Pica and Farts

[semeagher]

Okay, I think this is a two-part issue. We have three cats, 13 years old, one who is 8 months old, and the other 6 months old. All three are all over the place with eating. This is likely my husband's and I's faults. I think Amber, the 8-month-old has some food sensitivities. So we have been feeding them Purina kitten food and some Fancy Feast (Both make her and her adopted sister the 6-month-old) fart and have loose stools a lot. In addition to this, they both have been chewing on everything. Amber, the older one is terrible (we have had to replace about 10 different cords since her chewing got bad). Recently she has been waking up in the early morning between 3-5 and starting to chew on things.

Last week we tried to change the food and started with several different types (My mistake I should have only bought one type to switch them to): some they liked, some didn't. However, now we have one consistent food, and none of the cats are eating much; they lose stool, and farting is still happening, and so is the wire chewing. I will make a vet appointment soon, but it is likely to be a couple of weeks out. With COVID protocols, or Vet is very busy, and getting in can take a while. I don't want to pay the emergency fees for a cat ER visit, so any advice. I have bought a bunch chew friendly toys for kittens, some that specifically mentioned they were good for Pica. I need to figure out how to get the cats eating again and start making it through the nights. Amber's chewing is frustrating, but I can deal with that, mostly, but when they don't eat, and we don't sleep, it just seems impossible.

 

[di and bob]

Try to stick with one food for at least a month for their systems to get used to it. Maybe a good quality dry to set out to satisfy their chewing addiction. They do have chew treats for cats now too. make sure they are getting absolutely NO cow milk products, most cats get lactose intolerant as they age and milk can definitely cause farts and loose stools. Goats milk, a small amount of butter, and cows milk heavy cream is fine, those all have very minute amounts of lactose, in them. I would curb most people food too until they straighten out. You might try some probiotics or pure canned pumpkin for fiber. The symptoms you are describing all sound like a diet problem.

 

[susanm9006]

I would see if you can drop stool samples off at your vet for testing just to make sure that you aren’t dealing with worms in both. It certainly can cause loose stools and maybe the pica as well. I would also make sure they are switched to grain free wet and dry food because that can cause the stomach issues as well. Lastly, make sure the kittens have dry kibble available to them round the clock. If they aren’t getting enough to eat it can also cause pica.

 

[semeagher]

Thanks, everyone, for responding. I know it's weeks later. So we switched them to Nulo Salmon and Turkey, and it was working; well, the poop was becoming more solid, but the farting, while less continued, as did the chewing. We had gotten two different types of Nulo and just started that, and now they don't seem to be eating as much. We are picking up more turkey and Salmon today instead. I have also done some research, and I think we are picky up some Instinct food to see if they will eat it as it's gluten and grain-free.