What would you do?

milu · Aug 17, 2011

2 days ago I took my 4 month-old to the vet for her diarrhea and she's been on baby food ever since. I was also supposed to give her 4 doses of pro-pectalin and daily bene-bac.

I'm happy to see that her poops are pretty much back to normal and all fecal tests came back negative. So the vet thinks it had something to do with me switching her food.

Lulu came from the shelter with the usual bag of science diet kitten kibble. First I added wellness kitten canned food and she was fine. Then I switched the dry food also to Wellness kitten brand. That's when things started to get runny

Now I don't know what to do when I switch away from the baby food. The vet said to slowly go back to the science diet, then slowly introduce the wet food and then slowly switch the dry.

What would you do? I'd prefer to skip the science diet.

carolina · Aug 17, 2011

Originally Posted by MiLu

2 days ago I took my 4 month-old to the vet for her diarrhea and she's been on baby food ever since. I was also supposed to give her 4 doses of pro-pectalin and daily bene-bac.

I'm happy to see that her poops are pretty much back to normal and all fecal tests came back negative. So the vet thinks it had something to do with me switching her food.

Lulu came from the shelter with the usual bag of science diet kitten kibble. First I added wellness kitten canned food and she was fine. Then I switched the dry food also to Wellness kitten brand. That's when things started to get runny

Now I don't know what to do when I switch away from the baby food. The vet said to slowly go back to the science diet, then slowly introduce the wet food and then slowly switch the dry.

What would you do? I'd prefer to skip the science diet.

How long has she been on Wellness kitten?
It is not the food that will do this - it is changing the food too fast. Science Diet will not be better for her. Usually this diarrhea can last up to 2 weeks.....
If she's been on it for that long and her poop is getting ok, leave her on it (Wellness) changing her food again will only push her system.
Whenever you change dry foods, you have to do it very very slowly....... otherwise you will have massive diarrhea problems and they will last a while.
P.S. - most vets LOVE Science Diet.
So, what would I do?
If she is still eating Wellness and is finally getting better - I would not switch back

If she is on baby food only, just add Wellness slowly to her diet - a few kibbles on the first day, then a little more on the second, until you have a full serving.
As I said - looks like you just switched the food - that will give diarrhea in any cat. Being Wellness, Science Diet, you name it - it will get to them. It was not the food - it was the switch speed.

milu · Aug 17, 2011

Yes, I agree, it must have been the speed. It took about a week to switch the dry from Science Diet to Wellness and I now read it should take about 2 weeks. I guess I was too eager to get her eating the good stuff

She is only eating baby food at the moment, and I'm so glad that you say you would just sloooowly introduce the Wellness again. I do not like the ingredients list of SD at all and am worried about making unnecessary changes. But on the other hand it made sense, since we know she tolerates it.

So dry first, then add wet after the complete switch away from baby food?

carolina · Aug 17, 2011

Originally Posted by MiLu

Yes, I agree, it must have been the speed. It took about a week to switch the dry from Science Diet to Wellness and I now read it should take about 2 weeks. I guess I was too eager to get her eating the good stuff

She is only eating baby food at the moment, and I'm so glad that you say you would just sloooowly introduce the Wellness again. I do not like the ingredients list of SD at all and am worried about making unnecessary changes. But on the other hand it made sense, since we know she tolerates it.

So dry first, then add wet after the complete switch away from baby food?

The wet shouldn't affect her

alicatjoy · Aug 17, 2011

Carolina's advice is good. And, I, too, would not necessarily go back to the Science Diet. To me, it makes no sense to return to a food that you're not planning on keeping your kitten on. However, I don't know that Wellness is the best option for your kitty -- at least at this point in time.

For some cats, Wellness or other premium foods can be too rich. This is especially try for kitties who have been on lesser quality foods or for kittens who may be too young to handle the richness of a food like Wellness. And, there is also the possibility that the food is irritating your kitten's digestive tract and he or she is having some complications due to that. My best advice would be to discuss ALL of your concerns with your vet. While it's true that some vets "love" Science Diet, not all do. And, if you explain your reasoning behind not wanting to feed that food, most vets would be willing to discuss other options.

Slowly putting your kitten back on Wellness canned and kibble may cause no issue at all. And, the tummy upset may have passed and you can go on feeding the Wellness without it being a problem. But, having a back-up plan certainly may help and, for that, I think the best option is to have an open and frank discussion with your veterinarian. Good luck and please let us know how your kitty is doing.

carolina · Aug 17, 2011

Originally Posted by Alison Joy

Carolina's advice is good. And, I, too, would not necessarily go back to the Science Diet. To me, it makes no sense to return to a food that you're not planning on keeping your kitten on. However, I don't know that Wellness is the best option for your kitty -- at least at this point in time.

For some cats, Wellness or other premium foods can be too rich. This is especially try for kitties who have been on lesser quality foods or for kittens who may be too young to handle the richness of a food like Wellness. And, there is also the possibility that the food is irritating your kitten's digestive tract and he or she is having some complications due to that. My best advice would be to discuss ALL of your concerns with your vet. While it's true that some vets "love" Science Diet, not all do. And, if you explain your reasoning behind not wanting to feed that food, most vets would be willing to discuss other options.

Slowly putting your kitten back on Wellness canned and kibble may cause no issue at all. And, the tummy upset may have passed and you can go on feeding the Wellness without it being a problem. But, having a back-up plan certainly may help and, for that, I think the best option is to have an open and frank discussion with your veterinarian. Good luck and please let us know how your kitty is doing.

That's true Alison, she is talking Wellness kitten though.... At least that's the one she mentioned.... Usually Core is the one that's too rich.... Kitten should be fine.... But, cats are cats, and some ARE sensitive to some foods no matter what - so this one might be sensitive to wellness kitten, who knows? I never heard of an issue with the regular wellness and the kitten - just with Core.
Oh, and adding to Alison's post: During the diet change, you should continue to give her Bene-Bac

carolina · Aug 17, 2011

Her is another thing I want to add:
If this kitten turns out to not tolerate Wellness and to tolerate Science Diet well, then be it. A good food is also a food that does well by the kitty.... If the food has excellent ingredients, but the cat can't tolerate... well, it is not good, is it?
So just be open to accept the fact that cats are really really different, and some of them will do well on not the best diets out there (in theory).
In my opinion, it is too early to judge what this kitty tolerates or not - It just so happens that SD was its original diet. So, on everyone's perspective, the kitty tolerated well, as it was ok before the food change. Well, but the fact is, that the food was also changed too fast - and any cat, with any food, would get diarrhea with a fast change of food - that does not indicate at all IMHO if the cat tolerates the food or not.
This kitty needs a fresh start IMHO and you will be only able to judge it in a while - probably a month month and 1/2 or so.

auntie crazy · Aug 17, 2011

Originally Posted by MiLu

2 days ago I took my 4 month-old to the vet for her diarrhea and she's been on baby food ever since. I was also supposed to give her 4 doses of pro-pectalin and daily bene-bac.

I'm happy to see that her poops are pretty much back to normal and all fecal tests came back negative. So the vet thinks it had something to do with me switching her food.

Lulu came from the shelter with the usual bag of science diet kitten kibble. First I added wellness kitten canned food and she was fine. Then I switched the dry food also to Wellness kitten brand. That's when things started to get runny

Now I don't know what to do when I switch away from the baby food. The vet said to slowly go back to the science diet, then slowly introduce the wet food and then slowly switch the dry.

What would you do? I'd prefer to skip the science diet.

I would ease her back onto the Wellness canned food and forgo any type of kibble at all. That would likely both resolve and prevent any further digestive upsets of that sort, as they are often caused by kibble products. The added advantage is that canned is so much healthier for cats.

After she's back on the Wellness canned full time, I'd also start adding in a rotation of other high-quality grain-free canned foods, like some of the Natural Balance, Innova Evo, and Nature's Variety products. This will keep your kitty from becoming fixated on any one product (bad if they change or stop producing it) and insulate her a bit if any one of the products run into a quality control issue.

Good luck!

AC

milu · Aug 17, 2011

Wow, lots to think about! Good things these little guys are so darn cute, they sure aren't easy (I say the same thing about my daughter

)

I will definitely continue the Bene-bac during the transition. I wish I had known all about it earlier, but by now I have read each and every post (thank you Carolina

) about it.

Forgo the Science Diet kibble and start with Wellness Kitten canned, maybe try adding some dry (for kitten) later.

THANK YOU!

minka · Aug 17, 2011

I'm with Auntie Crazy. Start adding the wet back in and forget the dry. Then start adding other brands/flavors in later.

What would you do?

milu

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carolina

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milu

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carolina

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alicatjoy

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carolina

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carolina

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auntie crazy

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milu

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