Constant Diarrhea.

[Puff Kitty]

Hi. My nine month old kitty Tippi has a sensitive stomach that causes constant diarrhea. I've taken her to the vet three times for this and he ran blood tests, did fecal tests, and even did an ultrasound and everything came back fine. He just chalked it up to her being super sensitive to wet food because she was fine when she was just eating dry food.

I want to continue feeding her wet food because I know it's healthier than kibble, but if it causes diarrhea I feel like it's defeating the purpose. Is there anything you know of that can clear up diarrhea? I've tried pumpkin, but I was told to only use it a few days at a time because it could cause the opposite effect if used for longer. Is there any wet food specifically made for cats with sensitive stomachs? Should I just feed her dry food? I'm so confused on what's the best course of action. Does anyone have any suggestions?

 

[LTS3]

What brands of wet food are you feeding? It may be a particular brand(s) that just doesn't agree with your kitten's tummy. Or the food may contain an ingredient which your kitten can't handle. Chicken is a common cause of food sensitivities in cats. Grains and junk fillers like gums are also common culprits.

There are limited ingredient brands of food you can try but I think they're all for adult cats, not for kittens of "all life stages". If you're also feeding a kitten or all life stages dry food, then it doesn't matter much if the canned is for adults.

 

[stephanietx]

Has she been tested for tritrichomonas foetus? That's a special test done not on the vet's in-house fecal float.

I have a kitty who cannot tolerate a grain-free diet. We have found a good combination of rx dry and canned that work for him.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Go back to the dry and allow Tipp's system to get back to her normal. Then, look for foods that are highly digestible or good for cats with “sensitive stomachs.” These products should have a crude fiber level of around 3 percent listed on their guaranteed analyses. Also, compare the ingredients of any wet foods with what is in the dry food she can tolerate, and stick as close as possible to the same primary ingredients. Whatever you try, start with just a bit, either aside the dry or mixed with the dry and see what happens. If all goes well, add more canned and decrease the dry.

 

[Puff Kitty]

LTS3 I've been feeding Royal Canin Nutrition Kitten, Natures Variety Instinct Original kitten, and Wellness Chicken Pate Kitten. As far as adult brands I've tried Fancy Feast, Whole Hearted All Stages, Blue Buffalo, and Tiki Cats.

I'll try cutting out anything with chicken in it and see how she fares. Is there another brand I should try? Or one of the above that I listed that I should stop trying with?

stephanietx I believe she was, but I'm not 100% sure. I'll have to check with my vet about that tomorrow.

FeebysOwner I stopped the wet food yesterday and have only been giving her dry food. I thought her digestive system could use a break from this trial and error process we've been going through. Thanks for letting me know what to look for in a wet food brand when I start feeding it again. How long should I continue feeding only dry food?

 

[FeebysOwner]

How long should I continue feeding only dry food?

I'd give it at least a week of normal stools before experimenting again.

 

[Puff Kitty]

I'd give it at least a week of normal stools before experimenting again.

Thank you. That's what I'll do.

 

[FeebysOwner]

And, whatever you decide to try, log everything. Much easier to have a diary trail to follow!

 

[stephanietx]

I would stick with the rx dry food until she has normal poops, and then work on adding canned food back in. We feed Royal Canin Gastro HE dry and Hill's Science Diet i/d canned.

 

[daftcat75]

I noticed in your introductions that these are your first cats.

When you try to introduce them to wet, do you do a slow introduction, do you mix it with dry, or do you just drop a plate down for them? Personally, I’d start very slowly with wet as a snack and dry as their main nutrition.

Personally, I love the Rawz brand. Krista loves the Rawz brand. The pates. Krista maybe would have liked the shreds. But they all contain no-go proteins for her now (IBD kitty with multiple sensitivities.) The pates are available at Bernal Beast. The shreds are available at Pet Food Express.

Here’s how I would do this since dry and wet aren’t really compatible in the same meal. The dry tends to come out of the stomach the wrong pH for digestion in the gut. I’m thinking cats’ digestion adapts to this and that could be why they aren’t digesting wet like they should.

So here is how I would do it.

Stick with dry as their primary food source. For now.

Pick a lunch or midnight or some other time that’s at least a couple hours removed from their dry food. Pick it up for a couple of hours if they free feed.

On the first day, put down 1 tablespoon for each cat. That’s all the wet they get that first day.

Wait a full poop cycle (about 24 hours) and evaluate. Don’t offer anymore wet food until you’ve seen their next poop. If it’s normal, proceed (next paragraph.) If it’s soft, give another 1 tablespoon snack, and wait another poop. Give them a few days to see if they’ll get used to it. If it’s liquid, that’s the wrong food. Don’t keep giving foods that produce liquid poops. These rarely firm up in my experience.

When the poops normalize, add another tablespoon (a 2 tablespoon snack.) Repeat as before. Wait for a poop to see if you’re quitting (liquid), stabilizing (soft), or proceeding (normal.)

When you find a food that allows you to proceed, you can grow that one wet snack a day into a honest meal. If you don’t find that food, they are still eating the dry.

Pumpkin is safe to give continuously. It won’t cause the opposite problem. It’s actually pretty wonderful that way. If the cat is constipated, it brings moisture to the stools. If the cat has diarrhea, it soaks up the moisture and also slows the transit time so the colon has a better chance to reclaim any excess moisture.

Finally, excessive diarrhea can drain the gut of good bacteria. Additionally, kittens may not develop the best microbiome until they are older. You can help them out with probiotics. Not all probiotics are created equally. FortiFlora is junk but cats love the taste. It’s more an enticement than a probiotic in many people’s book. Proviable is a brand you can get at your vet’s office that works pretty well. But my favorite is made by Vitality Science.
Pet Flora, Cat Probiotics Supplement | Vitality Science

They also have other products for treating diarrhea. But I think you are just dealing with dodgy kitten digestion that could stabilize with age. Still. Their customer service is excellent (within 24 hour turn around emails or returning voicemail) if you want to discuss with them if any of their other products would be appropriate for kittens.

 

[1 bruce 1]

And, whatever you decide to try, log everything. Much easier to have a diary trail to follow!

I have so many notes from the past 3 years with this asthmatic and IBD cat I'm surprised this laptop hasn't gone up in flames. But it's very helpful.
Our boy had some hairball problems this past week and a note from about 18 months ago reminded us of what we did, and what worked, so that's what we're doing.
It sounds a little excessive, but hey, they're our kids.

 

[1 bruce 1]

I noticed in your introductions that these are your first cats.

When you try to introduce them to wet, do you do a slow introduction, do you mix it with dry, or do you just drop a plate down for them? Personally, I’d start very slowly with wet as a snack and dry as their main nutrition.

Personally, I love the Rawz brand. Krista loves the Rawz brand. The pates. Krista maybe would have liked the shreds. But they all contain no-go proteins for her now (IBD kitty with multiple sensitivities.) The pates are available at Bernal Beast. The shreds are available at Pet Food Express.

Here’s how I would do this since dry and wet aren’t really compatible in the same meal. The dry tends to come out of the stomach the wrong pH for digestion in the gut. I’m thinking cats’ digestion adapts to this and that could be why they aren’t digesting wet like they should.

So here is how I would do it.

Stick with dry as their primary food source. For now.

Pick a lunch or midnight or some other time that’s at least a couple hours removed from their dry food. Pick it up for a couple of hours if they free feed.

On the first day, put down 1 tablespoon for each cat. That’s all the wet they get that first day.

Wait a full poop cycle (about 24 hours) and evaluate. Don’t offer anymore wet food until you’ve seen their next poop. If it’s normal, proceed (next paragraph.) If it’s soft, give another 1 tablespoon snack, and wait another poop. Give them a few days to see if they’ll get used to it. If it’s liquid, that’s the wrong food. Don’t keep giving foods that produce liquid poops. These rarely firm up in my experience.

When the poops normalize, add another tablespoon (a 2 tablespoon snack.) Repeat as before. Wait for a poop to see if you’re quitting (liquid), stabilizing (soft), or proceeding (normal.)

When you find a food that allows you to proceed, you can grow that one wet snack a day into a honest meal. If you don’t find that food, they are still eating the dry.

Pumpkin is safe to give continuously. It won’t cause the opposite problem. It’s actually pretty wonderful that way. If the cat is constipated, it brings moisture to the stools. If the cat has diarrhea, it soaks up the moisture and also slows the transit time so the colon has a better chance to reclaim any excess moisture.

Finally, excessive diarrhea can drain the gut of good bacteria. Additionally, kittens may not develop the best microbiome until they are older. You can help them out with probiotics. Not all probiotics are created equally. FortiFlora is junk but cats love the taste. It’s more an enticement than a probiotic in many people’s book. Proviable is a brand you can get at your vet’s office that works pretty well. But my favorite is made by Vitality Science.
Pet Flora, Cat Probiotics Supplement | Vitality Science

They also have other products for treating diarrhea. But I think you are just dealing with dodgy kitten digestion that could stabilize with age. Still. Their customer service is excellent (within 24 hour turn around emails or returning voicemail) if you want to discuss with them if any of their other products would be appropriate for kittens.

Puff Kitty , where did Tippi come from and how old was she when you got her?

 

[Puff Kitty]

When you try to introduce them to wet, do you do a slow introduction, do you mix it with dry, or do you just drop a plate down for them? Personally, I’d start very slowly with wet as a snack and dry as their main nutrition.

Yes, I've done a slow introduction and I do mix a small amount with dry when I'm first introducing her to a new wet food. I don't have any issues with my male, just her. He has normal poops which I'm thankful for, I can't imagine going through this with two cats. I'll follow all the advice you've given. I appreciate you taking the time to answer. Thank you.

where did Tippi come from and how old was she when you got her?

She came from a reputable breeder and was 16 weeks of age when I brought her home.

 

[daftcat75]

SFRaw, near the ballpark, has balanced grinds that you can try with Tippi. They also have sample cups so you can try it before you buy a tub. I’d recommend trying the pork. It’s a boneless grind. She may not like pork. Not all cats do. You could try a different grind with bone but if we’re not sure about her digestion, the bone could be challenging to her. But this is also why I always recommend new foods to be introduced as guest stars rather than letting them run the whole show (so to speak.)

 

[Puff Kitty]

SFRaw, near the ballpark, has balanced grinds that you can try with Tippi. They also have sample cups so you can try it before you buy a tub. I’d recommend trying the pork. It’s a boneless grind. She may not like pork. Not all cats do. You could try a different grind with bone but if we’re not sure about her digestion, the bone could be challenging to her. But this is also why I always recommend new foods to be introduced as guest stars rather than letting them run the whole show (so to speak.)

After I give her digestive system a little break, I'll try her out on the pork. I'll start with the sample cup and go from there. I've never tried Rawz before or even heard of it, so my fingers are crossed that this agrees with her sensitive stomach.

 

[daftcat75]

SFRaw is a raw feeders coop.
SFRAW

Rawz is a canned food that’s minimally processed and calls itself “the next best thing to raw.”
RAWZ | 100% Rendered Free Cat Food

They both contain “raw” but Rawz is actually canned. (They have a dry too but don’t mess with Tippi’s dry right now if that isn’t giving her any trouble.)

I know Bernal Beast carries Rawz pates. The shreds are available at Pet Food Express.

My Krista can only have the pates because the shreds all come in her no-go proteins. She thrives on Rawz turkey. She likes the rabbit okay but I need to add salmon oil to it. She likes the duck flavor better which already has added salmon oil. That’s how I figured out to add salmon oil to the rabbit. Too much added oil makes her poops too soft. When giving her food with salmon oil, I mix with turkey or rabbit without added oil to keep the daily oil intake and hence her poops managed.

Give Tippi and her pooper a rest to reset. I’d try the Rawz pates or the raw pork grind sample cup from SF Raw. If the owner is there, her name is Kasie and she can offer advice on how to start with homemade raw if that’s something you may eventually want to try. In any case, I would only try either of these (raw or Rawz) as a guest star meal that can be canceled if it isn’t working.

 

[daftcat75]

We’re biased to Rawz pates. But the shreds also come in pumpkin flavors which could be very helpful for Tippi’s digestion. It’s okay to make a pumpkin flavor an everyday food if she enjoys it and it treats her right.

Keep us posted.