litter problems

Hi,
we've been going through various litter related problems with our new cat, Dolly for quite some time now. So far we've had her samples tested about 5 times (latest middle of last week) and they've all come out clean. We now know that her not using the litter pan was a revolt against the non-clay litter that we were using and have switched back to clumping with much success.
She still has the last bit of a problem however. Each time she drops fecal matter it starts out normal and goes to runny at the end, plus she runs out of the litter pan early and leaves a mess (then goes back to cover it). We have her on Natural Balance venison and pea and a perscription kibble that the vet offered. She gets fed 1/4 of a can twice a day of Natural Balance "turkey and giblets" which is the only wet she'll eat. It has helped a bit, since we started out with it all runny but we're not sure what to do for the rest. The sad part is that she was fine on the Meow Mix that she was eating when we got her. She's having a bad reaction to the better foods.
Thank you for all and any of your thoughts. We're out of ideas.
Jess

I would switch her back to the original food since it doesnt upset her tummy. How old is she?

Originally Posted by chichismom

I would switch her back to the original food since it doesnt upset her tummy. How old is she?

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A year and a half, she's a ragdoll though and is still growing. I don't think we're going to switch her back, it would mean switching all of the cats back and the ingredients in meow mix make me cringe. Becides that, other then her feces her coat has improved, she sheds less, she's more active and she's gained about 3 lbs of muscle in the 3 months that we've had her (chester also helped with that).

is she an indoor or an outdoor cat maybe she hunts out side and eats mice, birds bunnies, etc. that might be upseting her tummy

Well maybe you could just give her the meow mix dry food and keep her and everyone else on the wet food ( if you feed them wet food?) or just half and half it????Has she ever been on anti-biotics? if so you might want to put her on some acidolphlus (sp) or some other pro-biotic to replenish the natural enzymes and such in the stomach that the anti-biotics destoy. Check with your vet FIRST though. If they say its ok you might want to try it anyway even if she hasnt been on meds

BTW I feed my cats a generic brand of dry food and fancy feast wet food it seems to balance out just fine If you are really concerned with the ingredients of meow mix, in addition to her normal feedings, lets say a cupple times a week or so,give her (and everyone else of course!) some REAL chicken just ccok it well and cut it up nice and small for them they will love it!!! This will ensure they get good quality meat in their diets. Good luck

If it were me I would definitely try to keep her on the better quality food. You could maybe add a tablespoon of pumpkin (real pureed pumpkin with no spices in it) to her food for a few days to try to firm up her stool.

My vet has suggested that she seems to see more cats with crystals from some of the lower quality foods. Kinda of like humans having a constant diet of McDonalds fries and burgers - can't be good!

Talk with the vet ... the food may just be to rich for her system.... what Rx is she on???

Has she ever been on anti-biotics? if so you might want to put her on some acidolphlus (sp) or some other pro-biotic to replenish the natural enzymes and such in the stomach that the anti-biotics destoy.

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Yes, she's been on antibiotics for the bowel a couple of times since the first batch didn't quite work, but the second seemed to improve things largely. I'll mention the enzymes to mom, I"ve heard that a small amount of yogurt (unflavored) is helpful for such things.

You could maybe add a tablespoon of pumpkin (real pureed pumpkin with no spices in it) to her food for a few days to try to firm up her stool.

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That is also a good idea. My old cat used to have bowel problems in the other direction and pumkin was supscribed (she wouldn't eat it so I don't know if it works), and I know that it works for both too soft and too hard, but I never think of it for the soft stuff, you know? Did yours take the pumpkin ok?

Talk with the vet ... the food may just be to rich for her system.... what Rx is she on???

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Well, the Natural Balance is for allergies and the Rx is Medi Cal HYPOallergenic/Gastro (copied from the front of the bag).

Mom says it's getting better slowly. Hopefully this will be the beginning of the end of this type of problem.