Page 772 - Problem-Based Feline Medicine

764 PART 9 CAT WITH SIGNS OF GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT DISEASE

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NUTRITIONAL

● Food intolerance** (p 766)
Food intolerance is a non-immune-mediated condition associated with intermittent diarrhea or
vomiting, with no pattern or association with eating, and it resolves when the food source is
changed to omit the offending substance from the diet. The clinical significance of food intoler-
ance is unknown relative to other causes of diarrhea because of the difficulty in obtaining a
definitive diagnosis.
IMMUNOLOGIC

● Food allergy (dietary hypersensitivity)* (p 767)
Chronic vomiting appears to be more common than diarrhea in cats with food allergy, and cuta-
neous signs may also be present.
● Idiopathic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)* (p 768)
This is a chronic inflammatory disease of the feline GI tract that has no known cause. Depending
on the extent of the disease, the diarrhea may be entirely of large bowel character, small bowel
character or may be a combination of both. Weight loss and vomiting are also frequently observed
clinical signs.
INFECTIOUS
● Infectious colitis (Clostridium spp., E. coli, Campylobacter spp.)* (p 770)
Clostridial spp. cause an enterocolitis characterized by acute onset of soft, mucoid- or blood-
streaked feces that may become liquid, unformed small bowel diarrhea. Diarrhea is caused by
overgrowth of clostridial spp. followed by subsequent sporulation and enterotoxin formation.
E. coli is an uncommon cause of enterocolitis and large bowel diarrhea in cats.
● Parasitic infections (Giardia, Tritrichomonas, Cryptosporidia, Isospora, Toxoplasma,
Balantidium and Trichuris) * (p 775)
Diarrhea is the primary clinical sign with Tritrichomonas, Cryptosporidia and Cystoisosporidia
infections. Infections are inapparent except in young kittens and debilitated or immunocompro-
mised adult cats. Trichuris vulpis is a rare cause of colitis or large bowel diarrhea in cats, but is
occasionally found on fecal examination in cats from a contaminated environment.
Inflammatory:
● Chronic pancreatitis (p 776)
This disease is most often associated with vague, non-localizing signs, but hematochezia and diar-
rhea with a large bowel character are not unusual.