Cat Question (Not for the squeamish!)

[sap483]

I got a Himalyan kitten, Squeaky, about a month ago. He''s almost 6 months old. Some of you will remember that I have another cat, Theo who eats Wellness food. He eats about a 5.5oz can of wellness wet food and a 1/3 of a cup of the Wellness Core Dry food. So when we got Squeaky we transitioned him slowly from Purina Kitten Chow that the breeder was feeding him to the Wellness. Well he seemed to be doing really well on it. In the last two weeks though he''s been having issues with really wet poo. He''s long haired so he gets it all over himself at least once if not twice a day. I am sooo tired of giving him daily baths. I called the vet and they said that he just recently tested negative for parasites, so they think it''s the food. I''m hoping you kitty lovers can chime in. Should I switch him to a different food? Should I eliminate wet food? Also, having two cats, can I switch it for one without switching it for both? If so, what has worked for you in terms of feeding them separately? Theo really loves Wellness..... Thanks in advance!

 

[SparklyGirl*]

I think that it would be a good idea to switch the catfood and try something else to see what happens. You can wait a few weeks and see if the cat food is the reason that your kitty has wet poop.

I have tried giving 2 different kinds of food for 2 cats before and unless you have regular eating times throughout the day where you set food out for the seperate cats in seperate rooms and take it away when they are done, i doubt that they will eat their own food. Atleast thats the way it worked for me! So you can try switching it to another type of wet food and see if it is just that specific type of wet food and if that doesnt work maybe try dry food and if that doesnt work then it isnt the food. Make sure if you do do that that you give it to them for a week or so. If you give it to them for 2 days it willnot give it enough time to have it "seep in" so to say.
Normally if you give cats non-hard food, it differs from dry becuase it has some water content in it. Especially if they eat a lot of it and drink water also I could see where it might cause a different cats body to react differently. Overall wet food does get them some protein that they usually wouldnt get otherwise but it wouldnt hurt to just start giving them dry food. The only problem with that is that you might feel like they arent being spoiled by you!

You could also check with your vet to see what is going on if switching their food doesnt solve the problem. They might have some good options for switching the type of food too. Hope I helped some!

 

[AmberGretchen]

I know this may not be the answer you want to hear, but it might just be a kitten thing. Our adopted putative Ragdoll had this problem extensively as a kitten, and it was really a pain the you-know-what. Switching foods and other remedies suggested by the vet and others didn''t help. The one thing that did help was calling around to find a groomer who could do what is called a "sanitary cut" on his back end. Basically, they trim all the fur around the butt in such a way that it 90% eliminates the problem. Genius. Really, its worth at least looking into - most places near us charged no more than $10-15, and we live in an expensive city. They will usually trim the claws for free while they are there as well, so that''s also a plus.

The good news is that our fluffy boy outgrew the problem. He turned two in July, and he hasn''t had a single "incident" in months, and even before that it had gotten very infrequent.

Anyway, I hope that is helpful advice - from someone who has been there, I feel your pain.

 

[Octavia]

Our cat had poo trouble when he was a kitten, as well (thank heavens he''s a shorthair!). He outgrew it when he was about 11 months old or so, and now eats the food that gave him trouble before with no problem. In the meantime, I switched him to a less fatty food with fewer ingredients (California Natural Chicken & Rice). I didn''t think it was as healthy as the food I''d originally gotten for him (canned Wellness, dry Evo) but I figured that keeping it in his body long enough to absorb the nutrients was probably more important. We''ve now switched him back to wet Wellness and a combination of dry Indoor Cat Wellness and Evo, and it doesn''t bother him a bit.

As long as you''ve made sure your kitten doesn''t have worms, I agree with AG that it''s probably something he''ll outgrow -- kittens with digestive problems seem to be pretty common.

 

[LaurenThePartier]

Date: 9/24/2008 1:19:52 PM
Author: AmberGretchen
I know this may not be the answer you want to hear, but it might just be a kitten thing. Our adopted putative Ragdoll had this problem extensively as a kitten, and it was really a pain the you-know-what. Switching foods and other remedies suggested by the vet and others didn''t help. The one thing that did help was calling around to find a groomer who could do what is called a ''sanitary cut'' on his back end. Basically, they trim all the fur around the butt in such a way that it 90% eliminates the problem. Genius. Really, its worth at least looking into - most places near us charged no more than $10-15, and we live in an expensive city. They will usually trim the claws for free while they are there as well, so that''s also a plus.

The good news is that our fluffy boy outgrew the problem. He turned two in July, and he hasn''t had a single ''incident'' in months, and even before that it had gotten very infrequent.

Anyway, I hope that is helpful advice - from someone who has been there, I feel your pain.

I agree with this, my groomer calls this cut "runway rump", and it''s worked for my sister''s cat incredibly well.

 

[moremoremore]

I would switch food right away...poor guy might get dehydrated....You have to switch them both bc they''re bound to eat from the same bowls...

 

[movie zombie]

go in and have the vet shave his rear end........unsightly but you won''t have the issue with daily baths.

you may have changed the food too quickly....any food change is supposed to be done slowly to avoid such a problem, mixing the new food with the old food in larger proportions over time until only the new food is being offered.

movie zombie

 

[SailorsSweet<3]

I switched my dog and all 3 of my cats to the Wellness brand dry food and Ive noticed changes in all 4 animals, but different changes in each and nothing that I've worried about. The dog has bad breath and is really gassy (sorry

), the cats have better coats but I did notice that the youngest cat-7yrs has looser stool like your kitten is having - maybe since your baby is young and still developing the makeup of the Wellness food isnt agreeing with his system just yet? Or maybe even though you integrated the kitten chow with the wellness it was still too different of a change for his stomach to slowly adjust to it? I'd say if things dont start "stiffening" up eventually you should def take him into the vet. On a different note - a dog groomer friend of mine feeds her dogs and cats the Evo brand - some people prefer that holistic brand vs wellness so you could try it if you still want to stay away from the bad substitutes and all. Good Luck!

 

[oobiecoo]

I know you''re having a cat problem but I know something that helped for our puppy that may work for cats too if you ask the vet. We were told to mix rice and a can of pumpkin together. We fed her that for a couple of days and she never had poo problems again! I''d try something like that or switching away from wet catfood. Hope you find a solution!

 

[Lynn B]

Changing foods should always be done gradually... but you already know this. If I read your post correctly, the poo problems didn't start till 2 weeks after the transition to Wellness. This makes me think it wasn't the food.

Boo (my Ragdoll) had soft/loose poo problems as a baby, too.

I got a can of plain pumpkin (100% pumpkin, no spices added, etc.) and froze it in ice cube trays. Then I would thaw one out and feed it to him when he would have loose poos. (He really liked it!) (I tried plain cooked rice, it didn't seem to help for him, but I know it does help some kitties.)

I also trimmed his back end fur VERY short, and that helped a lot, too. I think the frequent baths (before the trim) really stressed him out and that might have made the poo problem worse!

Anyway, Boo grew out of it

, and hopefully your sweet baby will too!

 

[sap483]

Thanks for weighing in everyone! The vet did suggest that I get a "poopy trail" trim, so they''re going to do that when they neuter him tomorrow. It''s good to hear that it''s not uncommon for kittens to have digestive issues. I tried to be very gradual in switching the food- it was done over more than 2 weeks, just to avoid this kind of problem as I wasn''t aware of that with my first kitty and we had lots of wet poo issues with him. Lynn, you''re correct that the problem didn''t start until 2 weeks or so of him eating just Wellness. I will definitely try feeding him pumpkin first before switching the food again. Ultimately I can get over having to clean him just as long as the poor baby isn''t losing nutrients and hydration. Here''s a pic of him (clean!).

 

[AmberGretchen]

OMG what a cute little fuzzy baby

I''m glad your vet is going to give him a trim back there with his neuter - hopefully that will help with the problem.

 

[Lorelei]

I am late to this, but I have had the same problems with young Himmies and Persians, the Butt Buzz works well, it keeps them much cleaner! With the upset tums, mine also grew out of it, although one still has a very sensitive stomach, I have to keep him on the same food which suits them all thankfully!

Sap your baby is adorable!

 

[Lynn B]

Date: 9/25/2008 1:05:37 PM
Author: Lorelei
I am late to this, but I have had the same problems with young Himmies and Persians, the Butt Buzz works well, it keeps them much cleaner! With the upset tums, mine also grew out of it, although one still has a very sensitive stomach, I have to keep him on the same food which suits them all thankfully!

Sap your baby is adorable!

The BUTT BUZZ???!!

Haha, I LOOOOOVE that!!!

Yes, Sap, your baby boy is BEAUTIFUL! Oh, I just wanna hug and kiss him!!!

And BTW, the pumpkin can pretty much be fed as often as necessary... once or twice a day for a couple of days to a week at a time. At least that''s what I have had to do for Boo in the past.

Now, you''ve got to PROMISE to keep us updated with LOTS of pictures! (If he doesn''t mind being an honorary "Raggie"

feel free to post some pics of him in our Ragdoll Parents thread!!!)

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 9/25/2008 2:25:07 PM
Author: Lynn B

Date: 9/25/2008 1:05:37 PM
Author: Lorelei

The BUTT BUZZ???!!

Haha, I LOOOOOVE that!!!

 

[LAJennifer]

I second the canned pumpkin. Also, kitties are really sensitive to any sudden food switch. You might want to ask your vet for some Forti Flora (like acidophilis, but for kitties).

 

[sap483]

I went and got some canned pumpkin last night. I fed him some before his food cut off at midnight (he''s getting neutered today). I just dropped him off at the vet, I felt so bad leaving him! His brother is tearing up the house now looking for him! Anyway, thanks again I will let you all know how it goes.

Lynn, thanks for the invite to the Ragdoll thread. I will definitely shamelessly brag and post pics! I was considering getting a raggie at first, but I fell in love with him. I got lucky though, he''s such a cuddler, and falls limp in your arms when you pick him up. You can hold him and snuggle him for hours and he''ll purr the whole time!