Another cat diet question, cat has chronic loose stools / diarrhea

karen petersen

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did your vet do the full comprehensive stool panel? the one that costs $250?

also, new foods take up to a month to settle in. I/D works well, as does lamb/rice mix

good luck
 

whitney723

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I am certainly not cat expert, but one of my cats had the smelliest, grossest gas and runny bowels I've ever witness/smelled in my 32 years. And I've had cats my whole life. My vet recommended yogurt or a pro-biotic siting that allergies manifest in the gut/skin/fur for cats. I decided to try Mercola's pet probiotic powder, and had great results. Sometimes my cat has some "blow outs" but very rarely now. 

Here's where I buy it: 
When he's doing well, I only give a half a scoop (there's a scooper that comes with); if he's extra stinky, I give a therapeutic full scoop (which is 2 grams).  This stuff isn't super cheap, but it's way cheaper on Amazon than anywhere else I've found. I give it in the AM in some wet food, just mix it in with the "gravy" and if your wet food is more pate like, then squirt a little water on it. It took a week or so, but he was going solid and has been pretty much ever since give or take a few times in between when he was stressed out a little. 

I think the jury is still out on the effectiveness of probiotics, but I'm convinced. The reviews are quite good on Amazon too. 
 

thpeech

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I like EVO food for my cat and a probiotic!! straighted out our male cat!!!
 

roguethecat

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One of my kittens had the same issue (really, really bad diarrhea) without any other symptoms. They got to know him really well at the vet's, but couldn't find out a cause without a biopsy. So rather than putting him through that I tried homemade foods for him. It got slightly better with raw chicken, but was really bad after cooked chicken. Then - surprise! - he started pooping nearly normal when eating raw rabbit. He then was doing quite well on home-made raw diet unless we went to visit my sister where the little bugger snarfed up some store-bought cat food and promptly got not only the diarrhea back, but also a really bad rash on his rear end that had him looking half baboon. It took more than 3 weeks back home to get him halfway normal again. So, the conclusion is, maybe some cats are allergic to some cooked foods?

cheers,

Simone
 

thankful

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I would like to thank all of you on this site for helping me this last year and a half in diagnosing and treating my two kitties. I would especially like to thank StephanieTx. for all her knowledgeable suggestions along the way. You have REALLY helped with my herpes kitty Ricardo. I live on an island in Michigan and though we do have a partime Vet, he has not had any experience with herpes cats and you all have helped me in guiding both of our tx. of Ric. I first went to your site to help me figure out why my feral kitten Callie had constant diarrhea for six months. I listened to all your suggestions and mixing and trying new foods and though her stool samples showed nothing and the vet suggested it was common I didn't give up and went sent out a sample to be tested ( after 5 wormings) and they found lung worm which was a new one for both the vet and I. In Aug. last year I adopted a 4 mo. old boy from a shelter who was on Lysine and an antibiotic and had constant sneezing. He also was receiving ointment for one closed and dripping eye which was healed after a month but then went to the other eye. It was only with your help that I finally faced the reality and understanding that Ricky had herpes and I asked the vet to order me Famcyclovir. I used he for about 6 weeks with no change in his sneezing. Recently he had a bad flare up for no reason that I can understand so I got the lactoferrin to add to his lysine, put him on Azithromyocin and back on the Famcyclovir. He was much better in just a couple of days! I will continue with the lactoferrin and lysine forever but was wondering if you think he should stay on the Famcyclovir forever also? His sneezing has always been clear mucus but I can tell his sinuses have been forever damaged by too many months of not starting it when he was younger maybe. Thank you all again for your help. He is a big healthy boy in all other respects but he would not eat the grain free Blue Buffalo food so he has been on Purina Natural food. If anyone has any other suggestions to keep him healthy I would appreciate hearing them. Thanks again.
 

newkittyowner

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Has he been tested for Tritrichomonas Foetus (TF)? It requires a special test and doesn't show up in a fecal test. Here's a site for more info: http://www.highgait.com/page/page/3485008.htm

Also, it might help to get a couple of Feliway diffusers to help reduce the stress in your home. We add acidophilus (1/2 tablet, crushed) into our kitties' wet food when they're having poop troubles. You can buy it in the supplement section of the grocery store, Wal-Mart, or drug store. It's the good bacteria in yogurt. It does take awhile to start seeing results, but it does work.
We had the same problem with our two when we got them, loose stool and smelly and smelly farts and such. We tried the diet change a few times and still the same. The test above if I remember right we had done for our two cats. You take a sample of stool to the vets and they send it away. We found out they had an organism not sure of the name. Anyways long story short we gave them a pill morning a night for the length  of time we were told and it cleared it right up! Also found out one of our poor kitties had a very red throat which was why she wasn't making any meowing. The medication cleared that up too and she started to meow, well her own kind of meow it's very cute. 

I would see about this test. It's not cheap but I was so happy to make them feel better!
 

afoolstale

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How much yogurt are you supposed to give to a cat with diarrhea / loose stools?
 

crazyrider

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Ok so I am not a vet, but I can tell you your story parallels what we are going through with one of our cats now. For us this has been on going since June. We have determined that our kitty has colitis. Very painful digestive problem, that is basically chronic. It can be managed through A LOT of trial and error, and still expect that your kitty will have flare ups.

This is what we have done so far, and nearly $3K later in trouble shooting in medical tests. Our kitty cannot have anything poultry based, not even duck or pheasant. Try finding a food that is an unusual protein, such as rabbit or venison. We started giving Pet-Tinic mixed with Prednisalone. (from our vet, it is prednisone. It helps with the inflammation in the bowel.) Next we gave our kitty Remeron, for appetite stimulant, and Cerenia for vomiting. He does vomit as much, but he will refuse to eat when he is having a flare up, so the Remeron is still getting used with some frequency. Lastly we started him on a daily feed through of FortiFlora, and once a week Kayden is getting a shot of B-12. All this and he is currently in a flare up. We are still learning about this disease, but one thing that we have found was that stress, and getting anything other than his kibble, or approved canned food will cause a flare up. The flare ups can be of varying degrees from really bad to manageable.

My advise, start with the food....again. Go grain free and an unusual protein, buy some FortiFlora and start feeding that right away. It is a probiotic that the animals seem to love. Next would be the pet tinic (with out the Prednisalone)for  when your kitty isn't eating, they need the vitamins in that, and it has some B-12 which will hopefully stimulate his appetite.

If those measures don't work then you have to go to the vet, at the very least get them on board with what you have done, and start managing his symptoms right away like the Prednisalone. 

I hope this helps, and good luck. 
 

4pawsx5

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I went through the same thing with my 6yr old Male, Puma.  I spent $$$ on tests that revealed nothing so I switch him to a grain-free food.  Natural Balance LID, either the duck and green pea or chicken and green pea  I switched him too and about 3 days after switching his poop firmed up and he hasn't had any issue since. (this has been since January) . I found this website about ingredients in dog food but it also lists cats in it. It worked for me when I removed the ingredients from this list. Maybe it will help your fur baby too.

http://www.thedogpress.com/DogFood/Ingredients_Liquorman.asp
 

kollannia

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I have the same with my chagrin, he is almost 14, I switched him to, royal canin Siamese, and sensitive stomach.'' dry''.  and candies lamb, chick, turkey. Also, in pouches... star kiss salmon and tuna. There is none of all that crappy water..... which he has trouble with. Also try, cooking chicken or ?  raw ......it is more natural.   well my vet said, cats don't cook their foods in the wild, nor is there all of the other stuff...... peas, carrots, etc        and feed smaller meals more often.....

           Pain is another contributing factor.......... diarrhea, vomiting etch. Every cat is different. Just got to find that balance........K and Chagrin......
 

elmomax

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After six years of eating Wellness canned chicken, two of my cats developed unremitting diarrhea. Neither had been fed any other food besides Wellness. I had noticed that the consistency of the food had changed in recent months and some said that the ingredients were not the same. That said, my little female recovered slowly after a bout of chicken and rice but my large male suffered with liquid runs for months. Antibiotics, steroids, nothing seemed to work. He was transitioned to Royal Canin Gastrointestinal Fiber and that helped a bit, but the food is filled with awful stuff and sawdust so I was not happy to feed this to him. I added Proviable and his stools firmed up a bit. I took him to his regular vet who insisted he be taken off Royal Canin.  I tried Nature's Balance Limited Ingredient in several flavors and diarrhea persisted. I tried to get him to eat Stella and Chewy and Petguard chicken with Wheat Germ -- he refused. Finally I tried Natures Variety Limited Ingredient Turkey and he ate it and his stools firmed up -- I continued to give him Proviable probiotic once a day.  He occasionally will get mush stools - once a month and he has shown evidence of constipation so I have added Weruva pumpkin patch up (i teaspoon a day) and so far so good. My girl was also on NB turkey LID and after four weeks she began vomitting and could not keep her food down.  I switched her to Petguard and she has been ok now for 9 days (threw up only once) and I am hoping that her vomitting was food related.  Prior to the diarrhea in January, neither can had ever had digestive issues.

Not sure if this helps - but i would suggest trying a different brand of cat food - just be sure to transition slowly and continue with probiotics.  I do think that the quality of commercial cat food is questionable and you cannot make decisions based on reviews alone. Every cat is different.  I am not thrilled that Petguard is not grain free, but it is organic and my vet suggested it as it is easy to digest - no commercial food is perfect -- NB has caragineen which is known to be a carcinogenic ingredient. Natures Variety has clay which is controversial.  I have driven myself crazy trying to find the best cat food and where I have landed is that I feed my cats food that is high quality and has minimum of questionable ingredients….  but most importantly, I need a food they will eat, and not get diarrhea or vomit….  Hoping that the food they are on now will work for them and that neither have developed more serious problems.  I am certain that their issues were related to Wellness, but that does not mean it is a bad food - it was just a bad food for my cats.
 

kollannia

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My vet carries royal canin, not all of them have those awful ingredients.... here's something funny, alot of prescriptions for people with IBD, chrohns also have sawdust, or saw palmento..also for ed for men. Just something to think about.
 

elmomax

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It is all so confusing -- and every vet (and pet owner) has a different opinion. In the end, I try to defer to my beloved vet as I honestly cannot sort through all the data and become an expert. So yes, until I become an expert, all I am left with is what I am told…  In the end, I guess if a food works for your cat, it is a good thing :)  
 

elmomax

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The other thing I do want to say is that i have read and have been told repeatedly that dry food is not the best choice for cats as a steady diet, so for this reason alone, I personally, did not want my cat Iggy to remain on Royal Canin Gastro dry food indefinitely if I could find another option.  That said, if I could not find another option in a canned food, rather than have him suffer from diarrhea, I would need to keep him on RC dry food.

It is always a compromise in selecting foods and care for your cat and in the end each pet parent needs to figure out what is best for their cat knowing that it is always not the perfect food or perfect solution.  But I say all of this knowing that opinions are always shifting. Sometimes I read that coffee is good for you and sometimes I read it is bad.  We all make choices based on what we know and we hope we are doing what is best for our cat family. And it is great that there are so many on this site with different experiences and suggestions.  You never know when a suggestion will be the magic bullet to help your cat. 
 
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minxmcleod

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I used to have (before he passed away) a big beautiful black bombay male cat that all of a sudden started having nothing but loose bowel movements. I took him off and on to the Vet for a whole year trying to find out what was wrong with him having test after test done that all came back negative. In the end when he passed away because the Vet couldn't diagnose his sickness and therefore cure him it was discovered that his sickness was being caused by an enlarged heart which I had never heard of in a Cat. The Vet said it was common in Black Cats which I also was not aware if either.
 

kollannia

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I give chagrin dry royal canin and wet food, wellness, candies, r.c. can......... plus, cooked meats also.
 

kollannia

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Also, chagrin likes... rice milk. It won't hurt him, and it is like 2T.  he takes pain med's..... he get groggy... helps a little with his tummy,
 

shannonmari1

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Hi  there,

My cat Tom was having something similar (diarrhea) and I didn't know what was wrong with him, so when I took him to the Vet, she thought it was from us introducing a new kitty into the household, and recommended a probiotic to help settle his stomach (I guess!).  After a few days, his poo looked normal again. I can't remember the name but it was a powder and I just sprinkled a packet a day on his food and he ate it up fine. I also use the Purina Naturals as well for food. Hope this helps! :)
 

roguethecat

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My Grisou had that recently. It stopped when I stopped feeding him processed food. Took about a month to gradually get better (with me fretting over him, sprinkling bone meal on things and encouraging him to eat like a cat), but now he's all normal again. He does insist I hold his food for him, though 
 

zoneout

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After six years of eating Wellness canned chicken, two of my cats developed unremitting diarrhea. Neither had been fed any other food besides Wellness. I had noticed that the consistency of the food had changed in recent months and some said that the ingredients were not the same. That said, my little female recovered slowly after a bout of chicken and rice but my large male suffered with liquid runs for months. Antibiotics, steroids, nothing seemed to work. He was transitioned to Royal Canin Gastrointestinal Fiber and that helped a bit, but the food is filled with awful stuff and sawdust so I was not happy to feed this to him. I added Proviable and his stools firmed up a bit. I took him to his regular vet who insisted he be taken off Royal Canin.  I tried Nature's Balance Limited Ingredient in several flavors and diarrhea persisted. I tried to get him to eat Stella and Chewy and Petguard chicken with Wheat Germ -- he refused. Finally I tried Natures Variety Limited Ingredient Turkey and he ate it and his stools firmed up -- I continued to give him Proviable probiotic once a day.  He occasionally will get mush stools - once a month and he has shown evidence of constipation so I have added Weruva pumpkin patch up (i teaspoon a day) and so far so good. My girl was also on NB turkey LID and after four weeks she began vomitting and could not keep her food down.  I switched her to Petguard and she has been ok now for 9 days (threw up only once) and I am hoping that her vomitting was food related.  Prior to the diarrhea in January, neither can had ever had digestive issues.

Not sure if this helps - but i would suggest trying a different brand of cat food - just be sure to transition slowly and continue with probiotics.  I do think that the quality of commercial cat food is questionable and you cannot make decisions based on reviews alone. Every cat is different.  I am not thrilled that Petguard is not grain free, but it is organic and my vet suggested it as it is easy to digest - no commercial food is perfect -- NB has caragineen which is known to be a carcinogenic ingredient. Natures Variety has clay which is controversial.  I have driven myself crazy trying to find the best cat food and where I have landed is that I feed my cats food that is high quality and has minimum of questionable ingredients….  but most importantly, I need a food they will eat, and not get diarrhea or vomit….  Hoping that the food they are on now will work for them and that neither have developed more serious problems.  I am certain that their issues were related to Wellness, but that does not mean it is a bad food - it was just a bad food for my cats.
Wellness has had this problem with the consistency of their food for years.   I rotate the chicken and turkey pate.   
 
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