Hello, our one year old male neutered cat (domestic shorthair) has been having soft bowel movements for the past few weeks. The vet prescribed him the Hills Z/D diet to help with it. He had some improvement but we weren’t told to stop other treats until recently which we did. He is now exclusively being fed wet Z/D and only a few pieces of the dry Z/D.
His blood test showed elevated eosinophils and the vet suspects IBD.
Three days ago we noticed a few millimeters of rectal prolapse after he had a bowel movement. The tissue went back inside and I gently wiped his backside. There was a little bit of blood. We called and took a vet appointment and he’s being seen in a couple of days.
Since then he’s had the prolapse each time he poops, and it retreats about 30 seconds later. I am very worried that this will become a chronic problem requiring surgery. I would like some advice please on what questions I should ask the vet. What if they suggest surgery? Should we get an ultrasound done, or a colonoscopy? Thank you.
Hello,
I would call your vet and discuss this with them. I suspect the diarrhea is causing constant straining and this is causing the prolapse. So I would ask about something for pain and get the diarrhea under control.
At my clinic I would talk about trying gabapentin or a steroid and adding a probiotic. Or ask for a second opinion from a feline specialist. Also ask about diagnostics available. Like a fecal or maldigestion profile.
Thank you so much for your advice. We will ask the vet these questions tomorrow. Our cat’s bowel movements are not diarrhea anymore but he is still prolapsing. Is it possible that the high fiber in the Z/D diet could be a factor? Maybe it’s making the poop too wide?