Cat Stopped Eating Dry Food, Diarrhea.

Hi,

I've recently purchased a Tyger kitten from a breeder. He's a little over 3 months, neutered. The breeder would feed him wet food two times a day, and the rest of the meals in the middle of the day, dry. Sometimes replacing a wet food meal with raw meat. I have the same exact brands she fed him. He gobbles up the wet food, but avoids the dry food at all costs. He even had no hesitation tackling raw meat. Ate every single thing on his dish. He doesn't meow much and is still hyper. My worries have increased now since the last two times he's used his liter box, he suffered from diarrhea. The breeder recommends switching up brands. But he won't eat different brands, not even treats. So far, nothing dry. Now she says give him some plain yogurt and as a last resort take him back to her for a few days to see if he eats normally again. I've been thinking of taking him to the vet. Thoughts?

Correction: Toyger, not Tyger.

I think a vet visit is a good place to start. They can take a fecal sample and see if the kitten has any parasites or coccidia, etc...

How long has the kitten been with you? If you've only had him a few days, the diarrhea could simply be due to stress, but I still suggest starting with a vet visit, just in case.

I will also mention that some cats cannot tolerate dry food. We have over a dozen cats in our rescue right now that are canned-only diets for this very reason.

Let us know what you find out at the vet.

And congrats on your new addition! We love pics around here. =)

CatPack said:

I think a vet visit is a good place to start. They can take a fecal sample and see if the kitten has any parasites or coccidia, etc...

How long has the kitten been with you? If you've only had him a few days, the diarrhea could simply be due to stress, but I still suggest starting with a vet visit, just in case.

I will also mention that some cats cannot tolerate dry food. We have over a dozen cats in our rescue right now that are canned-only diets for this very reason.

Let us know what you find out at the vet.

And congrats on your new addition! We love pics around here. =)

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He was eating dry food plenty with the breeder. He's been with me only since this past Sunday evening. He seems comfortable with us since he has someone around most of the time since I'm out of college on break.



I'll see how things go and take him to the vet if nothing improves. He did not diarrhea on Sunday or monday day, if that's worth mentioning. Started yesterday.

Ok, it could very well be stress from the move to your home and separation from mom and littermates.

The yogurt suggestion by the breeder is that yogurt is like giving a cat a probiotic and can help restore proper gut flora due to stress, food changes, etc. So, this wouldn't be bad to try.

I would use a good plain Greek yogurt.

But, yes, if no improvement, I'd suggest a vet visit before returning to the breeder.

I think it's a good idea to visit a vet if her diarrhea doesn't clear up very soon.  If she has a parasite, it's best to get it treated quickly.  

One random thought:  Make sure you don't leave any food or snacks unattended on the counter or coffee table.  Sneaking and eating people food can give kitties diarrhea.  

Do you know if the kitten has been wormed?  Most kittens have worms and will need to be wormed.  If the diarrhea continues definitely get a stool sample to the vet and ask about deworming.  Start with just a small amount of greek yogurt.  I have also used canned pumpkin.  Not pie filling, just plain canned pumpkin.  It helps to harder up the stool.  My cats prefer pumpkin to yogurt.

Update: He licked up all the yogurt when I gave it to him. His appetite is normal, and his stool firmed up finally, the other day. Our breeder insists he should be having dry food too, is this true? I thought cats were fine with all wet food diets. He also eats raw meat at dinner every other day or so. The only downside is he doesn't even put things in his mouth if it's dry. So I can't even give him a treat when he does something I like.

A canned only diet is perfectly fine. Just make sure he gets 4+ meals a days right now and feed him as much as he wants.

The number of meals can decrease as he gets older.

Originally Posted by CatPack  

A canned only diet is perfectly fine. Just make sure he gets 4+ meals a days right now and feed him as much as he wants.

The number of meals can decrease as he gets older.

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I totally agree on all counts! (And I suspect our cats' vet would, too, since she's not into dry food. She's big on meat only, no tuna, grains, or carby fillers.) Kittens need lots of protein calories from meat, so it's great that your kitten wants canned foods instead of the dry stuff.

If the diarrhea comes back, one food that our cats like a lot is Soulistic's pouch food with chicken shreds and pumpkin. It might have been coincidence, but that seemed to help clear up diarrhea when one of our cats had it.

Your kitten is beautiful, @td465! I'm glad he seems to be feeling better!