PLEASE HELP Soft Poop not getting better

[Brittany]

Merry Christmas Everyone! We've been using the forum and consulting our vet to try and resolve Lily's soft poop but things are going so well, and I'm at a loss of what to do, any suggestions would be appreciated! Here's the situation. Lily has a case of large soft poop. We pulled her oxbow pellets and for the last 7 days she has been receiving 1 mini shredded wheat per day, unlimited kaytee brand timothy hay, unlimited reverse osmosis water, and less then a marble's worth of pumpkin mixed with 10 billion count acidophilus once a day. The poop hasn't changed.

On Christmas Eve the vet tested her poop and couldn't find anything wrong. Just to be on the safe side they still gave us 5 doses of .08cc panacur. I've been giving it to her in the morning and her acidophilus at night so they don't counter act each other. The vet said to keep doing what we're doing and at the end of a week (this coming thursday) to call back if there isn't any change. The vet's only other thought was that she has some form of GI cancer. However the vet didn't think this was likely because she's only 1 year old. I thought it was VERY rare for chins to get cancer? The vet said if it didn't get better we could send the poop out for a more detailed analysis, but they don't think it's that big a deal because she is very active and has a good appetite. The only problem is soft poopl

I'm starting to get very concerned because on the 21st she weighed in at 415g (she's always been tiny). Today she's down to 400g and I don't want her losing any more weight. Since nothing we've tried has changed the poop I'm going to start easing her back onto her oxbow pellets in hopes that she puts the weight back on. I will also be updating the vet on Monday.

Any thoughts or suggestions? I have several questions right now that I'm hoping someone with past experience can answer.

Has anyone had a perfectly active chin, who eats well, that just had chronically softer poop?

Besides diet and parasites what else might be causing the softer poop?

Any thoughts on what else I could try to harden her poop?

Should we ask the vet to do further testing? If so what kinds of tests?

 

[AZChins]

My only thought is that maybe she has a pocket of irritation in her intestines. I don't think it's cancer, that would never be something that I would assume with this problem. Yes, some chins do get chronic smooshy droppings, but normally this will end up going away eventually.

You've had her droppings tested, so it isn't a parasite, which is very good! Nothing to worry about there for now.

What I would probably do is keep the chin on pellets and maybe use Albon. Normally I don't use Albon for it's antibiotic qualities but more because it will coat the bowel and lessen any effects of irritation. I don't know much about panacur...I know someone else does.

Right now everything is just a mess in this little girl's intestines. The acidophilus will help eventually, but it would probably take awhile all by itself. Maybe give her some peppermint (out of a peppermint tea bag or spice jar, not the candies) because that will help to soothe the intestinal tract. I'd definitely give her some form of simethicone in case there's a little gas in there that needs to be dissipated.

Honestly, it probably has nothing to do with diet or with anything else that you can control. She may have overate something, she may have some irritation, she may have a sensitivity to something, etc etc etc.

How smooshy are the droppings? Are they at all watery?



It may be best to hold off on the shredded wheat - it isn't working so it's not necessary and can do more harm than good if her body gets used to eating it every single day.

 

[VolunteerChin22]

You can also burn (i mean black) toast and give a bite or two...or give some activated charcol. If you can, I would upgrade the hay to Oxbow - it's better quality and might help. I hope they get better soon - soft poos are such a pain in the butt:hair:

Panacur is a dewormer/anti parasite medication - I have given it to my dogs before when they picked up a tapeworm when fleas got bad one summer.

 

[AZChins]

That's right...it's an antiparasitic...what is metrodozole is another name for it, right? I never remember things properly when it comes to drug names.

The burned toast or activated charcoal can help, but it inhibits absorption of nutrients. It's not bad to use, it can be very helpful. I use it as a last resort. I like to mix it with just enough water to make an entire capsule of activated charcoal liquid enough to get into a syringe...then I snipe it between the back molars so the chin has to swallow it. It does work wonders with runny diarrhea...and also helps to rid the intestinal tract of toxins.

This morning a newly weaned little baby boy had mushy dropping here, it scared me so much! He's nearly normal now with life line and some albon. I hate smooshy droppings so much! It doesn't happen too often here so when it does I treat it immediately and get rid of it right away.

 

[Brittany]

Thanks for all of your suggestions:

What I would probably do is keep the chin on pellets and maybe use Albon. Normally I don't use Albon for it's antibiotic qualities but more because it will coat the bowel and lessen any effects of irritation.

We'll have finished the panacur by Monday so I'll definitely talk to the vet about this.

I'd definitely give her some form of simethicone in case there's a little gas in there that needs to be dissipated.

Is this something I need to get from the vet or can I get it somewhere else?

How smooshy are the droppings? Are they at all watery?

They are fully formed, but I can flatten and break apart if I use my fingers or if she steps on them. I wouldn't consider them very watery at all. At their worst two of them will stick together.


I've given her a small serving of pellets. From the way she pounced on them you'd think we've been starving her this whole week. Sheesh! I'll stop the shredded wheat and slowly try some of these suggestions (don't want to do too much at once). I might wait on the charcoal if it slows absorption, I want her to get some good nutrients and put some weight back on.

Thanks again for the suggestions. As you all know it's frustrating when your baby isn't feeling well. Her 1st birthday was on Christmas Eve and despite all my concerns we managed to have a little play party in the bathroom. Enjoy the pics!

Playing with her FAVORITE chew toy (a Cholla log from Barbi and PPBN)

 

[Whimsy]

I think my story may help....maybe....
Earlier this year we had an outbreak in our herd. Soft poos and weight loss with the majority. We did all the standard treatments-hay, burned toast, etc, etc. We had several different chins tested by the vet. Knowing that guardia can only be found on an absolutely fresh specimen, the vet caught the poo in midair and rush tested it. Minutes later he came back with the results: nothing.
So, as a generalized treatment plan, the vet perscribed a wide spectrum antibiotic. Well, it worked like a charm. Our herd got Rx Trimethp/Sulfamthzl and we've not had another outbreak since.
All this to say, even rigorous tests can miss "stuff".
All the various tests were expensive and revealed nothing. The wide spectrum antibiotic was cheap and worked well.
I am NOT advocating just sticking any ailing critter on antibiotics. That is for the vet to decide. I'm simply supplying you with info from another experience.
Good luck!

 

[mishellyshel]

one of my boys is on the tri meth and it really does not affect his appetite. it is the pink stuff they traditionally use for children. it is very inexpensive. my vet gave me a child size prescription and it was only 8 bux and would probably last over a year! She also said he could be on it long term, which leads me to believe it is not a very strong antibiotic.
personally when ever i have a chin that gets softer poop i give them the shredded wheat, about 1/2 of one in the am & pm for 3 days. i also give them the simethecone, which is just liquid infant gas drops. a generic bottle in this area is about 9 dollars and you gave give one small syringe full, which is about 1.0 cc a couple times a day. I did that plus 1.0 cc of lifeline and the 1/2 shredded wheat at each feeding for 1 - 3 days with much success.

 

[cintistatern2005]

My chin started out with soft poop and it turned into watery poop, I tried the burnt toast my chin wanted nothing to do with it, I tried activated charcoal with no results, I pulled the pellets gave just hay and it didnt work. I tried shredded wheat and again still loose poop. The only thing that worked was I had a vet order Kaolin Pectin, after 1 day it cleared up.

 

[Bostongirl'sChin75]

You might want to pull the Kaytee timothy hay and go to the oxbow, like Volunteerchin22 said. My chin Herby used to eat it and had soft poos as well and as soon as we switched to the Oxbow, they went away.

You are doing a great job though! I am sure things will be back to normal for Lily!