Persistent Kitten Diarrhea - Canned or Raw Recs

cet

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I am abt a loss. I got my kitten at the end of August. He is currently 16 weeks. He has had diarrhea for 2 weeks now and is on Metronidazole and Fortiflora daily. I was feeding NV Instinct kitten dry and wet but went off it for a day in favor of Wellness Core canned. That firmed his stool up as of Tuesday. Since then my vet gave me Hills Kitten Chicken and Rice to mix with the Wellness Core and I decide where to go with my food. This has results in still liquid and some glops of semi-formed stool. He's not dehydrated or malnourished yet and is still gaining weight - slower than I would like but he is 4 months now.

Being a college student, I don't necessarily have the funds to be trying every food under the sun to see if they clear up, especially with the holidays approaching. Does anyone have any suggestions of what to try now? The Wellness Core + hills combo has been mixed to meet his roughly 300kcal-315kcal daily requirement. I've gotten into watching raw feeding videos but don't necessarily trust myself to NOT use a pre-made raw food. However, it would be cheaper to make it myself which would help a lot following my own hospital bills.

Has anyone switched to raw food and seen kitten diarrhea completely go away? Or is there any good canned + dry food mixes I can use that will clear this up without costing me an arm and a leg? His fecal was NPS, no signs of obstruction, and no abnormal behaviors.
 

mrsgreenjeens

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So the Welllness Core firmed up his stool? If I'm reading that correctly, why not just stick with that? (although I'm kind of surprised as it's pretty rich and often causes diarrhea in kittens). But whatever, if it works, why switch?

Your Vet thinks this is a food sensitivity? Guessing the Metro and Fortiflora did not work alone, which would indicate it's not a bacterial issue. Metro is usually the "go to" for diarrhea, although sometimes it just doesn't do the trick.

It's almost impossible to advise a food if food sensitivities are thought to be the problem. You could definitely go with raw and use a premix that you just add to any meat you chose, something like EZ Complete. I feed raw but am currently using freeze dried that I reconstitute. Very pricey, so I'm thinking about going back to preparing my own using EZ Complete. They weren't around when I prepared my own. What I like about them is I don't have to think about adding in organs or bones. Just plain old meat like chicken thighs or turkey breast or pork loin or whatever.
 
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cet

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It firmed it up for like 12 hours before we went back to pure liquid. We are still currently on the Wellness Core but I mixed in some dry food after another day to try and firm it up more.

My vet hasn't made that claim yet, that's what I'm thinking it is as there's no other symptoms shy of some bloodwork. I'm taking him back tomorrow to see if she can suggest another test or food or solution. No, the Fortiflora had no visual effect on their stool and neither did the Metronidazole so I don't think it's bacterial either. Perhaps some sort of parasite but his stool aside from being watery, smells and color-wise is normal.

That was a concern, I'm looking at Miami Raw - which would need some supplements for taurine and a few other things. I just don't know how confidently I can get organs in my area which is why I don't want to make it entirely myself.
 

maggie101

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Wellness core has lots of meat in it as the first few ingredients so try staying with that though it is expensive. My cats like fancy feast classics turkey&giblets and sheba perfect portions chicken or turkey roasted. Be sure to always read the ingredients. You want to try and avoid fish. Raw food,she might have more problems with bacterial infection so I would avoid that til you know what's wrong. I leave food out way too much to bother with raw. I tried using fortiflora on my old cat and it made her go diarrhea. This is all from my experience so if your cat has any medical issue, listen to your vet. Though it seems like trial and error-finding the right food,and texture. I do cook ground meat and add ez complete. Much safer for someone who forgets to put food away. At least once a week
 
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cet

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It is quite expensive, and I strongly dislike how it smells after going through him but then again who really likes fecal smells?

He's still a kitten and the food from fancy feast contains milk. While it was an option I was going to pursue, I'd rather not introduce lactose back into the diet.

I'm hoping it's not chronic IBS at this point as my previous cat had it for 10 years of her life. My main concern is this will inevitably lead to malnutrition or damage his intestinal tract.
 

LTS3

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There's a raw forum here on TCS where you can get more info: Raw & Home-Cooked Cat Food

Ethnic grocery stores often have organs and offal that you can use in a raw pet food recipe. A butcher shop should also be able to get most anything you want. Hare-Today.com is a popular place to buy raw meats and organs and such for pet food use.

There are brands of commercial raw food you can feed.
 

mrsgreenjeens

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I used to order from HareToday, but they are in Pennsylvania and I'm in AZ, doesn't work too well in the summer, so I stopped. But you can get pretty much anything you want there. ground with organs and bones, ground with just organs, whole cuts with or without bones, even ground mice (at least you used to could) I bought ground with organs and added a premix, also whole cuts without bones and added a premix that included organs and calcium. pretty easy. Starting out though I bought frozen 100% nutritionally complete meals until I was certain they would eat it. And used LOTS of toppers.

You could have your Vet run a PCR test on a stool sample to rule out some less common parasites. It's a bit pricey, but narrows it down quite a bit so you know better what you're working with.

Have you tried yet just giving him some poached chicken breast (no spices, onions, garlic, nothing but chicken breast in water)? If it's food (and not chicken) that should give his intestines a break for a few days to help stop any inflammation. It's not 100% nutritionally complete, but should be ok for a few days, even in a 4 month old kitten.

You could also try giving him a different probiotic other than Fortiflora. S. Boulardi is really good at fixing diarrhea. You might give that a try. Maybe start with 1/4 capsule in the am and pm and then increase to 1/2 capsule each time.
 

Flybynight

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I have heard foriflora can at times cause loose stool.
 

FetchingCat

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I'd try FreshPet. Cheaper than raw. We figured out that our tabby probably got his loose stool from eating his brother's prescription dry food. Go figure
 
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