Kitten with Cow Patty Stool

Hi all -

When my kitten came home, he was eating Fancy Feast Kitten and Royal Canin baby food.  I transitioned him to Wellness Kitten wet, and Chicken Soup for the Kitten Lover's Soul dry.  For the first couple of days on that, his stool was fine.  Now all of a sudden, we're getting the cow patty shaped, khaki colored stools multiple times per day.  

What I can think of is a) Diet-related, although is it normal for this to flare up after a switch?  He was fine with the food at first.  Should I try a different food?  Is Wellness maybe too rich for him?  b) He's now having contact with my other cat.   Is it possible he picked up something from her?  She's healthy as ever, but maybe she has some bacteria that her system has just adjusted to and his can't handle it? I'm thinking maybe giardia or coccidia?  It seems that would have already been an issue when he came home, but if he got it from Mal...?

I'm really stressed out about this because *of course* it is happening while my car is in the shop, so transportation isn't as easy as it normally would be.  He seems fine otherwise - wants to run and jump and play, drinks plenty of water.  I just want him to get better soon!  

I don't really have an answer, as I haven't had any previous experience with this. The Royal Canin Babycat canned food is actually very good, as is the Wellness kitten. But you might want to switch his dry food over to another brand, as Chicken Soup for the Kitten Lovers Soul was recently included in the Diamond recall: www.diamondpetrecall.com

Dry food isn't very good for kitties, because as cats have a very low thirst drive, they get all their moisture from the food they eat. Dry food has no moisture, and is high in carbohydrates. I think maybe your kitten's stool could be improved if he was put on a wet food only diet?

There is a lot of info on dry food vs wet food, as well as how to transition kibble addicts to canned only on this website: http://catinfo.org/docs/Tips for Transitioning PDF 1-14-11.pdf

It could be possible that the dry food is causing the funny stools?

Not really sure, but hope all goes well and your kitty is okay.

Has your kitten been to the vet yet? I don't know how long your car will be tied up, but I don't think this is URGENT (kitten doesn't feel hot, right?). I would want a vet to see ANY kitten I just adopted, and you might want to get a stool sample in for a fecal, just to make sure there aren't any parasites (there often are in rescue kitties).

But I suspect it's diet. As Kittlover has already pointed out, you may want to try eliminating the dry food from the diet and see what happens. :nod:

For the most part, what comes out is dependent on what goes in. Cats, just like people, should have a bowel movement once a day, and it shouldn't smell. They shouldn't be gassy or crampy. So many people seem to think it's normal for a cat to have stinky and/or soft poop. That only means the diet they're eating doesn't agree with them. Best to stick to grain-free foods, even better if low-carb. Cats are obligate carnivores, after all - you don't see feral cats raiding the vegetable garden or corn field. :lol3:

I have 2 kittens that can't handle the wellness wet. It makes them loose and smell soooo bad! The others do ok on it but it does seem to rich for these guys. I changed them over to a different wet and within 2 days all systems were back to normal and my poor nose wasn't taking a beating everytime they went potty.

He has had his new kitten exam, and at that time they didn't find anything in his fecal.  This was, of course, about two days before the poos started getting really bad.    I know sometimes giardia doesn't show up on a regular exam, so if adjusting his diet doesn't work, maybe that's something to consider?

I have him on all wet food right now - he's mainly annoyed that he can't snack during the day when I'm at work.  I just want his little tummy to settle down.  He seems fine otherwise, and I am crossing everything that it stays that way.  I should have my car back in the next couple of days, so at least then it will be easier to make an emergency hospital visit if I have to.
 

Giardia is always a possibility for the reasons you point out. But if his stool was normal (not diarrhea or soft) then, it's most likely not the problem.

Something that may help - and I recommend be used daily anyway (yes, for life! For us AND for kitties) is an acidophilus probiotic. For young kitties, I recommend a child's dose; for adult cats, a human dose. So for a kitty, you're looking for an acidophilus supplement that has 5 billion active cultures; for older kitties 10 billion active cultures. Any acidophilus supplement should help. I use Natural Factors acidophilus+bifidus, purchased from the refrigerated section of the health food store. I just sprinkle the capsule on the food, cats like it. For a kitty, you could just use 1/2 a capsule.

Hope her GI system settles down soon!!!!! :rub: