6 Month Kitten Diarrhea for 3 weeks.

[xevvvvan]

I'll try to keep this short. My sphynx cat was raised on raw by his breeder, after seeing multiple vets which suggested I change to a wet/kibble food mix I did. I tried to implement slowly but after a day he stopped eating the raw (he ate around it) and only would eat the new wet/kibble food.

That same day I changed his diet, he had his first vaccination. Since then he has had diarrhoea everyday, without fail. Its been almost 3 weeks and I am very worried. He is still a happy cat, running around, cuddling, purring but 1-2 times a day he has a bad poo.

I took him to the vets and they said it could be stress from the vet visit or the diet change, they advised to wait a few days and call back to update them. Few days later I told them the issue persisted and they prescribed him a paste to help settle his stomach, it appeared to have no affect. A week later I contacted them to say still no progress with his diarrhea so they gave him a steroid injection and some special food which did appear to help, 4 days later that food ran out and its very expensive and not a long term solution, I slowly eased him back into the Hills Pouches and dry food but BOOM diarrhea again. As I said hes perfectly happy but when he goes to the toilet its bad. Hes stepping in his running stool, walking it around the house, on the counters. I cant blame him, but 3 weeks now and its a health concern for my family also. The last two days his diarrhea has been AWFUL. I can hear it squirting out of his bum (sorry to be graphic but it really is that bad). It shoots out his bottom and he doesnt seem happy. I clean him up every time and make sure he stays hydrated. I have another vet visit in 2 days for his second VAC and also will mention the diarrhea but does anyone have any advise? Ive spent over 300 on vet bills this month and If i carry on like this ill need to remortgage the house........

PS he is on Hills Science Plan Pouches and Hills Kibble.

 

[Catzzzmeow]

Sounds like the food is the culprit. Changing food quickly can wreak havoc on tummies. You might need to start seeing if they have an issue with a particular ingredient. Some can’t tolerate chicken etc.


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[Sheldon13]

If he was doing well on raw I think he would be willing to change back if you were persistent.


Love and Sphynx ~ It’s all you need

 

[AnimaVilis]

I'll try to keep this short. My sphynx cat was raised on raw by his breeder, after seeing multiple vets which suggested I change to a wet/kibble food mix I did. I tried to implement slowly but after a day he stopped eating the raw (he ate around it) and only would eat the new wet/kibble food.

As I said hes perfectly happy but when he goes to the toilet its bad. Hes stepping in his running stool, walking it around the house, on the counters. I cant blame him, but 3 weeks now and its a health concern for my family also. The last two days his diarrhea has been AWFUL. I can hear it squirting out of his bum (sorry to be graphic but it really is that bad). It shoots out his bottom and he doesnt seem happy. I clean him up every time and make sure he stays hydrated. I have another vet visit in 2 days for his second VAC and also will mention the diarrhea but does anyone have any advise? Ive spent over 300 on vet bills this month and If i carry on like this ill need to remortgage the house........

PS he is on Hills Science Plan Pouches and Hills Kibble.

It's like you wrote the story of my cats! I have the same problem, constant diarrhoea, even though my kitties are very playful, happy and always eat with great appetite. My older kitty (she was 1 year old when we brought her home from breeder) was on raw diet in her previous home, when we got her, her poop was perfect, but strangely she didn't really want to eat raw food at our place, so we slowly changed her diet to cooked chicken (diet our previous sphynx was on - who had a constant diarrhoea too...) We thought it was good and healthy diet, but because there's no improvement in their poo, we introduced raw beef lately. Even the older kitty (Kitty) is eating it now, younger boy (Yoshi) eats everything happily no matter what we give him. Kitty's poo seemed to improved in past couple of days, we'll see if it'll stay this way, but Yoshi still got very loose stool.

We thought it might be something in the house that upsets their stomachs, as it was with our previous boy, so we have tried to eliminate possible causes; no food is ever left unattended, any small object they can swallowed are removed, we have restricted the use of cleaning chemicals in the house - kitchen and bathroom are being cleaned with chemicals but cats are not allowed there on any shelves, bathtub, sink or toilet seat (just in case they were transferring chemical residue on their paws and there licking them), and other flat surfaces in the house are only wiped with wet cloth, no sprays or anything. That didn't seem to help.
We also started to give them more wet food - cooked chicken and raw beef - so they would eat less dry food, that could have negative effect on their digestion.
We don't know what else we can do, but I'm waiting for the vet to start operating in "normal" hours and conditions, and we'll go for advice.
Also, Yoshi hasn't been vaccinated yes, as he was taking some antibiotics not that long ago for cat flu. I don't know if that is any important in this case, but we thought that perhaps he's got a bug or something and also passed it on to Kitty?... I don't know, it's hard to guess, especially that both Yoshi and Kitty seem very healthy, playful and happy.
I will update the topic once I have any info from the vet.
Does anyone have this issue?

PS: Yoshi almost always steps in his poo, and as in typical English house, there are carpets almost everywhere...

 

[xevvvvan]

It's like you wrote the story of my cats! I have the same problem, constant diarrhoea, even though my kitties are very playful, happy and always eat with great appetite. My older kitty (she was 1 year old when we brought her home from breeder) was on raw diet in her previous home, when we got her, her poop was perfect, but strangely she didn't really want to eat raw food at our place, so we slowly changed her diet to cooked chicken (diet our previous sphynx was on - who had a constant diarrhoea too...) We thought it was good and healthy diet, but because there's no improvement in their poo, we introduced raw beef lately. Even the older kitty (Kitty) is eating it now, younger boy (Yoshi) eats everything happily no matter what we give him. Kitty's poo seemed to improved in past couple of days, we'll see if it'll stay this way, but Yoshi still got very loose stool.

We thought it might be something in the house that upsets their stomachs, as it was with our previous boy, so we have tried to eliminate possible causes; no food is ever left unattended, any small object they can swallowed are removed, we have restricted the use of cleaning chemicals in the house - kitchen and bathroom are being cleaned with chemicals but cats are not allowed there on any shelves, bathtub, sink or toilet seat (just in case they were transferring chemical residue on their paws and there licking them), and other flat surfaces in the house are only wiped with wet cloth, no sprays or anything. That didn't seem to help.
We also started to give them more wet food - cooked chicken and raw beef - so they would eat less dry food, that could have negative effect on their digestion.
We don't know what else we can do, but I'm waiting for the vet to start operating in "normal" hours and conditions, and we'll go for advice.
Also, Yoshi hasn't been vaccinated yes, as he was taking some antibiotics not that long ago for cat flu. I don't know if that is any important in this case, but we thought that perhaps he's got a bug or something and also passed it on to Kitty?... I don't know, it's hard to guess, especially that both Yoshi and Kitty seem very healthy, playful and happy.
I will update the topic once I have any info from the vet.
Does anyone have this issue?

PS: Yoshi almost always steps in his poo, and as in typical English house, there are carpets almost everywhere...

Hi

Ive put my kitty back on RAW and he has been SO much better. He eats more throughout the day and also his stool is back to normal. For my kitty, it was DEFO food related. After wasting all my time/money at the vet, after putting him back on raw hes been fine. He does appear to have an EXTREMELY sensitive stomach as even a tablespoon of other foods will cause upset.

I'd say keep them all on their diet they were brought up on by breeder e.g. RAW and do that for a few weeks so it has time to settle.

 

[AnimaVilis]

Thanks @xevvvvan, I'm slowly switching them to complete raw diet, we'll see how it goes. Just 2 more questions:
1. Should I better give them raw such as mince beef, or go for livers, hearts etc? I was thinking to introduce organs to their diet once I eliminate cooked chicken completely.
2. What about dry food? My husband found some info that dry food can cause upset stomach, and that it might be good idea to soak it with little bit of water. Any idea?

 

[xevvvvan]

Thanks @xevvvvan, I'm slowly switching them to complete raw diet, we'll see how it goes. Just 2 more questions:
1. Should I better give them raw such as mince beef, or go for livers, hearts etc? I was thinking to introduce organs to their diet once I eliminate cooked chicken completely.
2. What about dry food? My husband found some info that dry food can cause upset stomach, and that it might be good idea to soak it with little bit of water. Any idea?

Cant speak on the organs as i dont have the knowledge. I feed my boy a chicken / beef mix and in terms of dry food it can defo cause stomach upset. I use a special bowel dry food but only feed small amounts called hills digestive care.

 

[Sheldon13]

It’s important to incorporate organs into the diet. The general rule is 80% meat, 10% organ, 10% bone


Love and Sphynx ~ It’s all you need

 

[Condo commando]

VERY VERY VERY important to feed meat, organs and bones. The mix is supposed to be 80-10-10 just like @Sheldon13 said if you are making the food yourself. If you are buying it already made look for the label to say that it's "balanced" food or something to that effect.

Just a quick note - sometimes even when fed raw the cat could still have diarrhea. This is because their GI tract has inflammation and any food will cause upset. If you give it time, it should get better. But you should not give any kibble during this time as that will cause further inflammation. I hope this helps.

 

[AnimaVilis]

Thank you @Condo commando & @Sheldon13! I'll visit local butcher in next few days to get some organs and I'll slowly introduce them to their diet. Kitty and Yoshi are on a completely raw diet for few days now, and there seem to be an improvement already

 

[Condo commando]

You're welcome @AnimaVilis but be aware there are strict requirements in a raw diet besides just meat and organs. Take taurine for example - you are not including any that I can see. The lack of taurine causes blindness. Over time the nutrient deficiencies if one just feeds meat and organs cause catastrophic damage.

If you were in the USA, I would be able to recommend some raw cat foods that come frozen, ready to thaw and serve. This is how most of us started feeding raw. I would strongly recommend that you find something like this in the UK that you can provide to your babies.

 

[AnimaVilis]

I will definitely have a look, I did read about the nutrients needed in their diet already.
Thanks a lot for help, I will keep searching for info and I'll try and find the best food for my kitties

 

[Sheldon13]

Over here in the states we add supplements either Alnutrin or Better in the Raw. Not sure if either of those are available to you.

There is a great raw feeding group on FB you might join: Raw Feeding UK

I’d bet they would have some ideas for you.

Love and Sphynx ~ It’s all you need

 

[AnimaVilis]

Over here in the states we add supplements either Alnutrin or Better in the Raw. Not sure if either of those are available to you.

There is a great raw feeding group on FB you might join: Raw Feeding UK

I’d bet they would have some ideas for you.

Love and Sphynx ~ It’s all you need

I've just joined the group, I hope to find useful info there. Thank you!

 

[FendiSphynx]

You're welcome @AnimaVilis but be aware there are strict requirements in a raw diet besides just meat and organs. Take taurine for example - you are not including any that I can see. The lack of taurine causes blindness. Over time the nutrient deficiencies if one just feeds meat and organs cause catastrophic damage.

If you were in the USA, I would be able to recommend some raw cat foods that come frozen, ready to thaw and serve. This is how most of us started feeding raw. I would strongly recommend that you find something like this in the UK that you can provide to your babies.

Hi, I am looking to switch my 5mo. to raw too. Ive been giving him dry and he continues to have diarrhea even after it was suggested to switch from wet to avoid this issue. Ive noticed sometimes theres even a little blood in his poop. Im going to the vet on Friday for his booster shot and I brought up my concern of his poop already so they can do some tests.

Either way I find that a lot of people prefer raw. How do I go about switching him over and creating the right balance. I would prefer to make it myself so I know everything that goes into his food but I’m a beginner on this. Any suggestions?

 

[Condo commando]

Hi, I am looking to switch my 5mo. to raw too. Ive been giving him dry and he continues to have diarrhea even after it was suggested to switch from wet to avoid this issue. Ive noticed sometimes theres even a little blood in his poop. Im going to the vet on Friday for his booster shot and I brought up my concern of his poop already so they can do some tests.

Either way I find that a lot of people prefer raw. How do I go about switching him over and creating the right balance. I would prefer to make it myself so I know everything that goes into his food but I’m a beginner on this. Any suggestions?

Hi, I would switch him to raw first because that might solve your problem right there. You could always do the testing later.

There are several ways to feed raw, some that require more time than others. Here are options starting from the least tme required and going up.

1. Freeze dried raw food - this is super convenient because it comes in bags which you can store in your pantry. To serve it you would just add water to it and turn it into wet food. Unfortunately this is also the most expensive raw food.

2. Frozen, delivery subscription service - these are newer in the market. The food is delivered to your house every couple of weeks. It is frozen and packed in small containers kind of like a can of food except it's a little plastic tub and you have to thaw it. It's still quite expensive though.

3. Frozen, commercial raw food from pet stores - usually sold in tubs or bags from 1 to 3 pounds. I bought this when I first started raw feeding. Actually I did a little bit of freeze dried too but mostly I fed frozen raw. I think it hits the sweet spot for a lot of people because it's not the most expensive choice, but it's still easy since all you have to do is thaw it and serve. The only thing to watch out for is that it must be sold near where you live.

4. Meat, bone and organ grind - this is just the meat, bones and organs ground up. It's not actually food since you would need to add a supplement (ie, vitamins and minerals). This is what I like to buy now because it's much cheaper. The supplement I use is Alnutrin. It's very easy; all I have to do is thaw out a package or 2 of grinds, mix the supplement powder in water and pour it over the meat. Stir the whole thing up and divide it into little containers. I freeze the containers and just take them out each day as I need them.

5. Buy cuts of meat and organs that you grind at home - this is obviously the most work and requires a grinder, but it's the cheapest way to make food once you know what you're doing. I do some of this but I don't recommend this to start out.

Does one of these sound good to you? You can always pick something easy to start with and then re-evaluate later......

 

[FendiSphynx]

Hi, I would switch him to raw first because that might solve your problem right there. You could always do the testing later.

There are several ways to feed raw, some that require more time than others. Here are options starting from the least tme required and going up.

1. Freeze dried raw food - this is super convenient because it comes in bags which you can store in your pantry. To serve it you would just add water to it and turn it into wet food. Unfortunately this is also the most expensive raw food.

2. Frozen, delivery subscription service - these are newer in the market. The food is delivered to your house every couple of weeks. It is frozen and packed in small containers kind of like a can of food except it's a little plastic tub and you have to thaw it. It's still quite expensive though.

3. Frozen, commercial raw food from pet stores - usually sold in tubs of bags from 1 to 3 pounds. I bought this when I first started raw feeding. I think it hits the sweet spot for a lot of people because it's not the most expensive and all you have to do is thaw it and serve. The only thing is it must be sold near where you live.

4. Meat, bone and organ grind - this is just the meat, bones and organs ground up. It's not actually food since you would need to add a supplement (ie, vitamins and minerals). This is what I like to buy now because it's much cheaper. The supplement I use is Alnutrin. It's very easy; all I have to do is thaw out a package or 2 of grinds, mix the supplement powder in water and pour it over the meat. Stir the whole thing up and divide it into little containers. I freeze the containers and just take them out each day as I need them.

4. Buy cuts of meat and organs that you grind at home - this is obviously the most work and requires a grinder, but it's the cheapest way to make food once you know what you're doing. I do some of this but I don't recommend this to start out.

Does one of these sound good to you? You can always pick something easy to start with and then re-evaluate later......

I think I might try out the third to see if he gets better and them switch over to purchasing ground mean and bones like you!!! Thank you! Now ill be on the hunt for some good commercial raw brands near me

 

[Condo commando]

I think I might try out the third to see if he gets better and them switch over to purchasing ground mean and bones like you!!! Thank you! Now ill be on the hunt for some good commercial raw brands near me

If you live near a store like Petco or Petsmart, look for Instinct Raw Bites. It's a bit on the pricey side but it comes in kibble-sized pieces that are frozen. You can pour it into a dish and it will thaw in almost no time.

Petco is running a deal 35% off if you subscribe to repeat delivery.

https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/instinct-natures-variety-frozen-raw-bites-grain-free-cage-free-chicken-recipe-natural-dry-cat-food

 

[Yoda mom]

@Staceyxxx and several other members may have food recommendations for your area. hugs n positive vibe head smooches

 

[AnimaVilis]

My cats have been on raw diet for some time now, and there's a huge improvement. Their poo is absolutely perfect now No diarrhea at all. I am still looking at places to buy organs in my area, but it's already looking good. I have also noticed that since I started feeding them raw 3x a day, not 2 as before, they eat less dry kibble (unless it's due to hot weather recently). Whatever the reason ,I'm happy about that too.
Thank you everyone for all the help

 

[Condo commando]

My cats have been on raw diet for some time now, and there's a huge improvement. Their poo is absolutely perfect now No diarrhea at all. I am still looking at places to buy organs in my area, but it's already looking good. I have also noticed that since I started feeding them raw 3x a day, not 2 as before, they eat less dry kibble (unless it's due to hot weather recently). Whatever the reason ,I'm happy about that too.
Thank you everyone for all the help

This is great just make sure that you are feeding complete and balanced food.

When you get organs, liver must be included for Vitamin A. Beef liver is not as good so stick to chicken liver.

Also FYI hearts don't count as organs - they count as muscle meat - but cats need this too for taurine.

 

[Staceyxxx]

Hi, bless your wee kitty, what ashame! Many suggestions, so you would need to decide if you Would you consider putting your kitty back in raw or maybe the meat you can purchase like natural instinct! When Binky was little she had the runs a lot, I would consider looking at getting the poop tested just to make sure there isn’t something underlying! Good luck