My vet suggested rice and tuna for 3 months. So many questions...

[catpack]

I know you want more than one strain of bacteria in a probiotic (at least Bifidus and Acidophilus).

If going with one from the vet, I would go with Proviable over FortiFlora. However, this is one of the most recommended on this site:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0041U6OOG/?tag=&tag=thecatsite

 

[pegleg]

And remember give the diet time. Chopping and changing all the time won't allow time to settle and you might miss out on the perfect combination.

 

[pixies ma]

I never got notice of this when i checked from work, and i could have called around for Proviable before i finished work and went for errands if i had known.
Anywho, i ended up bying Fortiflora from my vet cause i was not sure with the one at the pet food store, and the 2 natural products stores i went to did not have anything with s. boularsomthing in it.
I've never bothered with learning about probiotics so it might as well all be written in Chinese. I have no idea about strains and how many there should be.
I was hungry and in a hurry to get to an appointment so while at the vet's to get a refund for the z/d cans i still had, i got the Fortiflora.
This may sound silly but with all the stress from Minou's health issues and how i have had to adapt my home for him, and how much this is all costing me, and how i worry about my other cat Pixie not getting along with him, i have grown tired and impatient. I like learning about new things and doing research, but it seems i have a whole lot less energy  even absorb what i read.
It'll be a great day when he finally gets more normal stools for more than 12 hours.

While at the vet's, i told her how his stools smell so much worse since he's been eating tuna (the smell hit me while he was still burying it, from 2 rooms away), and how much he scratches himself, and how he seems to not know what to do with himself, walking around and meowing. I asked if i could try with turkey (not telling her i already started..) and she said yes.
He did have a large runny stool while i was home on my lunch break yesterday (and it still smelled when i got home again hours later even though i had cleaned it up), but i have no idea if he's pooped since then as he insisted on going out for 30 minutes last night. He just seemed more restless than usual, and i did not adopt him so he can be a miserable inside cat after 4 years outside. So i let him go even though i hate it. Not sure if it's the new diet or his short escapade, but he was very chipper last night, and seems happier this morning. I have not seen him scratch yet, but i've only been up an hour.

I have called many places to find Nature's Variety kibble to leave out while i am away for Christmas, and it just seems very hard to find here. Either they only have cans or kibble, or they don't have the LID type, or it's special order and i'd have to order a large amount. A lot of the healthier food pet stores want to only sell Canadian products, which i totally understand. But yeah, i'll wait and see with the plain turkey. I have enough for a month and can get more for cheap nowadays. I hope he doesn't grow tired of it.
 

 

[LTS3]

There's easy to understand info about probiotics here: http://www.rawfeedingforibdcats.org/probiotics-for-cats---why-and-which-ones.html

Here on TCS there's thread with suggestions: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/262587/probiotics-search-human-grade-and-cfus

 

[greypaws]

Couple of thoughts, healthy feral that was supplemented with FF and Whiskers, loose stools after transitioning him to mostly indoor and better grade of foods. Could it be that his system can't handle the good stuff? Or is he getting into something unhealthy while outdoors? Or is being transitioned into indoor stressing him into diarrhea? Only reason I ask is because we had a feral years ago that would only come in for a nap & visit. He hated being inside and when I boarded him when we went on vacation, not only was he annoyingly vocal, he had loose stools. Fine once he was back home.

Is there actual allergy testing they can do on cats? I'm sure it's ridiculously expensive, just curious. Hope you figure all this out soon and have a happy kitty again.

 

[pixies ma]

Thank you! I'll look into it after work.

 

[pixies ma]

I have thought about the possibility that stress is a factor, but although i dont encourage him to go out, he comes out with me everytime i go on the porch to smoke. He went for a round for 30 minutes 2 days ago. He does not seem to want to go down to the yard much as it is getting colder and colder here.

For all;
Yesterday he did one soft stool that smell much better than when he was on tuna. But, he refused to eat the turkey after 2 days of devouring it. Perhaps it is the Fortiflora that is upsetting his tummy, or he just doesnt fancy turkey anymore. I went to bed and he was yowling in the kitchen like a starving cat (he hadnt eaten since the morning) so i gave in and gave him some GO canned and kibble that i had leftover in the pantry. He devoured it.
Again with the change of food! But i know he liked the GO so i will stick with that from now on, regardless of soft stools and hopefully the probiotics will help.
I'm just so tired and i kind of gave up at 11pm last night. It's limited ingredients duck and peas, but duck and duck meal come before the peas on the ingredients list at least.
He ate well this morning and did not poop overnight.
I just have to stick to one food he likes and hopefully he won't get an aversion to it too.

I'll look into other probiotics suggested here again, in case the Fortiflora is making him not want to eat. I have read bad reviews amonst mostly great one, but you never know with him.

 

[pixies ma]

 
There's easy to understand info about probiotics here: http://www.rawfeedingforibdcats.org/probiotics-for-cats---why-and-which-ones.html

Here on TCS there's thread with suggestions: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/262587/probiotics-search-human-grade-and-cfus

Thanks again for the links. I already had the first one in my bookmarks. It was suggested i buy certain brands on Amazon, and i'm sure they are good products. But i wanted something NOW for Minou, and did not seem to find what i needed at both the health stores near-ish my place. I was not in the best mood either so it didn't help. So i got the Fortiflora.

I have no idea if it'll help him. So far, he has eaten well the GO i've been giving him since last night and was able to get him to take the Fortiflora. He is chipper and seems in good shape so far today. The problem is he darted out and disappeared in the yard\neighbor's yard for 5-10 minutes, so i have no idea if he passed stools or not. But he hasn't passed any from 11pm last night to 5pm today for sure.
So at least i can be sure there is no frequent diarrhea. Fingers crossed he will at least tolerate the new diet and probiotics well. I will get better ones next month when i'm done with the box. Frankly, the 'animal digest' on the ingredients list grosses me out and i can't help picturing how they even get it out of animals and what miserable lives these animals must have.
I think it's important i get good maintenance probiotics when i'm done with Fortiflora and his tummy has settled cause all this gut trouble must be bad for his FIV.

I'm just glad he is loving his food and is happy today. I, on the other hand, will have to eat pureed turkey for a couple days :\

 

[lisahe]

 
I, on the other hand, will have to eat pureed turkey for a couple days :\

Maybe it's time for some soup?

 

 

[pixies ma]

 
Maybe it's time for some soup?

 

Nope, puree. I already pureed a whole turkey for him and put portions in the freezer.  Ungrateful little beast he is!

 

[jjc1140]

I also had a rescue cat with loose horrible smelling stool for quite some time. I recently have transitioned him to Solistic and some other brands for wet food and Nulo for dry, I am happy with and his stool is getting better. I do know that many vets will put cats with allergies on an all rice and meat diet But usually with chicken instead of tuna. Honestly, that sounds kind of gross for a cat with already digestion issues. I get why they are doing it but I would personally not want to feed tuna straight for 3 months . Cooked homemade rice is actually good for their digestive system especially when there is trouble and helps with diarrhea, as does sweet potatoe.

When it comes to allergies though soy and wheat are not the only culprits but meats as well and is typically venison, fish or beef. If I were you I would look more into a homemade diet with cooked meats to half cooked meats at first (maybe crock pot?) one at a time for a week in the beginning with like 25% rice and some sweet potatoe. The rice does help with diarrhea. And then experiment with say Turkey the next week and so on. I would first eliminate all meats even beef, duck, turkey etc. That way you know there is a meat intolerance and then go from there. Sometimes they can have a meat intolerance along with her ingredients. Typically, when a cat is allergic to soy, wheat, corn etc it is because it has become the bulk of that cats diet and they are having difficulty digesting it all. Not because it is used in moderation with a meat based protein diet. If there is no trouble with meat you then know it is definately all the extra bullcrap added in foods and are better off keeping her on homemade diet especially being Felv positive. Honestly, I believe these allergies and intolerance are often attributed to the processing the foods have to go through and ingredients like Caraneegenan and the more common ones like GPA etc are major culprits but less likely proven as culprits. One line or brand is eliminated and the allergy blamed on soy but then another allergy later happens but soy isn't the ingredient, for example maybe wheat is. It is then deemed that it is a "grain" intolerance and not associated with all the other ingredients that could be in the products or even ingredients that act similarly or associated close together. One in particular is caranegeenan. I have lately been very skeptical of this. While, for humans it's one thing. We are rather much larger than a cat and therefore extremely less likely to become impacted by this versus for a cat. I am quite sure the same amount of caranegeenan used to package out cans are used in same amounts as a cat can. And not only that but another factor to consider is a cat may eat that day in and day out for every meal versus a human may only consume every now and then. Some of quality food brands have it in their product. In just not so sure on it. It is known to cause digestive issues in rats during studies and has been associated with colon polyps and other digestive problems in these studies and possibly related to higher risk of colon cancer. Regardless, of higher incidents of cancer the digestive upsets is enough for me to really try to avoid. It can cause blood in stool because it aggravates the intestinal tract. Anyhow,sorry for this super long post I just know how it is to deal with your situation. My rescue boy still has loose stools but nothing like before since he is more stable on these better diets. And I do not think cats don't necessarily get grain intolerance however this huge marketing strategy of "grain" free food is getting on my nerves. Just because it's grain free doesn't mean it's healthy and doesn't mean it will solve every cats digestive problem.

I wouldn't be opposed to feeding her a raw meat diet either but just transition very slow with that.
My other rescue kitty for got ahold of my raw chicken degrading and drug it to his box that he plays in and ate it. When I found him, the chicken was half gone and he was sitting there biting chunks from his box.... Now, when I try to feed him his regular food he goes to his box and bites chunks from it and refuses the majority of his regular food! I started giving him raw meat and he was doing okay at first and then I noticed one day he had really bad breath. I found him vomiting the next day and noticed thats where the stinky breath came from. Not to mention, he vomited a HUGE amount. So, I was scared to give it again but he went on a food strike and only chewed his box waiting for his raw meat?? Anyhow, I gave him just a little bits and he was happy with that and eating some canned after not having any for a few days. I found the most probable cause for the vomit was he was eating wayyy to much at one sitting because he loved it so much. The size He vomited looked like a whole chicken and was bigger than him. He was stealing all his brothers who liked to play but not necessarily eat much of it at the time. He then would beg for more while I was still trying to cut it up and I would give it not really taking into account of how much I was actually giving him and how much he was eating. Anyhow, since I have regulated his portions and made sure it was warm he hasn't vomited since or had issues. I also give him pumpkin to help with constipation as I noticed his stools hardened up a little.

Being that feeding raw does harden their stools you might have better luck with this, just remember slowly transition and don't feed the carnivourous monsters more than they can handle lol. I would look into getting some kind of grinder as I feel that would be most economically and cost efficient for the future instead of buying raw diets. You can grind bone and cartilage too which allows for a natural source of calcium. You can mix organ meats and the rice or other veges later for other sources of nutrients. Although cats are primarily carnivores they still like flavors of certain Vegas and it doesn't mean their natural prey didn't have them in their stomach for their diet. My cat whom I have never given raw actually likes peas and loves sweet potatoe and will eat rice too. I am new to raw so take my advice with a grain of salt but have been doing a lot of research with it. And I am about to buy a grinder.

Anyhow, I would also look into getting a probiotic. Many human grade probiotic can and are used for cats. I believe Nulo, the dry kibble form, I know for sure contain a probiotic used in humans in their formulas. I cannot remember the probiotic name but I did have success with this food for my baby that had a similar problem as yours. He is super picky about his foods and although I wanted him primarily on wet I had success with him eating that for dry and some Solistic canned and a few other brands. I also feel the dry food hardens the stools as well versus canned in general. What were you feeding her before this vet recommended diet that diet? I know their reasoning behind the rice diets but just think their are other ways of going about it. Also, you do have to be a little careful with some types of vitamins, vitamin brand's and vitamins mixed in regular cat food. If you think about when we take iron tablets we can get constipated. When we take mutivitmin the same can happen or diarrhea even. So vitamins don't come without side effects and even stomach and digestive upset. So just take that into consideration as well. I don't mean don't give them because I would I just would lay off of any long list of ingredients in anything for now and let his stomach calm down and adjust. If I were you I would do chicken and rice. Baby food chicken without all the extra spices added. They also make canned chicken that cats tend to enjoy as well. Or just make the chicken yourself. Maybe a crock pot mix with the chicken and rice for awhile and go from there. Good luck.

 

[pixies ma]

Wow, that's one massive post!

I do not wish to feed raw or homemade. Not that i don't believe in the benefits, but because i feel it would take away some of my freedom to be able to leave them alone at home for more than 12 hours. It doesn't happen often, but it happens. I'm game at doing homemade for a while when sick, but not full time. Besides, he got sick of the tuna and then the turkey pretty fast. Also, i have always read a raw diet is bad for FIV+ cats.

He is on probiotics as i've mentioned in other posts, and i'll get a better one once my current box is done with.

Right now and for a while unless he gets sick again, he is on GO kibble and cans. I prefer the NB cans, but they are unavailable at my store for now. Working on getting them ordered.
He has had a massive formed stool last night, and a formed but soft one this morning, so i think things are improving. It still smells strongly, but nowhere near as bad as when he was on tuna.
However, his moods and appetite seem to be unstable, as he is eating less today for some reason.
I'm keeping a close eye on him though.