worst poop ever!!

Im at my wits end....my 5 month old kitten has had bad diarrohea for the past 3 days...took ger to the vet....he said it could be the new food we have been giving her and recommended giving her cooked.chicken breast and rice....its 1:26pm now and she has pooped 3 times since 10am. she is still wanting to eat, drink and play but she looks like she is losing weight?! Im at my wits end....last week we was pooping in the lounge area on the carpet (hard stools) and now its completely like a puddle of mud...our other cat ks completely fine!! I dont know what to do...her stools are also sooooooo smelly....can anyone please help....im at the point where im thinking of adopting her out vecause i cant handle it anymore!!

louiseg said:

Im at my wits end....my 5 month old kitten has had bad diarrohea for the past 3 days...took ger to the vet....he said it could be the new food we have been giving her and recommended giving her cooked.chicken breast and rice....its 1:26pm now and she has pooped 3 times since 10am. she is still wanting to eat, drink and play but she looks like she is losing weight?! Im at my wits end....last week we was pooping in the lounge area on the carpet (hard stools) and now its completely like a puddle of mud...our other cat ks completely fine!! I dont know what to do...her stools are also sooooooo smelly....can anyone please help....im at the point where im thinking of adopting her out vecause i cant handle it anymore!!

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How fast did you switch the food and what are you feeding? What was she eating before?
One thing that can help is probiotics.... This one is very good - it is the one I give to all my cats, lots of members here use it too: Natural Factors Probiotics
Also......Sorry, but I have to say..... it's been three days! I know it can be frustrating..... But...... Thinking of adopting her out and because of a three day diarrhea?
Many of our cats had diarrhea issues for weeks, months, and some, like mine, for over a year.
Please take a step back, a deep breath and we will help you out to figure things out. It can be done. It is probably a quick diet change - and if it is, it can last a while.

I agree with Carolina- I know diarrhea is frustrating but just take a second to put it all back in perspective. Putting her on a boiled chicken and rice diet for a few days should really help firm her up but it won't happen instantly. Also, did the vet do a stool sample? If not I would probably request one to rule out any worms/parasites. If something like this is the cause you want to treat it as soon as possible otherwise it's just going to be an ongoing problem. 

Probiotics are a great thing to add and can really help with tummy troubles and make her more regular. If you need to confine her to someplace like the bathroom for a few days while this clears up that's fine and totally reasonable, just make sure you put her litterbox, water bowl, a bed, and some toys in there with her. And don't forget to go in there often for play time and snuggle time! 

Sometimes cats get sick just like humans do, and you just have to do the best you can dealing with it. After all, when Grandma gets the stomach flu we don't just drop her off at the shelter do we???   Go ahead and confine her and keep her on the bland diet for a few days. Once she starts getting better slowly start reintroducing her normal food. She may have some bouts of diarrhea during the process but hopefully it's just a little bit. If it remains severe have her re-checked by your vet. 

Be patient and good luck! 

went back to the vet with a stool sample today.....apparently nothing sinister was found. was given a few tins of prescription diet i/d feline gastrointestinal health food. told to give her this for a few days and see if her stools harden up. if they do i was told to start chicken breast and rice and then slowly introduce other foods. the vet seems to think it may be some sort of intolerance. what are your thoughts on what cats are mostly allergic too? Has anyone ever encountered this before?? i say i would get rid of her out of frustration and anger...i would never actually do it....i just find it hard to deal with!!

Thats good that there were no parasites or worms. As far as food intolerances, many cats are allergic to grains, more specifically, corn, wheat and soy which are frequently used as fillers in cat food and provide no nutritional value. This is a super common issue and you can find tons of threads on the subject over in the nutrition section. 

When you are ready to re-introduce dry or canned wet food to her diet I would highly recommend going with a grain-free formula. Many users who have cats with food allergies highly advocate for a raw diet as it is the best thing you can give to them. But, it's understandable that this is not always feasible and a lot of research has to take place before beginning (it's not as simple as just giving her some chicken breast). So, if you can't go raw, at least start with grain free and see how she does with that. 

If you free feed dry food and have other cats you will likely need to switch them all over to the same grain free brand. So, you may want to start them now with a slow switch so their stomachs can get used to it. 

I personally use (and love) the Orijen brand dry food and Tiki cat wet food. Other good grain free brands are Acana, Blue Buffalo, Nature's Instinct, and Wellness. Just keep in mind that most of these brands make both grain and grain free formulas so double check the labels that you are getting the right kind. (EDIT: you don't say where you live but you said 'tins' so I'm guessing UK or somewhere near. Not all these brands are sold there and I know there are some UK specific grain free brands that are amazing. Just Google and see what's sold near you). 

Yes, grain free is a little more expensive but it has tons of added benefits. Because it is more nutritionally sound they tend to eat less so the bag lasts a lot longer. It also makes their coats much shinier and (I know you'll love this-) their poop way less stinky! 

So, start researching grain free food to find a brand you like. And, check out the nutrition section for tons more info on feeding a cat with food intolerances. 

And I kinda figured you were just venting on giving her away, but it's always good to have some perspective. Now, go poke around over in Nutrition!  

Hi again i am actually in australia....knoq of any good brands here??

Did you have a stool specimen sent to an outside lab? The tests done at the vet's office often miss a lot. We've been going through the same thing - Mogli came from the shelter with the problem. The SNAP tests for giardia and coccidia were done twice and showed nothing, and so did the first outside lab test. I waited two weeks and then asked that another lab test be done for everything. Sure enough, enterohemorrhagic E coli was found and has damaged his intestines. He's just finishing up a round of antibiotics and is on a low-fat prescription single-protein grain-free diet, because we know he also has an intolerance to poultry and grain.
It takes some patience, but you should be able to get a grip on it. Raw may or may not help. In Mogli's case raw would have made the problem worse because it's too fatty for him.

Oh wow...the vet said that when we get her desexed at the end of this month he will send some specimens from her stomach to get tested at a lab for other issues....i am.unsure of any food that is grain free here in australia...or if its expensive....my vet is.pretty thorough...been going to.him for many years...cleo was part of a stray litter dumped at a friends vet...all the other kittens are doing fine...can anyone recommend any grain free food in australia??

Hopefully some members who live there will be along with advice, but it looks like you can get Evo, Felidae Elements and Ziwi Peak there.

louiseg said:

Oh wow...the vet said that when we get her desexed at the end of this month he will send some specimens from her stomach to get tested at a lab for other issues....i am.unsure of any food that is grain free here in australia...or if its expensive....my vet is.pretty thorough...been going to.him for many years...cleo was part of a stray litter dumped at a friends vet...all the other kittens are doing fine...can anyone recommend any grain free food in australia??

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Depending on how fast the issue resolves, you may want to postpone the operation. Diarrhea in a kitten can be life threatening, so it'll need recovery time.

Raintyger said:

Depending on how fast the issue resolves, you may want to postpone the operation. Diarrhea in a kitten can be life threatening, so it'll need recovery time.

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Of course!!

jcat said:

Hopefully some members who live there will be along with advice, but it looks like you can get Evo, Felidae Elements and Ziwi Peak there.

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I will definately look this up....thank u....i hope some more advice will come my way!!

Sounds like your vet thinks this is Ibd and wants to do a biopsy.... I will have to disagree with him. Your cat had solid stools until three days ago (not the case for an Ibd cat)....
Can you please let us know how exactly did you change his food? Did you you do it gradually, or did you just switch?
What was he eating before when he was having solid poop, and now?

Just a heads up that my Alex had severe IBD and never had diarrhea. Not every kitty has to have diarrhea with IBD. 

Carolina said:

Sounds like your vet thinks this is Ibd and wants to do a biopsy.... I will have to disagree with him. Your cat had solid stools until three days ago (not the case for an Ibd cat)....
Can you please let us know how exactly did you change his food? Did you you do it gradually, or did you just switch?
What was he eating before when he was having solid poop, and now?

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It would really help to know what he was eating, what you changed to, and how quickly you changed. :rub:

Also, fecal testing done at the vet is different than fecal testing sent out. This seems to be the case anywhere in the world. It's easy to look on a microscope for signs of round worm or tape worm (or lung worm); the nastier bugs that cause diarrhea (which can be dormant until a stress factor or food switch that changes the balance of the gut flora) have to be sent out to be found, as described by jcat. These can include coccidia, giardia, E. coli and others. Basically, you have to make sure the vet already checked for these things, and because they can be difficult to find, again, as described by jcat, it's best to have multiple tests done if the first several come back negative (if the diarrhea hasn't resolved with things being tried in the meantime). There was a member's cat that took FOUR fecals being sent out before the problem was discovered. With diarrhea, the kitties don't necessarily shed the cysts or spores easily.

Hi again
Cleo is much better today since starting the food that the vet gave us...also gave her a little chicken and rice.
She was on purina kitten canned food and dine kitten kibble and we changed her to purina pro plus premium kibble.....we did this only over 2 days roughly which i now know was a mistake.
She hasnt pooped now since yesterday so just hoping she is over the worst and will be back to normal soon.
We are to start her on chicken and rice tomorrow and then slowly start introducing her back onto her original food....no more purina pro plus for cleo!!
If another episode occurs i will get her stool sent away for testing (this is what my vet recommended)
Im a bit sceptical on starting her on new foods now....such as grain free.

The diarrhea was a result of a rapid food change. Food changes need to be done over 1-2 weeks, very gradually. In kittens, The slower the better. Probiotics help greatly. Food change diarrhea can last up to 2 weeks.
Always, always change the food very gradually to avoid this problem. I wouldn't be concerned about anything else if she was healthy before. This is very typical.

Carolina said:

The diarrhea was a result of a rapid food change. Food changes need to be done over 1-2 weeks, very gradually. In kittens, The slower the better. Probiotics help greatly. Food change diarrhea can last up to 2 weeks.
Always, always change the food very gradually to avoid this problem. I wouldn't be concerned about anything else if she was healthy before. This is very typical.

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Agreed. It does sound like it was just the change. But, if her diarrhea continues at least now you know where to start- by eliminating grain from her diet and going from there. 

Hopefully she will just keep getting better. 

I think it definately was the food...touch wood she is still doing well as of right now....starting her on chicken n rice for 2 days and then introducing her slowly back to her original food

Also will the grain free help with the stinkyness?! Lol