First post here but I have long enjoyed reading the threads in this community!
We adopted a kitten at around 5-6 months old and unfortunately the rescue didn't give us a heads up that the poor guy has some bowel issues (not that I blame them, they have their hands full). Essentially his stools are very mushy/soft (although not diarrhea, they do have a shape) to the point that he almost always has some poop on his anus (not his fur). Understandably, he hates when we try to wipe him off! I would say 1/3 of the time there's no problem, and the other 2/3rds he has some residue. To make things worse, he seems totally uninterested in cleaning that particular area so he'll walk around with crusted feces for days. The good news is that we've had him for 4 months now and what used to be liquid residue is now a more solid residue which doesn't transfer as easily to surfaces he sits on. I am crossing every bone in my body hoping the improvement will continue and that it's just a kitten thing that he'll grow out of as he approaches the 1 year old mark (he's about 9 months now).
The vet determined he's in good health after an exam and stool sample, and wanted to troubleshoot his diet. We transitioned him from Purina One Indoor to Purina One Sensitive Skin & Stomach to Hill's GI Biome Prescription Diet, no major changes across the board. After a month on the Hill's, we're now transitioning him to Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin & Stomach formula with no corn/wheat/soy additives mostly because we did not see any improvement with the Hill's after a month and the little guy didn't like the food much. We did an extremely slow 2 week transition and he's been on the Purina Pro 100% for 3 days now. It's been no major change to his bowel issue (but thankfully hasn't gotten any worse). I recognize it will likelytake more than 3 days to see results. But the vet doesn't really know the issue he's just having us try different foods.
To make things more complicated, I'm not sure if litter could be causing any problems. We switched his litter from Frisco to Arm & Hammer Cloud Control because Frisco was pretty lousy at containing smell, clumping, and tracking. The first couple of days he was fine but now I'm noticing him sneezing for no reason (several hours after he last used the litter box), or not quite a sneeze but a big exhale. He seems totally content otherwise, high energy, eating and drinking well. He's indoor only so I can't imagine it's a respiratory infection but I suppose stranger things have happened.
I'm just at the point where I'm confused as to what could be making things worse, what could be coincidence (sneezing?) and how to help the guy. Worst case he's still upset by the food and sensitive to the litter somehow.
Wondering if anyone has experience here and can make a recommendation. I'm sticking with the food for at least 2 months since he has had so many changes. Perhaps I should try some high fiber (hairball) supplements to firm his stools up? And/or move to a litter free of scents/dyes? I fully recognize these two issues might be unrelated.
Sorry that this post is all over the place.
We adopted a kitten at around 5-6 months old and unfortunately the rescue didn't give us a heads up that the poor guy has some bowel issues (not that I blame them, they have their hands full). Essentially his stools are very mushy/soft (although not diarrhea, they do have a shape) to the point that he almost always has some poop on his anus (not his fur). Understandably, he hates when we try to wipe him off! I would say 1/3 of the time there's no problem, and the other 2/3rds he has some residue. To make things worse, he seems totally uninterested in cleaning that particular area so he'll walk around with crusted feces for days. The good news is that we've had him for 4 months now and what used to be liquid residue is now a more solid residue which doesn't transfer as easily to surfaces he sits on. I am crossing every bone in my body hoping the improvement will continue and that it's just a kitten thing that he'll grow out of as he approaches the 1 year old mark (he's about 9 months now).
The vet determined he's in good health after an exam and stool sample, and wanted to troubleshoot his diet. We transitioned him from Purina One Indoor to Purina One Sensitive Skin & Stomach to Hill's GI Biome Prescription Diet, no major changes across the board. After a month on the Hill's, we're now transitioning him to Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin & Stomach formula with no corn/wheat/soy additives mostly because we did not see any improvement with the Hill's after a month and the little guy didn't like the food much. We did an extremely slow 2 week transition and he's been on the Purina Pro 100% for 3 days now. It's been no major change to his bowel issue (but thankfully hasn't gotten any worse). I recognize it will likelytake more than 3 days to see results. But the vet doesn't really know the issue he's just having us try different foods.
To make things more complicated, I'm not sure if litter could be causing any problems. We switched his litter from Frisco to Arm & Hammer Cloud Control because Frisco was pretty lousy at containing smell, clumping, and tracking. The first couple of days he was fine but now I'm noticing him sneezing for no reason (several hours after he last used the litter box), or not quite a sneeze but a big exhale. He seems totally content otherwise, high energy, eating and drinking well. He's indoor only so I can't imagine it's a respiratory infection but I suppose stranger things have happened.
I'm just at the point where I'm confused as to what could be making things worse, what could be coincidence (sneezing?) and how to help the guy. Worst case he's still upset by the food and sensitive to the litter somehow.
Wondering if anyone has experience here and can make a recommendation. I'm sticking with the food for at least 2 months since he has had so many changes. Perhaps I should try some high fiber (hairball) supplements to firm his stools up? And/or move to a litter free of scents/dyes? I fully recognize these two issues might be unrelated.
Sorry that this post is all over the place.
