intermittent diarrhea 10yr F on wet food

Okay, so here is my problem:

Norah has been having intermittent diarrhea and loose stools. I transitioned my at the time two cats to wet. For a time I was attempting to put them on higher wet quality like Weruva but it was hit or miss and they both didnt seem to like it as much (or eat as much) compared to 9 Lives.

I have had 3 cats since June (Quinne a kitten is on dry kitten kibble) and although the big girls are still on wet food (combo of 9 Lives and Fancy Feast), every time I turn my back Norah is on the table eating Quinne's dry food. Norah came from dry food and loves it dearly. I don't even know if she had eaten enough of it to give her these digestive problems, I just thought it was worth mentioning.

She still runs like crazy and plays and scampers, doesn't appear to be in any pain or discomfort. but since she's going to be 11, I'm worried about her bathroom 'issues'.

if it doesn't improve i will take her to the vet for sure... but any tips, advice, words of support would be appreciated.

My boy is about 8 years old, and it seems he just does not do well on large amounts of wet food. Gets very loose stools. Ideally, since he had struvite crystals, I'd have him on all wet, but the vet and I think it's just not worth the digestive issues. In our case, he gets a bit of Hills CD wet daily, and the CD dry kibble and then his stools are far more firm and he seems happier. He just loves his dry food and always has since the day I got him as an adult stray.

If it were me, and absent any other symptoms, I might transition Norah slowly back to more of a dry diet and see if the issue resolves itself. And I'd probably chat with my vet to get her take on it as well.

Good luck - it's so hard finding a 'perfect' food for our babies.

Originally Posted by darlili

My boy is about 8 years old, and it seems he just does not do well on large amounts of wet food. Gets very loose stools. Ideally, since he had struvite crystals, I'd have him on all wet, but the vet and I think it's just not worth the digestive issues. In our case, he gets a bit of Hills CD wet daily, and the CD dry kibble and then his stools are far more firm and he seems happier. He just loves his dry food and always has since the day I got him as an adult stray.

If it were me, and absent any other symptoms, I might transition Norah slowly back to more of a dry diet and see if the issue resolves itself. And I'd probably chat with my vet to get her take on it as well.

Good luck - it's so hard finding a 'perfect' food for our babies.

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thank you! yes i think ill try that (she'll be so happy, lol)

Originally Posted by darlili

My boy is about 8 years old, and it seems he just does not do well on large amounts of wet food. Gets very loose stools. Ideally, since he had struvite crystals, I'd have him on all wet, but the vet and I think it's just not worth the digestive issues. In our case, he gets a bit of Hills CD wet daily, and the CD dry kibble and then his stools are far more firm and he seems happier. He just loves his dry food and always has since the day I got him as an adult stray.

If it were me, and absent any other symptoms, I might transition Norah slowly back to more of a dry diet and see if the issue resolves itself. And I'd probably chat with my vet to get her take on it as well.

Good luck - it's so hard finding a 'perfect' food for our babies.

Click to expand...

at between age 7-10 yrs cats become seniors ( hard for many to handle as many have had kitties see late teens and beyond) ... they often need a diet change as their inside are changing( think about a 50 yr old human most need a different diet to some degree than they did at 20) ... a 8 yr old cat is roughly = to a 56 yr old human

you may want to try a lower grain wet or a non gravy wet .. In my experience wet food works better than dry in older cats YMMV

Have you done senior blood work ? If not good idea just to be safe

If your cat normally eats only wet and then randomly eats dry, I would say that could cause stomach (and later poop) issues. There's a reason why you have to transition dry food so slowly, it's too hard on their systems otherwise.

You have to remember that higher quality food equals less consumed, so they may indeed have been eating enough. Also keep in mind that Fancy Feast and 9 Lives are similar to how McDonalds is to us; it's tasty, and when you have the mindset of a child, impossible to resist. So yes, they may like the FF more than say Weruva, but that's alright; you have to do what's best for them. I just letting you know this if you were still interested in changing them to higher quality food, as that may also help the issue.