# Is it safe to feed baby food for a few days...



## Jenlee (Mar 21, 2008)

to help with diarrhea? I read in an old post that someone fed their cat baby food with meat for 3 days and it really helped the diarrhea.

Thanks,
Jennie


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## masciarifamily (Jun 6, 2008)

HI Jennie

I dont know if it will help with diarrhea but my vet told me I can always give my cat baby food if needed when he wont eat his regular food for whatever reason. I have heard of RuniPoo Relief.

Here is an article to read hope it helps:

Home Remedies for Cats With Diarrhea 
When the body needs to get rid of something quickly, it speeds up the action of the intestines and cuts down on water reabsorption from the gut. The end result (no pun intended) of this important defense mechanism is diarrhea. Once the cat's body has expelled the suspect stuff -- and no more is taken in -- diarrhea usually clears up by itself.

Certain viruses and diseases, a change in diet, or a food allergy can also trigger diarrhea. In the case of illness or food allergy, the diarrhea may not clear up for several days. Because it also removes fluid from the body, bouts lasting more than 24 hours may cause dehydration, which is a potentially serious condition.

What to Do 

An occasional loose stool or bout of diarrhea is a normal part of life and will pass without you having to do anything. When a cat suffers "the runs" for more than a day, though, you may need to help nature along.

What's the cause? Make a mental checklist of the previous 24 hours. Did your cat rummage through the garbage? Have a snack of "people" food? Eat a new food of any kind? Have a major stress or trauma (such as a plane trip)? Now think about the past week. Has there been an increase in stress for the cat? Did she eat some nonfood item? Has she been showing other symptoms of illness? These are all questions to ask yourself when evaluating your cat's condition. Cat's may love milk, but they do not digest it very well.



Try the "quiet diet." The less work your cat's digestive system has to do, the faster it will settle back into its normal functioning. You'll need to keep dairy products away from your cat. Although cats love dairy products, they don't digest them well. A saucer of milk or cream may be the storybook feline snack, but the lactose (milk sugar) in dairy products frequently is a cause of diarrhea.

Get rid of cat foods that contain dyes. Cat food that comes in attractive colors, is processed to look like chunks of meat, or stays moist in the container for months include dyes and other artificial ingredients. These are nonfoods, and the gut has to work harder to process them -- just the opposite of what you want for a cat with diarrhea. Although changing foods also can cause diarrhea, switching to a brand with no dyes or additives can help clear up the current trouble and prevent future bouts.

Try to give your cat foods that are easy on the stomach. Cooked white rice mixed with boiled hamburger or chicken meat is bland and easy to digest. Some cats balk at rice, so you may have to use potatoes or pasta instead. If you don't feel like cooking for your cat, lamb and rice cat foods are available at most pet supply stores.

You can also try fasting your cat. Sometimes fasting your cat for 24 hours is enough to drop the intestines back into low gear. If nothing at all goes in (except water), there's nothing to process; and by the end of the 24 hours, nothing should be coming out. When you resume feeding, begin with the bland rice mixture, then slowly mix in regular food, reducing the amount of the rice mixture until the cat is back on a normal diet.

If Not Nature...Although common sense says that adding a stool-softening laxative to your cat's food will keep the bowels moving, a bulk-forming laxative such as Metamucil seems to have a normalizing effect on cats with diarrhea. If your cat's stools are still a little soft during or after a couple of days of the "quiet diet," try adding about a half-teaspoon of the Metamucil laxative to each of her meals for a day or two.

Keep her hydrated. It's important that a cat with diarrhea keeps drinking. In fact, her need for fluids is actually greater, so make sure she has plenty of water available at all times. Besides losing fluids, though, a cat with diarrhea is losing key nutrients called electrolytes. These nutrients, such as sodium and potassium, make the nerves work right. To replenish electrolytes, keep fluid intake at the necessary level and provide some extra energy boost; you can try filling a bowl with Gatorade sports drink.

Nature's way. Nature provides its own way to slow down and get back to normal. Relaxation, stress reduction, and gentle exercise (take your cat for a walk on a leash and harness, if she likes it) may be all that are needed to clear up a attack of loose stools. Avoid the temptation to use over-the-counter diarrhea products, unless your vet specifically tells you to.

When to Call the Vet

Call the vet immediately if severe (watery or "explosive") diarrhea continues for more than 24 hours or if diarrhea worsens, is bloody, or is accompanied by other symptoms such as vomiting, fever, or difficulty walking. A cat with diarrhea should drink a little more, but intense thirst with diarrhea may be a sign of diabetes.

DANGER LEVEL: By itself, diarrhea is only slightly dangerous, mostly because of the risks of dehydration. Severe, bloody, or watery diarrhea--or diarrhea accompanied by other symptoms of illness--can be a sign of something as routine as worms or as serious as panleukopenia (feline distemper).

The idea of tiny organisms taking up residence in your cat's ears may make your skin crawl, but it is actually a fairly common problem. Learn how to treat ear mites in the next section.


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