Farting Tortie

never had this problem in any other cats but this new Ally was farting on us about 5 times a day,  I mean enough to dump her off your lap and leave the blessed room.Our Opie has farted about 3 times in 7 years...This little girl has been doing it steadily since we got her. I did as the vet said and mixed her food 50/50 added more each day til I had her on Blue Buffalo Kitten food in the purple bag.. My Opie has blue buffalo for indoor mature cats or either the hairball remedy.

    Well today  at PETCO the guy told me that what I had her own was much too rich for her system.  It was more protein, no grains etc. Which was supposed to be a good thing I thought. He had me get the blue bag I feed Opie and said it did not have as much protein, a little bit of  grains and would be easier to digest....You all wish me luck, cause if this does NOT do the trick I will have to get the digestive problem type of food for her...My friend who used to work for a vet said," well Dummy, she was trying to tell you she had tummy problems every time she waited and farted on you guys!!: but you all would NOT listen!" I told her I needed an interpreter. so NOW I got the message...

 her stool has been about normal, a bit wetter than Opie, but fully formed and it was awful smelling too. I scooped soon as she finishes..

         Please think of me and wish me luck, hope this change does NOT give her diahreah.(sp) sorry

Ehhh. I don't think the people that work at Petco know what they're talking about. It does sound like she's having digestive issues, but the answer to that isn't to put her on lower quality food with more fillers.

I'd suggest you take her in for a vet visit, if you haven't recently. I'd also suggest you look at higher quality foods. Ideally she should be eating some wet food too, not just kibble, but if you want to still feed some kibble here's a good list of good quality kibbles. Make sure you switch her over to new food slowly by mixing old food with new food. Never feed new kibble without mixing the two. I'd also suggest giving her a daily probiotic. I use this one for all my cats, they get it daily in their morning meal. 

to what Missmimz said. Pet store employees often don't know much if anything about nutrition. So take what the Petco employee's advice about food with a grain of salt and do your own research into foods that won't cause gassiness.

Typically gassiness is caused by something in the food that doesn't agree with the cat's tummy. Grains, fillers, and poor quality meat are often culprits for many cats. Sometimes even a premium grain free high quality food can cause gassiness is some really sensitive cats. It may be a food allergy or sensitivity or just how the cat is.

A vet check may be in order to determine why the cat is so gassy. A limited ingredient diet may be tried for a couple of weeks to see if that helps. There are prescription foods the vet will likely suggest but there are also commercial brands such as Nature's Variety Limited Ingredients.

Excess gas is most likely a sign that the cat has issues with something in the food. Grains, potato and other fillers are often triggers, but specific proteins can be too. My girl has real issues with beef and guar gum, but is just fine so long as I avoid them.

Especially with a kitten, a vet check is a good idea too. You need to know that everything is working properly. I'd also want to be sure that she doesn't have any worms or other parasites, as these are often the cause of digestive problems.

Columbine said:

Excess gas is most likely a sign that the cat has issues with something in the food. Grains, potato and other fillers are often triggers, but specific proteins can be too. My girl has real issues with beef and guar gum, but is just fine so long as I avoid them.

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We have a similar situation: one of our cats was horribly gassy until we took all the potato and dry food (which generally contains more and carbier fillers than canned food) out of her diet. Fortunately we figured that out shortly after we adopted her! It sounds like your Ally might have a sensitive stomach like Edwina's. High-protein wet foods with no grains or potatoes made her fresh as a daisy.  I hope you're able to figure out Ally's sensitivities as easily as we were with Edwina.

I agree with the others about pet store food advice, too. We're lucky to have a guy at our local Petco who's a vet tech with a specific interest in feline nutrition (!) and really does study up on cat foods. And it was an employee at a regional chain who taught me a ton about feeding a combination of raw and canned foods, walking me through the whole store and going over the pluses and minuses of various brands. But then there's the clueless guy at another store who's asked me to give his customers advice about how to feed their cats! It's a real mixed bag out there in retail but that means you really know when you find the people who actually know what they're talking about. Unfortunately, there aren't many of them. And they often forget that a cat won't always eat the food that seems best for it!

Good luck with Ally!

she just spent 2 nights and days at the vet the week prior, so taking her back right now is not an option  ($$ wise). I did use the advice of probiotics cause I have taken them  for years myself, so I made her take one after she ate this morning. I wonder if she will eat her food if I take it apart and sprinkle it on her food, any ideas?

What was she at the vet for? Did you discuss her digestive issues whole she was there?

Personally, I wouldn't be comfortable using a probiotic made for humans for a cat. Our nutritional needs are quite different, and I'd imagine that the balance of good bacteria needed would be different too.

Most probiotics are easily disguised in food, and some are designed to be highly palatable. The best known cat probiotic is FortiFlora, and most cats go nuts for it! The downside is that it's only a single strain probiotic. A popular multi - strain probiotic is Proviable, but there are many options out there.

DBLJJ said:

 
she just spent 2 nights and days at the vet the week prior, so taking her back right now is not an option  ($$ wise). I did use the advice of probiotics cause I have taken them  for years myself, so I made her take one after she ate this morning. I wonder if she will eat her food if I take it apart and sprinkle it on her food, any ideas?

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I simply take the pill apart and mix in their wet food. I don't know how it would work on kibble, though. I always use human-grade probiotics with no issue. My vet said it was totally fine.

Thank you so much...never gave cat acidolphilus before but Didn't think sharing mine was such a bad idea, even if I cut the pill by half,( empty capsule by half I mean). if it works it will be worth it. I looked at some of the recommended foods prices and I swear I could never afford a cat if the bags were $65 to 70.00 each: heck that was why I did not use feline CD RX all the time, as it was.. We will see how she does giving her probiotics for a few days. Today so far she has farted twice at me.She climbs up in your lap and lets it rip!!  That was why my friend who worked for a vet said well she is is telling you she has tummy problems, but you were NOT listening....she was in hospital last week getting declawed however I do NOT care to be abused on here for having that done..

      She did just fine, would not even use the Yesterdays News litter I had to buy for her. Vet said  use that for a couple -3 weeks cause her paws would be sensitive to the other,well she climbed in the crystal and clay box the  second night   she was home and scratched to her hearts delight. When she was locked up she HAD to use Yesterdays News, but was not thrilled about it...

      Last night was the first night I put her and Opie together for the night.we bought  big dog bed big enough for 3=4 cats hoping they would curl up together, but this morning I checked he came from one direction and she came from behind the computer desk. I need my guest bathroom for the wk.end and that was her abode until yesterday, I had intended to house them together anyway after they got used to each other. I still leave the radio on soft music outside the door for them.

DBLJJ said:

 
Thank you so much...never gave cat acidolphilus before but Didn't think sharing mine was such a bad idea, even if I cut the pill by half,( empty capsule by half I mean). if it works it will be worth it. I looked at some of the recommended foods prices and I swear I could never afford a cat if the bags were $65 to 70.00 each: heck that was why I did not use feline CD RX all the time, as it was.. We will see how she does giving her probiotics for a few days. Today so far she has farted twice at me.She climbs up in your lap and lets it rip!!  That was why my friend who worked for a vet said well she is is telling you she has tummy problems, but you were NOT listening....she was in hospital last week getting declawed however I do NOT care to be abused on here for having that done..

      She did just fine, would not even use the Yesterdays News litter I had to buy for her. Vet said  use that for a couple -3 weeks cause her paws would be sensitive to the other,well she climbed in the crystal and clay box the  second night   she was home and scratched to her hearts delight. When she was locked up she HAD to use Yesterdays News, but was not thrilled about it...

      Last night was the first night I put her and Opie together for the night.we bought  big dog bed big enough for 3=4 cats hoping they would curl up together, but this morning I checked he came from one direction and she came from behind the computer desk. I need my guest bathroom for the wk.end and that was her abode until yesterday, I had intended to house them together anyway after they got used to each other. I still leave the radio on soft music outside the door for them.

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I'm glad that your cat is recovering well, but PLEASE educate yourself about declawing so you can choose not to do it to any future cats you may have. There is ample evidence that declawing is painful, and unnecessary. For the price you paid to get her declawed you could easily buy better quality cat food, which is likely the problem. While probiotics are good, they aren't going to fix your problem when she likely needs to be on better food. Yes, good food is expensive, but it will give your cat a better quality life.

DBLJJ said:

....she was in hospital last week getting declawed however I do NOT care to be abused on here for having that done..
      She did just fine, would not even use the Yesterdays News litter I had to buy for her. Vet said  use that for a couple -3 weeks cause her paws would be sensitive to the other,well she climbed in the crystal and clay box the  second night   she was home and scratched to her hearts delight. When she was locked up she HAD to use Yesterdays News, but was not thrilled about it...

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I'm not even going to comment on the declawing because what's done is done, but please take away the crystal litter for at least a week, possibly more. The reason the vet told you to use Yesterday's News was not because her paws would be sensitive (which they obviously are after being declawed) but because tiny grain litter can get embedded in the open sores on her paws, and cause the wounds to get infected. Yesterday's News is bigger pellets so they can't easily get shoved in her wounds. Litter is full of bacteria from being pooped and peed on. Please take that litter away or you could do further damage to your cat, and end up with another trip to the vet.

DBLJJ said:

never had this problem in any other cats but this new Ally was farting on us about 5 times a day,  I mean enough to dump her off your lap and leave the blessed room.Our Opie has farted about 3 times in 7 years...This little girl has been doing it steadily since we got her. I did as the vet said and mixed her food 50/50 added more each day til I had her on Blue Buffalo Kitten food in the purple bag.. My Opie has blue buffalo for indoor mature cats or either the hairball remedy.
    Well today  at PETCO the guy told me that what I had her own was much too rich for her system.  It was more protein, no grains etc. Which was supposed to be a good thing I thought. He had me get the blue bag I feed Opie and said it did not have as much protein, a little bit of  grains and would be easier to digest....You all wish me luck, cause if this does NOT do the trick I will have to get the digestive problem type of food for her...My friend who used to work for a vet said," well Dummy, she was trying to tell you she had tummy problems every time she waited and farted on you guys!!: but you all would NOT listen!" I told her I needed an interpreter. so NOW I got the message...
 her stool has been about normal, a bit wetter than Opie, but fully formed and it was awful smelling too. I scooped soon as she finishes..
         Please think of me and wish me luck, hope this change does NOT give her diahreah.(sp) sorry

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Could she have worms??

I completely agree with missmimz.

I hope your cat is recovering well.

Like others have said, she may have an intolerance or allergy to some food ingredients. Stinky poop or farting can be caused by parasites, worms (has she been dewormed?) or not being able to digest some ingredient in the food. Higher grain content in food usually is more likely to cause this than food with higher protein so definitely stay away from dry food or food with fillers. All all wet food diet is probably best, but stay away from lower quality wet foods, as this can give many cats diarrhea. It can take cats a while to adjust when switching food. I have had cats who had digestive issues every time the food was changed and took a month or so for it to go away completely. Some cats are more sensitive than others. It is also possible she could have something like IBD but usually there would be other symptoms. A homecooked or prescription diet may end up being what she needs, but I would definitely recommend an all wet diet first.

well I certainly spoke wrong, she did NOT go to a lower quality food just one that had a bit less protein, still NO grains. it is considered dry food but not dry and super hard like the cheap ones. After giving her a pill yesterday I put almost a  quart of the kibble in a tupperware bowl today and opened 2 of my probiotics all over it, and mixed it really well. it stayed on the food really well then I fed them both. Yesterday 2 farts in the afternoon , and today I have not noticed any, trust me IF she was in the room with me I would have been aware of it.. Lol. She has climbed all over the keyboard tonight, etc and seems better in that dept. as I said before as for worms, Parasites, etc, could not be   she had all the required treatment and then some 2 days after I brought her home, certainly did not want Opie catching anything from her however doc said the pink eye probably came from her as a carrier since he had NOT had it prior. 

  First visit for her was nearly 300.00  ear cleaning,ear micro exam,fecal sample,feline heartworm test, Hiv and lukemia test, intestinal fecal test, feline distemper,Rabies,Pyrantel 50 Mg, plus nails clipped,Revolution, etc. the whole 9 yards as they say.. 2 weeks after had her fixed then after that back to original hospital for recheck and boosters on her shots, another round of Revolution, recheck of ear mites and they had cleared up, they cleaned her ears and cut her nails again..

   so far it seems the probiotics have done the trick, will have to adjust the dosage I am sure it probably needs 3-4 capsules on a quart I take 3 a day myself, but will adjust slowly as needed... Thanks everyone for the advice and concern