We adopted a kitten who had very soft stools. He seems totally fine other than his poop is often much smellier than other cats and almost every time he poops, there is mostly liquid (sometimes soft solid) fecal residue on his anus that then transfers to whatever surface he sits on next. It has been 4 months now (he's 9 months old) and just frustrating that we can't find a solution. Our vet gave him a clean bill of health and we did a stool sample that tested negative for parasites and such. Fortiflora did nothing.
We had him on Purina One Indoor which was our household's default, switched to Purina One Sensitive Skin & Stomach for 3 weeks per the vet. No result, so switched to Hill's Prescription Diet Gastrointestinal Biome for about 1 month or so. I would say we saw 10-15% improvement but not nearly enough to warrant the price of the food, and he still required regular wiping up anyway. We did a slow 2 weeks transition and we're now on Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin & Stomach Turkey & Oatmeal Formula (they had a Lamb version, but we chose this one because it was free of Wheat/Soy/Corn). I have to say we're 5 days in and really haven't seen any change. Our vet said given the number of diet changes, we should keep him on this food for at least 2 months before the next switch... but I am wondering how soon would you expect to see a change? My thinking is after 5 days a food should either be helping or have proven itself not beneficial.
I know some of it is a function of time but I'm just very frustrated, we cover all of our furniture with blankets to allow easier cleanup for poop transfer and I just think, man I cannot imagine doing this for ~15 years, I am really eager to find the answer!
We had him on Purina One Indoor which was our household's default, switched to Purina One Sensitive Skin & Stomach for 3 weeks per the vet. No result, so switched to Hill's Prescription Diet Gastrointestinal Biome for about 1 month or so. I would say we saw 10-15% improvement but not nearly enough to warrant the price of the food, and he still required regular wiping up anyway. We did a slow 2 weeks transition and we're now on Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin & Stomach Turkey & Oatmeal Formula (they had a Lamb version, but we chose this one because it was free of Wheat/Soy/Corn). I have to say we're 5 days in and really haven't seen any change. Our vet said given the number of diet changes, we should keep him on this food for at least 2 months before the next switch... but I am wondering how soon would you expect to see a change? My thinking is after 5 days a food should either be helping or have proven itself not beneficial.
I know some of it is a function of time but I'm just very frustrated, we cover all of our furniture with blankets to allow easier cleanup for poop transfer and I just think, man I cannot imagine doing this for ~15 years, I am really eager to find the answer!
- How long does new food take to work before I give up on it?
- Any suggestions on what we might look into next? I am somewhat surprised the $$ Hill's prescription food made only a tiny improvement, I thought the cost would have meant silver bullet.
- Is it totally unrealistic to hope that he might just grow out of it?