- Joined
- Feb 23, 2015
- Messages
- 7
- Purraise
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Hello, newbie here. I've been lurking around this site for a couple days now checking out topics and seeing if I could find some ideas or answers to my problem, but didn't find any topics like the issue I'm having, so here it goes.
Almost a couple months ago now, my fiance and I adopted an adorable kitten from the SPCA, named Venus. This is our first kitten. I have had cats before in the past (my fiance hasn't though), but never raised one this young, so it’s been an interesting (yet rewarding!) challenge since she is a girl with a personality bigger than her little self, hehe.
Anywho, since the day we got her she has had loose stools and off and on diarrhea. I’ve yet to see a firm stool from her and it's starting to really worry me. The first day we got her, she had very watery diarrhea, where she'd leave little trails of runny poop on her way to the litter box. Plus she had the most rancid smelling gas -- almost smelled like sulfur. The woman at the SPCA told us a few days prior she had gotten dewormed, so she suspects that's why she had the diarrhea. That first week I started giving her pumpkin, after the vet had suggested it when we took her to get her checkup. She also got a stool test done, which came back negative for any worms, parasites, or bacteria overgrowth. Along with the pumpkin I had started giving her a little bit of plain yogurt (1/8 - 1/4 tsp. per day) to give her some probiotics. The combination did help bulk her a little, where the poop trails and watery diarrhea stopped, but the rancid gas and loose stools persisted.
Come the second week, we started making the transition to a grain-free kitten formula. She was eating Purina ONE Chicken Kitten Formula, and then we started mixing it with Nature's Recipe Salmon and Potato for all stages. I was still including the pumpkin and the yogurt, but her stools and smelly gas never improved.
Week 3: She started going back to having diarrhea, so I stopped the yogurt, then the pumpkin. I also started giving her less of the Purina and more of the grain-free. Her stools firmed up a little and never had diarrhea again. Gas was still the same.
Week 4: Still the same soft stools and gas.
Week 5 (this past week): She is 100% grain-free. I ended up starting her on another grain-free food, Simply Nourish Chicken & Turkey Kitten Formula, as I ran out of the Nature's Recipe and it wasn't available at the time when I went to the store. Her stools have been the same, except last night she was close to having diarrhea again and it stunk even worse than normal. However, her gas has been subsiding.
I should also note that she goes to the bathroom multiple times a day. Probably poops around 3 - 4 times, same amount with urination. It's to the point that we're cleaning her litter box every single day, and it stinks so bad that we're spraying air freshener, except it's only masking the smell. Is it normal for her to go this much?
I’m at a loss of what to do or what’s going on. Is this a phase? Possible food intolerance? Should I get another stool test done to see if anything shows up that may have been missed the first time around? Another thing that leads me to suspecting it’s a possible food intolerance is that she’s started to get the occasional itch in and around her ears, always in the same spots, but they do look okay. Aside from this problem, she is still as lively as ever. She sleeps, eats, and plays and even drinks plenty of water throughout the day.
I have to say I'm hesitant on sending her to the vet again right away, as I really don't want more drugs thrown at her (she was also treated multiple times for ringworm and worms a few months prior to us adopting her) and a possible huge vet bill for something that may be simple.
Sorry this is long, but thanks for hearing me out.
Any advice is appreciated!
Almost a couple months ago now, my fiance and I adopted an adorable kitten from the SPCA, named Venus. This is our first kitten. I have had cats before in the past (my fiance hasn't though), but never raised one this young, so it’s been an interesting (yet rewarding!) challenge since she is a girl with a personality bigger than her little self, hehe.
Anywho, since the day we got her she has had loose stools and off and on diarrhea. I’ve yet to see a firm stool from her and it's starting to really worry me. The first day we got her, she had very watery diarrhea, where she'd leave little trails of runny poop on her way to the litter box. Plus she had the most rancid smelling gas -- almost smelled like sulfur. The woman at the SPCA told us a few days prior she had gotten dewormed, so she suspects that's why she had the diarrhea. That first week I started giving her pumpkin, after the vet had suggested it when we took her to get her checkup. She also got a stool test done, which came back negative for any worms, parasites, or bacteria overgrowth. Along with the pumpkin I had started giving her a little bit of plain yogurt (1/8 - 1/4 tsp. per day) to give her some probiotics. The combination did help bulk her a little, where the poop trails and watery diarrhea stopped, but the rancid gas and loose stools persisted.
Come the second week, we started making the transition to a grain-free kitten formula. She was eating Purina ONE Chicken Kitten Formula, and then we started mixing it with Nature's Recipe Salmon and Potato for all stages. I was still including the pumpkin and the yogurt, but her stools and smelly gas never improved.
Week 3: She started going back to having diarrhea, so I stopped the yogurt, then the pumpkin. I also started giving her less of the Purina and more of the grain-free. Her stools firmed up a little and never had diarrhea again. Gas was still the same.
Week 4: Still the same soft stools and gas.
Week 5 (this past week): She is 100% grain-free. I ended up starting her on another grain-free food, Simply Nourish Chicken & Turkey Kitten Formula, as I ran out of the Nature's Recipe and it wasn't available at the time when I went to the store. Her stools have been the same, except last night she was close to having diarrhea again and it stunk even worse than normal. However, her gas has been subsiding.
I should also note that she goes to the bathroom multiple times a day. Probably poops around 3 - 4 times, same amount with urination. It's to the point that we're cleaning her litter box every single day, and it stinks so bad that we're spraying air freshener, except it's only masking the smell. Is it normal for her to go this much?
I’m at a loss of what to do or what’s going on. Is this a phase? Possible food intolerance? Should I get another stool test done to see if anything shows up that may have been missed the first time around? Another thing that leads me to suspecting it’s a possible food intolerance is that she’s started to get the occasional itch in and around her ears, always in the same spots, but they do look okay. Aside from this problem, she is still as lively as ever. She sleeps, eats, and plays and even drinks plenty of water throughout the day.
I have to say I'm hesitant on sending her to the vet again right away, as I really don't want more drugs thrown at her (she was also treated multiple times for ringworm and worms a few months prior to us adopting her) and a possible huge vet bill for something that may be simple.
Sorry this is long, but thanks for hearing me out.
Any advice is appreciated!
