Question about good alternatives

[bh22]

I have a kitten, she is 5 months old. She has had diherea since I got her in June. The vet and I have been working closely together on the problem. She was on natural balance duck and pea at first, then after much testing and all coming up negative,(worms other parasitesetc), and after being on anti bios and pro bios we decided to switch her to prescription diet z/d. I have not seen any changes and she has been on this food for a month now. In the midst of this I got her a companion. The other kitten (who is 3 months) has taken fine to the food and has completely normal stools. Has any one else com across this problem? A cat who seems to be unable to adjust to a food? Thanks!!

B

 

[irinasak]

I am undergoing a similar problem, I opened a thread for this.

My kitten Harley is 7 months old and has loose stools (not diarrhea, though). His sister, on the same diet, has perfectly normal stools. The difference between them is the medical history - due to herpes virus and a fever and vomiting episode, he has had two courses of antibiotics. His stools are never normal.

After a failed attempt to feed a grain free diet (when his condition actually got worse), we are currently trying a diet of dry and wet Royal Canin Gastro Intestinal, probiotics (Florentero) and Entero-Chronic. We are only in the second day of using these, so I do not know yet if these will work or not. But given the fact that you have tried probiotics, maybe you could try the Entero-Chronic too?

Please post if you come to a solution. I am just at the beginning and I have yet to try different approaches of this issue.

 

[vball91]

Have you been feeding the dry or wet versions of the Natural Balance and z/d? Both have ingredients that could be causing an issue, but the dry has a lot more possible culprits. I would try to eliminate all grains, starches and vegetables. Aim for a novel protein limited ingredient wet food only. Dry is more difficult for cats to digest and is tougher on their systems overall.

 

[bh22]

So- we went back to the vet. She is now recommending a feces transplant, so what do you all know about this? Anything? We have switched completely to the wet version of the z/d as before I was feeding both. They have been on only the wet for about 10 days and I'm still seeing wet stools from both now. I am seriously at a loss. I cannot afford to feed them z/d forever so I was hoping to figure out if it was a grain allergy. But now that the other cat has the watery stool too, I'm really confused.

 

[bh22]

So to clarify, we are now on z/d wet food to see if they could be allergic to brewers rice(grain)- but the cat who was having loose stools but not watery is now having watery stools(this could be from the change I suppose). They have been on the wet z/d for 10 days. They aren't not having a weight gain problem.

Thank you for the food suggestions, I will have to change their food if I don't see any improvement with in the next 3 weeks.

 

[vball91]

z/d wet food has corn starch and soybean oil, so I'm not sure how this tests for a grain allergy.

I had to look up fecal transplant because I had never heard of it. Wow! I see they are used on humans for recurring Clostridium difficile infections. Honestly if this were my cat, I would try probiotics first, specifically the Nexabiotic 20 strain which contains S. boulardii which is very effective against clostridium. Below is a good thread with some info on this.

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/259985/trouble-in-raw-paradise-clostridium-perfringens-and-my-cats

 

[ldg]

It's worth mentioning here that someone found that their cat was allergic to corn starch, so the z/d wet didn't help.

 

[ldg]

z/d wet food has corn starch and soybean oil, so I'm not sure how this tests for a grain allergy.

I had to look up fecal transplant because I had never heard of it. Wow! I see they are used on humans for recurring Clostridium difficile infections. Honestly if this were my cat, I would try probiotics first, specifically the Nexabiotic 20 strain which contains S. boulardii which is very effective against clostridium. Below is a good thread with some info on this.

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/259985/trouble-in-raw-paradise-clostridium-perfringens-and-my-cats

I would definitely try a probiotic. :nod:

 

[bh22]

Okay, so let me list the things we've tried so maybe that will be more helpful.

We've tried:

an anti-bio (10 days)

a probio(10 days straight) and ive started giving that to them again.

change food from duck and pea NB to Z/D dry and wet.

Change z/d dry and wet to only z/d wet.

the 6 month old cat had very bad watery stool last night and this morning- i feel so bad

and the little cat has just had soft stools with a little bit of wateryness.

I will look up the S. boulardii probio and see if I can get some of that. I am also asking my vet about Entero Chronic. I look at this online, it seemed as if it is only in the UK- can anyone help me with this?

Thanks soooo much for your help,

Ana and Lucy are going to get healthy!

 

[ldg]

When posting from the phone, I can't see where you're located. In what country are you?

 

[denice]

I think Entero Chronic is only available in Europe.  One of the people here lives in Germany and she uses it with her IBD cat.  It has become usual practice in Europe to try this before going to steroids.  I know probiotics sometimes need longer than 10 days to start working.  If antibiotics are given at the same time as many probiotics, the antibiotic will destroy the probiotic.  Since it's now affecting both cats I think you may be dealing with something other than a food allergy.

 

[bh22]

I am in Washington State. I asked the vet if it could be something other than a food allergy, i.e. a fragrance or cleaning product, the litter they use, etc. She said that normally if they are experiencing watery stools its because of something in their bodies, rather than something in my house. I just googled the [color= rgb(24, 24, 24)]S. boulardii[/color][color= rgb(24, 24, 24)]  probio and I plan to get some today and start that. [/color]

[color= rgb(24, 24, 24)]FYI I wasn't giving the anti bio and the pro bio at the same time, we tried both at different times. The anti bio first and then the pro bio. Ana (the 3 month old) has more variability in her stools whereas Lucy (6 moth cat) is pretty much ALWAYS some sort of watery.[/color]

[color= rgb(24, 24, 24)]I will continue with the z/d wet food only and the new probio that I will get this afternoon.[/color]

[color= rgb(24, 24, 24)]We have been on the z/d for at least 7 weeks now. I'd really like to get them both back onto a less expensive food (if this has to be the one I use forever, I'm willing to do that though). [/color]

[color= rgb(24, 24, 24)]This has seriously been a change one variable at a time type of situation.[/color]

[color= rgb(24, 24, 24)]We started on NB Duck and Pea with the anti bio- 10 days. [/color]

[color= rgb(24, 24, 24)]NB Duck and Pea Pro bio- 10 days[/color]

[font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]then we changed food to z/d dry only for like a month or so. -This is when I got Ana the Kitten. I also changed the litter to a pine based at this point as I thought maybe that could be a culprit.[/font]

[font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Then I started giving them wet with the dry.[/font]

[font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Then about 10 days ago I changed to only wet[/font]

[font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]now I'm going to start a new pro bio [/font][color= rgb(24, 24, 24)]S. boulardii. I've also added clay litter back because they like it better. [/color]

 

[bh22]

I forgot to mention! Lucy threw up a little for the first time yesterday- that was really scary for me :/

 

[denice]

Have they been checked for all of the parasites like Giardia?

 

[bh22]

Yes- We've done Fecals on both and both were clean. They've also been tested for Leukemia and Lucy was tested for the HIV at the shelter, Ana was not.

 

[bh22]

Another bit of info- the Pro Bio was VSL # 3 Capsules.

 

[maple syrup]

Maybe a raw meat diet would help.  It would ensure there are no additives or veggies  or grains that could be the culprit.  Cats who eat raw generally have fewer (once /1-2 days) and smaller stools  because their bodies are able to process more of the food.

When Lucy threw up was is just after a feeding?

 

[bh22]

I cant say when it was and I just stepped in it- I didn't hear it or see it happen.. She had eaten breakfast by the time I stepped in it- but it wasn't warm. So it could have been in the middle of the night.

I have been considering a raw diet.

 

[maple syrup]

EWW!  Keep monitoring.  It could be if she is throwing up her food that it is not sitting well with her...you should be able to tell though.  Was it a watery vomit or did it have food in it.  Our little guy has thrown up in the night it us usually just liquid.  and is usually because he has eaten a fly or something that tickles his throat - he will eat any bug that moves - moth, fly, bee, wasp etc. If there is food in it, then it is most likely something that she's eaten that is disagreeing.

Raw is very easy to try... just give her a little piece when of whatever you are prepping for supper tonight and see if she likes it.  Poultry would be best for a first try though.

Good luck
 

 

[bh22]

It was mostly water. And shes into bugs as well.. Wouldn't surprise me.. 

Just feed her a piece of raw chicken?! Yikes- that makes this mama nervous. What if there's something icky on it.