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diarrhea vs. soft stool

post #1 of 9
1/6/09 at 8:37am
Thread Starter 
Is there a difference? One of my cats has always seemed to have soft stools (she's almost 2). Not watery or thin. It's just not well-formed and it's mushy. (sorry for the graphics).

Should I be concerned? She's been on Wellness Dry (in the blue bag, not the CORE). She's had her stool checked by the vet and there weren't any issues.

Thanks
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post #2 of 9
1/6/09 at 8:58am
Normal stool is like a tootsie roll, my vet's words How often and is it a normal smell or really nasty? Has your vet done any tests for Coccidia or Giardia, those need to be sent out to a lab for special testing to be accurate. If this is done and there is still a problem then I would test for Tritrichomonas Foetus, which needs very specific testing to be detected. You can get more info on this by searching Tritrichomonas on the forum search.
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post #3 of 9
1/6/09 at 9:17am
Thread Starter 
She goes usually once a day, and it's almost always mushy like this. I'm not sure if they checked for Coccidia or Giardia, so I'll ask and find out.

She has no other symptoms, other than sometimes she sneezes, but maybe only a few times a week.
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post #4 of 9
1/6/09 at 9:47am
When I speak of diahrrea I mean uncontrollable, frequent pooping. Kitty may or may not make it to the litter box.

When I say loose stools I mean frequency is about normal and kitty always makes it to the litter box but the stool isn't a firm "tootsie roll" like it should be.

But, those are just *my* definitions. I have no idea if they are in any way "correct".

From your description, I would say your kitty has loose stools. As twokatz has suggested, checking for parasites is the first thing that needs to be done.

If no parasites are found, you might look into diet related issues. Unfortunately there seems to be lots of things that can cause loose stools. You may need to be patient and persistent.

Don't just ignore it though. Long term loose stools can result in other health issues. My vet wasn't terribly concerned about Coco's loose stool because she had no other symptoms but I'm very glad I eventually found a solution (a digestive enzyme supplement). From what I've heard other vets can be just as nonchalant about it as mine.
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post #5 of 9
1/6/09 at 12:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by twokatz View Post
Normal stool is like a tootsie roll, my vet's words How often and is it a normal smell or really nasty? Has your vet done any tests for Coccidia or Giardia, those need to be sent out to a lab for special testing to be accurate. If this is done and there is still a problem then I would test for Tritrichomonas Foetus, which needs very specific testing to be detected. You can get more info on this by searching Tritrichomonas on the forum search.
the last one is something many vets seem never to test for ...


On a different note : How long have you feed the wellness>>>??
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post #6 of 9
1/7/09 at 8:23am
Thread Starter 
She's been on the Wellness for a year. I would say the stools ever since then have always been light colored and soft, and they go through varying degrees of formed-ness, meaning sometimes they are more formed than others. And the last few months I would say they have been more mush than formed. (Again, apologize for the graphics!)

I have thought about switching my cats to Felidae Chicken and Rice, in case it is an allergy-type thing. My other cat (7 months old long hair) is the one with the lip issue (seems to get swollen and red/pink), and the vet thinks it could be acne, because it went away, and then flared up again. (Now it's gone). He has also been on the Wellness since we got him (August 07). They only eat out of stainless bowls, and I change them every day. Although they drink out of the plastic Drinkwell fountain. I may stop using that, too and use the stainless for water.

I also feed them Natures Variety Instinct Wet food (they get 1/4 can per day and it's usually Rabbit, Duck or Venison), which is grain free and high in protien. Maybe that is too rich for them.

Either way, they have vet appointments so I'm going to share all this and see what is suggested, but getting other points of view or suggestions here is also helpful.
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post #7 of 9
1/8/09 at 5:22pm
sounds like the dry or wet food may be too rich. I have always fed
my indoors cats pretty good food and they are the ones with the
poo troubles (or used to)whereas my barn cats have normal poo and
eat the cheap stuff....go figure.

did your cat have probs before you added the wet or after?
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post #8 of 9
1/9/09 at 6:10am
Thread Starter 
I actually am not sure if the problem started before or after the wet was introduced, but interestingly, I picked up some Felidae Chicken and Rice wet cans and fed it to both cats this week. The older one's stool was firm and more normal; while the younger one's lip went back to normal. So, go figure! Granted it's only been a few days, and this could be just a fluke, but I'll keep watching. I am completely out of the Wellness, so I have to pick some up and stick with that for now, and if I decide to switch the dry, I'll mix it in slowly with the new one.
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post #9 of 9
1/9/09 at 8:59pm
I had similar experiences with Wellness dry ("Complete Health" - in the blue bag) with my two cats. Their poo was on the soft side and light colored (compared to other dry foods I had tried.) Also, it seemed more frequent. Before this, I had them on Wellness Kitten Health (green bag), then later tried other foods (Castor and Pollux Ultramix Kitten and Iams Healthy Naturals Chicken, amongst others) as they grew from being kittens to more adult.

After switching to Royal Canin (Indoor 27) it seemed to get better. (Firmer poo.) Currently they are on Merrick's Before Grain (Chicken) with a smaller amount of the RC Indoor mixed in. Poo is normal/firm and less quantity.

Anyway, from gleaning info here before, it seems like for certain cats, particular foods can be too "rich", causing stomach issues like this.

(Also, I always feed wet in conjunction with the dry, although I've not noted any particular stomach problems with any wet/canned food. I've fed them a wide range of wet food from Wellness, Petguard, Natural Balance, Avoderm, Fancy Feast, Eagle Pack, etc.)

-Terry
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