Loose stool- nervous cat?

Question
Hi,
I rescently adopted a 6 year old persian from a rescue center.  When she first got here, she had no trouble with the litterbox, but over the first week, she began vomiting and getting diarrhea every day.  I put her in a smaller room and the vomiting has stopped.  I'm pretty sure she was just nervous about being in a new house.  Her stool is not as soft today as it was at first, but still soft enough to get all over her fur and be a mess to clean.  Do you think this is part of her being nervous?  

We tried switching from regular Science Diet (which she ate at the rescue center with "no problems" according to them) to the Sensitive Stomach formula and things are better but not normal yet.  

The rescue center seemed to think this wasn't normal and said to give her a teaspoon of kaopectate (sp?) a day to settle her stomach.  

According to her medical records from June '05, she had a high pH balance, AST and ALT, which  correspond to kidney, liver, & urinary/bladder, and pancreas tests.

I'm trying to decide if her loose stool corresponds to her being nervous, or being sick.

Please help!

Answer
Hi Janice.  Nerves can certainly contribute to diarrhea.  Normally, this would pass within a couple days.

But colitis, which causes bouts of diarrhea, is thought to be strongly related to stress, and this can last for weeks or sometimes even a couple months.  Cats diagnosed with colitis are usually put on a fiber supplement and an anti-inflammatory medication during flare ups.

However, there are numerous causes of diarrhea.  Inflammatory Bowel Disease is a serious one.  It can eventually lead to cancer, organ failure, malnutrition, and complete gastrointestinal shut-down.  It can usually be treated with antibiotics and/or steroid therapy.  But it definitely needs to be treated aggressively.

There are all sorts of nasty bugs that can cause serious, persistent diarrhea, too.  Coccidia and giardia are protozoan infections that can actually kill if not treated.  They're quite common in cats.  And a cat can carry the germs without symptoms for a long time.  The stress of moving to a new home may have made her less resistant.  These need antibiotics to treat.

Then you have bacterial infections, including e. coli.  Those also need antibiotics to treat.

Further, there are parasitic worms.  Hookworms are generally considered most dangerous, because they feed on blood and not only cause diarrhea, but also anemia.  They're too small to see with the naked eye, usually.  They're less common than roundworms and tapeworms, but certainly not unheard of.  Roundworms and tapeworms can cause diarrhea, too.  All can be killed with medications.

So, I would have to say that her diarrhea probably corresponds to her being sick instead of just nervous.  It's definitely time to see a vet.  It's possible she's become dehydrated from the diarrhea, and that can lead to all sorts of problems including heart failure.

For now, I would stay away from Kaopectate.  Some vets still recommend it, but it now contains a subsalicylate (the original formula didn't).  Those are toxic to cats if not used extremely carefully.  Because of this, most vets have switched to using loperamide (Immodium).  But the dosage needs to be calculated carefully to prevent constipation.  So discuss with your vet when you visit.