# Our new cat has severe diarrhea, but drinks and eats well.



## Lieke (Jan 12, 2011)

I am a little confused: 

Before adoption:
- We adopted Garland last saturday. He was on the cheap dry food, and "bribed" with cheap wet food.
- the foster parent said he was completely healthy. the organization is a trusted one, so i believe(d) her.
- before we took him with, he went to the litter box and it smelled horrible. i didn't see the feces, since i didn't want to walk into the foster's washroom just like that.
- the foster lady, even though a sweetheart, seemed not to be able to pay a lot of attention to her cats, since she is ill. i don't blame her, without her, Garland wouldn't have been here anymore, he was scheduled for his last day in a high rate kill shelter)

now:
- we feed him royal canin dry food and various types of grain-free wet food (although are first cat cannot handle wet food at all: instant diarrhea)
- he drinks normally
- he has diarrhea twice a day, smells quite bad, but not as bad as in the beginning
- has really small pee's about 4/5 times a day. is that normal? 
- he meows before he poo's, but he meows quite a bit in general...
- he plays, cuddles, sleeps and eats quite normally (note that we just got him, so we don't know how is behavior was like without diarrhea)


could this be from food? stress? we are going to take him to the vet next week, but i would just like some opinions, since i am clueless.


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## tghsmith (Dec 9, 2010)

I would drop off a fresh "sample" at your vet,, odds are worms or some other parasite mite have taken up residense...


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

If the poo doesn’t smell like normal poo it could be giardia, coccidia, etc. Bring in a fresh poo sample to your kittens appointment. They can put it under the microscope and see what might be going on.

FYI Royal Cainan just changed their ingredience in their food and added wheat gluten. It could be a food allergy causing diarrhea.

Plus have them check for UTI. That can kill a cat or kitten. Keep an eye on how much your kitten peas and poos so you can tell the vet.


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## Sharpie (Jun 13, 2010)

Yeah, I would definitely bring a fresh sample to the vet if possible to check for parasites. Have you noticed any blood or does it seem painful for him to go? 

Also, it could be that the food changed too fast, but it sounds like Garland had issues before coming to your house. 

Best of luck!


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## catloverami (Jul 5, 2010)

You've received excellent advice, a vet visit and stool samples need to be done. A change from one food to another should always be done very carefully, a little at a time, over a week to avoid digestive upsets.


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## Lieke (Jan 12, 2011)

Thanks guys!

Today, his poo was pretty much solid! Not as solid as Dales, but it was not diarrhea. The only thing I did different, was that I gave them some tuna in the evening. I don't think that was the reason, it might have been the change of food...Nonetheless, we will still take him to the vet for his pee's


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## Alpaca (Dec 21, 2009)

It could be just the stress of settling in a new home. Captain Jack had the runs when I first had him for a week or so. He was so frightened he didn't even poop in the box. He just went wherever he was hiding.

I mean it's a lot to get used to! A new parent, new environment, new food, possible new playmates, new blankets..etc etc..

Yah, I would leave the tuna out of the diet until he stablizes.

As soon as I could (about a month in cuz he was so scared), I took Jack in for a first examination and poop test. He had roundworms. So it pays to take them to the vet as soon as you can.


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## Lieke (Jan 12, 2011)

Thanks for your advise! We will take him to the vet indeed, just for the sake of it. 

What I just found a little weird, is that the organization checks them for everything before they even put the cat in the foster home, especially if there are any resident cats around, which was the case in his foster home. Maybe something did go wrong. The adoption came with a 6 week insurance, so it doesn't cost us anything to take him to a vet. Maybe these kinds of things are the reason they put that insurance in the adoption package.


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