I have a kitty named Whiskers who is having a terrible time with diarrhea. I have had him to thre... Tests will get to root of

I have a kitty named Whiskers who is having a terrible time with diarrhea. I have had him to three different vets and he has had blood tests. They say he is healthy but at 14 years of age cats sometimes have bowel problems.

Several things may be causing the diarrhea: inflammatory bowel disease, dietary issues, stress, neoplasia (cancer-lymphoma), parasites and protozoa, bacterial overgrowth, fungi, an intestinal mass, colitis, feline hyperthyroidism and bacteria (clostridium perfringens enterotoxin, campylobacter jejuni, mycobacteria, to name a few).

Having his stool and blood analyzed and well as having a thyroid evaluation are the first of a possible battery of tests to be run to get to the root of the problem.

Multiple fresh fecals (stool samples) may need to be evaluated microscopically. A fresh sample of stool should be evaluated by direct saline smear. The sample also should be evaluated by zinc sulfate concentration with centrifugation.

More invasive diagnostic tests include endoscopy, colonoscopy and abdominal exploratory to retrieve intestinal biopsies. The first two procedures, which give the vet a look at the inner lining of the gastrointestinal tract, require general anesthesia and aren't that invasive. Abdominal exploratory, which is more invasive, allows the vet to get a full thickness biopsy but does not provide a good look at the inner intestinal lining.

Since the cause of the diarrhea may never be found, regardless of all the diagnostic tests run, your vet may end up systematically treating the problem. Treating diarrhea may be as simple as putting Whiskers on a bland diet to prescribing antibiotics to chemotherapeutic medication.

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