Poop problem.

[melhammouche]

Okay this is the third time Mia has had poop stuck in her fur. I've just pulled off as much as I could with paper towel and then bathed her thoroughly and dried her with a towel in front of the heater.

When it happens she stands at her litter box and meows so its easy to find out before it gets messy.

I've noticed her poops are not runny but far to soft and this is why it keeps getting stuck. What can I do to help her? Something i can feed her to help her firm it up? She gets so distressed when this happens..

Perhaps I'm a little selfish and this happens to everyone but she's getting in trouble with her human dad and that's not okay..

P.s sorry for bringing up such a yucky topic but I need help :S

 

[raintyger]

Well, what are you feeding her now? And has there been a diet change?

Soft poop can be an allergic reaction, often from feeding cat food that has corn, wheat, soy, or grain. Often dry food is the culprit since dry food contains a lot of corn, wheat, soy, or grain.

Too soft poop can also be a health issue, but you'd have to see the vet for tests in order to narrow it down.

 

[melhammouche]

Omg my vet told me to give her dry food and sold me some, so iv started giving her dry half and half with her normal food. I only started doing this on the day she was neutered.. 9 days ago.

The other two times were before this but then again they weren't as bad.

Thank you. Il have to stop giving it to her.

 

[raintyger]

Rapid diet change, especially with dry food, can also trigger digestive poop issues. Typically you have to go in small increments (25%) every 3 days or so. Wet food doesn't seem to have switching issues with most cats.

 

[melhammouche]

She told me to feed her one meal dry and one meal wet. So I just put less meat and sprinkled some dry over the top every meal. Why would she tell me to do that?

Thank you for all of the information at least someone has some useful info

 

[raintyger]

Hmmm...Well, what type of food did the vet sell you? A lot of food sold in vet offices are prescription foods, especially the Hill's brand, so maybe she thought there was a medical condition of some sort? Did you tell the vet she had mushy stool? It's hard to tell without knowing what exactly she's eating and why it was given.

Most traditional vets don't get much schooling in the way of nutrition, so what to feed and why you'll have to decide for yourself. The schooling the vets normally get is limited to a few weeks and is taught by pet food companies who literally write the textbook being used, so of course they're going to teach that feeding dry food full of carbs is OK. You'll find that most people on this site recommend feeding 100% wet, grain-free food and even raw feeding. This properly hydrates the cat and avoids a lot of digestive issues/disorders like UTIs, kidney disease, IBD, vomitting, diarrhea, constipation, hyperthyroidism--the list goes on and on.

Canned pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling--that has sugar in it) can help with constipation and diarrhea, but you should find out if this new food is the root of the problem first. Since your kitty doesn't have full-on diarrhea, you can probably call the vet when they're open after the weekend and tell them your kitty has developed loose stool since eating the new food and inquire as to exactly why that food was recommended. I'm a little indifferent about the pumpkin because the way it works is that it has high fiber. Some cats (including mine) don't do well with fiber (meaning that they actually get worse), although pumpkin works with most. For a 10 lb. cat about  I've seen recommendations anywhere from 1/2 to 2 teaspoons a day. But your case doesn't sound that bad, and since there is such as thing as too much, so I'd probably wait until you can contact the vet and get more info.

After you find out why the dry food was recommended, then I'm sure a lot of members can tell you their recommendations for diet. I would make a separate post in the "Nutrition" forum. There' s a lot of people there with loads of knowledge and experience.

 

[melhammouche]

Well she told me it would help her keep some weight on after being neutered. Because she was a good weight before her op she didn't want her to lose any weight.

What I usually do is feed her wet food in the morning and raw food at night time which was working great for us. It was the perfect balance and she was very happy with the variety.

I've heard of the pumpkin for constipation before but I didn't know it works for diarrhoea.

The brand of the dry food has escaped me because I threw the bag and kept the food in a airtight container, but my vet has the whole range of this pet food in silver bags and there are specialised ones for arthritis and other conditions but the one she gave Mia was just regular. Mia's only 6 months old and she's very healthy otherwise.

 

[raintyger]

Wow, that is weird. From what I know, neutered/spayed cats usually require LESS calories than fully intact cats.

Is Mia (haha, that is weird too--my name is Mia) underweight? To me it seems like you had a better diet before with just the wet and raw. If her weight is an issue, I would just go get a baby scale and monitor the weight. Then add more food if she's underweight. There's also calorie dense additives that I've seen at the pet store, but I don't know much about them.

Pumpkin is good for either diarrhea or constipation.

 

[raintyger]

I seem to remember some of the raw feeders saying that mixing dry and raw could be problematic. Don't remember the details, but I wouldn't be surprised if the dry food in combination would cause gastric upset or higher bacterial load. The dry in combination would slow down digestion of the raw.

I think you should rephrase this question as a nutrition question and post in the nutrition forum. Some of the more senior members with more extensive nutrition knowledge hang out there. Also, I don't know how fast you're looking for answers, but in the U.S. it is a 3-day holiday until Tues., and the forum traffic does seem a little lighter. I'm surprised nobody else has chimed in about this question.

 

[melhammouche]

That's okay you've helped me a lot. I'm going to slowly phase out the dry (even though she loves to eat it [facepalm])

The vet said she was just on her perfect weight but she has been to skinny before, when I first got her they were going to kill her and her brother so we took her, and her brother went to my mother in law. They had to many cats to feed so they were just going to drown the babies and we couldn't have that. So she was very skinny when we got her because she was 7 weeks old already weaned and only eating dry.

Our first vet didn't mention her weight but the second one said she was under. So I've been slowly fattening her up and she was perfect weight before spay. (She's a little under now 10 days later)

 

[melhammouche]

Basically she and her brother went from being borderline abused to spoilt happy kitties so that's a huge win. Her brother is slightly overweight now but he's just taking advantage of new opportunities haha.

 

[raintyger]

Yeah, kitties like kibble, but it's just like we like cookies and cake--it tastes good, but it's not all that great for us.

Mia and her brother are very lucky to find you and you mother-in-law!

I think her weight was probably just an issue having to do with her previous environment. You do want to make sure kittens have enough nutrients to build themselves, but I think this can be better achieved through more wet or raw food. Cats usually aren't like dogs in that they'll stop eating when full, so I'd just increase her food and see how much she takes in.

 

[andream]

Mr Lister adores Applaws chicken & pumpkin wet food from Pets at Home- might be worth giving it a go?

 

[melhammouche]

People on this site talk about brands of cat food that I've never seen before because I'm in Australia. I think out range of cat and pet food is very small compared to the us.

I always keep topping her up with wet and she's still on kitten milk just for something extra to fatten her up. I think because she was the runt as well she didn't get all the food she needed as a kitten. As we took her home on the first day she was so weak she didn't even move the whole way home and only let out a couple of little squeaks. Thank god she's healthy now

Oh an her litter box troubles haven't happened again. I'm taking more and more dry away every feed.

 

[raintyger]

Yeah, I've heard that cat food choices in other countries isn't as wide...I guess that's capitalism at work!

I have heard that Ziwi Peak, available in Australia, is a good brand.

It is soooo wonderful you took her in even though she wasn't in the best of shape. She will be especially bonded with you now!

Good to hear she's improving on her stool issue. If you need any help with putting some weight on her, I'm sure the folks in the nutrition forum will help. I am constantly amazed at the extent of knowledge that is available on this site.

Good luck to Mia, I'm sure she'll do well because she found a loving, caring, and intelligent mommy!

 

[melhammouche]

Awww thank you and yes we are bonded very strongly she's my little baby girl and she follows me everywhere I go

Il have to look out for ziwi peak I haven't heard of it.

Thank you for all of your great help, you are obviously a very knowledgable person so I'm very lucky to have been given your help and wisdom.

 

[peaches08]

I seem to remember some of the raw feeders saying that mixing dry and raw could be problematic. Don't remember the details, but I wouldn't be surprised if the dry food in combination would cause gastric upset or higher bacterial load. The dry in combination would slow down digestion of the raw.

I think you should rephrase this question as a nutrition question and post in the nutrition forum. Some of the more senior members with more extensive nutrition knowledge hang out there. Also, I don't know how fast you're looking for answers, but in the U.S. it is a 3-day holiday until Tues., and the forum traffic does seem a little lighter. I'm surprised nobody else has chimed in about this question.

Yes, dry slows the transit time. Not to mention just not a healthy option as you've already mentioned.

Most vets aren't well versed in nutrition and the nutrition they are taught is funded by big name brand foods. To be perfectly honest, her suggestion of feeding dry food at all makes me very skeptical of her education in nutrition.

It sounds like what you were doing before worked just fine.

 

[melhammouche]

It was working great she wasn't ready to give up the casserole type food yet and she was really enjoying the variety of raw. I've tried and tested a lot because I have her 24/7 you know.

So when she suggested dry it was something I hadn't really tried much at all and she almost guilted me because I was doing "damage to her teeth by not feeding dry and bones aren't enough"

Now she's back to using the box at her routine time and they're back to normal. I actually feel quite silly for buying the vets food. Because obviously I know Mia but now I don't really know what to believe when I'm at the vet.

 

[raintyger]

It was working great

she wasn't ready to give up the casserole type food yet and she was really enjoying the variety of raw. I've tried and tested a lot because I have her 24/7 you know.

So when she suggested dry it was something I hadn't really tried much at all and she almost guilted me because I was doing "damage to her teeth by not feeding dry and bones aren't enough"

Now she's back to using the box at her routine time and they're back to normal. I actually feel quite silly for buying the vets food. Because obviously I know Mia but now I don't really know what to believe when I'm at the vet.

OK, the teeth comment is a giveaway that the vet is weak in nutritional knowledge. Dry food doesn't help a lick against plaque buildup, probably makes it worse since all you're doing is scrubbing teeth with the equivalent of a soda cracker. Your vet may be very good in other areas, but I would at least double check on any nutritional information you get from her.

Don't feel too bad about getting the dry food--I feel for the same teeth cleaning myth when I got my kitty 10 years ago. She has a bone malformation and a lot of food winds up stuck near her front teeth. The vet told us dry food would keep her teeth and gums healthy. We believed her because after all, she was a vet. At least you're finding out when Mia is young and there haven't been many penalties. I didn't find out about dry food until much later.

 

[peaches08]

Cats gnaw on meat and bone; they do not gnaw on kibble. All they do is shatter it between their teeth and swallow the shards OR swallow it whole. Why some vets keep repeating that silliness about "dry kibble cleans teeth" is beyond me.

Hey, we pay for our vet's opinions for a reason. On nutrition, many are frequently wrong. It's due to big name brand foods buying them out. It's a shame.