low residue diet

karebearcasey

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my sophie and max are still having diarrhea, going on months now with no idea why. between the two of them, every fecal was sent, we tried antibiotics also, nothing. a while ago we tried low residue wet food and after a day or two they wouldn't touch it. so now we are trying the iams low residue hard food that so far they are eating, but it's still mixed in with their nutro hard food. all i feed my babies is nutro hard food and pouches, wellness pouches and some meow mix. i read the ingredients on the low residue and it just doesn't sound that good to me. any thoughts on anything that could be causing this diarrhea?


Calories
3,598 kcal/kg; 348 kcal/cup; 3.41-oz/cup


Ingredients
Chicken By-Product Meal, Corn Meal, Corn Grits, Chicken, Dried Beet Pulp, Dried Egg Product, Fish Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Chicken Flavor, Brewers Dried Yeast, Fructooligosaccharides, Potassium Chloride, DL-Methionine, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Calcium Carbonate, Choline Chloride, Mannanoligosaccharides, Salt, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate [source of Vitamin B1], Pyridoxine Hydrochloride [source of Vitamin B6], Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement [source of Vitamin B2], Inositol, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), Minerals (Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Carbonate), Rosemary Extract



Guaranteed Analysis Nutrient (percent)
Crude Protein, minimum 32.0
Crude Fat, minimum 12.0
Crude Fiber, maximum 4.0
Moisture, maximum 10.0
Ash, maximum 7.0
Magnesium, maximum 0.1
Taurine, minimum 0.13
Omega-6 Fatty Acids, minimum 1.1
Omega-3 Fatty Acids, minimum 0.22*
 

mschauer

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When Coco had chronic loose stools with no clinical cause (all parasite tests were negative) my vet recommended a low residue formula and it didn't help a bit. Those foods are formulated to be easy to digest (hence the "meals") and can help in some cases.

Loose stools (I don't say diarrhea unless it is uncontrolled, i.e., they don't make it to the box), seem to be fairly common with cats. If your kitties were given antibiotics for any reason that could have caused it and a probiotic supplement should help. Antibiotics upset the "gut flora" and a probiotic supplement and restore it to a healthy state.

Some people have had success with adding fiber to their kitties diet. This can be done by adding canned pumpkin (*not* pie filling) to their food or feeding hairball formula kibble like Iams or Eukanuba.

I resolved Coco's problem by adding Eagle Pack Holistic Solution to her food at every meal. That is a supplement that contains prebiotics, probiotics and digestive enzymes.
 
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karebearcasey

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yes, it's loose stools, they always use the litter box. we tried antibiotics with sophie to see if it would help but it didn't. where could i find that stuff, i am willing to try anything.
 

mschauer

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Originally Posted by karebearcasey

yes, it's loose stools, they always use the litter box. we tried antibiotics with sophie to see if it would help but it didn't. where could i find that stuff, i am willing to try anything.
Remember, antibiotics can *cause* loose stools.

You might want to try Eukanuba Hairball formula first. You should be able to find that easily at PetCo or some other pet supply. It might give them quick relief. I'm not convinced feeding a high fiber diet actually resolves the problem or just masks it though.

The dietary supplements are a little more difficult because there are many brands and many formulations. The Eagle Pack Holistic Solution I use I get from a local pet supply store. The Eagle Pack website has a store locater if you want to see if you can find it locally. Or you can order it online from various places. The Eagle Pack website has a locater for websites you can order from also if I'm not mistaken.

You could try bene-bac. It doesn't contain enzymes like the EP HS does but you may not need them. If you google bene-bac you'll find many sources.

Please let us know what you try and whether it works or doesn't so that others can learn from your experience and let me know if you need more information.
 
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karebearcasey

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i bought the eagle pack holistic solutions tonight. the store i bought it at also has the wellness pouches there for 10 cents less than i've been paying at the other store! so i will going back there often. the directions say to use 1/4 teaspoon for every cup of food, well, in total i'm feeding about 6 oz (two pouches) split between two dishes, so i'm just going to have to guesstimate it using an 1/8 teaspoon measuring spoon. the way i see it is that each dish should have just a little less than the 1/8 tsp right?
 

mschauer

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Originally Posted by karebearcasey

i bought the eagle pack holistic solutions tonight. the store i bought it at also has the wellness pouches there for 10 cents less than i've been paying at the other store! so i will going back there often. the directions say to use 1/4 teaspoon for every cup of food, well, in total i'm feeding about 6 oz (two pouches) split between two dishes, so i'm just going to have to guesstimate it using an 1/8 teaspoon measuring spoon. the way i see it is that each dish should have just a little less than the 1/8 tsp right?
I give Coco 1/8 teaspoon at each meal time. I give her 3 oz of wet or 1/4 c dry at each meal.

You might want to introduce the HS slowly. That is, less than 1/8 t each meal to start and work up to 1/8 t. I didn't have to do this with Coco but others have said that if they didn't introduce slowly that the diarrhea initially got worst but then improved after about a week.

Please be sure to post your results.
 
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