Cat poop problem... Still

I have wrote a forum on here before about this; regarding that he was treated this past summer for giardia and all further results were negative for anything, but the problem did not go away and has no come back after a brief period of being gone...... 

Ok. So. It started this past early summer with issues with sort-of-diarrhea (I say this because his stools have always been semi-formed, but the issue is with wet runny poop sticking to hit bum hole or a little tiny wet “piece” left over in the same area). He was around 5 months old when it started? Sometimes it’s worse and sometimes it’s not as bad. When he first started having this issue, we took him to the vet after trying various foods, probiotics, etc. The vet took several samples and one came back for Giardia and he was treated and further samples showed that he no longer had it. Only issue is he was still having the same issues with his stool. This never changed.. After trying several different foods and giving those time to see if his gut would react we finally found a limited ingredient diet (Nature's Valley Instinct Turkey) and he did not have any problems for most of December (not one issue with “left over mud” on his anus). End of December it started up again even though no diet changes had been made.

 So now I am stumped. I've taken him to the vet so many times before about this and it got to a point with them where they did not know what to suggest, because the same thing happened with all foods (both dry and wet “pouches”; he is picky and will not eat canned food or freeze dried raw at all - instead he would rather starve himself) and he has no other symptoms (he is super playful, sleeps consistently, has an appetite, and seems like a “normal” cat). They were thinking anal glad issues, but sometimes it's "bad" and I know that this is just stool and not anal gland stuff (I also work with dogs in a salon so I know what anal glads smell like too... this is not that).

He is now 11 months old. He is a purebred; I don't know if this is relevant. Currently he has 1-2 bowel movements a day, usually right after his main breakfast and dinner meal and reliably always needs a “clean” after coming out of the box. His stools are semi-formed with the old soft/wet being at one end so to speak. He has the same issues when he was free fed. Sanitation is not an issue, his bowels are cleaned daily and same with water dishes.

Here are foods that he has been on and had the problem with: royal canin kitten dry and wet; orijen kitten/cat, regional; blue buffalo kitten, natural balance wet pouches, natures valley limited ingredient rabbit and also turkey. The only thing that has helped is stella and chewys freeze dried raw, but he refuses to eat this now (he ate it when he was little as a side dish to his kitten food).

I am hoping someone has has similar issues or maybe some guidance for where I should go next...

omg sounds so similar to my kitty problem but my kitty is only 7 weeks old right now. hes had diarrhea for the past week almost. I just got him some Albon medication from the vet which is to clear up Coccidia (Coccidiosis) . he was treated for worms and tested negative for worms/parasites but still had the diarrhea. they said this would help with it. we're only on day #2 of the meds but if they help, I will let you know and maybe that could be an option for you. I've tried a few different foods for my baby as well. The vet suggested i/D prescription food. Its very mild and bland and its for cats with gastrointestinal issues. my kitty likes it but like i said, its only been 2 days so there hasn't been any changes yet.

also, i read that certain cat litters can cause kittys problems. i tried to switch to a all natural brand but it was pellets and he wouldn't go in it. but maybe your kitty can try it.

keep me posted if you find anything else out as well. I'm in the same boat as you! no fun!

It definitely seems to be a food allergy of some sort or gut flora imbalance.

You said that you have tried probiotics...have you ever tried the brand called Nexabiotic? This brand is different than others because it has a strain called Saccharomyces Boulardii (among lots of other strains) that many other probiotics don't offer. This treated my cats loose stool when we were having issues about a year ago. I tried regular probiotics but that didn't firm up his stool. I gave him 1/2 a capsule of the Nexabiotic probiotic, twice a day (so 1 capsule a day total). Now, I only give him 1/2 a capsule once a day with his dinner meal and it is keeping him in check. It's worth a shot if you haven't tried it. I get mine on Amazon.

In regards to the freeze dried raw...have you tried offering it dry since your cat doesn't seem too fond of wet food? If he eats it dry (though not ideal) you can feed it to him that way and work up to moistening it later. Stella and Chewy's is an excellent freeze-dried raw.

Just some suggestions!

Has kitty been tested for Tritrichomonas Foetus?  It requires a special test and usually not done at the vet's office. It's usually sent out to a lab.