Sphynx Poop!

[KiwisPapa]

Hi everyone,
I've owned numerous cats over the years and their toilets habits have been pretty good, regular poop, doesnt smell terrible, dont get it on themselves. My girlfriends sphynx kiwi who I am very much in love with (... and the girlfriend) seemingly often have soft, loose poo, and sounds quite gassy when he goes (Again never really heard this with my other cats). Its never really hard and regularly formed. Also hes prone to getting it on his tail and paw from time to time, if you arent quick enough to catch him post deposit, he'll sprint around and get poop everywhere lol.
I looked into freeze dried/air dried raw food, but its so expensive and not really available in the UK. Currently hes eating Hills Science Plan Adult dry food. Apparently royal canin sphynx food made it worse when tried initially.
I was wondering if anyone has any advice or suggestions on what to try. My understanding is doctors have said he is fine healthwise.
My alternate solution is currently to train him to use the toilet lol

 

[Catzzzmeow]

Hello. Kiwi is a cutie! If it has been a while since he had a poop sample tested, in the last year, I would start there. Even if they are an indoor cat things can come in on your shoes etc.

You can talk to your vet as well about Giardia…the test can come back false negative, so many vets will treat for it just to be on the safe side. It’s good to bring that up to them. If they do treat for it and it still continues, then I would look at doing a limited ingredient food. You can google brands by you. There are less ingredients in them so less to rule out what might be causing this.

Keep us updated. I am sure others might have suggestions as well. @KiwisPapa

 

[Yoda mom]

@KiwisPapa , welcoming you , your girlfriend, and handsome Kiwi to the lair family. how old is Kiwi? how long has he had loose stool? does he get treats? table food?

you are not alone in the poo journey others have shared here. agree with a stool sample check. you can call the vet and ask if you can drop off a fresh stool sample without an office visit., us cost about $20. You can ask to rule out giardia, coccidae, crypto, tri tri. as mentioned some tread for giardia in case of a false negative.
My crew had runny poo on certain high protein foods ( orijen, acana) .
I switched foods, sloow transition, and it solved the issue. it can take up several weeks + for food trial for tummy and bumm to settle.

my crew does well for over a decade on nutrisource cat and kitten dry food (I get online ) and a separate bowl of Hills science diet Urinary Hairball dry food. (fiber in it good for bumm health - and my Batman is a dry food addict.. 13 1/2 yrs old now) .

the info center and top right search box helpful to find previous posts.

Sphynx Cat Help Center

Check in here for useful articles about the sphynx cat.

sphynxlair.com

members will surely chime in. @Staceyxxx , @Beckinboots , @nudebea , @Toa and Ross and others may have food suggestions .
keep us updated often. all paws are family. we are here for you Team Kiwi

 

[KiwisPapa]

Thanks to both of you for the replies and welcoming to the community!!
Kiwi is 5 years old. I will provide some more detail about the toilet habits. I would say half the time his poo is normal-ish (soft but formed) then other times it will be really soft or liquid and he get it on himself (Hes not a fan of the post poo inspection to make sure hes clean). His diet is really strict, so he doesnt eat anything other than his dry food, the occassional dreamie treat maybe. Its been this way since my girlfriend adopted him ~4 years ago.

He hasnt had a stool sample for a while, so that will be something we look into.

What does everyone think of Hills Science Plan Adult dry food? Will give the limited ingredient food ago and see how that is as well.

Thanks for all the support

 

[Catzzzmeow]

When you transition the food over, do it slowly adding in the new otherwise it can cause bigger tummy issues. I do not have experience with Hills. My guess is trying limited ingredient food with a different primary protein is a good start. What is the primary protein right now in their food?

 

[KiwisPapa]

Currently, the primary protein is chicken. Ok will do that, also seems like finding something with higher fibre could be interesting to dry out

 

[Yoda mom]

@KiwisPapa , great idea to have poo sample checked since it's been awhile.

slow and steady won the race here with food transition for my crew. I did 1/8th of new food mixed in for several days, then built up a little more pieces of new kibble over two weeks here. I know the food transition charts show different. I erred on the conservative side.

Hills Urinary Hairball dry game changer for my crew and for my dry food addict male who hates wet food. he is nearing 14 yrs old now and solid poo, no skin issues, never a urinary infection issue. His only vet visit in near 14 yrs was for a sore on his toe. the others are 11 and 13 and no vet visits for issues either, no urinary uti's either.

you can ask your vet when you have poo sample check if this would be a good option to slow transition try for Kiwi. perhaps buy at a store where you can return if it does not work for Kiwi.

it lists high quality fiber for hairball control , I use it for the fiber for bumm control for over a decade.

mine all love the hills urinary hairball dry food. along with their separate bowl of nutrisource cat and kitten food.

since you feed hills already, I am thinking the hills urinary hairball maybe a smooth transition.

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