Cat shivering sometimes and currently changing diet

guinness10

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Hi, I got a 1-2 year old cat from a shelter 2 months ago.  They only had him for a few days.  He was fixed and given shots and tested for FeLuk (neg).  I  noticed he had soft stool and and horrible gas from day one.  After getting tested I discovered he had parasites.  He was given several different meds for this and also meds for a bacterial infection when the soft stool continued even after treatment.  I have since had him retested and the test was negative for parasites.  I decided to change his food to something chicken free and grain free to see if perhaps he has intolerance to something in his food.  I did this one week ago today and have been transitioning him.  He went from soft stool to back and forth, to normal stool for the last three days.  It appears to me the food has something to do with it and that in the beginning we were dealing with both parasites and food intolerance.  To me this is good news!  HOWEVER, I have noticed from the very beginning that he shivers sometimes.  He eats, drinks, pees, poops, plays like crazy, but at times he shivers.  This is of a concern to me as I dont ever think shivering is a good thing.  He does not do it all the time and when he does he will shiver and stop and shiver and stop like it comes in waves.  I can tell because I see his paws move back and forth slightly and feel him and can tell.  It sort of seems like he lays around more when he does it, as though perhaps he doesnt feel well.  You can get him to play when it is happening for a bit and even eat something not long after.  I have taken his temperature when it was happening and it was normal.  He has been awake and possibly asleep, warm, and cold purring and not.  Doing my best to rule things out, I just dont know if perhaps a week isnt enough time to get rid of the belly ache that was caused by the other food or if that has nothing to do with it.  The vet told me to give it some more time with the changed food to see if it subsides.  My concern is that it isnt that at all but I hope that it is because then at least I am on the right track.   Anybody?  I went through alot with my previous cat and swore myself off of getting another animal as my nerves couldnt handle it but the kids missed having a cat and I didnt think it was fare, but now I wish I would have taken more time as every little thing stresses me and I dont feel that this is a little thing, although I hope he just has a belly ache.  Guess I just want to know if anyone had a cat that just shivered sometimes or if they had food issues and had one that was shivering due to belly ache although I would think he still would have soft stool if that was the case.  Thanks!
 

mspurr

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If your cat keeps getting intermittent soft, gassy, smelly stool I would check him for tritrichomonas foetus you can read up on it here www.cvm.ncsu.edu/docs/personnel/gookin_jody.html Also sometimes my cats shiver when they are nervous or scared, could the cat be purring very deeply and you are feeling the vibration?
 
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guinness10

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Hi, thanks for responding to me!  He does it when not purring.  The stool has been normal for 3 days now and I do believe that the change in food is the reason for that although never say never.  If it goes back again then I know it must be something else and may even feel relief in the thought that the shivering is from that, not that I want him to have an upset tummy.  I have heard about the TF you mentioned and will look into that if his stool goes back to soft. 
 

stephanietx

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Sometimes, shivering is a sign of toxins built up in the system.  You might want to mention the problem to your vet and ask for a full blood panel to check the kidneys.  I know your kitty is young, and kidney problems are not common in young cats, but it can happen.  It would also rule out kidney problems.  Perhaps it's a neurological problem from trauma before you adopted him. 
 
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