Sudden Diarrhea

cedarcat

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Our kitten, Cedar is a little over 3 months now, and he is just great! So sweet and silly. I had him at the vet for vaccines this week, and he weighs 4lbs. 😳 Vet said he looks perfectly healthy. He's eating a raw diet (an 80/10/10 grind) and he loves it. I let him eat as much as he wants 3 times a day. Up until this week, his stools have been small, hard and very low odor. But yesterday and today I have gone to get him in the morning and he has poop all down his back legs! So definitely very loose stool, but he's still only going once a day. The vaccine/dewormer was Wednesday, and this started Thursday night/Friday morning. Is this common after vaccines? The only other thing I have changed is that I started adding Alnutrin to his raw food on Wednesday as well. I bought the little packets and mixed one packet with the required amount of water and a pound of meat. I'm pretty sure I understood the instructions correctly. Could Alnutrin give him diarrhea? This morning I fed him his raw without the Alnutrin temporarily to see if it clears up. Poor little guy! He still has a hearty appetite, no other symptoms, and is acting 100% normal.

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lynneh

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Did your kitten's diarrhea clear up after halting Alnutrin? It sounds like they might have been linked. Perhaps start her off on a very small dose and gardually increase. My cat (adult) defecates once a day - so I don't think that is unusual.
 
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cedarcat

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Today is the first day I’ve given him meat without the Alnutrin. So we’ll see if it happens again tomorrow morning. If it is the Alnutrin, how would I go about introducing it slowly? Use half a packet per pound for awhile?
 

mrsgreenjeens

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You're not mixing the Alnutrin with the 80/10/10 mixture are you? And if not, which is good, what kind of meat are you using to mix it with? Ground? If so, where did you get it? Is this a new protein to him? Which Alnutrin are you using?
 

GoldyCat

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The diarrhea is more likely to be related to the dewormer than the vaccines. I don't know enough about raw food to help you with that.
 
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cedarcat

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You're not mixing the Alnutrin with the 80/10/10 mixture are you? And if not, which is good, what kind of meat are you using to mix it with? Ground? If so, where did you get it? Is this a new protein to him? Which Alnutrin are you using?
Yes, I mixed it with the 80/10/10 grind. I’m using the one for meat and bone, so it doesn’t have the extra calcium. That’s what the instructions said to do. I use meat from Raw Delivery MN because it’s local to me. It’s not a new protein for him. This morning he had a clean butt! I went back to plain ground 80/10/10 without the Alnutrin yesterday, so it does seem that it was the problem.
 

lisahe

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At least some (maybe all?) Alnutrin supplements have egg yolk powder, which can increase motility and act as a laxative. I'm a little confused about what's currently being fed but it sounds like those meat blends aren't complete meals, is that right? Maybe the company can tell you what you need to add (without the egg yolk!) to make them complete.
 

lynneh

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Today is the first day I’ve given him meat without the Alnutrin. So we’ll see if it happens again tomorrow morning. If it is the Alnutrin, how would I go about introducing it slowly? Use half a packet per pound for awhile?
I honestly do not know. I just joined the Cat Site and don't know about Alnutrin. I have found that it often helps to start off small and gradually increase when introducing new supplements, food, etc.
 

daftcat75

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I strongly suspect this is a reaction to the vaccines and/or dewormer. I think the Alnutrin was a coincidence, not a cofactor.

Are there any side effects from deworming medication?

Although side effects of dewormer medications are uncommon, some cats may have vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite, or increased salivation. These symptoms, if occurred, are usually seen within 24 hours of taking the medication and should spontaneously resolve.
Source: Cat Deworming - Symptoms & Treatment - Catrysse Veterinary Clinic

I suggest giving s. boulardii for the diarrhea and staying the course with the Alnutrin. Kittens need nutrition and meat alone does not provide that. The amount of egg yolk in Alnutrin is proportional to a pound of meat. I don't believe there would be enough to see a laxative effect without additional egg yolk supplementation.

More information on s. boulardii and where to find it:
Diarrhea and antiobiotics?
 

lisahe

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I strongly suspect this is a reaction to the vaccines and/or dewormer. I think the Alnutrin was a coincidence, not a cofactor.


Source: Cat Deworming - Symptoms & Treatment - Catrysse Veterinary Clinic

I suggest giving s. boulardii for the diarrhea and staying the course with the Alnutrin. Kittens need nutrition and meat alone does not provide that. The amount of egg yolk in Alnutrin is proportional to a pound of meat. I don't believe there would be enough to see a laxative effect without additional egg yolk supplementation.

More information on s. boulardii and where to find it:
Diarrhea and antiobiotics?
Even as the person who mentioned the egg-as-laxative possibility, I have to agree that egg seems an unlikely culprit. (I'd probably try the Alnutrin again in another week or two.)

No matter what, the most important thing is what you said about kittens and nutrition since it doesn't sound like the blends are complete food without supplementation.
 

metropical

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we had the same issue a few months back. We tightened up his stools with Metronidazole for 10 days. But after a fashion it too had side effects.
After some blood work we found he was B12 deficient. We gave him B12 subcutaneously for 8 weeks. We will continue once a month. Back on his cooked chicken diet with Alnutrin based on their math and Dr Pierson recipe, more or less.
1 lb chicken thighs
1 oz chicken liver
both cooked to 155º ish.
1 oz raw chicken heart
6.7g Alnutrin w/1/4c water.
Food processor ground to pate.
Owen has no teeth except lower canine.
Bones and skin simmered for an hour.
Remove skin.
Simmer another hour.
Remove bones,
Add <1/4c broth and fat with 2.5 oz of recipe.
Bit of cooked rice to help tighten stool which I will change to cooked oats.
Tsp EVOO for hairball relief, his and mine.
Probiotic.

Everything is back to normal. YMMD.
 
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