# New member, new kitty, loose stools!



## longhair (May 16, 2010)

Hi folks,

New here (1st post)

Just got a new Himmy (15 weeks old) last week to keep our 2 year old Persian company. (lost our 15 year old Persian awhile ago) 
Stool was fine at first (he ate generic Purina kitten food from the breeder) but got progressively looser the first week. We feed him a combo of dry and wet Natural Balance, and some Chicken soup dry kibble gets in there from the older cats dish.
(Older cat is a grazer)
His vet visit was great! Stool sample fine, got his FVR-CP-C shot and a dose of Revolution.

Older cats stool is fine but the little one has smelly very loose stools. 
What should I do to get the little guy firmer in the box? All dry or all wet diet?

Thanks.


----------



## 3TabbyCats (Apr 24, 2010)

I've asked the same question here myself about 3 times and never got an answer. The regulars and/or people with the most experience here seem to tend to avoid this question for some reason. :? 

Some things that can cause loose smelly stools in cats :

1. Stress of a new home
2. Change in diet
3. Possible bacterial infection / flora imbalance / lack of digestive enzymes

Two of my cats have it and I'm treating them with Human Probiotics and Enzymes (which can be bought at health food stores). I've been disenchanted by vets lately and I'd rather try to reverse this myself rather than having hundreds of dollars of tests done with few or no answers.

My neighbor's 2 dogs had bad diarrhea and he put them on this stuff and it helped very much :

http://www.1800petmeds.com/NaturVet+Enz ... 10803.html


----------



## 3TabbyCats (Apr 24, 2010)

I've been told by a vet assistant that canned foods is more likely to cause diarrhea but many disagree with that.

Perhaps keep him on his usual food and try to get him on whatever other food at a later date.


----------



## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

There's a lot of things this could be but it's definitely not related to whether he eats wet or dry food. If he's processing properly, it doesn't matter. 

It could just be stress and/or change in diet. In that case, some probiotics, digestive enzymes and/or additional fiber (canned pumpkin or slippery elm) could help him get regular. Don't overdo the fiber, it can send things the other way.

It could be the change in diet from a poor to good quality food, which may be a bit rich for him. Did you do the change slowly or cold turkey? If the latter, it may have brought on the diarrhea. In that case, it may take a while for him to adjust. Again the probiotics, enzymes and/or fiber should help.

Kittens are also great hosts for a variety of parasites that cause diarrhea; worms, coccidia and giardia are the most common. I know you said the stool sample was negative, but coccidia and giardia very commonly don't show up, so a second stool sample may be in order.

And then there are food intolerances...he could be having an issue with an ingredient in one of the foods. 

There's a lot of options here. I would start with another stool sample. He doesn't need to go to the vet since he was just there. I would call and tell them he's having diarrhea and you just want to double check. Heck, when I took in Callie (she was a stray), she went to the vet and I took a stool sample, it came up clean. That same night I noticed tape worm segments around her butt. None had shown in the stool. So one sample isn't foolproof. 

Then I would do the probiotics, enzymes & fiber. Give it a week and if nothing changes, I would do a slow food change to something without fish and minimal ingredients. 

Still not working....I'd have the vet do a round of Flagyl.

Just be careful to monitor him for dehydration during all of this and if he seems to lose his appetite or becomes lethargic, then a vet visit is needed asap.


----------



## 3TabbyCats (Apr 24, 2010)

I'd get him on the Frankenprey way of eating that's explained here ASAP if it was me. This diet will prevent most major illnesses from developing and probably reverse many. 

IMHO the idea is to take charge of your cat's health via Raw Foods vs spending lots of money at a vet's office to treat various conditions, which can break the bank for some people. Get him on that and when he gets healthy, don't look back.


----------



## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Recognize that Frankenprey is not for everyone, in fact only a small minority are interested in it. A 15 week old kitten with some minor digestive issues is a pretty normal situation and not indicative of potential chronic lifelong issues. And it certainly won't cure parasites if that's what's going on here.


----------



## 3TabbyCats (Apr 24, 2010)

doodlebug said:


> Recognize that Frankenprey is not for everyone, in fact only a small minority are interested in it. .


Frankenprey may not be for every*one*, but I'd bet it would be successful / beneficial / preventative to a large majority of cats, owner permitting.

I'll treat Lil Joe with the same things mentioned in this post. Today he had pinkish gel type stool that was blood tinged. His eyes look funny too. If I took him to the vet, I have a feeling they'd put him on antibiotics, which they say may make things worse.

Neighbor gave me some probiotics with plant enzymes which is supposed to be a very good thing for cat & dog diarrhea. I have a feeling it'll work soon. If he gets worse I'll take him to the vet. I'm getting attached to him and I sure wouldn't want to lose the Lil guy.

http://www.1800petmeds.com/NaturVet+Enz ... 10803.html


----------



## 3TabbyCats (Apr 24, 2010)

Thanks for the advice. Hopefully that will prevent us from having to have $500 worth of tests to find the answer.


----------



## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

So if I have this right...Lil Joe is a stray you took in a few weeks ago. And Luke is a cat you've had for a while? And theyboth have developed diarrhea? If they're both indoor cats now, then it sounds like something that Lil Joe brought with him and now Luke has caught it...something contagious will not be cured by probiotics and enzymes. You're likely dealing with some sort of parasite. Any time there is blood in the stool, it's worthy of a vet visit...it's not normal. It can be caused by stress, but since it's 2 cats I don't think that's it.


----------



## 3TabbyCats (Apr 24, 2010)

Cubby [Lil Joe] is about 1 year old and came from a no kill shelter, it will be three weeks this Tuesday. Luke came from the same shelter about 4.5 years ago.

I'll bring in a stool sample from one of them ASAP to have tested. Thanks for the good advice. I'll reply to this thread with the outcome.


----------



## 3TabbyCats (Apr 24, 2010)

Hi-

I took a stool sample from Luke to the vet today and he looked at it under a microscope and didn't find anything. He gave me Metronidazole pills for Luke and Cubby. He seems to think it may be anaerobic bacteria and stress with Cubby, and maybe just the bacteria with Luke. He says it may also be Giardia that didn't show up in the test.










It seems that Cubby has a harder time on canned foods (more diarrhea). I'm going to feed him a combo of raw meat chunks and kibble, and get him off kibble as soon as he's ready to eat enough meat. He ate 3 chunks of chicken today with nutri yeast sprinkled on top, and I was enthused. It seems to me that raw meat chunks would be a good food for cats with BM looseness. Raw liver will make them looser, they say.

I can't say that they've been sick - just bad smelling BMs. Appetites have been good. I'm sure they'll feel even better when their BMs get normal again.

I plan to keep giving them enzymes and probiotics as well.


----------



## 3TabbyCats (Apr 24, 2010)

It seems to me that Frankenprey would be a good way to combat cat diarrhea because it's very low/no carb and without carbs it seems the bad bac has a harder time to thrive. Raw + probiotics and enzymes has got to be good for many cats.

My cats did great today on Frankenprey and I've put my grinder away, and will probably sell it. I don't know why I got confused into thinking I needed a meat grinder to make cat food. Cats have teeth and they might as well use them or they might lose them. 

Got some beef and chunked it up and they really liked it! Maybe when they're hungry the next time I'll put out a raw chicken wing or two and it'll be interesting to see how they deal with that. 8) Also got 4 frozen Cornish hens.


----------



## longhair (May 16, 2010)

OP here.

Stool sample went to vet for another look as the runs got worse today. Also have Metronidazole in a liquid form. Vet said if stool sample looks good, maybe the food is too rich. (Natural Balance wet and chicken soup for the soul dry.) May have to do trial and error on food for the new kitten.


----------



## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Welcome back...sorry your thread got a bit hijacked...

Sounds like your vet and I are thinking the same things. Good luck with the metronidazole (which is the generic name for Flagyl)....it's nasty tasting stuff, even in liquid form. I'd wrap kitty very tightly in a towel before administering it. Expect frothing at the mouth. Give him a treat right afterwards to help get the taste out of his mouth.


----------



## longhair (May 16, 2010)

No worries about the hijack, at least it's getting discussed!

He's a little trooper, some frothing and gagging at first, but I'm doing half doses a little apart to get it down easier. Hope things clear up quickly!


----------



## 3TabbyCats (Apr 24, 2010)

I'm partly or fully responsible for the hijack - but we're not far off topic so I didn't think it would wrong. I figured maybe you and others might learn, and maybe me.

I was given tablets and told to give them once a day. I managed to get both tabs in Luke and Cubby with no reactions. Gave them treats after to help get them down and remove the taste, if any. He gave me pill wrappers covered treats but Cubby wouldn't eat it, and didn't need them anyway.


----------



## longhair (May 16, 2010)

Well, second stool sample came back fine. Flagyl is slowely working but not as fast as I thought.

I'm thinking the food is a little too rich for the little guy. Maybe back to the Purina kitten food he ate and maybe the Limited ingredient Natural balance wet food. (the ones with the peas)

He eats alot and drinks plenty so no worries there.


----------



## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Flagyl can take 3-4 days to kick in completely. If you're seeing improvement with it, I would stick with the current diet. I would also do some probiotics and digestive enzymes. They can make a huge difference. Besides, Flagyl is an antibiotic, while it's meant to cure diarrhea by killing off bad bacteria, it also kills off good bacteria which can also contribute to diarrhea...so replenishing the good bacteria with probiotics is beneficial. And digestive enzymes make it easier for him to digest his food.


----------

