Diarrhea is an unpleasant condition for both people and pets. The rumbling stomach and watery discharge can make even the most active cat tired and listless. It can leave your pet feeling miserable. Their human companions may feel helpless because they don't know what to do to make their pet feel better. Although diarrhea certainly isn't pleasant, it is a good defense mechanism. It's the body's way of getting bad things out of the system quickly. Diarrhea can result from a viral infection or even a change in diet. There are some things you can do to help curb diarrhea in your pet.
Instructions
Fast your pet for the first 24 hours after the onset of diarrhea. If you continue to feed your pet it's going to keep running right back out. Give your pet and his digestive system a chance to rest and recover.
Keep him hydrated. If your cat has diarrhea it's important that he doesn't get dehydrated. Make sure he always has a full bowl of fresh water available to replenish lost fluid.
Give your cat a small amount of Pedialyte or Gatorade to replenish lost nutrients. Although diarrhea serves to remove harmful substances from the body it can also deplete the system of necessary nutrients. Gatorade or Pedialyte can help replace those nutrients.
Feed your pet a bland diet after the 24-hour fast. You can give your pet small amounts of food such as mashed potatoes, white rice, boiled chilcken and chicken broth. Feed your pet a bland diet for two to three days even if the diarrhea has subsided.
Add small amounts of your cat's regular food to the bland diet after a few days. Gradually increase the amount of the regular food while decreasing the amount of the bland diet. Do this over the course of a few days until your cat is once again eating his regular food.
Avoid giving your cat any dairy products. Although cats love milk it can have ill effects on them. Cats lack the enzyme needed to digest the sugar in milk. The feline digestive system does not tolerate dairy products very well since cats have great difficulty digesting dairy. The digestive problem results in diarrhea. Do your cat a favor and avoid giving him milk.
Don't change food brands abruptly. Diarrhea can result from a change of food. If you've been feeding your cat one brand of food then you suddenly change to another your cat may experience digestive distress. Make the change gradually. Add small amounts of the new brand each day while slowly decreasing the amount of the old brand until the change from one brand to another is complete.