Random Health Question About “tainted” Cat Food??

[danielle4522]

hey everyone!

I just have a random question. Both of my kitties became sick within 24 hours of each other and diagnosed with clostridium overgrowth( a bacteria).

Now my question is, both of my cats eat different things. My little boy eats fancy feast classic pates only( he has some food allergies and this is what has kept him normal for over a year now) and my little girl eats wellness. She does eat a little of his food every once and a while but maybe half a can MAX.

My boy got sick on Sunday morning and my girl got sick on Monday night. Whatever food my boy ate Saturday night, my girl did not eat before my boy got sick. I fed my girl a little fancy feast on Sunday but a different can and flavor than what my boy ate Saturday night.

So here I am at the point, something made both my cats sick, the vet isn’t sure. They are indoor only.

SO do you guys think that the fancy feast could be what is making them both sick? Even though my little girl barely eats it, she does eat a little. I honestly am not sure what it could be. My cats are both on metronidazole for the diarreha they had and it is DEFINITELY helping.

Do you guys think if something was wrong with the food that made them both sick, would the medication even help them? They are still getting fed fancy feast while on the medication and I’m thinking if it was the food then the medication wouldn’t be helping them?

Just want someone else’s opinion as I’m trying to rule out the food and just assume they caught some weird bug or bacteria that made them sick ( clostridium is a bacteria they catch from the environment basically)

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. As you already know, one way your cats may have acquired the bacteria is by ingestion of spoiled foods. After ingestion of the spores in the tainted food, clostridia arrives in the small intestine, it forms a spore and begins to produce its toxin.

However, the bacteria may have been already present (in a hidden, non-detectable form) and living in the intestine for a while and some trigger may have caused it to sporulate and produce toxins. The trigger may have been dietary, may have been infection with another organism, or even administration of some medication.

Did they detect the bacteria from a fecal sample? Did they perform a PCR to positively ID the toxins related to this bacteria? If, yes - or even no at this point, the cats definitely need treatment. Metro is a good place to start, but tbh, I have heard a lot of folks on this site who don't seem to think it is as effective as it should be. So, if you don't see improvement by the end of the treatment, I would be asking for another antibiotic rather than a repeat dosage of the Metro.

 

[Willowy]

Canned food SHOULD be sterile out of the can, as it's processed at high temperatures. Only if a can were compromised would bacteria be able to get in. It's possible the food was contaminated after opening, but this also seems unlikely in a normal home environment.

Is it possible they drank some contaminated water? Leakage from a fertilized houseplant, a puddle on the balcony that might have had pigeon contamination, etc.?

 

[danielle4522]

Thanks for the responses!

So only one of my cats was diagnosed with clostridium via a fecal test that was sent off to some lab. The vet doesn’t seem concerned at all but I just have NO clue how he would’ve gotten this because he had no change to anything, diet or environment. Obviously bacteria grows everywhere I can’t see but just weird.

My little girl got sick 36 hours after my boy did and she was never tested but the vet said 99% chance she got what he has, whether it’s clostridum or she caught whatever bug caused clostridium in my boy.

That’s why I was wondering about the fancy feast because they both do eat it, but my girl barely does. And they would’ve gotten a sick from two different cans. Unless Purina did something to the food which they claim
Nothing has changed. Seems unlikely the food but just in my mind.

I am worried it will come back after the metro is over but the meds are 100% helping, their poop is totally normal on the meds. I have been told that colostridum is not contagious but just wondering if she got it from his feces since they share a litter box but multiple people I know have had cats that have had it and their other cats didn’t get sick.

Do cats catch “bugs” I know they don’t get the flu but maybe something just infected them both. They don’t go outside and since she got sick after him i would say 99% chance she got it from him.

They don’t get human food or anything. I have never dumped and cleaned their litter box before so maybe that made them sick since they’ve been using it three years, which is my fault

Just was thinking if something was wrong with the fancy feast I don’t think the meds would help much, thinking logically?

I just wanna remove whatever made them sick and my mind is going crazy over it and I’m worried once the meds are done they will relapse and it’s driving me crazy!!

 

[She's a witch]

And for how long do you leave the wet food out for them to eat? Maybe this is a factor as well if left out for few hours?

 

[FeebysOwner]

Just was thinking if something was wrong with the fancy feast I don’t think the meds would help much, thinking logically?

If it were from the food, it is because it was spoiled or somehow otherwise bad, causing the bacteria, and the toxins. And, yes, it needs to be treated.

I just wanna remove whatever made them sick and my mind is going crazy over it and I’m worried once the meds are done they will relapse and it’s driving me crazy!!

You may never find out exactly what happened. If after treatment, it recurs, you will need to talk to the vet about what all might cause a recurrence. But, at this point, don't worry so much about it. Unless you can absolutely pinpoint the cause - and it doesn't sound like you can - the main focus is to get them well.

I have never dumped and cleaned their litter box before so maybe that made them sick since they’ve been using it three years,

As far as the litterbox goes, dump it and thoroughly clean it. There are a ton of ideas about cleaning litterboxes, and some of them depend on the type of box and brand/type of litter. As a rule of thumb, if it is clumping litter and you can remove the little debris particles that fall off of clumps as you are scooping, then completely removing all of the litter is not really necessary on any frequent basis - just add some as needed. You can use a small disposable spoon to remove those little debris pieces. But, if they pee down to the floor of the box, or on the sides of the box where there is no litter, then cleaning the box itself is necessary to remove bacteria. Otherwise, cleaning it at least quarterly should be acceptable, IMO.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I do not leave canned food out for more than 3-4 hours. However, I know of others on this site that have done so for up to 8 hours - still think that is too long.

If you are in need of leaving it out longer, there are food bowls that keep the food cool for longer. I know others on this site have used them, I have not. Maybe someone will come along and give you some brand names.

 

[danielle4522]

I do leave my wet food out for about 8 hours when I am at work but have been doing that for three years with no issues so I don’t think that’s what it is? Also they got sick over the weekend and I don’t leave it out long since I’m home on the weekends.

It may not be the fancy feast but I have been reading reviews of it that people’s cats have been getting sick lately off of it. But I am thinking if the fancy feast was tainted then the meds wouldn’t be helping like they are? I would doubt that metronidazole would keep them from getting sick off tainted food. But that’s just what I would think? Because the meds are helping.

Just scared what will happen when meds are over as I can’t easily switch their food if it comes back as they have food allergies. So I hope it was randomly from the environment.

Can cats catch random bugs of some sort that make them sick? And not literal bugs , I mean like a human catches a cold or the flu

 

[FeebysOwner]

But I am thinking if the fancy feast was tainted then the meds wouldn’t be helping like they are?

They have a bacteria, regardless of how they got it, they need antibiotics to treat it. If you are concerned about the food, throw it out and get new - of the same brand for now. They have been eating this brand for quite a while - long before they got sick, yes? So, if the particular batch you have is tainted, or you are still worried about that, get rid of it.

As far as I know, an allergy will not cause this type of bacteria. Once you get them over this, you can start to gradually change their food to something else.

 

[momof3b1g]

where do you buy your fancy feast?

 

[danielle4522]

Just from Petsmart! But I threw it away and went to buy it from another pet store in town.
Not sure if anything is wrong with the fancy feast, but my boy may have developed an allergy to it after eating it over a year, seems weird after being so good on it, but I guess it’s possible. Still not sure why my other cat got sick though