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Soft, Liquidy stool - Eliminating outside letterbox

cooterz

Savannah Adult
I've posted on other threads before. I have a ~8 month savannah (Mchumba) who has been doing great for the most part, but his stool has been fluctuating between formed/soft to completely runny/watery. The worst part is he's started to eliminate outside of the litterbox on occasion (both urine and stool). His litterbox situation has been analyzed numerous times and it doesn't seem to be an issue (always clean, changed, type of litter, number of boxes, etc), which is why I'm more concerned about his health at this point.

I have plans to make a trip to the vet tomorrow morning with a stool sample to see what they can find if anything, but I was curious if anyone else has had similar issues. Also, I know Savannah's can start spraying when they get older (he's been neutered since 16 weeks of age), but when he eliminates he's squatting down and urinating, not lifting his tail and spraying. Is it possible that he's still marking an area this way?

Hopefully there's someone out there with some insight. Thanks!
 

Sue

Savannah Super Cat
Is there a really foul odor to it? If so, read the posts under Tritrichomonus Foetus.
 

cooterz

Savannah Adult
Yes, it can be pretty raunchy (used to be very "low" on odor when his stool was firmer). Thanks a lot for the advice, I'll read up. Also just to add to the former post his diet consists of purely raw meat. He's been on mainly chicken breasts and thighs, but has been known to consume ground beef and ground steak. Possibly pork and fish every now and then (very rarely).
 

WitchyWoman

Admin
Staff member
Yes, it can be pretty raunchy (used to be very "low" on odor when his stool was firmer). Thanks a lot for the advice, I'll read up. Also just to add to the former post his diet consists of purely raw meat. He's been on mainly chicken breasts and thighs, but has been known to consume ground beef and ground steak. Possibly pork and fish every now and then (very rarely).
If that's all he's eating then his diet is very unbalanced and it could very likely be the cause of his troubles. He needs bones & organ meats too. Chicken breasts are insufficient protein for a lot of reasons. We have extensive information about diet on the forum but expediency, the info most helpful to you begins at the bottom of page 10 on the link:
http://www.catinfo.org/docs/FEEDING YOUR CAT 8-10 Short 2-12-10.pdf
 

cooterz

Savannah Adult
If that's all he's eating then his diet is very unbalanced and it could very likely be the cause of his troubles. He needs bones & organ meats too. Chicken breasts are insufficient protein for a lot of reasons. We have extensive information about diet on the forum but expediency, the info most helpful to you begins at the bottom of page 10 on the link:
http://www.catinfo.org/docs/FEEDING YOUR CAT 8-10 Short 2-12-10.pdf

Thank you Deborah for your help. I should have stated that he will only eat raw food and all raw food is supplemented with a Mazuri powder mixture emphasized for meats without bones (so there is more calcium in the supplement).

Also I have made my own home mixture consisting of chicken thighs, liver, and hearts with supplements (taurine, vitamin e, super complex b, fish oil, etc.). I don't do this often, but just elaborating on the fact that his food is supplemented when necessary.

If I'm still missing something I'd be happy to be informed.
 

WitchyWoman

Admin
Staff member
If I'm still missing something I'd be happy to be informed.
Nope. But thanks for refreshing my memory because I do remember that you discussed the diet previously. Good luck at the vet's. I hope you get a diagnosis so your boy is soon on the mend.
 

Per Lausund

Moderator
Staff member
I can´t really add anything to this, loose stools are a problem. Get your vet to examine closely!
good luck, hope they find a cause.
 

cooterz

Savannah Adult
Sorry for the late reply, just wanted to post a result:

Basically the doctor took a fecal swab to check it out, but could only conclude that there were numerous protozoa swimming around in the sample. He couldn't diagnose what kind exactly with the current equipment and suggested that a PCR test would tell us what the issue was. I opted for it, but unfortunately we needed at least 1/2 tsp of fecal sample and Mchumba was totally empty so we knew we wouldn't be getting one any time soon.

Instead we decided to put him on antibiotics (fenbendazole for de-worming and an amoxicillin mixture). He's been off the meds for a couple of weeks now and his stool is looking better. There's been one case during medication where his stool was pretty bad, but I don't recall seeing anything nearly as bad since. I'm hoping this stays true or we'll probably need to go through with the PCR.
 
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