slightly runny poo stuck to butt - food related???

Last night my guseepoo was scampering around the house scooching his butt on the floor.  After close investigation I realized he had slightly runny poo stuck to his butt, well more like stuck to the hair around his bum.  He's long hair.  In the almost 3 years I've had him this has never happened. Gus is a very clean and fastidious cat.  Could it be the change in food?  It's been a couple of weeks since the change.  I've JUST recently started giving him the probiotics (just started this week and not everyday). 

I gave him some probiotics in his breakfast this morning and I'm hoping this was just a one time thing.  After they ate yesterday, I had some visitors help me move something heavy and both cats were skitsy about it.  I wondered if the stress of that right after he ate could have also caused this.  My Guseepoo has never been irregular in any way. It was a sad sight to see him scampering across the floor with  his but real low.  I guess I'll wait and see but I was wondering if runny poo could be from the food change 3 weeks after.

Poop getting stuck to the fur of a long haired cat isn't unusual even if you've never seen it before.

But, is the poop really runny or is it just smeared? If it got stuck in his fur and he sat down and scooted that would smear it. It could be too that his poop is a little moister, but not runny, with the food change and is more likely to get caught in his fur. 

If it is a one time occurrence I wouldn't worry about it. If he really does have runny poop that is another matter.

It definitly looked runny.  I will keep an eye on his poo and make sure it was just a one time occurance.  Just found it strange and felt very badly for him as this has never happened to him and he seemed REALLY upset about it, the poor thing.  Gus is my clean and obsessive groomer.

Wolcar, what food did you feed before and what food are you feeding now?

It's good you're giving probiotics because that should help, but I'm curious about the foods.

If the food switch occurred three weeks ago, I doubt very much that is the source of the problem. Has he eaten anything different? New treats? A new flavor?

Also possible it was a bug you didn't see. It is the season....

LDG, an actual bug? Can eating a bug cause runny poo?

I was feeding them evo and now they get Weruva and By Nature.  I'm also giving them some evo until I use it all up. No new treats or anything.  They are both actually down to one treat per day.

But they've been eating the Weruva and By Nature for 3 weeks? Or just on wet food only for three weeks? It wasn't clear if it was EVO wet and you've switched to Weruva and By Nature (like within the last few days) or if they were on EVO dry, and you switched them to the Weruva and By Nature wet three weeks ago.

If softer poop is from the canned food, it happens within 24 -48 hours or so (I'm pretty sure).

But yeah, I mean a bug. Billy and Ming Loy are bug hunters. Her favorite are moths. She's not had diarrhea from it, but I'm sure it can happen. In the summer, when we go in our out at night with the light by the door on, it's almost inevitable that at least a moth gets in here. I would think that could cause a problem with a cat's poop (or whatever bug, take your pick LOL).

If his poop remains soft, I'd compare the ingredients in the By Nature to those in the EVO. :dk:

wolcar said:

I was feeding them evo and now they get Weruva and By Nature.

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On another cat forum that I'm a member of, By Nature caused problems for quite a few kitties there (there was also something that looked suspiciously like rice in the food, but it's not on the ingredient list). Maybe remove the By Nature and see how the poo's look?

LDG said:

But they've been eating the Weruva and By Nature for 3 weeks? Or just on wet food only for three weeks? It wasn't clear if it was EVO wet and you've switched to Weruva and By Nature (like within the last few days) or if they were on EVO dry, and you switched them to the Weruva and By Nature wet three weeks ago.
If softer poop is from the canned food, it happens within 24 -48 hours or so (I'm pretty sure).
If his poop remains soft, I'd compare the ingredients in the By Nature to those in the EVO.

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I agree. Was confuddled on when the switch was made. Soft poo's will show up within 24-48 hours, sometimes less. I kind of suspect the By Nature, but just because of previous experience by others.

What probiotic are you using? It could be that that is not the right type for kitties, not working, or even giving too much or too little.

I think this is unlikely to be related to eating bugs. I feed crickets every week and the only issue I've ever encountered is when I first started, one of the six cats - Heather - ate too many too fast and regurgitated them (not a pleasant experience for any of us). That was several years ago and not only have I not had a problem since, I recommend feeding bugs all the time and not had anyone tell me they've run into an issue. Not saying it can't happen, just that I think it unlikely.

So, most probably food-related.  ;-}

How's the kitty today?

AC

The probiotic is Natural Factors Acidophilus & bifudus.

I don't think I've seen a poo in the box since Friday from either kitties.  Actually, I think there was on in there Saturday morning but I think it was from Ulysses not Gus - can't be positive, though. I'm hoping  there is a poop in there when I get home.

I've noticed since changing their foods there is less poop. On the Evo canned they each peed and pood once a day.

One of the hallmarks of runny poo is frequency. If you haven't seen anything in the box for that long you probably won't be seeing any more runny poo.

Yeah, good point on the bugs, AC. I just threw it out there as a possibility because I was under the impression the food switch was three weeks ago, and if so, to have runny poop from it now would be really unusual. :nod:

But wolcar, that's why I asked about the timeline of which food was fed when.

But glad it seems to have cleared up! :cross:

Yes, it was about 3 weeks ago since the food change. No poop in the box when I got home today to check but I guess it has passed since it hasn't been runny.  It was just a shocking sight to see Gus flipping out with the runny poo stuck to his bum.

Can stress cause runny poo?  Just wondering...

I really don't know! :dk: Stress can wreak havoc on a body, so I wouldn't rule it out.

It sure as heck can in people - probably cats too.

Then I just might chalk the experience up to him eating and then company coming over immediately after to help move heavy furniture around.  My cats are usually pretty good with loud noises and visitors, even though our house is a very quiet one, aside from the rumba; but when these guys came over to help me move some things they were pretty skitsy very soon after they ate. 

This is why I could never handle having kids - lol. My cat gets runny poo ONCE and I'm a worry wort about it. lol

Mine are LH, and on a rare occassion, a poopie will get stuck to their britches, it is common with LH cats.   Stress can cause upset tummies, same as with people, and that may account, for the soft runny poopies, especially, since it was just after they ate.  Stress is also, one, of many causes of urinary/crystal/bladder issues.   

If I have to have someone come in, I shut them in the bedroom, with water and a cat box, not so much for the stress, but so they don't get out or stepped on in the confusion.  If kitties get stressed from people coming in, you might want to consider shutting them in the bedroom. I also would not feed them, until they have calmed down.

Keep an eye on them. If it was just the stress, it will be a one time thing, the runny poop, but if it continues, it may be the food.  Hope they are feeling better soon.     

Just an update:  2 very good looking poos in the box this morning! lol

Doing the poop dance! :lol3:

Glad to hear things are “shaping” up, haha! I had a similar issue with my cat, and we actually put him on a dry food that has prebiotics in it called natural balance Alpha, which really seemed to help him get regular. It has psyllium fiber in it, just like Metamucil, which is really good for colon health. Supplements like this really do help cats!