"Ropey Intestines" Client Communication:

Dog breeders will tell you exactly what's going on from their vast experience with breeding Rottweilers, since leaving their McDonald's Drive Through career. So I defer to their profligate missives about the Ropey Intestine but this is kind of what you'd get as an introduction from little old me.

Ropey Intestines

Ropey intestines isn't a "disease" or even a "disorder"
It's a condition where the wall of the intestines is THICK.
Normally that's from parasites.
So, we always deworm the ropey ones.
SOMETIMES the intestine REMAINS 'ropey'.

Taken with "on-and-off diarrhea' or soft stools, a ropey-intestine is sometimes from "Coccidia"
or even Giardia.

So if an owner reports "on-and-off diarrhea" in a puppy or kitten that's been reported with "ropey intestines" I'll just automatically give them "Albon".
There *IS* a test for coccidia but it MAY have to be run daily x 7-10 days to intercept cysts as they're passed. Coccidia don't shed all the time. Some of the younger veterinarians subscribe to the idea that 'coccidia are not disease-producing microorganisms found in dogs and kittens' which is "too bad for you" because if they ever used Albon on those coccidia puppies and kittens the owner would be calling back Monday with a happy message.


We'll keep an eye on the "ropey intestines" and not worry alot about it.
If there's 'on and off' soft stools - we'll treat with some Albon.

Ropey intestines in the adult cat.
The leading cause of ropey intestines in older cats is INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE. A decent but faraway second place is intestinal lymphosarcoma.
Symptoms include thickened bowel on palpation, chronic vomiting, occasional diarrhea, even increasing appetite as the cat loses weight. The intestine becomes LESS ABSORBENT to nutrition and the cats 'starve' while eating.
A steroid may drastically improve this by reducing bowel inflammation, which increases absorption of nutrients and then weight gain.
There are other possibilities for 'ropey intestines' in older cats including:
1) Worms
2) Coccidia
3) Giardia
4) Lymphoma

Items 1-3 results in diarrhea quite often.
Item #4 Lymphoma responds VERY well to the first admin of steroid, but doesn't respond to the second one.


Doc Johnson