Concerned about my cat

About a month ago, I found a kitten under my car and brought him home to live with me. I took him to the vet and they guessed he's about 6 months old. Not too long after I got him, he was sneezing and sounded congested and was lethargic and not eating so I took him to the vet and they gave me antibiotic to treat him for a respiratory infection. They also gave me Enisyl-F to help control the symptoms and keep him from getting sick and he takes it twice a day.

I've been noticing recently that his poop is a light brown color and it's very soft. Not quite diarrhea, but definitely not what I think of as normal looking cat poop either. When I took him in for the respiratory infection they said he had worms and he's had two treatments for that now, so I wouldn't think that's the problem.

He's been eating Purina One Kitten Chow and we had no problems with it originally, though now he doesn't seem as interested in eating it.

Any ideas on what may be the problem? I've take him to the vet several times over the last few week sand I am running low on discretionary funds so I'm trying to decide if there's anything I can change at home to fix it before spending the money on a vet.

For how long has this been going on? Anything added to his diet? Treats?
As far as timing goes, does the poop being bad coincides with him not eating well?

You might want to consider changing him to a healthier, higher quality diet - Purina is not good at all, IMHO.

No, his diet hasn't changed at all. It's all the same food and treats I've been giving him for the last 3 or so weeks. The only difference is the antibiotics he was taking, which he finished last night. Could the antibiotics be causing the digestive issues?

I do think the digestive problems have coincided with the disinterest in his food, though I'm not 100% sure that they started at the same time. When he hears me pouring the food into his bowl he runs to the back of the house and the runs after me into the bedroom like he's hungry, but when I set him down he just doesn't seem interested.

I thought changing the food might be the best idea, any suggestions on what might be better for his delicate tummy?

I agree in an upgrade on food, not necessarily because it's related to his poop issues but the higher quality the food the better. Head on over to the nutrition section for tons and tons of info on different types of food and their pros/cons.

What antibiotics was he put on? Some can cause loose stool/diarrhea. One that comes to mind is clavamox.

Originally Posted by carolinalima

You might want to consider changing him to a healthier, higher quality diet - Purina is not good at all, IMHO.

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You may already know this, but if you do change his diet, please do it gradually. If you make any changes too fast, you could really upset the kitten's stomach. For example, feed him the regular Purnia diet but replace about 1/4 of it with the new food for a few days. Then feed him 1/2 Purina and 1/2 new food, and after that, feed him 3/4 new food and 1/4 Purina. If everything goes ok, you can feed him all new food. Just remember to do it slowly.

Antibiotics can do that - a good way to get him back on track is giving him doses of Bene-Bac; you can buy it at petsmart or petco - it is a probiotic that will get his intestinal flora balanced again.

Treats- if you are giving him Greenies, they are known to cause vomit and diarrhea.

Food - there is A LOT of threads about it, you can do a search and you will have a lot of opinions... It all depends on what stores you have access to, and how much you want to spend...
IMO if he has done ok on Purina, he doesn't have a sensitive tommy

Here is what I recommend: Staying away from grains, By-products, artificial flavors and colorants. The simpler the formula, the better...

Some grain frees to consider:
Taste of the Wild - kittens seem to do well on this, as it is not as rich as the other formulas. It is also very affordable.
Orijen - This IMHO is the best cat food out there, excellent quality, but hard to find.
Acana - from the same factory as Orijen, but more affordable/less meat.
Wellness Core: Excellent food, but it is too rich for some.
Evo - same as above.
Natural Balance LID - Salmon and pea, Venison and Pea, or duck and pea: Grain free with few ingredients, great for cats with food allergies. My cats never liked it, but they DO eat the Venison and Pea wet food.

Something else: Do whatever you need to do for your cat to eat - feed him wet food, or Tuna (for a day is ok), baby food (onion and garlic free), whatever, but he NEEDS to eat. One of the worst/most dangerous things it can happen to a cat is stop eating...

Originally Posted by carolinalima

Treats- if you are giving him Greenies, they are known to cause vomit and diarrhea.

Some grain frees to consider:
Taste of the Wild - kittens seem to do well on this, as it is not as rich as the other formulas. It is also very affordable.
Orijen - This IMHO is the best cat food out there, excellent quality, but hard to find.
Acana - from the same factory as Orijen, but more affordable/less meat.
Wellness Core: Excellent food, but it is too rich for some.
Evo - same as above.
Natural Balance LID - Salmon and pea, Venison and Pea, or duck and pea: Grain free with few ingredients, great for cats with food allergies. My cats never liked it, but they DO eat the Venison and Pea wet food.

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I did not know Greenies can cause vomit and diarrhea. I did give 1 greenies to my kitties every few days.

I am thinking of changing from Royal Canin to Orijen too, but I am afraid it will be too rich for Cheetah, who is having a sensitive stomach.

I have been treating my kitten, Cheetah's soft stool too. He JUST got better today. Right now he is having Royal Canin kitten dry food (that is what he has been having in the shelter and I do not want to change it to upset his stomach), turkey and turkey broth baby food and Eagle Pack Holistic Solution mixed in his dry food for 1 week.

I know the fact that Cheetah is sensitive to Wellness kitten canned food, which is really rich, so I tried to cut the fatty canned food and replace it with baby food for now.

Antibiotics can cause soft stools, so it might be that, esp. if you've not changed anything else. I agree with the poster who recommended a gradual change of food if you go that route. To help firm up stools, you can add a bit of pumpkin to a serving of canned food, about a teaspoon per serving of food. Be sure to use plain canned pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling.

Originally Posted by koobe

I did not know Greenies can cause vomit and diarrhea. I did give 1 greenies to my kitties every few days.

I am thinking of changing from Royal Canin to Orijen too, but I am afraid it will be too rich for Cheetah, who is having a sensitive stomach.

I have been treating my kitten, Cheetah's soft stool too. He JUST got better today. Right now he is having Royal Canin kitten dry food (that is what he has been having in the shelter and I do not want to change it to upset his stomach), turkey and turkey broth baby food and Eagle Pack Holistic Solution mixed in his dry food for 1 week.

I know the fact that Cheetah is sensitive to Wellness kitten canned food, which is really rich, so I tried to cut the fatty canned food and replace it with baby food for now.

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Orijen will be fine... It's not too rich. Core will probably be too rich if he has a sensitive stomach.

Try adding a few tablespoons of water to his dry food, to make a "gravy". Sometimes that helps for a finky cat. Good Luck!
Bobby
and the gang

Originally Posted by bfish29

Try adding a few tablespoons of water to his dry food, to make a "gravy". Sometimes that helps for a finky cat. Good Luck!
Bobby
and the gang

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If you do that, make sure he eats it within 30 minutes or so - mixing water into the dry food is a no no due to bacterial growth.

Thanks, guys! Between school and work I haven't had time to make it to Petsmart, but adding a little bit of water to his food has worked great! His poop smells so bad though and I've noticed he's licking his bottom a lot, so I think I will call the vet and see if it could be worms, even though he was just treated for them. He was recently neutered also, so maybe that is why he's licking.