Switching cat foods

Hi Guys

We have noticed that out cat has had soft stool ( Not diarrhea just softer then usual ) and the vet put us on a new food for her to see if that will help. She told us to mix it with the other stuff for about a week before switching over to the other stuff completely. Is a week about right? If we notice that the stool is still soft today or tomorrow should we stop the mixing and and go back to the old? or just wait a few days for the new stuff to go through her system

Thanks

Jeremy

I would research what you are switching her over to if it is RX especially.  When I would switch drys I would do a bowl 25 new/75 old a few days then go to 50/50 then 75/25.

A week sounds about right time wise. I wouldn't switch her back after just a day or two, that's not long enough for her body to adjust to it and see how it's actually going to work for her. Did the vet tell you to mix the foods together for a few days? Like the previous poster said, 75% old, 25% new for a couple days, working your way up to 50/50, and then 25/75 before you start using all new food. Kitties have fragile digestive systems and a new food can be a shock to them if you don't work them up to it slowly. What food did the vet put her on? And what was she eating before?

Thanks for the help.

She is not a kitten she is almost 9. She was on the Hills TD food and now we are trying the medi-cal gastro intestinal food. Both are dry
 

Hi Guys

Just thought I would drop in to let you know about the food.

We are pretty much done with switching out cat over to the other food, we have been taking it slow decreasing day by day. And all I can say is WOW she is like a different cat.

Her poop is back to being firm, yet still soft but back to where it once used to look like. She seems to have more energy now but then again she always did and just keeps wanting to play. She loves the new food also, its funny because she will eat all the new stuff and leave the older food until the very end.

I notice something weird though. When she was having the very soft stool ( which stunk bad, but now has gone right away with the new food ) she wasnt covering it all but now that the stool has gone back to normal and doesnt stink she has gone back to covering it???? I wonder if by not covering it was her way of saying the old food was making her feel sick and wanted to make sure we knew?
 

Hi there.

When my cats were on dry only, their poop was exactly how you've described. Made cleaning the litterbox an even worse job. I would advise on supplementing their diet with wet food, or ideally changing them over to wet food altogether! Wet food has much more moisture in it and may clear up the poop issue. You could also try a probiotic, they help achieve proper gut flora.

KitKat81 said:

Hi Guys

We have noticed that out cat has had soft stool ( Not diarrhea just softer then usual ) and the vet put us on a new food for her to see if that will help. She told us to mix it with the other stuff for about a week before switching over to the other stuff completely. Is a week about right? If we notice that the stool is still soft today or tomorrow should we stop the mixing and and go back to the old? or just wait a few days for the new stuff to go through her system

Thanks

Jeremy

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You didn't indicate if the diet is a script diet or not.  If it's a script diet I would dig in and pick the vet's brain as well as do my own research on converting.  If it's a commercial food, it has been my experience that 2 weeks of mixing is the most beneficial. 

NutroMike said:

You didn't indicate if the diet is a script diet or not.  If it's a script diet I would dig in and pick the vet's brain as well as do my own research on converting.  If it's a commercial food, it has been my experience that 2 weeks of mixing is the most beneficial. 

Click to expand...

I agree. For commercial dry food, 2 weeks of mixing the food is the best option.