Hi, we have a cat about 5 years old (this is just a guess because we
adopted her as a stray about three years ago and the vet thought she
was maybe two at the time) who has had occasional soft stools. It never
lasts more than a day (meaning she will have a soft stool, either runny
or formed but still soft) once and then the next day will be normal
again). We took her to the vet recently because after one episode, we
tried to clean her up (she is a long-haired white cat) and I think the
cat shampoo I used irritated her skin. She then licked the base of her
tail raw. She was treated with Animax ointment and put on Flagyl for
ten days. About two weeks later she had another soft stool with a
little blood on the top of it.

The vet ran all possible tests (bloodwork, urinalysis, chemscreen,
fecal tests) which all came out normal. She says that without endoscopy
with biopsy she can't make a definitive diagnosis, but she suspects
IBD. We are reluctant to put our cat through an endoscopy when my
suspicion is that it won't show anything abnormal. She and another cat
in our household do not get along and fight, and I suspect this is
really stress-related. We went through the same thing two years ago
thinking she had cystitis because she only peed a drop and then ran out
of the litter box, only to have all tests come out normal and realize
that the reason she runs out of the litter box so fast is that she is
afraid the other cat will attack her.

She has no other signs of IBD--no weight loss (actually she gained
three ounces between her vet visits), no vomiting, no lethargy and she
certainly has a healthy appetite. She is on Flagyl now for a month. I
guess it could be a food allergy but we have not detected any pattern
related to what she eats. Any ideas? Does this sound like IBD? Has
anyone had an endoscopy done for IBD that turned out normal? Thanks.
-Yngver