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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / March 2005Should I switch foods?
Greetings, I am having horrible problems with my new cats diarrhea. I got him 2 weeks ago from a shelter, so I know he was under a stressful situation, and probably a bad diet. Yet on the first day I brought him home, he had a completely solid, normal stool. And ever since, for 2 weeks it's been horrible, stinky, room clearing diarrhea. I can't take it anymore. He had a completely clear check up, blood test and stool sample. But after a week he still had diarrhea. So my vet prescribed metronidazole, to help clear it up. Well I'm out of pills and he still has diarrhea. I think his diarrhea is the worst thing in my life right now. So I called the vet, and she just says she'll give him more. Ack! I barely have any skin left on my hands as it is... So I stopped giving him wet food, and it hasn't helped. I am feeding him Wellness - should I switch foods? Could he be having a reaction to specifically Wellness? Sometimes I can hear his stomach growling, and he'll let out a bad far every once and a while - but other then that he seems completely healthy. He eats and drinks a lot, plays a lot, sleeps a lot, cuddles a lot... Has anybody had any similar problems? Is there a light at the end of the sewer? Help! > Greetings, > [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > Has anybody had any similar problems? Is there a light at the end of the > sewer? Help! Switching foods can cause diarrhea. Feeding a food that the cat's system doesn't agree with can also cause diarrhea and gas. Chronic diarrhea can lead to dehydration. In any case, chronic diarrhea can be very serious so you need to act quickly here. Since you've had him to the vet and other issues have been ruled out I'd suggest switching food to something very plain. From what I know, Wellness has a lot of ingredients. Also, try adding a little pumpkin to his diet... yes pumpkin. The fibre in the pumpkin will absorb some of the moisture in his stools which may firm things up. Just a small amount will do... 1 or 2 teaspoonfuls and not the pumpkin pie filling... the canned pureed form. >> Greetings, >> [quoted text clipped - 41 lines] > which may firm things up. Just a small amount will do... 1 or 2 > teaspoonfuls and not the pumpkin pie filling... the canned pureed form. You could also try a 24 hour period of plain cooked chicken chopped up fine mixed with rice (if he will eat it). See if that helps. If it does, he may have some food allergy. What flavors are you using? >Since you've had him to the vet and other issues have been ruled out I'd >suggest switching food to something very plain. From what I know, >Wellness has a lot of ingredients. Also, try adding a little pumpkin to >his diet... yes pumpkin. Just wanted to add - make sure it is not the seasoned pumpkin pie filling. They are usually together in the grocery store, with the pie filling supplies. Just check the ingredients to make sure you get the plain one.  Signature-- Meghan & the Zoo Crew Equine and Pet Photography http://www.zoocrewphoto.com You might try adding some acidolphilus powder with his wet food. Get it in capsule form in the refrigerated section of a health food store, open a capsule and mix the powder in the wet food (it has no taste). Ask your vet first. ---MIKE--- Thanks for all the suggestions! I've written them down - and I'm going to try the pumpkin thing tonight. He's eating the 'Adult' dry Wellness. Purple bag. I figured that switching foods can cause diarrhea, but for 2 weeks? I am also a little worried about dehydration, but he drinks his whole bowl of water everyday - so I think he's okay... So much for Wellness. Any ideas on what cat food to try next? James, Dry food may very well be the problem. There are many cats that have an adverse reaction to grains which results in chronic diarrhea. I would try switching him to Wellness canned as it has no grain and just stick to the Chicken and Turkey flavors for a bit and see of that helps. Megan Signature"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." -Edmund Burke Learn The TRUTH About Declawing http://www.stopdeclaw.com Zuzu's Cats Photo Album: http://www.PictureTrail.com/zuzu22 "Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way." - W.H. Murray Thanks for the response, Since I hear that switching foods can cause diarrhea for up to 10 days - I worry that if I switch foods now, I won't have any way of knowing if the pills helped? Is this right? If I switch to canned now, from Dry - it could escalate, or prolong his current diarrhea? >Thanks for the response, > >Since I hear that switching foods can cause diarrhea for up to 10 days - I >worry that if I switch foods now, I won't have any way of knowing if the >pills helped? Is this right? If I switch to canned now, from Dry - it could >escalate, or prolong his current diarrhea? I would take him off the cat food, feed plain chicken for a few days, and then slowly add in the cat food, whichever kind you want to try. If it doesn't work, back off to the chicken again, and try a new food. As far as the dehydration, have you seen the pinch test? Grab some of the loose skin, easiest between teh shoulder blades, and pull it up. Does it stay up or go right back down? If it stays up, he is dehydrated - go to the vet right away. That is serious. They can give a shot under the skin to take care of that. When I took Jay Jay in, they showed me the test, and he was just fine, as I suspected since he drinks a lot on his own. But I was relieved to see the test and know how to keep track of him on my own. Signature-- Meghan & the Zoo Crew Equine and Pet Photography http://www.zoocrewphoto.com >You might try adding some acidolphilus powder with his wet food. Get it >in capsule form in the refrigerated section of a health food store, open >a capsule and mix the powder in the wet food (it has no taste). Ask >your vet first. I forgot to mention, my vet also mentioned nonfat, plain yogurt with live culture - for the acidophilus. Jay Jay did eat some. Signature-- Meghan & the Zoo Crew Equine and Pet Photography http://www.zoocrewphoto.com >Greetings, > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >completely solid, normal stool. And ever since, for 2 weeks it's been >horrible, stinky, room clearing diarrhea. I had the same problem when I got Jay Jay a month ago. The first few days were normal solid poop, then he started digging into the cat food and went to green runny stuff. The vet did the same tests to check everything and gave me some white wormer stuff that would also coat the stomach. The main difference that I see is that you weren't told to stop giving cat food for awhile. My vet told me to totally stop ALL cat food for at least 4 days, then slowly reintroduce one cat food at a time. In the meantime, give him chicken breast, plain and drained - no skin or grease. HIs diarrhea stopped that night. He did nothing for 3 days, then a couple soft stools and then regular stool. He did relapse with a day or two of soft stools, so I gave him more chicken again and it cleared up. Right now, he eats mostly cat food, but still gets a little chicken. I figure the more chicken he eats, the less cat food he eats, so it helped him slowly increase his cat food and let his system adjust. So, I would highly recommend removing all cat food and make him some nice chicken breast for several days. I just cooked a bunch up, chopped it, and stuck it in containers. He really enjoyed it, and it cleared the problem really quickly. Signature-- Meghan & the Zoo Crew Equine and Pet Photography http://www.zoocrewphoto.com |
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