Kitten tummy troubles?

kgropp16

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
May 6, 2016
Messages
45
Purraise
11
Location
Southwest Florida
So I adopted my nine week old kitten a week ago now and for the past few days she's been using the litter box very often, sometimes multiple times within the hour. Her stools seem to be normal in color but are loose and runny for the most part. I'm not sure what she was fed prior to me adopting her, but when I picked her up a week ago I started feeding her Merrick's Purrfect Bistro healthy kitten recipe for dry food which is grain free. I usually leave some in her bowl at all times for her to graze on. A couple times a day I give her a small spoonful of Fancy Feast's kitten wet food. Her dry food is chicken and her wet food is turkey.

I want to find out what is causing her tummy troubles but I'm not sure where to start since I've only had her a week. I know it can take time for a cat's digestive system to adjust to new food and so I don't know if I should wait it out and see if her condition improves or if I should stop feeding her wet food and see if maybe that's what's causing her stomach to be upset.

Any suggestions and advice would be greatly appreciated! My family has had cats in the past but this is the first time I've had a kitten to take care of and love on my own.

 
 
 

lillypie

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Feb 20, 2016
Messages
151
Purraise
11
Location
Indiana
Her stomach could just be adjusting to the new food, or it could be the stress of a new environment. My other guess would be worms - most kittens need to be dewormed three times from 8-12 weeks.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3

kgropp16

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
May 6, 2016
Messages
45
Purraise
11
Location
Southwest Florida
With worms, wouldn't I be able to see them in kitty's stool if that was the problem? Or is that not always the case?

I'm wondering if it would be worth switching to a more high quality wet food, perhaps Merrick since that's what I'm already feeding her for dry? Someone told me that the kind of wet food I feed her doesn't entirely matter but I'm not sure how true that is. I would have no problem switching to a more expensive canned wet food if it's better for her in the long run!
 

missmimz

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 11, 2015
Messages
2,301
Purraise
365
Kittens have incredibly sensitive tummies and can get soft stool from almost anything. I religiously give my kittens probiotics mixed in their wet food to help with this issue. Here's a link to different human grade probiotics you can buy and with the kitten dosage. They help a LOT and they're totally safe. 

I would definetly work more wet food into his diet. Merrick makes great wet foods, my cats especially like their LID wet foods, worth checking out. 

http://www.ibdkitties.net/probiotics/
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #5

kgropp16

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
May 6, 2016
Messages
45
Purraise
11
Location
Southwest Florida
Update:

I'm gradually switching her over to Hill's Science Diet healthy development kitten dry food. The Merrick's dry food is grain-free while Hill's is not. I wasn't sure if the grain free aspect could be causing her loose stools, but I figured it was worth a shot. She's visiting her food bowl a lot more often now that it has some of the Hill's mixed in with Merrick's, and she loves the Hill's wet food I've been giving her a few times a day.

I figure it's worth noting that her behavior hasn't really changed. She's still very active, playful, cuddly, and loving. I want to assume she's feeling all right, but at the same time I know that could just be her being a kitten.

Her stools are still very soft-looking, sometimes ranging from moderately loose to very loose but never really liquid like diarrhea. There's quite a bit of poop when she goes, too. Large cow pies is the best way I can think of describing it. 
 

lillypie

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Feb 20, 2016
Messages
151
Purraise
11
Location
Indiana
I would really suggest deworming her, it doesnt hurt. Most kittens her age do have some type of worm from Mama. Also, I wouldn't recommend Science Diet, it's expensive and not high quality whatsoever.
 

missmimz

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 11, 2015
Messages
2,301
Purraise
365
 
Update:

I'm gradually switching her over to Hill's Science Diet healthy development kitten dry food. The Merrick's dry food is grain-free while Hill's is not. I wasn't sure if the grain free aspect could be causing her loose stools, but I figured it was worth a shot. She's visiting her food bowl a lot more often now that it has some of the Hill's mixed in with Merrick's, and she loves the Hill's wet food I've been giving her a few times a day.

I figure it's worth noting that her behavior hasn't really changed. She's still very active, playful, cuddly, and loving. I want to assume she's feeling all right, but at the same time I know that could just be her being a kitten.

Her stools are still very soft-looking, sometimes ranging from moderately loose to very loose but never really liquid like diarrhea. There's quite a bit of poop when she goes, too. Large cow pies is the best way I can think of describing it. 
Grain free doesn't cause loose stool. Whatever is upsetting her tummy isn't going to be fixed by switching her to lower quality dry food. Cats are obligate carnivores, switch her to food that doesn't have fillers like corn and wheat, things cats can't digest and that will cause tummy issues. Wet food is what you really want her eating. 
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #8

kgropp16

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
May 6, 2016
Messages
45
Purraise
11
Location
Southwest Florida
I would really suggest deworming her, it doesnt hurt. Most kittens her age do have some type of worm from Mama. Also, I wouldn't recommend Science Diet, it's expensive and not high quality whatsoever.
Her adoption papers say she was dewormed on April 22nd. Would it be too soon to have her dewormed again?

Also, thanks for the advice regarding Science Diet! I'm still learning all the ins and outs of kitty food so every suggestion helps. 
 I'll be keeping her on Merrick's Purrfect Bistro kitten dry food. I saw in one of your forums that you're feeing your girl Merrick's wet, so I picked up some cans of that today and Moscato seems to really love it so far! I'm just a little confused about how frequently during the day I should be feeding it to her. She's about 9 weeks old. Any suggestions?
 

lillypie

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Feb 20, 2016
Messages
151
Purraise
11
Location
Indiana
You can feed her however much she will eat. The "guidelines" recommend one 5 oz can per 6 lbs of bodyweight but kittens can eat twice that :) I think it would be too early to deworm again, I would recommend doing it again a month from her last one. Kittens usually get dewormed 3 times during the period of 8-12 weeks.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #11

kgropp16

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
May 6, 2016
Messages
45
Purraise
11
Location
Southwest Florida
Thank you all so much for your help! Hopefully we'll start seeing some improvement in her stools soon. 
 I want to believe she's feeling fine because she's acting as though she is, but her poo is telling me a different story!
 

lillypie

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Feb 20, 2016
Messages
151
Purraise
11
Location
Indiana
Yeah, Lilly had the same exact issue and we thought she was fine because she acted normal but turned out she actually had Giardia. Keep an eye on her weight! If she seems too thin I would go get a fecal exam with Giardia screening to make sure there is no parasite.
 
Top