Soft stool.

kittybear7

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I have 3 indoor kitties - all very healthy - but my one 5 year old has a normal poop but it gets very soft at the end. Usually not real diarrhea. Other than that he's a big, healthy boy (17 lbs.)
He leaves skid marks all over the carpet and even on my glass coffee table. I'm sure he has a sore butt but he won't let me touch him back there. I took him to the vet and he was tested for EVERYTHING (worms, vitamin B12 deficiency - you name it) and after $450.00 worth of tests all came back negative. I put them on a grain free dry food but that hasn't helped.
I don't know what to do. If anyone has any suggestions please, please contact me.
Ashley
 

SeventhHeaven

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Hi 

Welcome to the site 
      What about Holistic cat food?  Sounds like you've covered everything Worms, Vet would attend to anal glands etc....
 
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cat-tech

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Discuss his dietary needs with your vet - grain-free isn't necessarily what it's hyped up to be, and some cats cannot tolerate grain-free diets any more than they could any other type of "specialty" commercial diet.  A limited-ingredient diet or low residue diet might be helpful on a trial basis to determine if he has developed a food sensitivity.

A stool culture could also be helpful to rule out a specific bacteria that could be causing the soft stool.
 
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kittybear7

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Hi! Thanks for your reply. The vet took a stool sample twice. No worms or parasites or anything - my 3 babies are totally indoors. Blood work was sent out and everything came back fine. Vitamin B12 levels are good.
We are stumped! All that's left is Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Now I don't know WHAT to feed him.
He doesn't act sick - he weighs 17 lbs. His heiny looks sore and he's licking back there after he drags his butt on the carpet.
Any ideas? I don't really want to have a scope or a biopsy done. I hate to put him through this but
only as a last resort. The full blood work cost me $450.
Ashley
 

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Did the vet mention his anal glands? 

When you say normal but soft at the end, do you mean just a small liquid-y bit after the stool?  If so, and if indeed liquid-y, it could be anal gland secretions, and thus scooting across floors due to irritation.  (the vet can express them easily to see if infected or not, minimal price, possibly just the price of an exam fee).

At 17 lbs, is that a healthy 17 pounds or is he overweight?  Was your vet's opinion his weight was optimal?  If overweight, arthritis could be an issue, and sometimes arthritic cats have a little trouble in the litter box, producing half-normal stool, and inability to groom because they can't reach that area.
 

cat-tech

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Also, if your vet had suspected IBD, one conservative approach is changing the diet anyway, to a novel protein source the cat has never been exposed to, or a hypoallergenic diet, or a limited-ingredient diet, each of them designed with specific protein sources to determine if kitty is sensitive to a particular protein.

I'm curious, what were your vet's comments when you described the stools, and after diagnostics were inconclusive?
 
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kittybear7

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Hi! Baby is a muscular 17 lbs. He's just 'big'. I brought his fresh poop in a baggie so the vet could see it. Anal glands were squeezed but there wasn't much in there. I have literally become the 'queen of poop'!
I read online about trying food food made with rabbit, and duck so that's my next move. Petsmart sells it. I feel bad for the cats who are just dumped outside when they have problems like this. We'll have to replace the carpet but that's ok. You can only clean it so many times before it just looks bad so I think we'll go with tile.
Hopefully it's IBS as opposed to IBD. Really, he's not sickly at all. I'm going to try all the
foods I can. He's almost 6 years old and had a rough start in life. My husband's daughter heard these little cries when she was walking her dogs and found him in the trash when he was a kitten. I have a big, male, Maine Coon and when they were introduced Oliver sniffed Baby, then licked his face and then picked him up by the scruff of his neck and carried Baby off to his bed. Oliver dragged him all over the house and became his momma, so of course we named the kitten BabyCat. They are still inseparable.
This is probably way more than you want to hear but this is how much we love them and I'm truly grateful for your reply.
Ashley
 

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Whatever you do, choose one food, and give it time to see if there's improvement - do not constantly switch foods because this can make things worse.

I personally would try the limited-ingredient diet.

And yes, carpet can be replaced.  Tile is even better, but be prepared it can be quite the job!  If you do decide to choose tiling one day, make sure you can have some rugs around for the kitties, tile is hard on their feet and legs when jumping up and down from furniture, counters, etc.
 
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kittybear7

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Hi! What would be a good 'limited ingredient' diet? I would think it would have as few ingredients as possible, right? Maybe something hypoallergenic? I think even Rachel Ray has a product. My vet suggested putting powdered probiotics on everyone's dry food, too. Would this help?
Thank you so much for your input!
Ashley
 

cat-tech

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As a conservative approach, as your vet advised, you can try the probiotic powder, but ask him for his recommendation on brand type.

I don't feel that commercial diets are properly formulated for novel protein or limited-ingredient diet options, I suggest a veterinary hypoallergenic or limited ingredient diet.  Did your vet suggest a dietary change?  If so, you should probably heed his advice.  If he didn't, call and ask for that opinion or if he has an opinion on a specific commercial food/brand/type.
 
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kittybear7

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All he said was the kitties don't really need a grain-free diet and I should try maybe a hypoallergenic food. He stocks a probiotic powder so I think I'll pick it up Monday. I forgot to mention this.
 

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I had a cat who used to scoot and have soft-ish stools.  We had her anal glands expressed and that really didn't help.  We switched her to a mostly canned food diet and she stopped and her stools became normal.  The vet said that because of the exclusively dry food diet, her stools were hard and difficult to pass. The scooting was her way of easing the pain caused from the bowel movement.  We also added some plain canned pumpkin puree to help things move along as well.  So, my suggestion would be to introduce wet food and see if that helps things.
 
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kittybear7

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Hi! He definitely isn't constipated but I'll give it a try with the canned food. I'm willing to try anything. He has a sensitive tummy, too. Thank you so much for your input!
Ashley
 

young again

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Hello Kittybear7,

Generally when I see a stool as you describe it is usually from a cat that is overeating. The sensitive stomach would also go along with this thought. Does he tend to really go for food? Many times if a cat's food dish looks like it is getting empty a cat may try to polish it off before the other cats can eat it. Competition can produce many problems in cats. Even if everybody seams to get along there is always competition for food.  Most of the day he eats normally and when the dish looks less then half full he eats as much as he can and his sensitive stomach kicks in and the tail end of the stool softens. A cats digestive tract is short and linear. The soft part is likely only one meal out of 6. He ate five times and the food processed normally and the sixth did not. Not likely the food or all the meals would have produced the same result and the whole stool would have been soft.

I would put out a bowl for each cat in the house. Put each bowl in a different room and keep the bowls full. I would try this first before you switch up the food too much. Make too many changes at one time and you will never figure anything out. If your cat has a sensitive stomach or maybe IBS, I would recommend against any food with plant proteins in it.Aanimal proteins are easier for these cats to digest. Any all animal protein diet with few carbs, canned or dry kibble would be better.
 
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kittybear7

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You may be right! Although sometimes his whole stool is soft. I'm going to try a different food. They are all on Petsmart's 'Natures Balance grain free dry food.'. For almost a year they were on Royal Canin but that doesn't agree with him, either. Maybe a hypoallergenic canned food with just some kibble may work.
Thank you so much for your input!
Ashley
 

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Keep in mind that grain free does not mean starch/carb free. They simply substitute rice and peas for corn and wheat. The plant proteins an carbs are still there and they are the likely culprits for your cats problems. they are certainly a big problem for IBS cats.
 

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@KittyBear7, it could very well be that he cannot tolerate a totally grain free diet. My male kitty cannot be on a grain-free diet or he gats very soft stools and eventually diarrhea. He gets grain-free food with a mix of Rx food and that works for him. That might be something to discuss with your vet.
 
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kittybear7

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Wow! I'm learning so much! I just printed all the replies I received and I now have something really strong to work with.
I'm so grateful for the information!
[emoji]128568[/emoji] Ashley
 
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kittybear7

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Greetings, to all who posted comments on this subject. I think I finally found the answer to BabyCat's soft stool, sore heiny and his scooting his butt on the carpet after he poops. He had expensive blood work done and was examined for parasites and worms and got a clean bill of health. I switched him to a grain free food (PetSmart Simply Nourish Chicken and Turkey) but that still didn't help. After more research someone suggested I try a limited ingredient diet and start from there. I bought at PetSmart a bag of dry Natural Balance LID Green Pea and Duck and sprinkled on a probiotic that I got from my vet to settle his tummy. AND IT WORKED!! It comes in canned food, also, and the food is very reasonable - about $23 for a 10 lb. bag.
I am in no way promoting PetSmart or their foods but this is what worked for BabyCat. I was desperate and I'm posting this because it really helped him and could possibly help anyone else going through this. All 3 of my fur-babies like the food and BabyCat has stopped vomiting and his poop is normal. He feels so much better. And so do I!
Again, thank you!
Ashley
 
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