Merrick lamb lung treats, loose stools, and possible feline acne

silverpersian

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Hello,

I have been feeding Merrick Lamb Lung fillets (http://www.merrickpetcare.com/dogs/products/recipe?id=122) to my two cats for a few days now. I break them into pieces roughly the size of a Greenies treat (about the size of a dime), and each cat gets maybe 4 or at most 5 per day.

Both cats are raw-fed. They don't seem to have allergies. One seemed allergic to chicken, but that seemed to be a reaction to inadequate variety in his diet. Once we started rotating meats, we were able to gradually reintroduce chicken, with no ill effects.

Our older cat (3.5 year old Persian) has feline herpes. It has been completely under control - not a single outbreak - for two years now, thanks to Polyprenyl, We keep him on 250 mg of lysine and 125 of lactoferrin.

He has loose stools for the first time today. Could that be because of the lamb lung? Nothing else has changed.

I was wiping his chin - I thought he had a bit of meat stuck in his fur - when it started to bleed very slightly. The same thing happened with his lip the next day. It is not severe bleeding, by any stretch of the imagination. I thought he may have gotten overzealous with the treats or a bone-in piece of meat and scratched his chin.

He won't stand still for very long, so all i got was a glance. He has what look like a couple of tiny whiteheads on his chin. He eats out of a glazed ceramic dish (made in Canada, very high quality). The dish is on a pliable placemat. I use it both to stop the (expensive) dish from breaking if he knocks it over, and to keep the floor clean. I can't seem to find any information on what the mat is made of. I had assumed it is silicon. Here's a link: https://www.chewy.com/van-ness-dinner-mat/dp/55378.

He does occasionally drag pieces out of his bowl and onto the mat, and eats it off the mat.

Any ideas? Feline acne?

I have not noticed him scratching, and the two blemishes are very tiny. He eats well and has no other symptoms. He loathes our vet ever since he was neutered there, so I would like to avoid traumatizing him if possible. Our vet is wonderful and kind and patient, but our cat makes such a scene that every check up takes 1.5 hours and I come home looking and feeling like a wreck.

Should I wait and see, or take him to the vet asap?

Thanks!
 

mrsgreenjeens

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Sorry no one responded to your query.  How is he now?  Has it changed it all?  

I can't see how the lamb lung would be responsible for the loose stool, although the feeding guidelines say to feed ONE per day.  When you say you give 4 or 5, do you mean 4 or 5 of the broken up greenie size pieces, or of the full size pieces?

As to the possible chin acne, did you check to see if there are any hair line fractures in the bowl?  I know one of the bowls I am using is starting to get them after years of use...I can feel them but can't see them.  I'm guessing  you wash the dishes with hot, soapy water after each meal? and also the placemats if they eat off of them?  I think those placemats are plastic, BTW.  I googled them and found VanNessPlastic.com
 

scylla

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I have only seen silicone mats from a brand called pureness, in the pet stores I work in at least?

so if the lumps are still there and not bleeding maybe try a new mat for a while and see if it clears up if not or if they are still bleeding I would probably see a vet just to be safe because kitty saliva and open wounds dont mix :(

as for loose stools if its still an issue stop feeding the lung for a day or two. and see if that helps if it does maybe give them less and see if they tolerate that!
if they don't then try out a different organ treat maybe? we've had a bunch of people who's animals are sensitive to certain organs
 
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silverpersian

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Thank you very much for responding.

The loose stools didn't happen again. I was giving each cat 4-5 greenies-sized chucks of the dried lamb lung. They seem to be fine with them!

The ceramic dish is almost brand new. I wash it with dishwashing detergent and hot water before each meal. I have been using cloth towels instead of the plastic mat and have been changing them once a day.

I'll be taking him to the vet in a few days.

Thanks again for the advice.
 

scylla

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No problem the loose stools were probably your kitties guts not being sure how to deal with the new organ :)

Our kitty had really bad diarrhea the first time he ate moose lol
 
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