I feel so overwhelmed and just not sure what to do anymore!!! HELP

I have 2 kittens 1 male and 1 female - same breeder, different litters, but they are half siblings. We got the male (Neko) first and the female (Snooki) 10 days later.

When Neko first came (Sept 8) he had great looking stool - firm tootsie rolls

Then when Snooki came (Sept 18), her first stool was the consistency of pudding and within days Neko's was the same.

At the breeder both kittens had been on science diet and performatrim canned (sp?), and after getting Neko I had started to read about Hills SD and decided this was not the most nutritional food on the market for my babies so I slowly started moving him off the breeders food and onto Wellness kitten dry and wet... 10 days later when we got Snooki (on a whim - she was our unplanned kitten) Neko was completely off the food he was eating at the breeder and still doing good! Within days of us having the new addition, both cats had pudding poops... so I chalked it up to stress since the kittens did not get along the first few days and they had gotten their shots.

A week later and no improvement I saw Neko poop a clear mucus on a Friday afternoon. I wasn't sure what to do and so I looked on the net to see if this was enough cause for alarm warranting an emergency visit to the vet. I read that to settle their stomach I could make a home made boiled chicken and rice dinner, which I did and left them on all weekend. By Tuesday there was no improvement from the earlier pudding poops so I called the vet... explained and he advised to keep giving them the chicken and rice and to mix in a small spoon of lactose and fat free yogurt, which I did and by thursday no real improvement so we booked a vet visit for the friday, but longer story a bit shorter we ended up leaving another stool sample (our second as I opted to check for worms and such when we gave them shots and this was a more "indepth" test) we went back the monday and they got meds for colitis (salazopyrin)

5 days no improvement back to the vet, (I started reading on wellness for kittens and read some complaints that this food caused bad poops for some kittens so I changed their food and now we are on Blue buffalo kitten food). Vet told me that was naughty and not to change their food again and now they are on panacur for 7 days but I am not seeing any improvement!

I called my breeder yesterday and told her how the kittens have been doing... and she immediately said - too much protein, the meds are not good for them and that stuff kills their intestines - take away the wet food give them dry only. But then... that goes against everything i ever read and knew about cats that they should be having wet to get more mosture in their diet (which was the downfall of my older cat who started to develop kidney and liver problems for lack of moisture). Why would my vet give me panacur for my kittens if it's bad for them? I asked about learning to use a raw diet, and she said it's amazing... but only for the female and not the male? But I can't do that... they eat together and share food. And that left me confused also... why can't the male have raw?

I am just on information overload and is seems that every corner I turn I read that what I think is bad is good and what is good is bad, vet says SD is not bad for cats... despite the corn and meat by product??? I just dunno anymore what to do... fact of the matter is... I have 2 kittens who are playing... eating well and seem content, but they have had diarrhea for over a month now!

What do I do???

Bengals often have sensitive tummies and are easily upset by diet changes. Some do well on raw, others don't, and some do need to stay on dry food or the tummy issues flare up. Just part of having a hybrid unfortunately. 

Honestly? I would 100% recommend raw for both.
You can always start with a commercial..... I don't think you can go wrong there.....

Bengals are a touchy breed regarding digestive issues,  from what I understand.  I'd be careful with the food switching back and forth.  While I disagree from my own personal standpoint with removing the wet; this may very well be what is needed for your babies and go on dry as the vet recommended. At least on a temporary basis.  After getting the digestion on track slowly introduce tiny amounts of wet back into the diet at a time. 

This is what I would do if I were in your situation.  And this is just me, no one else's opinion.  I would immediately get a second vet opinion and see what they said.  At that point, I would act accordingly.

Raw may be a viable answer but I'd certainly only do it under the guidance of a veterinarian.  Just my
 

I don't see where in your post you say your cats are Bengals but since everyone seems to think they are I'll assume you posted that somewhere else. Although it really doesn't matter. Other breeds can have the same problem.

Anyway, Bengals do have a reputation for having loose stools. My Bengal, Coco, had loose stools for the first few months after I got her. I tried literally over 100 different foods. Some helped a little but not much. Then I tried a combination prebiotic/probiotic/digestive enzyme product called Holistic Solution. Within 2 days after giving her that with every meal her stool was perfect regardless of what she ate.

I've suggested the HS to other cat owners with the same problem and I'd guess in about 50% of the cases it has worked for them also.

Some people have tried other, similar, products but in the few cases I know of at least the HS has a better track record for this particular problem.

If you decide to try the HS it's important that it be given at every meal. 1/8 of a teaspoon is all it took for Coco.


After I switched to a raw food diet Coco didn't need the HS anymore.

Good luck! 

I agree with Carolina, when she recommended a raw diet. My kitties' digestive issues cleared up when starting raw. But then again, I have no prior experience with Bengals.

SuzyL said:

I have 2 kittens 1 male and 1 female - same breeder, different litters, but they are half siblings. We got the male (Neko) first and the female (Snooki) 10 days later.

When Neko first came (Sept 8) he had great looking stool - firm tootsie rolls

Then when Snooki came (Sept 18), her first stool was the consistency of pudding and within days Neko's was the same.
...

but longer story a bit shorter we ended up leaving another stool sample (our second as I opted to check for worms and such when we gave them shots and this was a more "indepth" test) we went back the monday and they got meds for colitis (salazopyrin)
5 days no improvement back to the vet, ... Vet told me that was naughty and not to change their food again and now they are on panacur for 7 days but I am not seeing any improvement!

What do I do???

Click to expand...

This sounds to me as if Snooki had some kind of internal parasite and gave it to Neko. Your cats were subsequently tested and treated with Salazopyrin for colitis, but that would not be a normal diagnosis, in my experience, after having fecal tests done. On the other hand, Panacur would only be administered if some type of intestinal parasite is found.

I think in your case I would do two things: absolutely feed those babies a wholesome raw diet, including probiotics, AND get another thorough fecal test done on both cats by a different vet. Since the problems started before the food change, they may have nothing to do with food at all. In either case, a vet that prescribes intestinal inflammation meds to kittens without any type of relevant testing and then bounces over to internal parasitic meds without ever mentioning there might be a parasite present is not a vet for whom I'd have a lot of confidence.

I hope you can find the problem soon! 

AC