Food questions

Sushismom

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Ok so I’m hoping this is the right area to put this if not please let me know and I’ll post in the correct area.
I’ve been feeding weruva, friskies, and tiki cat wet foods and instinct dry food to my two kittens. I’ve been struggling with them having diarrhea for awhile now. I’ve been to the vet had fecal checks it all came back negative and the vet went ahead and gave me dewormer anyway which I went ahead and did. It didn’t fix the problem so I went back and everything came back negative again so the vet prescribed antibiotics as well as probiotics. That didn’t really help either so went back had another fecal check still negative. The vet at the past appointment said to give the probiotics a little bit longer and if it doesn’t start working I would need to look into trying different foods.
So I’m just wanting some advice on should I go ahead and change foods? Take them down to just one of the foods? Try a different food and if so what would you recommend?

Sorry for such a long post and thank y’all for all the help
 
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Sushismom

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If it helps they are 4.5 months and 3.5 months old. They each get 3oz wet food 3x a day and which point they both finish all of the food and they get dry food left out all day which they pick at off and on but don’t eat a lot of.
 

Maurey

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My first instinct would be to suggest a limited ingredient wet food exclusion diet. Some cats will have sensitivity to certain ingredients in wet food. While it's very awesome that you have them on a huge variety of foods, it's difficult to determine which ingredient, if any, is causing their issues.

For fecals, did they have fecal PCRs done? They're slightly more expensive, on average, but tend to be more accurate.

Edit to say that it might be beneficial to stop giving them dry completely before experimenting with wet food exclusions, since they barely eat it anyway, to see if it has any effect on their stools :> It can take up to a month to see any improvements with diet, though, so it generally pays to have patience!
 

mrsgreenjeens

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It certainly could be related to food, but what are the chances that food would affect BOTH of them at this young age? I'm thinking it's some sort of parasite that they aren't catching on a regular fecal exam and that the PCR is what is needed.
 
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Sushismom

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I believe that only a regular fecal was done not a PCR so I’ll definitely look into that. My only concern is that they’ve had multiple rounds of dewormer though a different kind each time as well as a couple different kinds of antibiotics. Is it really possible that something could still have been missed?
 

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Sounds like you are over feeding. Another poster was over feeding her kitty had diarrhea. When she cut back the diarrhea went away. 3oz 3x a day is a lot.
i feed my 4.5 mth girl 1/4 of 3 oz can Of fancy feast kitten 4x a day with a small spoon of blue buffalo kibble. Plus she get a small amt of treats thruout the day. She loves a bit of egg & ham too when I have my break fast. She’s happy, healthy n growing like a weed.
so I suggest to add an extra feeding but cut back on the volume. Stick to one brand for now. You certainly don’t have to follow my formula but my girl has never had diarrhea. I will transition her to 3x a day probably around the 9th mth, maybe sooner. Good luck!
 
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Sushismom

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Oh... I never thought about over feeding causing that. I can certainly try cutting back and sticking to one kind of food. As well as asking the vet for a PCR test to rule anything else out. Thank y’all so much for all the help
 

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Oh... I never thought about over feeding causing that. I can certainly try cutting back and sticking to one kind of food. As well as asking the vet for a PCR test to rule anything else out. Thank y’all so much for all the help
You cannot over-feed a kitten. Do not cut back on the feeding, but sticking to maybe one type of wet food could be beneficial. I agree with mrsgreenjeens mrsgreenjeens with the PCR test. It's much more likely that it's a missed parasite since it's affecting both of them.
 

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Sounds like you are over feeding. Another poster was over feeding her kitty had diarrhea. When she cut back the diarrhea went away. 3oz 3x a day is a lot.
i feed my 4.5 mth girl 1/4 of 3 oz can Of fancy feast kitten 4x a day with a small spoon of blue buffalo kibble. Plus she get a small amt of treats thruout the day. She loves a bit of egg & ham too when I have my break fast. She’s happy, healthy n growing like a weed.
so I suggest to add an extra feeding but cut back on the volume. Stick to one brand for now. You certainly don’t have to follow my formula but my girl has never had diarrhea. I will transition her to 3x a day probably around the 9th mth, maybe sooner. Good luck!
One can of fancy feast and a small spoon of kibble is a dangerously low amount to feed a kitten, even with the extra treats. You cannot over-feed a kitten, and it's recommended that they have food available to them at all times. Fancy Feast recommends 4-5 cans per day for adult cats and kittens require more calories then adults, which is why many brands have kitten formulas of their regular foods that have more calories.
 

mrsgreenjeens

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My only concern is that they’ve had multiple rounds of dewormer though a different kind each time as well as a couple different kinds of antibiotics. Is it really possible that something could still have been missed?
Yes, different antibiotics work on different things. If they happen to have T. Foetus, for instance, there is really only one antibiotic that I am aware of that works on that, and it's not one that is commonly used
 

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One can of fancy feast and a small spoon of kibble is a dangerously low amount to feed a kitten, even with the extra treats. You cannot over-feed a kitten, and it's recommended that they have food available to them at all times. Fancy Feast recommends 4-5 cans per day for adult cats and kittens require more calories then adults, which is why many brands have kitten formulas of their regular foods that have more calories.
pet food companies exaggerate how much food to give a pet. I’ve had dogs & the feeding chart is ridiculous on every pkg I’ve ever seen. 4-5 cans a day for a cat? That does not sound right but I digress as I am a new cat servant.
my girl often leave a little bit of kibble & finishes it later. Maybe 1/4 can of fancy feast is a low amt but since her weight is on target, she’s very energetic & is growing It has never occurred to me that its not enough. She isnt skinny or scrawny in the least. Plus she’s fed 4x a day & aren’t smaller meals better for cats?
 

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pet food companies exaggerate how much food to give a pet. I’ve had dogs & the feeding chart is ridiculous on every pkg I’ve ever seen. 4-5 cans a day for a cat? That does not sound right but I digress as I am a new cat servant.
my girl often leave a little bit of kibble & finishes it later. Maybe 1/4 can of fancy feast is a low amt but since her weight is on target, she’s very energetic & is growing It has never occurred to me that its not enough. She isnt skinny or scrawny in the least. Plus she’s fed 4x a day & aren’t smaller meals better for cats?
More frequent meals are great for cats. However, as I said, kittens are growing and require more calories. Feel free to use the search option to explore other threads from different cat owners that will tell you the same. Just because your kitten is not skinny eating that amount of food doesn't mean another kitten will not see consequences. I suggest you consult your vet if you disagree with caloric requirements. You can also google kitten calorie requirements and see if they are being met by what you're feeding. This site (as well as many others) will not exaggerate the amount just to make more money, so if you disagree I suggest you start a thread (or search for a thread) with a similar question.

I also want to add that 4-5 is for adult cats. As I mentioned kitten food is more caloric so when feeding it you wouldn't need as many cans.
 
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Beholder

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I wanted to add a quick chart (that I stole from tinydestroyer tinydestroyer ) that may be helpful and add bit more specificity for anyone that may come across this thread in the future. Fancy Feast looks to range in calories from roughly 70-100. We'll go with 80 as it appears to be the most common. A kitten that is 4.5 lbs should be getting about 300 cal, so almost 4 cans of regular fancy feast depending on the formula. A ten pound kitten would need about 6 cans. Goose actually passed 9 pounds by six months after a massive growth spurt, and he is still at a healthy weight according to the vet. His weight gain drastically slowed after this jump and is sitting around the same at 8 months now. Anyway, the kitten formula of Fancy Feast has roughly 25 more cal than the regular so that is also good to keep in mind. Adult cats vary greatly in size, so if the cat never gets more than 10 pounds as an adult I think an argument can be made for 3 cans of fancy feast a day (depending on the formula). Many cats end up weighing between 10-15 pounds as a healthy adult, so in that case you would be going more toward 4-5 cans.

I also want to add that I make homemade food and don't feed Fancy Feast so I got my caloric info from Chewy. :)

Edit: I also want to note that every cat/kitten is different so caloric requirements can also vary in this way. This is just a brief example. Some kittens may do well with less (but not substantially less). Goose was consuming the equivalent to 4 cans when he was approaching 9 lb. Reading the back of the package is the best way to know how much to feed your cats.
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Sushismom

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Thank you everyone for all the help lately! I did not actually change how much they were eating beyond taking away the dry food. And they are being fed exclusively tiki cats food and primarily the after dark foods from that brand. So far I’m not sure if it’s the probiotics that are helping, getting rid of the dry food, or just doing tiki cats foods but it does seem like the problem is fixing itself. I’m going to continue what I’m doing now for awhile and see what happens.
Thank y’all so much for all the input and help and advice that everyone here is so willing to give.
 
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