Advise on Cat Diarrhea

Sundew

I brought my 6 month old kitten to the vets about 4 weeks ago for a check up before being neutered and told the vet that I was concerned at his big jobbies,being soft and not well formed (not runny). He advised me to stop feeding wet food. At this stage I was feeding 3 small meals a day dry food morning /evening and a wet food meal for lunch.
I dropped the wet food and noticed that his poops then became more runny. Went back to the vets 2 weeks ago and he gave me a course of Betamox drops. Finally after a few days his stools improved and were nice and solid.
I finished the course and poops were normal until yesterday when finally they became very runny again.
Kitty is healthy otherwise. Is this a dietery problem or somethingelse. Planning to ring vet tomorrow but they said if it persists they will have to do tests etc.
Any advise appreciated:)

Orla K

What brand of food is it?
Also does he get any milk? which can cause problems

With my cat, he has a senitive stomach and so far only one cat food keeps him healthy. Even some of the other types in the brand he eats causes him trouble.


(He was very bad, stomach was hard, randomly swelled and had blood in his poo, he had been straying so this was after years of eating badly)

The Sweeper

Is the cat up to date on his worm tablets? You need to use a good quality, broad spectrum wormer - for the most part, the supermarket stuff doesn't cut it (it won't kill worms at every stage of development, so it might kill an existing adult worm infestation, but not eggs or larvae).

As Orla K says, no milk - many cats can't digest lactose and it can cause the runs.

If the cat appears otherwise healthy, drinks water, has no discharge from the nose or eyes and no wheezing, doesn't display lethargy or pain when lifted or stroked, and doesn't have a swollen pot belly, then it could well simply be a food intolerence.

Hairball control foods appear to be good at solidifying stools - try Hills S/D hairball or IAMS hairball. (This is from breeders I know who say for some reason those two brands can help matters).

Where did the kitten come from? Sometimes kittens raised in shelters or who were in a lot of contact with other cats before coming to your household can have quite persistent tummy upsets - he could be unlucky enough to have something like giardia, but the symptoms can include vomiting and weight loss, yellowish diarrhea and a distented stomach with painful cramps.

If he's just got the runs, hopefully a change in diet will show a difference.

Alternatively, try the kitten on a different diet involving more raw food and less commercial food - he could have an intolerance to colours, flavours or preservatives in commercial pet food. Try a handful of good quality dry food every day, along with some strips of raw beef, or a raw chicken neck or raw chicken wing (very good for cleaning the teeth). Cats are very good at coping with uncooked meat, but you still need to observe stringent hygiene practices when feeding raw meat - make sure it's fresh, has no pongy smells, and never feed your cat meat that you wouldn't be happy cooking and eating yourself.

Sundew

It's a pedigree kitten ,indoor cat. Fully up to date on all it's vaccinations etc.
He has been on Royal Canine Kitten 36 and we are now planning to change him over to James Wellbeloved Hypo Allergenic Cat food!
Has never had milk (except for kitten milk)

I have head about feeding raw food. I had also been advised to cook real chicken and feed it to him (fillet of chicken, that is).
I am guessing at this stage that it is food related!

Mink

My kitten got the runs on Royal Canin dry kitten food I think & definitely Purina dry food!

Have her & older cat on James Well Beloved & this seems to be the best, stools less smelly too. It's definitely a safe brand & worth the money

Sundew

Mink:Thanks for the feedback on the James WellBeloved cat food. I'm a bit concerned as we are planning to put him in a cattery for the May bank holiday weekend so need to get him sorted asap

Mink

My vet had said that changing food on cats, especially kittens, can bring on the runs, even if changing to a better brand.

So best to keep him on one & stick to it & should settle after a couple days. But you have to watch they don't dehydrate.

Call your vet also, I find the vet nurses in clinics are often able to answer my questions & will know when to advise to actually bring the cat in to be checked. They are usually more than happy to answer questions, especially as they often know the answer.

Sundew

Thankfully a nice solid stool was passed this morning.
Hopefully we have turned a corner