rehomed stray with bloated stomach + soft stools + frequent urination

[snowday]

Hi there,
I took in a stray cat two weeks ago. He was severely dehydrated and very underweight. I immediately took him to a charity who wormed, de-flead, neutered him and gave him antibiotics (I think in case he had respiritory problems) and bisolven as he had cat flu too. They kept him in overnight, but asked if I could pick him up the next day, which I did. Since then he seems to finally be over the flu mostly and is much less dehydrated/undernourished.

The reason I am concerned however, is that he has, since he first arrived, had very soft stools, initially diorriah, and a very bloated stomach which is constantly gurgling, and causing him to burp every so often. It looks very uncomfortable. He also drinks a LOT of water, and urinates frequently, and a lot at once.

I am feeding him small amounts of 100% chicken complete cat food frequently, along with some dry 100% chicken dry food. I have also been mixing in small amounts of food grade diatomaceous earth and bentonite clay in order to try and help with his digestion, in case there is a blockage. His stools are more solid since I have been adding the clay and DE, but it doesn't seem to have affected the bloating much.

Is there a product I could give him to help relieve the bloating? It has gone down a few times, but then appeared again soon after. I realise the best thing I can do is take him to a vet, but I have spent so much money the last couple of weeks unexpectedly, I'm hoping there is some way of helping him myself for now.

Many thanks for reading !

[Janey]

Hi and welcome. Good to hear your new addition is much better now. However, I would suggest you take him to the vet to get a check over as he sounds quite uncomfortable. It could be something very simple such but best to get the vet to check. He may e.g. be just recovering and not quite over the infection, or something else he needs treating for. One thing that did come to mind though, which is a possibility, is the antibiotics can sometimes upset the system, like it does with us and cause a bit of an upset tummy afterwards. Last year my cat was very poorly with like a flu type virus, and was given antibiotics which then left her with diarrhoea, and my vet gave her something to add to her food, it wasn’t too expensive and worked wonders in a few days. Although it didn’t make her pee more that may also be part of the infection. How old is your cat? he may need blood tests if he’s not already had them. If it’s too expensive you could ask different vets or ask to pay in installments. Hope you manage to sort it and your little one is much better soon.