

[raccoon]

4. No, she wouldn't do that. I'm not familiar with them. I guess they are a cat treat? nt

[spooky3]

5. here's a link

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3082024

I didn't mean to imply that your friend would intend any harm - just the opposite, she might be trying to keep them happy in your absence. My cats love these and a friend who does rescue work recently had a cat who wouldn't eat at all and was seriously underweight, until she tried Temptations. The cat ate 42 of them one day! Gradually, they were able to shift the kitty to a regular diet. But as I said, one of my kitties has trouble digesting them.

[emilyg]

6. My gang loves them.

[raccoon]

7. Thanks for the link. I'll remember that if I ever have a cat that won't eat. nt

[NNN0LHI]

8. 12 years old seems to be a perilous age for cats

From my experience most of them get sick and many die right around that age. If they get treatment for what is ailing them or if they pass through that age with no medical problems they will usually go for a long time. Maybe 20 years?

I would bring kitty to the vet and have her checked out and some minor diagnostics done. Stool and urine sample. And perhaps blood work if you can afford it? Just to check things out. The vet can tell a lot about what may be going on just from those tests.

Good luck. My cat means a lot to me too. He is sleeping on my lap right now.

Don

[spooky3]

9. good advice - also it could be parasites - they can check the stool sample.

[Curmudgeoness]

10. If this problem only arises when the cat has been left alone,

and it clears up as long as you are home, I would say it is just stress. In this case, boarding would probably be more stressful than leaving the cat at home where she would feel more secure. Good luck with this.

[raccoon]

11. Yes, that's the way it is.

I guess I could just never go anywhere else overnight.

(I don't think so...)


Thanks, everyone, for your input!

:hi:

[david13]

12. Stress. Hmmm. What could be causing this stress? TV???

Don't leave the tv on.
My cats keep each other company, as I have two, and my neighbor who cares for them while I am gone plays the classical music station for them, at low volume.
It sure helps mine.
dc

[japple]

13. I just posted an article that might answer your question.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=post&forum=243