How long for tummy to adjust before trying another food?

[MaximonKitten]

We have a 3.5 month old kitten who we adopted about a month ago. Ever since we brought him home, he's had loose stools. For the first couple weeks, he also had some blood in his stool, though that part has thankfully cleared up.

We've had him checked for both parasites and bacteria, all of which came back negative. He's finished a course of Flagyl and FortiFlora. We've tried adding a bit of pumpkin puree to his meals. He currently is also getting topical Nystatin cream for ringworm, if that matters. Other than the diarrhea and a couple missing patches of hair from the ringworm, he's acting very normally. Very energetic/playful, affectionate, BIG appetite, drinks plenty of water and pees normally.

When we adopted him, the shelter sent us home with just one can of food he had been eating, but we couldn't find it at stores near us, so we had to quickly switch him over to Purina Pro Plan kitten food (a variety pack of seafood and chicken/liver). At his first check up, our vet said that even the Pro Plan line of Purina is bad quality, so we decided to switch him onto Tiki Cat Chicken & Egg, which has very good reviews. We thought that the Pro Plan may have been contributing to his diarrhea and that the better food might help. Unfortunately, we didn't time the switch very well (he went through his Purina faster than we imagined), so we could only transition him over the course of 4 days (25% new food /50%/75%/100%). In the midst of the transition, his poops were starting to firm up -- not fully, but dramatically better than they'd been.

Unfortunately, ever since he's been eating 100% Tiki Cat, he's right back to having diarrhea consistently. We're wondering how long we give him on this new food before deciding it doesn't agree with his stomach and try something else? Should we go back to the Pro Plan (a combination or fully)? Should we try another brand? I've read that Chicken & Egg are some of the easiest proteins to digest, but is it possible they just won't work for him?

We're just very concerned because a month seems like a long time to go without having a good stool. We also just lost a kitten to FIP in February, so we're definitely a little hyper-sensitive about any of his ailments as well.

We'd greatly appreciate any recommendations you have!

 

[Sarthur2]

If his stool was firming up on the mixture of the two foods, and he liked it, perhaps you should go back to that. I do know that Flagyl can cause diarrhea. It is also concerning that he still has chronic diarrhea.

Does he get dry kitten chow in between meals as well?

Blue Buffalo Wilderness makes great kitten food, both wet and dry, and it is grain-free and meat first. It’s high quality, high protein, and gluten free. You might want to try it. The big box pet stores like Pet Smart generally offer a good selection, or you can order it at Chewy.com.

Blue buffalo kitten food - Free shipping | Chewy

I hope you can find something that helps!

 

[MaximonKitten]

If his stool was firming up on the mixture of the two foods, and he liked it, perhaps you should go back to that. I do know that Flagyl can cause diarrhea. It is also concerning that he still has chronic diarrhea.

Does he get dry kitten chow in between meals as well?

Thanks for the reply. He finished up the Flagyl a few weeks ago, so I don't think this is still related to that. He doesn't get any dry kitten food in between meals because the vet told us that the wet food would be easier for him to digest. Is there a reason that wet food specifically could be causing his diarrhea?

 

[StefanZ]

Wet food is usually better, as its easier to make a good wet food than a good dry food.
But cats arent automatos, and there are individual preferences and even differences. So, we must often do what is possible to do....

You can always try with adding some good probiotic, for example, some mild full fat youghurt preferably with some added probiotic bacteria...

Goats milk, especially raw goats milk, is often soothening unclear intestinal problems. And goats milk is by itself a good food / supplement.

I cant guarantee none of these suggestions, but they cant harm and may help.

 

[MaximonKitten]

Thanks. Do you think we should give the Tiki Cat more time to see if this resolves on its own? If we do try another kind of food, should we still do a slow transition over the course of a week? Should we maybe try introducing a bit of the food he was eating before, if it was starting to ease up with that combined with his current food?

I don't think goat milk is readily available near me. We did have him on the probiotic FortiFlora for a full month, which didn't seem to make much of a difference.