Kitten With Possible Food Allergy

[hesster]

I have a four month old kitten named Mouse who is having an issue with runny stools and an ear infection. I took her to the vet last week and they said she did not have ear mites. The vet said it looked like a yeast infection and put in an Oti Pack they said would last a month. The infection has cleared up but she is still having the problem with diarrhea. She has been treated for parasites and the fact that she didn't have this problem when I got her makes me strongly suspect the underlying issue is a food allergy.

I've had her about six weeks and at first her stools were normal. I've been changing her food pretty often to keep her from getting too attached to one type, but since this happened I have put her on a limited ingredient diet. She gets Merrick Limited Ingredient Turkey and Under the Sun chicken kitten dry food in the morning and a chicken based Blue Buffalo canned food at night. Before she was getting the Under the Sun and Wellness salmon and chicken pate. I have eliminated the fish from her diet and stopped giving her treats. She could be allergic to the chicken though.

So my question is, how soon can I expect to see her poops going back to normal before giving up on the chicken and putting her on something else? Other than the diarrhea she's fine. Not itchy, her coat looks great and she's growing like a weed.

 

[verna davies]

Many cats are allergic to chicken as is one of mine. Try eliminating all chicken from her diet and you should see a difference within 5/7 days if that is the cause. Food trials can take a while to find which is the problem so keep a diary of what you are feeding and the results. Good luck.

 

[Notacrazycatlady]

I've been dealing with a similar issue with my kitten--playful, putting on weight at a normal pace, eating fine, etc. but loose stools/diarrhea. It was controlled--he always went in the litter box, no accidents outside of the litter box--he was just pooping liquid. I took him in for a vet visit after nearly a month and a half of loose stool and they put him on probiotics for two weeks. We're one week in and I've seen actual normal poop come out of his butt for the first time since I got him. The vet also suggested increasing his fiber and someone here suggested psyllium powder--I have only been adding a sprinkle of the psyllium for a couple of days so the normal stool is definitely due to the probiotic. He's only had a couple of normal bowel movements so I'm not sure if we're in the clear with this or not yet. (fingers crossed).

 

[misskestrel]

Wow! I’m in a similar situation with my kitten, Simon. He’s about 5.5 months old, and has had several health issues since I rescued him as a near-dying 1 month old kitten. His major health issues have cleared, and he’s playful, curious, eating and drinking well, but has had consistently loose-to-diarrhea poops for the last two to three months. It was good, normal poops for a few weeks—but that was when we first started probiotics powder (probios brand) and RxClay; the clay seems to have stopped working, and I assume the probiotics helped...

Anyway, we’re going to do a fecal culture just in case, but we saw our vet today and she suggested Simon may have both a sensitive immune system and digestive system, and to try a LID diet, either rabbit or duck.

Like everyone else here on this thread, I’ve researched a lot. Im noticing that most of the LID diets are for maintenance of adult cats. Where are the ones for kittens??? I’m mainly looking for dry kibble, but really, both dry and wet will be needed.

Anyway, it’s kind of heartening to know Simon isn’t alone with the chronic diarrhea of unknown etiology.

I look forward to seeing other’s responses! Have a great weekend, everyone!

 

[verna davies]

I live in the UK where we dont have as good a selection as the US. I found out this at the beginning of the year when my 18 month old had the same problem. My cat had all sorts of tests then went down the food trials. I removed all chicken from his diet and now he has beautiful looking poop.
I have been told by several vets that at 6 months it is ok to feed adult food so that might make it easier for you, check with your vet. You are certainly not alone dealing with this problem. It might take a while to find which food is causing the issue but you will get there. Keep a diary on what you feed and the effects.

 

[Wile]

So my question is, how soon can I expect to see her poops going back to normal before giving up on the chicken and putting her on something else? Other than the diarrhea she's fine. Not itchy, her coat looks great and she's growing like a weed.

Hi Hesster, elimination trials for food allergies/intolerance generally last 6-8 weeks, and it can take a few weeks before you really start to notice improvement.

She has been treated for parasites and the fact that she didn't have this problem when I got her makes me strongly suspect the underlying issue is a food allergy.

There is no link between kittens with parasites and food allergies as far as I know. Kittens usually have to be treated for parasites several times before you can get rid of all of them, because mild dewormers are preferred when they are young. It is also possible that whatever parasite you are currently treating your kitten for is causing the diarrhea, and that you only noticed it recently but the problem has been brewing for a longer time.

I've been changing her food pretty often to keep her from getting too attached to one type, but since this happened I have put her on a limited ingredient diet. She gets Merrick Limited Ingredient Turkey and Under the Sun chicken kitten dry food in the morning and a chicken based Blue Buffalo canned food at night. Before she was getting the Under the Sun and Wellness salmon and chicken pate. I have eliminated the fish from her diet and stopped giving her treats. She could be allergic to the chicken though.

If a cat is having GI issues I would stop switching her food constantly and get her settled on ONE food first. Then you can start to reintroduce other foods. The constant food switches could be what is causing the problem. As others have mentioned you should also talk to your vet about getting probiotics.

Good luck!

 

[LTS3]

Hi Hesster, elimination trials for food allergies/intolerance generally last 6-8 weeks, and it can take a few weeks before you really start to notice improvement.

13 weeks or longer seems to be recommended: Per My Vet: How Long For Food Allergies Test