To Stephanie and Sophie:
 
 
>I hate to be such a bother but this whole thing with ECE has got me
>completely paranoid.  Sophie has had another bout of diarrhea, some of
>which was green.  Now, she's not having diarrhea but small, skinny stools.
>O.K., so now what?  Does she have colitis?
 
        Your're not a bother, nor are you paranoid.  Stools are not supposed
to be small and skinny.  .  Small skinny stools to me are far more
suggestive of a blockage than colitis, but any disease of the large
intestine may result in straining and the passage of small, frequent stools.
Small intestinal problems, as a general rule, will result in production of a
liquidy profuse stool, such as we see in ECE.
 
           I think at this point, I would consider getting some X-rays of
the abdomen and a barium study.    This won't be dangerous to her, and may
give us some useful information.  In the meantime, an inch of laxatone or
Petromalt twice a day may help move a possible obstruction.  An abdominal
exploratory may be needed eventually, but let's take it one step at a time.
 
        Take your 3 days, but make sure your sitter knows what to look for
and who to call....
 
Bruce Williams, DVM, DACVP
Dept. of Vet Path, AFIP
[log in to unmask]  OR
Chief Pathologist, AccuPath
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[Posted in FML issue 1409]