Post your loose stools solution.

[mschauer]

Judging by the number of posts in these forums loose stools are a fairly common problem with cats. Also judging by the posts there are many, many possible solutions.

I thought it would be helpful if everyone who has faced the problem and found a solution could post their solution for the benefit of others.

Please include any known trigger for the loose stools, like anitbiotic use or a diagnosis of parasites and whether the cat had any other health problems.

I'll kick it off with a description of Coco's loose stool problem.

I adopted Coco when she was 10 months old. She had loose stools from the beginning. I later found out it was a common problem with other cats from the same cattery. She tested negative for all parasites including T.Foetus and had no other health problems.

After trying *tons* of different foods I finally found that a prebiotic/probiotic/digestive enzyme supplement that when added to every meal resulted in normal stools. The supplement was Eagle Pack Holistic Solutions. I found she could eat anything and have normal stools as long as the supplement was added.

I recently found that switching her to an all raw diet also results in normal stools. I no longer have to give her the supplement.

[BuzbyJLC10]

Oliver gets horrible loose stools if he's on Clavamox (luckily, that's not frequently at all).... at the time, I wasn't sure what to do other than clean up my boy well after a trip to the box.... I've also got a 15 year old black lab who tends to have loose stool just because of old age, so we give her a couple of scoops of plain canned pumpkin in her kibble and it works like a charm (pumpkin is fiber, fiber firms stools).

[mschauer]

Originally Posted by BuzbyJLC10

Oliver gets horrible loose stools if he's on Clavamox (luckily, that's not frequently at all).... at the time, I wasn't sure what to do other than clean up my boy well after a trip to the box.... I've also got a 15 year old black lab who tends to have loose stool just because of old age, so we give her a couple of scoops of plain canned pumpkin in her kibble and it works like a charm (pumpkin is fiber, fiber firms stools).

For those interested, Clavamox is an antibiotic. Antibiotics can often cause loose stools. Use of a probiotic (such as Bene-bac) while using an antibiotic can resolve the loose stools. The treating vet should be consulted first though.

[otto]

First: I keep cooked white meat chicken in my freezer at all times. After I cook the chicken breasts I break it into tablespoon size chunks, and freeze them still warm. This way, anytime I have a kitty with intestinal or tummy upset I have the chicken for them.

The small chunks defrost quickly, I usually only wait for a chunk to thaw enough to shred, then I shred it into thin filaments (easier to digest than pieces) (Ice crystals still attached, for moisture!) and give it to the sick one.

Tolly gets diarrhea or loose stools occasionally from hairball trouble. When this happens he gets chicken for meals that day as already described, and a dose of a probiotic for a couple of days.

I use Probios probiotic, it comes in gel form in a tube. It's labeled for large animals (as one dose) but I give it in pea sized doses once a day. No benebac around here. <s>

Sometimes a cat will have diarrhea or loose stools from being on an antibiotic. In this event I use the probios every day on the antibiotic, and for a day or two after.

Another situation that can cause loose stools is food transition. I recently changed foods (had to change one cat back though) and used the probios during the whole transition (one week) plus for the first week they were fully on the new food, and did not have any intestinal problems from any of the cats!

Thanks for starting this thread!

[strange_wings]

I tried Eagle Pack Holistic Solutions for a while, and it does help but it's not a solution for an underlying problem.

I have three, out of four, with some food issues. Corn, suspected chicken, and the third cat's problem is unknown - my luck it's probably another chicken.
I'm feeding them all Natural Balance duck and green pea. I don't care about price if it means I won't have to worry about Sherman jumping up beside me at two am with poopy butt (he has a lot of fur back there). Or worse, Tomas stepping in his or Sherman's loose stool.

I've never had any issues from antibiotics with my cats, surprisingly that's not been a trigger for any of them so far. I wish I could say the same about antibiotics and myself - all I'll say about that is if you can treat yourself or your pets with a probiotic during heavy courses of antibiotics, please do so.

For those dealing with chronic loose stools, find the cause and fix the diet if need be. Even if it means you'll have to check every can and bag for ingredients such as chicken.

[carolinalima]

My solution for Bugsy: Bugsy was tested for parasites, and is all clean. I did an elimination diet to find out what he was MOST sensitive to - it was chicken; removed from his diet.
Bugsy gets 1/2 tsp of bene-bac powder per day + 1/8 tsp of nZymes per day on his food. Once a week he gets one full dose of bene-bac, which is 2tsp. On the instructions bene-bac doesn't really show a qty for daily usage, but I did some research, and by comparing the microorganism qty of other products, this is what I came out with... Bene-bac is the probiotic he responds the best by far, and luckily to me, it is also the less expensive

This keeps his stools good MOST of the time - but he will still have a problem here and there... thankfully he responds really well to bene-bac.

He can not eat chicken at all; chicken = violent diarrhea...

[Snake_Lady]

Cat: Kizzy

Loose stool cause: too much wet food

Solution: not as much wet food..... It sucks but.... He drinks alot, and we think between the drinking and the moisture in wet food, it gives him too much moisture.

Lately though, he's been eating more wet food because he has suddenly become not as picky when he sees the other 2 eating. I've added Holistic Solutions to wet meals once a day, for all 3 kitties. So far I have not noticed any loose stools from any of them.

The holistic solutions is for other reasons as well.