please review Dolly's diet and provide help

Poor Dolly, the loose stool kid, still has the problem with dry food so this diet we give her will be  a life time thing:

We boil chicken8oz chicken breast, grind and mix  with Enova canned cat food 1/2can, chicken broth 2 oz, pumpkin 1/4 cup, rice 2 0z.  To that we add a little Blue Buffalo dry and mix.

She is crazy for the dry but can't tolerate it so we limit the amount of dry we add.

She is at about a 1 1/2 now and seems to be doing well teeth, weight, etc. but dad still worries.

Do we need to add anything?

Have you tried just plain canned food? There's no reason to add the dry food at all. Is the canned food you're using Innova or EVO? If it's Innova, no reason to add rice--it has plenty of veggies and stuff already.

What else have you tried for her diet?

The rule of thumb is that you can feed your kitty up to 15% of their diet "unbalanced" (not nutritionally complete) without long term risk. Unfortunately, cooking the chicken, without supplementing taurine and other vitamins and amino acids, kills a lot of the nutrients, so it sounds like long term, there may be issues with that diet. You could feed her that chicken raw, and you'd only have to supplement the calcium that's missing.

Have you tried finding a holistic vet to work with you on your options for treating her? Chinese Medicine solved our Chumley's problem with chronic diarrhea in just four days, after traditional western med options with our regular vets failed to find a solution (including hypoallergenic food) after 6 - 7 months.

Have you tried feeding her raw food? If her diarrhea is the result of a sensitivity to additives in commercial food (and this is the reason for diarrhea in many cats), feeding her a species-appropriate diet may be all it takes. Cats are carnivores: they have evolved and are designed to derive the nutrition they need from raw meat and organs. A diet of raw meat and organs does need to include either some bone or a calcium supplement. I feed raw homemade food and supplement calcium, I don't feed bones. Since being on the raw food diet, Chumley doesn't need any of the chinese herbal supplements that controlled his diarrhea and his allergies. A member of TCS, Carolina, fought IBD in her kitty Bugsy for several years - tried absolutely everything there is to try. He had diarrhea for... 18 months? after an issue with antibiotics. His stool went to normal after his first day on 100% raw food (she introduced it slowly, and introduced new proteins slowly). There are a number of commercial raw foods that are already 100% complete and balanced, so they're basically just as easy to feed as canned food. Just a thought for you to consider.

I am not a Vet, nothing I say is intended to take the place of you speaking with a Vet, and the following is only my own opinion: If you aren't going to feed a raw diet, which I think is best, if possible (and why I am awaiting a raw food supply shipment). I would try the following instead:Handful of Wellness (in the blue bag, not the core one), add warm water to the bowl, about 1/2 water to 1/2 dry wellness brand. Let it stand a while to soak up the water. If need be, add more warm water, and let stand. Object is to get the dry wellness to a soft water swollen consistency. Using this technique you can get the dry to any consistency, even soft enough a weaning kitten can eat it. I used to mix it with a little cat specific nursing milk to help encourage him eating the dry food that I made soft by making it soak up warm water. Just the soaked wet dry food alone should give her stools that are not too soft, as you gradually as the kitten ages, make the dry a little harder with less water (over a period of a month or two depending on her/his age currently). If a full grown cat, then the issue may just be her sensitivity to the type of dry food that she has been eating. I have yet to hear of issues with the Wellness (the one that comes in the blue bag) other than just dietary choices to go to a raw diet instead. Due to other illnesses or just as a choice.You are giving her a lot of food that will cause soft stools and possibly diarrhea, such as, pumpkin (it is a laxative). Chicken broth (can have spices that irritate sensitive stomachs), cooked chicken. Canned cat food (again can cause loose stool), blue buffalo (I've heard it causing diarrhea in both cats and dogs with sensitive tummies). Also, if you have been/are changing her food a lot (that can also cause diarrhea).So it is not surprising to me that she has diarrhea. When altering my cat's diet (type of food), I always add a little sprinkle of probiotic digestive aid for cats, just until their systems acclimate to the new food.The cooked chicken and cooked rice diet (minus chicken broth) is something often given to dogs for stomach upset, but that I know of, it is not a cat thing. Like the saying a dog can eat cat food, but a cat can not eat dog food. There is a reason for that tradition, cat's have more sensitive stomachs than dogs. I'm not saying a cat can not tolerate cooked chicken and rice, in this case, I'm saying that they are probably not doing the cat any good as a diet being so watery.If you are feeding a watery, loose stool diet in an effort to assist her because she has some sort of built up stomach blockage, then the watery consistency of the dry (soaked in warm water) will serve the same as the other food, and you could mix in the pumpkin for good measure and extra ensuring of loosening her bowels.Good Lucky with Dolly, I hope her stomach issues and her health get better.

The problem with soaking dry food is that kibble frequently is covered in bacteria ("animal digest" and other flavors sprayed on), and leaving it out too long could possibly cause a problem. Canned food shouldn't cause loose stools unless the cat is sensitive to an ingredient :dk:.

Willowy said:

The problem with soaking dry food is that kibble frequently is covered in bacteria ("animal digest" and other flavors sprayed on), and leaving it out too long could possibly cause a problem. Canned food shouldn't cause loose stools unless the cat is sensitive to an ingredient :dk:.

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It's just not safe to wet dry food unless it is going to be consumed immediately. Even then, I'd caution against it.

curiosityscat said:

...You are giving her a lot of food that will cause soft stools and possibly diarrhea, such as, pumpkin (it is a laxative).

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Actually, pumpkin is a fiber, not a laxative. It helps regulate the amount of water in the colon. It can help with either constipation OR diarrhea.

curiosityscat said:

Chicken broth (can have spices that irritate sensitive stomachs)

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If you're making your own broth by boiling chicken with nothing else, this should not be a problem.

curiosityscat said:

Canned cat food (again can cause loose stool)

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Canned food does not cause loose stools unless a kitty is sensitive to an ingredient in the food.

curiosityscat said:

When altering my cat's diet (type of food), I always add a little sprinkle of probiotic digestive aid for cats, just until their systems acclimate to the new food.

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This is an excellent suggestion, only I recommend providing a probiotic all the time. Feral cats/hunting cats eat the entire prey: this includes the stomach and intestines. This means that they "naturally" consume probiotics. ANY prepared diet (canned, kibble, raw) is missing probiotics unless supplemented. Probiotics help ensure healthy gut flora. The best probiotic supplement (IMO) is simply a human acidophilus supplement. Just ensure it has 10 billion active cultures.

curiosityscat said:

The cooked chicken and cooked rice diet (minus chicken broth) is something often given to dogs for stomach upset, but that I know of, it is not a cat thing.

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Actually, it is. Plain boiled chicken with the broth and a little rice will often help settle a cat's stomach.

curiosityscat said:

Like the saying a dog can eat cat food, but a cat can not eat dog food. There is a reason for that tradition, cat's have more sensitive stomachs than dogs.

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The reason for this saying is that dogs have the ability to synthesize a number of vitamins and amino acids (taurine; vitamin A from beta carotene) that cats cannot. Dogs can eat cat food because it is balanced and complete (though potentially too high in protein for long term consumption) for them. Cats cannot eat dog food, because dog food often isn't supplemented with taurine, and dog food often has a higher percentage of fiber and vegetables, not appropriate for a cat. Cats need taurine and Vitamin A supplemented in commercial canned and kibble foods, and higher protein than dogs.

curiosityscat said:

I'm not saying a cat can not tolerate cooked chicken and rice, in this case, I'm saying that they are probably not doing the cat any good as a diet being so watery.

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Cats actually need as much moisture as you can get into them comfortably. Being descended from desert animals, they have no natural thirst drive, they're "built" to get all their moisture from the food they eat. The amount of water going into a cat has nothing to do with diarrhea - in fact, if a cat (just like a person) has diarrhea, they may be dehydrated and need more water.


Again, it seems to me that Dolly is sensitive (or allergic) to ingredients in commercially prepared canned or dry food. You can either work to figure out what the ingredients that are a problem are, or you can simply try an all canned diet of brands that are primarily meat (like Evo, Merrick Before Grain, and Nature's Variety Instinct, or ZiwiPeak cans). If these cause a problem, the issue may be carageenan. If that's the case, it's probably best to consider a raw diet for her.

Thanks to all for your extensive comments.  We originally started this diet from a member suggestion.  It is called a "quiet diet" and is made to calm sensitive stomachs which it does with ms Dolly.  Tried several brands of dry..all with the same results...what we affectionately call "pudding stool".  Tried straight canned...she promptly refused to eat it.  When she is on the "quiet diet" her stool is fairly firm...we add the dry in small amount because she is so crazy for it.  But we have to watch the balance..too much dry and "pudding stool" raises its ugly head!

Her intense desire for the dry was what initiated my question about anything missing from the quiet diet.

Really wish we could find a dry since or other 3 at-home rescues are fed dry.  Having one "child" with its' own food is a real pain!!!

Thanks again to all

trudy1 said:

Her intense desire for the dry was what initiated my question about anything missing from the quiet diet.

Really wish we could find a dry since or other 3 at-home rescues are fed dry.  Having one "child" with its' own food is a real pain!!!

Thanks again to all

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Her desire for the dry has nothing to do with lack of nutrients and everything to do with taste. Dry foods are made to be very very tasty. The only way to get her to stop begging for it is to cut it out entirely. And especially if it is causing her upset, there is no reason to feed it. Start tapering down the amount of dry you add into the mixture until there is none left. :nod: