Looking For Mild Food Recommendations For Kitten

[Rhona]

Hi guys,

I have adopted a little kitten, about 9-10 weeks old atm. Previous owners lied about his age probably because he had bloody stool and wanted to get rid of him quickly. We got him tested the second we noticed it, and he is negative for parasites and giardia.

The Vet believes the blood is comming from him being very sensitive to certain foods. He currently is getting Carney kitten pate which he loves, and it is the only food so far where his stool is staying firm. We completely cut out dairy from his diet and there is no dried food or treats either. If he accidentally eats some food from my other two cats (1 is still getting kitten food as well, the other is an adult) he gets runny stool. However, even with the kitten pate there is still a little blood in his stool. Not much and I don't think he is even aware there is anything wrong as he is super active and having lots of fun playing with the others, cuddling and exploring the house, but it still worries me a little. Are there certain mild foods suited for a kitten? I find a lot of recommendations for adult cats, but kittens have different nutritional needs. Should I just feed him boiled chicken for a while to see if it gets better? I won't give him grains like rice, but I saw carrots and potatoes recommended in some forums. However, none of them ever said that these diets would be suitable for kittens as well. The current Pate he gets is made from Chicken and Beef. He ate some catfood containing beef and hearts the other day from my other cat and the poo changed again, so I thought about trying out chicken or turkey.

Does anyone have experience with this and can give me some recommendations/Tips? I would prefer to not try out too many things to not upset his stomach anymore as it already is. And once I put him on a mild diet, how do I go from there? Do I slowly introduce new foods then or are there specific brands suited for sensitive cats?

PS: All cats get different variations of the same Brandet food as they all seem to like it a lot and it is grain, soy and sugar free.

 

[duckpond]

you didnt say where you are located? Im not familiar with the foods you mention. if you can let us know what country you are in we may make better suggestions. I would hesitate to give a kitten only boiled chicken for long. the need the nutrients from a kitten food, or an all life stages food. If there is one of the foods that seems to do ok with him i would keep him on that one food for a while, and then start introducing others slowly once he is over his problem.

If the problem continues maybe the vet will treat for Giardia anyway, i know sometime you can get a false negative.

 

[Rhona]

you didnt say where you are located? Im not familiar with the foods you mention. if you can let us know what country you are in we may make better suggestions. I would hesitate to give a kitten only boiled chicken for long. the need the nutrients from a kitten food, or an all life stages food. If there is one of the foods that seems to do ok with him i would keep him on that one food for a while, and then start introducing others slowly once he is over his problem.

If the problem continues maybe the vet will treat for Giardia anyway, i know sometime you can get a false negative.

I just moved from the Uk to Germany. He was treated for Giardia just in case as well The pure chicken worries me too but I can't find alternatives anywhere for kittens

 

[LTS3]

Try looking on ZooPlus. There's a UK web site that you may be familiar with but there might be one for Germany or the rest of Europe. I believe jcat lives in Germany or around there and might have food suggestions for you.

These threads might have suggestions:

Dear European members, what's the cheapest-but-decent wet wet food I can buy on Zooplus?
Complementary cat food to whole?
Moving Abroad, Change of Diet

 

[duckpond]

you didnt say where you are located? Im not familiar with the foods you mention. if you can let us know what country you are in we may make better suggestions. I would hesitate to give a kitten only boiled chicken for long. the need the nutrients from a kitten food, or an all life stages food. If there is one of the foods that seems to do ok with him i would keep him on that one food for a while, and then start introducing others slowly once he is over his problem.

If the problem continues maybe the vet will treat for Giardia anyway, i know sometime you can get a false negative.

Unless the vet says different i think i would keep him on the one that he loves, and gives him good stool. wait a week or so and see if he gets better. If he is still having blood in the stool i would suggest another vet visit, one treatment does not always clear up the problem one of my kittens needed 3 rounds.

If he does not improve You may need to try a novel protein food for him, something like venison, beef, or rabbit, maybe lamb, and see how he does. Someone with more information about foods in your area will most likely post soon. Best of luck to you guys! keep us updated.

 

[lisahe]

I like the suggestion that duckpond already made: if he's improved on the new food, it's probably most important to keep him on that food for now, as long as he'll keep eating the same food. Given what you say, R Rhona , about your kitten having the problem with blood after eating the other cats' food, it does sound likely that it's a diet-related issue. Even if the new food is suitable for the long-term, it may still take some time (even weeks) for the blood to clear up completely.

Based on our experience with our cats' odd digestive systems, I'd suggest keeping him on foods that don't have anything like the carrots, potatoes, or other vegetables people have mentioned on other forums. Some cats are sensitive to them; one of our cats, for example, vomits if she eats potato. The simplest recipes you can find -- just meat and supplements of nutrients -- are probably the best thing to feed. When you do try a new food out on him (and I'd wait a while if he's happy with what he's getting for the time being), what duckpond says about introducing it slowly is especially important. I also agree that it's fine to feed an adult food that's labelled "for all life stages" -- what's most important is something simple! I think your thoughts about either chicken or turkey are good.

Good luck!

 

[jcat]

Our cat also has food allergies and needs to stick to a single protein / single carb food that's grain-free. He does best on a German brand called Vet-Concept, which is available through the vet or online directly from the producer's website. Startseite

Another brand that might work for your kitten is MAC's Cat Sensitive, which is similar to Carny, but a single protein. It's available at most pet stores or at zooplus.de: MAC´s Cat Sensitive 6 x 200 g

Feringa Kitten might be a possibility, too: