# Kitten with soft stools



## chacha (May 19, 2007)

Hello, I am asking this question for my mother. She has a 12 week old Persian Kitten. She is feeding him nothing but Wellness kitten food. He has been checked for parasits at the vet. So he is ok. But he has soft stools. She seems to think its the food and I don't. The vet said its a good food and not to switch foods. My mom is getting tired of having to clean his rear everytime he goes because the stool will stick to his fur, and of course we are concerned about why he is having this problem. I told her to take him back to the vet. But should we switch his food? Do you think he might have a sensitive stomach. He is very energetic and plays all day with his sister. He doesn't act like he doesn't feel well. Any suggestions? We did try giving him a little canned pumpkin to firm up his stools. She gave him a little less than a 1/2 teaspoon. He ate it but it went right through him 10 mins later.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

How long has she had the kitten and what was he being fed at the breeder's? If it's only a few days it might be the stress of moving to a new home, leaving mom & littermates etc. Also, if he wasn't being fed Wellness before...did she do a gradual change...mixing the Wellness with his old food over a few days? Sometimes just the diet change can cause diarrhea, especially if it's done cold turkey. 

If she's only had him for a few days, I'd say just continue to watch it and see whether it seems to be getting better. If it's been going for a few weeks, then I'd go back to the vet.


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## chacha (May 19, 2007)

She has had them for 3 weeks. They have been on this food since she got them. They were on Science Diet and she did gradualy switch them over. The female is fine. Its the boy who is having trouble. She brought Ziggy in because he has a abnormality in his tear ducts and he is on dropps for a eye infection. The vet checked him over and said he was fine and he doesn't have any parasites. I told her to bring him back to the vet. I thought we could try switching him to a different food or give him something to firm up his stools until he gets back to the vet.


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## chacha (May 19, 2007)

Does anyone have any advice? What is a good kitten food for sensitive stomachs?


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

I think he needs to go back to the vet. Doing another food change may only make the problem worse. Short term, maybe trying some probiotics would be advantageous.


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## OsnobunnieO (Jun 28, 2004)

did the breeder mention any digestive issues with the kitten (or any of them) before adoption? has she talked to the breeder since about this particular problem? I personally would think she'd be the first to go to just to see if its something she's found common in her kittens or not.

has he had loose stools since she got him? It could be any number of things... I'd like to say most parasites would eventually cause actual diarrhea (especially coccidia) rather than loose stools... but not always.

I second the probiotics in the meantime... and possibly another vet visit (or at least phone call) to weigh your options.

And not really a solution to the problem, but it might help if she has them do a "sanitary trim" or "potty patch" to get rid of some of the hair back there to minimize the mess when he goes to the bathroom.


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## nanook (Jun 12, 2005)

I agree that another food change could make things worse and I'd bring him back to the vet. My guess would still be parasites. Coccidia and giardia are very common in kittens and often don't show up in a fecal exam so it may be worth going ahead and treating for them.


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## chacha (May 19, 2007)

Sounds good! I will tell my mom to call the breeder. She plans on calling the vet monday morning. I did tell her to do a sanitary trim, hopefully she will do it. I will tell her not to change Ziggys food. Thanks for all the responses.


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## Jennyphx (Apr 5, 2007)

My kitten couldn't handle the super premium foods when he was younger. His stomach was very sensitive and he had horrible gas and soft stools. He had multiple fecal tests so we were pretty sure it wasn't parasite/cocci related. How were his stools when he was on the science diet before the switch to Wellness? My vet suggested Iams kitten. I don't like the byproducts but I was willing to use it if it helped him. Sure enough, his gas and soft stools dissapeared as soon as he was fully transitioned to it. I've heard Royal Canin Babycat is good for sensitive tummies as well. He only stayed on the Iams about 6 weeks and after that I was able to transition him to Innova with no problems. His digestive system just wasn't developed enough to handle certain foods for a little bit of time.


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