Diet Change And Now Bloody Mucus

[punkrockkitty]

Hi all, I've recently changed my cat's diet from Hill's Healthy Advantage dry and wet food to Whole Earth Farms wet only food. He's almost 6 months old.

Initially, the diet change was due not only to the fact that Hill's contains so much wheat and nasty stuff, but also, he was starting to have soft stools for about a week. So I switched over to a "grain-free" formula (I also removed the kibbles from his diet completely), and the stools didn't harden up - they stayed quite soft for about a week and then eventually went totally mush for about 5 days. So I added 1-2 Tb. of pumpkin and some ProGut powder and things finally started firming up. He's managed to have nice logs for the last 4 days, with the odd soft one every now and then.

Now, this morning, after going to the litter, I saw a string of mucus smeared on his butt with some reddish colour. The actual stool in the litterbox was quite firm though and there was no sign of mucus nor blood in it, just on his butthole.

I had a fecal test done about a month ago which was negative. The technician said they checked for Giardia, so I initially ruled that out as a possibility, but now I'm wondering whether it could've been a false negative?

I know dietary change can cause quite an upset, but can it cause blood and mucus or does this sound like more of a parasite thing? I also read that IBD can cause this, but can kittens get IBD??

My previous most amazing 13 year old cat died from complications due to an IBD - it turned into small cell lymphoma, it sucked so hard having to give her cortisone every day and watch her struggle the last year of life. I'm naturally dreading having this back in my life, so any ideas would be appreciated! I'll go to the vet, but I have a feeling they'll just end up putting him back on Hill's or Royal Canin......

Thanks in advance!

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Well, yes, the giardia test can result in a false negative, but it doesn't really sound like he is having symptoms of it...you didn't mention anything about a horrible smelling stool or anything like that, which is also a sign of giardia. And since his stools are still formed, I'm not sure this is the problem. But it's possible he has other parasites. What all did they test for? Worms?

And, yes, unfortunately, young cats can develop IBD, but I wouldn't necessarily go there yet. BUT why would you think your Vet would put him back on the Hills or Royal Canin if his stools have actually improved with the new food?

You mentioned his stools are "quite firm". Could he actually be slightly constipated? Constipation can actually result in mucus with a tinge of blood.

 

[punkrockkitty]

Yeah, I forgot to mention, he's already been dewormed 6 times - this was before the fecal test. I wanted to make sure the treatments worked out because he had roundworms when he was little, so the fecal was to confirm that everything was good. And no, he's never had foul smelling stools.

I know I'm jumping way ahead with the IBD theory (still traumatized I guess...). My vet always wants my cats to be on Hill's or Royal Canin - that's all they carry in the clinic. And as awesome as she is, she doesn't believe in holistic food or even grain-free diets for that matter. So I'm already imagining her giving me a lecture about how I caused him digestive issues by using non vet-approved food...

And no, I wouldn't say his stools are too firm. Just firm and normal looking. Hard to tell if it could be constipation. But he still has the occasional mushy diarrhea-looking stool in between firm ones. Confused!

I called the clinic where he had the fecal test done and the technician told me to stop using the pumpkin, but continue with the probiotics. She didn't seem alarmed about the mucus and blood and said it was probably not giardia but just the food adjustment. Maybe Whole Earth Farms doesn't work for him?

 

[punkrockkitty]

So, the mucus and blood seems to be gone for now, but, his stools are still not perfect. He has days when he has zero diarrhea and produces nice-looking stools, and then bam, diarrhea in the evening or the next morning. And so on...

Someone suggested I stop feeding him the wet food and try out some Merrick kitten dry food for a few days to see if it helps. And if so, slowly re-introduce the wet food back into his diet - but perhaps another brand. But since I'm feeding him probiotics, I still need a little bit of wet food - would that be OK? I'm trying to go by elimination, and I feel that if I keep the Whole Earth Farms wet food in the diet, I won't know whether it's that food that's causing the upset or something else (he also eats very very fast, for instance).

And also, should I go slow when adding in the dry food - like start with 1/8th of a cup per day and slowly move up or does it only matter to transition when we're talking about changing from dry to dry?

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Usually the transition (going slowly) is only important when changing from dry to dry. If you have a sensitive stomach cat though, sometimes transitioning from ANY food can cause issues.

I'm wondering if since he only sometimes gets diarrhea on the Whole Earth it could be that perhaps you are giving him different varieties of it? I am just guessing here because I don't know if you are doing that or not. All I know if that I just looked them up and see that their varieties that have gravies also contain potato starch and peas, and sometimes one of both of those can cause issues, and their pate versions don't have those. Also, did you know Whole Earth also has a Kitten formula?

If he eats really fast, I don't think that is the cause of his diarrhea. If anything, that would cause regurgitation. As far as his probiotics, if you were to give him a tiny bit of wet food, pate only, while you are doing this trial, you might be ok. If you are going to try out Merrick's kibble, perhaps give him his probiotics in Merrick's wet food of the same flavor as the kibble ?

 

[punkrockkitty]

Thanks for the reply He eats the Whole Earth real chicken paté actually (only that), but wow, I didn't know there was a kitten version. It seems slightly better even, no peas - but it has locust bean gum and xantham gum - could those be any good though?

I could try switching over to Merrick's wet and dry (same formula) for a bit to see how thing go, but I'm wondering - do you think sensitive stomachs can take longer than 2 weeks to adjust? Tomorrow will officially be 2 weeks since I've switched him over to Whole Earth, but I read that some cats can take up to 3-4 weeks sometimes. Maybe I'm giving up too soon? Since he has some nice stools and then the occasional bad one...?

 

[orange&white]

I'd give him another week or two and see which direction the stools go. I'm thinking maybe a prebiotic might help, but I don't have experience with prebiotics. Maybe some other member here does, or someone who uses both prebiotic and probiotic.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

orange&white , I'm pretty sure that ProGut she is using is a PreBiotic/Probiotic combination!

Yes, since you've only had the little guy on the Whole Earth for two weeks, I'd keep him on that for awhile longer and see what happens. Maybe some food stability is what he needs at the moment . Maybe not, but another week or two shouldn't hurt him just to see how he does.

 

[punkrockkitty]

Great, thanks for both your comments!

Yes, ProGut has both prebiotics and probiotics, so I'll definitely keep giving him that.

I actually called the store where I buy my Whole Earth cans to see whether they carry the kitten version out of curiosity and ended up getting into an argument with the store manager about the fact that I only feed wet! He told me that wet food is considered a "snack" and not a real "meal", that it doesn't give kittens the proper nutrients they need blah blah and that I was "starving" my cat by denying him dry food, I was furious.

Anyway, I'll tough out another week or two on the cans I have and see how things go, and will then decide whether to throw in some Merrick dry food or not

So complicated!

 

[orange&white]

He told me that wet food is considered a "snack" and not a real "meal", that it doesn't give kittens the proper nutrients they need blah blah and that I was "starving" my cat by denying him dry food, I was furious.

Because we all know that retail pet store managers are rocket scientists in disguise.

Last year, I raised my first "zero kibble" kitten. She seems to have not only survived the "starvation" of an all-wet diet, but to have thrived on it.

 

[Neo_23]

I have found pet store workers to be the least knowledgable about pet food.

Just a thought - could this possibly be constipation? I know that would be strange with wet food but I heard that constipation often masks as watery poo and red bloody mucous. Is he straining to go?

I would definitely monitor him and if you see the blood again take him in to the vet.

 

[punkrockkitty]

Yeah, it's not the first time I get 'petsplained' by a pet store worker and the information they spew out is usually so distorted!

orange&white good to know you managed a zero kibble kitten diet! It's definitely my goal too

And yes, Neo_23 someone else mentioned constipation. I haven't actually seen him in the litterbox straining, but his rectum is always a bit swollen (for lack of a better word) after the litterbox - not much, but it isn't flat flat... How could wet food constipate though, is that possible? The bloody mucus hasn't come back in almost 3 days now, crossing my fingers, but I will keep an eye on it for sure.