Three Fussy Kittens

[LittleBelle]

Long story short, my neighbor took in a stray kitten (after no success locating an owner) and could not keep him, so I adopted him. Shortly thereafter, I went to a local Humane Society to adopt a friend for him. I wound up adopting two brother kittens, so now I have 3 kittens. They are all currently about 10 months old. My neighbor was feeding the kitten Friskie's canned pate and Rachel Ray Nutrish Chicken and Brown Rice dry food so I continued feeding him those foods. The Humane Society was feeding the two brothers Purina Kitten Chow and Friskie's canned pate. So all three are eating the Kitten Chow, Nutrish and Friskies Pate. The two brothers have had loose stools since I adopted them. We have been to the vet - no worms, no parasites, no fever. They were prescribed Metronidazole for a week but they still have loose stools. The vet suggested Forte Flora. I have sprinkled it on their food, but they will not eat it. I tried sprinkling Pet Ultimates Probitics for Cats on their food. They won't eat it. I tried gradually mixing a little bit in. They won't eat it. I just started mixing a little chunk light tuna and Pet Ultimate's Probiotic into the Friskies pate and they will eat that. I have wanted to transition them to healthier food since I adopted them and I am beginning to think the loose stools are caused by the foods they eat. I have tried Merrick Before Grain dry food and Wellness Core Kitten dry food (grain free). They won't eat either one. For canned food I have tried Wellness Core Grain Free Kitten Food, Wellness Natural Grain Free Kitten Food, Merrick Purfect Bistro Grain Free Kitten Food, Whole Earth Grain Free Kitten Food, Canidae Duck Cat and Kitten Food and others. They will have none of it. It's very frustrating. My questions are, how many times do you offer a food before you accept that they won't eat it and move on? At 10 months, should I still try to find "kitten" food that they like or should I try some adult foods? Also, is it okay to mix a little tuna into the food to get them to eat it and take the probiotic? I am worried about the mercury. I read on catinfo.org (or catnutrition.org) that sprinkling some grated Parmesan cheese on canned food may work. I am going to try that. My goal is to find healthy foods that they like so I do not have to add anything to them! Any tips on brands that I should try would be greatly appreciated. I am attempting to keep the price in the mid-range. My next attempts are going to be Tiki Kat, Halo and Weruva (all grain free). Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! (Sorry so long)

 

[duckpond]

If the loose stool continues i would talk to the vet, i see he prescribed Metronidazole if it is Giardia it sometimes takes more than one round of medications. In my experience. And all of the cats will need treated.

For Dry food i only feed Dr. Elseys the chicken. its the best low carb dry i have found. I try to always feed high protein, moderate fat, and low carb. Or if your local pet food store carries Farmina i like their with pumpkin flavors.

I do feed two wet meals per day also. I feed quite a bit of Tiki Cat, the after dark, and the chicken with egg. I also feed quite a bit of the Almo nature, mine love the chicken and green beans and the salmon and apple. the complete foods, not their supplemental foods. These foods are pretty low calorie so you will need to feed more cans, or supplement with another food, which is why i use Dr. Elseys dry. The other food i feed quite a bit of is American journey, my guys like the minced flavors. this is a chewy brand and i think the only place you can get it.

I would not want to feed Human tuna as a meal, but just a little as a topper is ok. I also use freeze dried chicken, such as Pure bites, or bonita flakes as a topper as well.

At their age you can use an all life stages cat food, you dont need to stick with kitten food if you do not want to.

I like to rate food at a few different places online, before i buy

CatFoodDB - Cat Food Reviews to help you find the best cat food for your cat

https://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf

 

[2BSH]

You should try to transition any food you decide on slowly ( over about a weeks time) slowly decreasing the amount of the old food and increasing the aMount of the new food. Introducing a new food too fast can cause digestive upset. Have you tried the nutro kitten soft loaf at all? Most kitten and my two 1 year old cats still love it and lick the bowl clean. It's a good food with simple ingredients. You might want to try toppers also to make the food more appealing. Maybe put some crumbled up treats on top or anything else they might enjoy. Mine love pure bites. They will eat just about anything if I sprinkle those on good luck!

 

[Monk'sMom]

Probiotics are not a cure all. I've used them with a cat that ate them fine, but it was a change of diet that helped even more. In her case Hill's prescription diet for sensitive stomachs helped more than all the other things we tried. It requires a vet's OK. Sop, yes, check with the vet again.
Duckpond is spot on that Giardia (which may escape lab test detection) can take more than one round of treatment to be gone.
There is so much good advice on this site for food options. Keep at it!

 

[LittleBelle]

Thank you all so much. I will try the Dr. Elsey's chicken dry or Farmina (if I can find it). I know the Rachel Ray Nutrish has to go (corn gluten meal) and one kitten just starting throwing up after eating it. The Kitten Chow has to go as well. I will also try Nutro Kitten soft loaf. I do make transitions slowly, but I feel that any change, even slowly done, doesn't help the diarrhea. I do have bonita flakes and they love them but pick them off the top food and leave food in bowls. Do you think Bonita can cause diarrhea (or can the human tuna cause diarrhea)? I am really confused. I am going to order some Pure Bites today. I am headed to the vet today (with dog) and will let him know the kittens still have diarrhea. Thank you again for your help.

 

[duckpond]

If there is an allergy i guess anything, even bonita can cause diarrhea. But in my experience with kittens like this it is often still the Giardia or parasites causing the problem. It can often take several rounds of medications to clear it up. I would talk to the vet about this.
Then i would pick one wet, and one dry and try to keep them to that alittle while to see if it helps. Then you can always add in other foods later on.

Best of luck with them, and let us know how it goes!

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! There is a low Mercury, (and this brand also has a no sodium variety) canned human tuna called Safecatch. I found it at whole foods.

 

[LittleBelle]

Hi! There is a low Mercury, (and this brand also has a no sodium variety) canned human tuna called Safecatch. I found it at whole foods.

Thank you. I will look for it.

 

[LittleBelle]

I found 2 canned foods they like today! Tiki Cat After Dark Chicken, Liver, Gizzard and Heart and Tiki Aloha Friend Tuna with Pumpkin. They really like both! (I wish they were less expensive). I also purchased Pure Bites freeze dried Wild Tuna and crumbled it on top of the wet food. They loved it. For dry food I went with Canidae Pure Foundations Limited Ingredient Kitten with Fresh Chicken. I just mixed a little in with the Nutrish. So far they are not eating it, but I am going to stick with it and hopefully they will give it a try. I did go to the vet yesterday with my dog, but the vet who sees my cats was not there. We are going back Friday to discuss Giardia again. I really hope this diarrhea passes. Poor kitties and I am constantly changing litter because the little pieces of poop ruin all the clean litter. Thank you all for your suggestions.

 

[LittleBelle]

Things are improving and I have learned a lot. I did take the kittens back to the vet and they were prescribed another week of Metronidazole and I dropped off poop samples two days ago. The vet is insisting it is not parasites. I am not as sure as she is. At my vet's advice, the Purina Kitten Chow has been completely eliminated from the kittens' diet. For now, we are staying the course with Nutrish Chicken and Brown Rice (dry), Canidae grain free sensitive stomach formula (dry), Wellness Complete Chicken (canned) and Friskie's pate canned. The goal is to eliminate the Nutrish and Friskies altogether. This is proving difficult because the kittens are addicted to Nutrish and Friskie's pate! Currently, I am mixing the Nutrish and Canidae (dry) 50/50 and mixing the Wellness Complete Chicken (wet) and Friskies Pate 75/25. The kittens tend to pick out the Nutrish pieces and avoid the Canidae, but they do get some of it. I have learned to be sneaky too! Per Dr. Lisa Pierson's "recipe", I am making "tuna water" with the Whole Foods canned tuna and mixing it into their wet food, then topping it with a little Pure Bites freeze-dried salmon or Instinct Raw Boost Mixer Chicken. The added benefit of mixing the tuna water into the wet food is the additional moisture they get. I tried just topping the canned food with the tuna water and bits of tuna, but they would just lick the tuna off the top, lap up the pool of tuna water, and leave the cat food beneath it uneaten. Smart! These cat-food companies are pretty cunning. The front of the Nutrish label says "Real Chicken and Brown Rice Recipe" and "no corn, wheat or soy", yet the 3rd ingredient is "corn gluten meal" and the 4th ingredient is "rice" (not "brown" rice). I don't know how they get away with it.

My cats are super finicky. I tried buying a few of the 12.5 oz Wellness Complete Chicken cans, but they won't eat leftovers, even if they are brought to room temperature first! For the few cents extra per ounce, buying the 5.5 oz cans eliminates a lot of waste.

Anyway, their stools are getting better. They are formed, but still soft. That is an improvement over the chronic diarrhea they had. I have to stick with these foods for a few months to see if they do the trick and hopefully the problem will be resolved.

Thanks to everyone who offered help and suggestions. This is a great site. I'm off to purchase a cat-litter mat (they are messy too). Oh, did I mention that they love to push plants off of window sills and dig the soil out of the broken pots....and sneak into the pantry and chew their way into packets of cat treats and containers of goldfish food? But, they are so worth it! I'm in love!

 

[2BSH]

Things are improving and I have learned a lot. I did take the kittens back to the vet and they were prescribed another week of Metronidazole and I dropped off poop samples two days ago. The vet is insisting it is not parasites. I am not as sure as she is. At my vet's advice, the Purina Kitten Chow has been completely eliminated from the kittens' diet. For now, we are staying the course with Nutrish Chicken and Brown Rice (dry), Canidae grain free sensitive stomach formula (dry), Wellness Complete Chicken (canned) and Friskie's pate canned. The goal is to eliminate the Nutrish and Friskies altogether. This is proving difficult because the kittens are addicted to Nutrish and Friskie's pate! Currently, I am mixing the Nutrish and Canidae (dry) 50/50 and mixing the Wellness Complete Chicken (wet) and Friskies Pate 75/25. The kittens tend to pick out the Nutrish pieces and avoid the Canidae, but they do get some of it. I have learned to be sneaky too! Per Dr. Lisa Pierson's "recipe", I am making "tuna water" with the Whole Foods canned tuna and mixing it into their wet food, then topping it with a little Pure Bites freeze-dried salmon or Instinct Raw Boost Mixer Chicken. The added benefit of mixing the tuna water into the wet food is the additional moisture they get. I tried just topping the canned food with the tuna water and bits of tuna, but they would just lick the tuna off the top, lap up the pool of tuna water, and leave the cat food beneath it uneaten. Smart! These cat-food companies are pretty cunning. The front of the Nutrish label says "Real Chicken and Brown Rice Recipe" and "no corn, wheat or soy", yet the 3rd ingredient is "corn gluten meal" and the 4th ingredient is "rice" (not "brown" rice). I don't know how they get away with it.

My cats are super finicky. I tried buying a few of the 12.5 oz Wellness Complete Chicken cans, but they won't eat leftovers, even if they are brought to room temperature first! For the few cents extra per ounce, buying the 5.5 oz cans eliminates a lot of waste.

Anyway, their stools are getting better. They are formed, but still soft. That is an improvement over the chronic diarrhea they had. I have to stick with these foods for a few months to see if they do the trick and hopefully the problem will be resolved.

Thanks to everyone who offered help and suggestions. This is a great site. I'm off to purchase a cat-litter mat (they are messy too). Oh, did I mention that they love to push plants off of window sills and dig the soil out of the broken pots....and sneak into the pantry and chew their way into packets of cat treats and containers of goldfish food? But, they are so worth it! I'm in love!

So glad things are getting better!! That's awesome news. Hopefully things will keep improving!! Also that's so funny how they get into all kinds of mischief . Mine were digging up my plants when they were little (I have big tall plants in my house). I had to put rocks on top of the soil and that solved the problem. But now that they are bigger they try to climb my super tall rubber plant but they are too heavy haha. Your kitties sound so amusing I'm glad you're enjoying them!!

 

[Furballsmom]

You're so on top of things, good for you!!
Thanks ever so much for the update

 

[LittleBelle]

I haven't been on here in a few months. Overall things are better, but one of the cats (not kittens anymore) still has loose, smelly stools most of the time and another has loose, smelly stools once or twice a week. I am using a probiotic and I am attempting to add digestive enzymes. I purchased NaturVet Digestive Enzymes. I am trying to add it to their canned food. But, they can smell and/or taste a pinch, and I mean a pinch, and they won't touch it. Before I send it back and try another brand, does anyone have any suggestions? Or, does anyone know of a truly tasteless/odorless brand?

I gave them a few months' break from food changes, but I am trying once again to transition them to better quality food. One of the cats is still hooked on Rachel Ray Chicken and Brown Rice Nutrish kibble. I am trying to transition to Instincts Limited Ingredient Diet Grain-Free Recipe with Real Turkey kibble coated with raw. It took a week to even get them to eat it with just a tsp mixed in. I started with 5 pieces of it mixed in a bowl of kibble and they wouldn't accept it for days! So I am happy I am up to 1 tsp in the bowl. Canned food is a different story. My question is how many times and ways do you offer a new food before you just give up and move on? I have tried 1/2 tsp of new canned food placed next to their usual wet food on the plate, 1/2 tsp mixed in the canned food, pure bites salmon mixed in, bonita flakes mixed in, crushed Temptations treats mixed in, FortiFlora on top. They will have none of it. I have tried doing this with several brands (including some ready made raw). I even put a dab on their paws. They did lick it off, but didn't eat any out of the bowl. I am giving each brand/flavor 4-5 attempts before I move on. Should I give a flavor longer or try another way to offer it? I just cannot believe how picky they are and how long they are willing to hold out. I never let them go more than 4-5 hours without food. Thanks.

 

[Furballsmom]

Some people try again after a few weeks, but twice or three times and then move on...

 

[maggiedemi]

Could it be the Rachael Ray dry food causing it? My cats had problems with that.

 

[LittleBelle]

I believe it is the Rachel Ray dry food. I am trying to transition them off of it. One of the cats is really hooked on it. He will not touch canned food or store bought raw and I have tried many kinds. He is just starting to eat some of the Instincts LI GF Turkey Kibble that I am mixing in with the RR. I am hoping to completely replace the Rachel Ray with the Instincts kibble and then work on getting them completely off of kibble and on to canned and/or raw food. It's really frustrating.

 

[LTS3]

I use these digestive enzymes: Feline Digestive Enzymes 4 oz Amazon and other online sell it as well.

What probiotic are you using? Sometimes if one doesn't work, try a different one with a higher CFU and / or different strains of bacteria. You don't need a pet specific one. A Human probiotic works well. Probiotics for Cats - Why and Which Ones

Try crushing up the Rachael Ray food and using it as a topper for other food.

 

[LittleBelle]

I was going to try Dr. GoodPet digestive enzymes next. I am using PetUltimates probiotic, but just a very little bit (probably not enough to do any good). If I use more, they won't eat it I tried crushing some Rachel Ray on canned food. It did not work. I tried crushing Temptations treats (which they love) on canned food. Nope. The one cat is just so stubborn.

 

[LittleBelle]

I am getting somewhere. I just put some of the Rachel Ray in a bowl with some Instincts, and I thought, what the heck, let me put a bowl of just Instincts out and see what happens. The Rachel Ray/kibble addict went for the bowl of Instincts!! Yay!!

 

[Furballsmom]

good on you!!