question about wellness dry and diarrhea

Hi, first time poster, here...
I'm curious... How long should you "wait and see" with diarrhea after a food switch?

I have a 9-month old kitty who was on a few different foods for the past few months, Science Diet Indoor (stool was fine, but I didn't like the ingredients), then Evo (horrible diarrhea), then Fromm's Duck ala Veg. I mixed slowly when I made the transitions, but the switch was usually over a week or two. She was on the Fromm's for about a month and was fine, but I can't get it around here anymore. So about 3 and a half weeks ago, I switched to Wellness Indoor Dry (in the blue bag, about 3/4 cup per day, and Wellness Wet every few days), and she was fine until about a few days ago. She developed diarrhea and gas. It's not runny, watery diarrhea, but very soft. She's otherwise very active and healthy, spayed, been dewormed, etc.

Do you think it's her system still adjusting to the food, or could it be something in there that she is sensitive to? Obviously, I will call the vet, but I wonder if just letting her get used to the food will clear it up?

Thanks.

try a less grainy food ie one with one meat to one grain

does that mean only one meat and only one grain? Or just that the ratio is 1 to 1?

This is probably the longest she's been on one single food at a time. With all of the transitions, she's mostly been on some 'mix' of food. So I thought perhaps she just needs to get used to it. But I don't want to 'wait and see' much longer.

So much switching around in such a short time can really mess a kitten up. Soft stools are not so much to worry about at really loose diahrrea, it may be she is just adjusting to the change in diet.

I suggest you stick to the wellness, (which is grain free isn't it?) and gradually incorporate the canned food into her diet on a daily basis, to get more liquids into your kitten. sudden canned diet can also cause digestive upset so start slow. Start giving her a teaspoon of canned every day, gradually increasing until she is getting about half and half, half canned and half dry kibble each day.

In the meantime if the soft stools do become diahrrea, or she's constantly running to the box to poop (more than once a day) or poops outside the box, acts lethargic or vomits, do bring her right to the vet.

Originally Posted by lovetimessix

So much switching around in such a short time can really mess a kitten up. Soft stools are not so much to worry about at really loose diahrrea, it may be she is just adjusting to the change in diet.

I suggest you stick to the wellness, (which is grain free isn't it?) and gradually incorporate the canned food into her diet on a daily basis, to get more liquids into your kitten. sudden canned diet can also cause digestive upset so start slow. Start giving her a teaspoon of canned every day, gradually increasing until she is getting about half and half, half canned and half dry kibble each day.

In the meantime if the soft stools do become diahrrea, or she's constantly running to the box to poop (more than once a day) or poops outside the box, acts lethargic or vomits, do bring her right to the vet.

Click to expand...

ONLY CORE by Wellness is grain free ... the others have multiple grains


one meat to one grain = chicken rice fish and barley .... not chicken rice millet barley amaranth fish
the one you are feeding is a one to one ratio .. chn rice barley fish... fish is a high allergen and barley can be since its gluten is Identical to wheat
Your switching alot but the proper way.. it could be the food HOW long on just wellness

I'm going to threadjack for a minute here. Sharky, could you list some of the common 1 grain: 1 meat dry foods?

Delilah is a stinky little kitten. I originally blamed it on the walmart food she was eating when I got them and worms, which are being treated. However, fully switched to Wellness kitten for a few weeks now, she is still pretty gassy with slightly soft stools. Their BMs have went WAY down, however. I'm not going to switch at this point...at least not until we see the vet again, but I might as well keep my eye out for stores that sell the ones that may be future options.

Thanks! Sorry for threadjacking, kittysback!

I must use the caveat that I am a raw feeder with 10-20 percent canned per month. Now they are completely grain free.
I just put Saffron on Wellness wet kitten food and she is thriving but a little gassy. I expected this. Every cat from the shelter was not used to quality of the food I was giving them. She was a stray kitten who came directly into my house. I had been feeding her, her siblings and mother pet promise but I have upped them to Instinct. Grain free. I am a firm believer in reading the ingredients and the more I learn which I suspect will be a lifelong thing the better I feed.
Wellness is a richer food than some and has caused the most gas during transition. But the payoff is a beautiful coat and less poops. Less hairballs and quality meats. I would watch it and perhaps try the CORE instead.

I would have gone with the CORE, but after having her on EVO, she was complely having very runny stools, and I know that the completely grain-frees can be very rich for some cats. That's why I opted for the regular Wellness with some grains.

I am confused about sharky's orginal posts though. First post suggests trying a one meat to one grain, but are you saying Wellness is a one meat to one grain food? My kitty has been on this Wellness for about 3.5 weeks.

As zoeysmom suggested, maybe we can list some 1:1 foods out there?

I know that i've changed too much in a short time, but I hope I can correct this without switching again. She is going only once a day inside the box, no accidents, and is definitely not lethargic -- runs around all day, chasing her toys (espcially while I'm sleeping -- lol)

Thanks for the replies. This is helpful to me, and others, I assume.

Wellness has redone some formulas /... that one was new to me ...

sensible choice and natural choice are one to one ratios... natural choice in ADULT is chicken and rice based with little fish and oats ( kitten is strait chicken and rice as is senior and wt control).... corn gluten meal is a protein and also aids in uti health

natural balence pea and duck is a one starch to one meat

I will have to research again memory is fallible

Thanks..
I wonder if I should start switching back to the Fromm's Duck ala Veg. I did some searching around and found a pet store has it about 30 minutes from me.
Here are the ingredients (It doesn't appear to be 1:1 though).

Duck ala veg Ingredients:
Duck, Duck Meal, Pearled Barley, White Rice, Sweet Potato, Whole Dried Egg, Chicken Broth, Dried Tomato Pomace, Turkey Liver, Safflower Oil, Salmon Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), Potato, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Flaxseed, Carrots, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Apples, Green Beans, Lecithin, Chicken Cartilage, DL-Methionine, Potassium Chloride, Cranberries, Blueberries, Salt, Chicory Root Extract, Alfalfa Sprouts, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Folic Acid, Parsley, Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Bifidobacterium Longum, Enterococcous Faecium, Vitamin A, D3, E, B12 Supplements, Choline Bitartrate, Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Ascorbic Acid, Riboflavin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Manganous Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Cobalt Carbonate, Calcium Iodate, Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Sodium Selenite.

Wellness
Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Rice, Ground Barley, Ground Rice, Chicken Fat(preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a natural source of Vitamin E), Natural Chicken Flavor, Salmon Meal, Chicken Liver, Cranberries, Tomato Pomace, Olive Oil, Chicory Root Extract, Cranberry Extract Powder, Cranberry Fiber, Flaxseed, Potassium Chloride, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Thiamine Mononitrate, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Beta-Carotene, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B-12 Supplement), Choline Chloride, Minerals (Zinc Proteinate, Zinc Sulfate, Iron Proteinate, Ferrous Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Manganese Sulfate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), Yucca Schidigera Extract, Dried Kelp, Chondroitin Sulfate, Glucosamine, Hydrochloride, Lactobacillus Plantarum, Enterococcus Faecium, Lactobacillus Casei, Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Taurine, Rosemary Extract.

I think we have at last solved Millys diarrhea (fingers crossed!) She has been with us from the RSPCA for a week and a half now. They were feeding her on 25g of James Wellbeloved Turkey and Rice twice a day with instructions that said change her from this at your own peril as she had been suffering from diarrhea while there. Well her bad tummy continued once we got her home we gave her a few days to settle incase it was down to stress but no luck so after advice from here saying she may need worming again etc we registered her with our family and took her down, the vet said she is actually 2 and not 3 rewormed her and perscribed a course of anti biotics. Come Saturday night it was actually running out of her and was a greeny colour so we stopped any food for 16 hrs, then started her on small amounts of cod 4 times a day on Sunday, yesterday we started to mix in a small amount of IAMS which is what our other 2 eat and yesterday she did her first normal poo and another normal one again today. So it can be a bit of a slog but stick with it and eventually you will find the right food for your kitty

thanks for the advice, it sure can get frustrating.

i wonder too, if some cats, just need variety? it seems like, when she was in food-transitions, that her BMs were pretty normal. They were giant, but they were normal.

Reviving an older thread:

Sharky, does it have to be one meat: one grain, or can it be several meats with one grain? Options are a little more limited here in Ontario. I liked the basic recipe of California Natural, but didn't see anything about a kitten or all-stages formula. Felidae is all stages, but has several meats and only one or two grains (are flax seed and alfalfa considered grains?).

Originally Posted by kittysback

I would have gone with the CORE, but after having her on EVO, she was complely having very runny stools, and I know that the completely grain-frees can be very rich for some cats. That's why I opted for the regular Wellness with some grains.

Click to expand...

A lot of people, including myself, seemed to have the same problem on EVO, but I haven't heard any complaints about CORE. It might be worth trying. Other grain-free you might try, off the top of my head, are Nature's Variety Instinct, Orijen, and Taste of the Wild.

Originally Posted by kittysback

My kitty has been on this Wellness for about 3.5 weeks.

Click to expand...

I would suggest sticking with the same food for a good 8-12 weeks. Often times it takes them a while to adjust to the food, and changing too often will not be very helpful in aiding you to find a food that agrees with her. If it's still necessary to change after 8-12 weeks make sure you still do the change gradually over a period of 7-10 days.

Originally Posted by zoeysmom

Reviving an older thread:

Sharky, does it have to be one meat: one grain, or can it be several meats with one grain? Options are a little more limited here in Ontario. I liked the basic recipe of California Natural, but didn't see anything about a kitten or all-stages formula. Felidae is all stages, but has several meats and only one or two grains (are flax seed and alfalfa considered grains?).

Click to expand...

flax and alfalfa are GRAIN like ... meaning the body treats them like grains... flax is a good thing in a food but it is a NOTABLE allergen... alfalfa has been removed from some of the higher end foods due to its link to tummy issues

for a basic food test 2-4 weeks ... allergy is 8-12 ..

Orijen is Canadian based and IMHO very good

Thanks, sharky! I think I'll try switching them to Orijen after we see the vet next week!