Cat Has Consistant Loose Stools

charking

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Like the other posters on your site, my cat Misty age 13+ is experiencing very loose bowels.

Not always diarrhea  a few softly formed stool pieces in the loose portion of the stool.
I have given him the ' basic pumpkin which has worked wonders in the past for short term issues but this time even that was not  real helpful.
He goes at least 8 times a day, the stools are foul/ smelly and about the color of dull mustard.  He also has major gas when he is passing his stool, no blood or other issues so far.. He is eating and drinking well, sleeps ok, still wants out in the AM and walks his parameter of the property. I can't judge his energy as he has arthritis and is due for another laser treatment which works within a few hours to allow him to jump, lay down and be more agile cat like. I just do not want to hit him with too much at one time.  Never any sign of worms, talked to the vet office and since my cats do not have fleas, * I can't believe it either even though they go out in the yard the vet combs them in his office  and has never found a flea *  its likely they do not have worms but said to try some diet changes first.
My cats are very strange, they will not eat fresh or home cooked meat, veggies or food.. the only thing he might eat one tiny little finger nail size piece of turkey and or occasionally he will nibble on a piece of warm buttered toast * as I do * but again only about 1/2 inch and then he walks away.  If they would eat fresh food, I would gladly fix it for them but they are not fresh meat eaters, although they love canned meat Friskies and Little Friskies. 

He is the only one being bothered, our other cat, a 7 year old female is fine, in fact she is a bit too firm at times but it does not seem to bother her.

I had accidently gotten moderate calorie on his Royal Canin for Urinary SO diet..  I think that may be when this began last summer but since it was not constant I was not overly concerned feeling it was diet. Some canned food varieties he is fine, the pate which he loves makes his stools a bit firmer but he also loves the grilled and it does not always help his bowels, depending on the flavor. They do not eat anything with fish in it ..

I just purchased a bag of Royal Canin the original variety this week and so far I have not noticed any difference. But he is not begging quite as much.
I was not able to get his alternative dry cat food so I picked up one of the Natures Recipe the # 1 Ingredient Real Chicken, and I think I may have answered my own questions, he is sensitive to chicken so we can't give it in canned food, he throws it up almost immediately I am now thinking he is getting the same results from eating the dry but instead of throwing it up, its affecting his bowels.

I was looking for the Turkey one with oatmeal Simply Nourish, from Petsmart,  which he loved, and now I can only find it in hugh bags, I don't want to get a Xlarge size due to the cost unless I am sure its going to help.  His other food is just a Friskies Indoor Cat blend which he has never had a problem with.  He drinks copious amounts of water, but he is a older male and his kidneys are not as good so he drinks and goes a lot.  He seems to sleep ok. Begs for food every time I walk into the room with a cup of tea or into the kitchen thinking its time to eat again, but he is not sitting by his dish all the time waiting like he was. That was another reason I changed back to the full calorie Royal Canin as I thought he might not be so hungry as the moderate calorie.  The vets said they both needed to lose a few pounds and the caloric change accomplished that but at what cost to their health? 

Do you think this chicken in his diet might be the problem?   Thanks
Will be watching for reply.
 
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stephenq

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Like the other posters on your site, my cat Misty age 13+ is experiencing very loose bowels.

Not always diarrhea  a few softly formed stool pieces in the loose portion of the stool.
I have given him the ' basic pumpkin which has worked wonders in the past for short term issues but this time even that was not  real helpful.
He goes at least 8 times a day, the stools are foul/ smelly and about the color of dull mustard.  He also has major gas when he is passing his stool, no blood or other issues so far.. He is eating and drinking well, sleeps ok, still wants out in the AM and walks his parameter of the property. I can't judge his energy as he has arthritis and is due for another laser treatment which works within a few hours to allow him to jump, lay down and be more agile cat like. I just do not want to hit him with too much at one time.  Never any sign of worms, talked to the vet office and since my cats do not have fleas, * I can't believe it either even though they go out in the yard the vet combs them in his office  and has never found a flea *  its likely they do not have worms but said to try some diet changes first.
My cats are very strange, they will not eat fresh or home cooked meat, veggies or food.. the only thing he might eat one tiny little finger nail size piece of turkey and or occasionally he will nibble on a piece of warm buttered toast * as I do * but again only about 1/2 inch and then he walks away.  If they would eat fresh food, I would gladly fix it for them but they are not fresh meat eaters, although they love canned meat Friskies and Little Friskies. 

He is the only one being bothered, our other cat, a 7 year old female is fine, in fact she is a bit too firm at times but it does not seem to bother her.

I had accidently gotten moderate calorie on his Royal Canin for Urinary SO diet..  I think that may be when this began last summer but since it was not constant I was not overly concerned feeling it was diet. Some canned food varieties he is fine, the pate which he loves makes his stools a bit firmer but he also loves the grilled and it does not always help his bowels, depending on the flavor. They do not eat anything with fish in it ..

I just purchased a bag of Royal Canin the original variety this week and so far I have not noticed any difference. But he is not begging quite as much.
I was not able to get his alternative dry cat food so I picked up one of the Natures Recipe the # 1 Ingredient Real Chicken, and I think I may have answered my own questions, he is sensitive to chicken so we can't give it in canned food, he throws it up almost immediately I am now thinking he is getting the same results from eating the dry but instead of throwing it up, its affecting his bowels.

I was looking for the Turkey one with oatmeal Simply Nourish, from Petsmart,  which he loved, and now I can only find it in hugh bags, I don't want to get a Xlarge size due to the cost unless I am sure its going to help.  His other food is just a Friskies Indoor Cat blend which he has never had a problem with.  He drinks copious amounts of water, but he is a older male and his kidneys are not as good so he drinks and goes a lot.  He seems to sleep ok. Begs for food every time I walk into the room with a cup of tea or into the kitchen thinking its time to eat again, but he is not sitting by his dish all the time waiting like he was. That was another reason I changed back to the full calorie Royal Canin as I thought he might not be so hungry as the moderate calorie.  The vets said they both needed to lose a few pounds and the caloric change accomplished that but at what cost to their health? 

Do you think this chicken in his diet might be the problem?   Thanks
Will be watching for reply.
It could be inflammatory bowel disease or a food intolerance.  Is his weight stable? How long has this been going on for?

 I would contact a vet.
 

Anne

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It can be very difficult to find a link between symptoms such as soft stools, gas and vomiting, and the type of food the cat consumes. Yes, as @StephenQ  said these can be symptoms of inflammatory bowel diseases or food allergies. They could also be signs of a parasitic infection, not necessarily tapeworm (the kind carried by fleas) but another kind of worm or even something like giardia. The only thing you have to go by right now is that his symptoms seem to be related to his digestive system.

I would call the vet to discuss the possibility of further tests. I think a fecal sample and some blood tests could give a better indication of what's going on. If food allergies are still a suspect, I would consider a consultation with a nutrition expert. You can find one here - 

http://www.acvn.org/

Oh, and don't feel bad about not being able to feed homemade or raw. In his condition, I wouldn't challenge his system with raw anyway, or with a potentially unbalanced homemade diet.

Do let us know what the vet said!
 
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