Help re diarrhea w George

[kaycountrygal]

Sat, Apr 26 2014
I posted this diarrhea/food question in Cat General & got a few responses which I appreciate. However, I'd like more feedback please.

Here's my kitten food question. George has soft stool and sometimes full diarrhea. What is a good dry kitten food? good canned food? I'm thinking Grain Free & perhaps Blue Buffalo Wilderness or Evo or Wellness. Yes, I added his new food with old food very slowly but when I think back, his bm was never really formed when I first got him.

When I got George he was on some kind of dry CAT food (not kitten I think) & I have/had been gradually giving him Purina Kitten mixed with his old food. Ever since I got him, his stools have been very soft & sometimes diarrhea. Often I cannot tell the urine clump from the bm clump in his liltter.

Monday 4.21 I took him back to vet & got some Metro, some packs of probiotic, & some Hill's A/D canned food at $2.30/can. I can feed him that for awhile but don't want to have to take out a loan to feed him LOL plus I don't think the A/D is helping that much. He is a little pig in the eating department--a can a day. I'm gradually adding the Purina kitten food but I'm not sure it agrees with George. Even after 5 days of A/D, Metro, & probiotic he has a very soft stool. I hate to buy many bags of different food because it's expensive for trial & error so I'd like to find one at the start that is good for him.

What do you all think of Dry and/or wet Blue Buffalo Wilderness-Kitten... Evo... Wellness? Do you think it will help with his soft stools? Do we agree that Grain Free is better than with grain? I was thinking of Dry only but at this point I'll get whatever it takes to make him have a normal bm. Thanks very much... Kay

[Freedom]

My first thought was parasites. Has the vet tested him for worms? Pretty common in kittens. Most are born with them. A can a day is a LOT of food for one kitten! If he has not had a dewormer, perhaps just ask the vet and go that route and skip the testing? That is one possibility.

Second, yes grain free is a must. Cats have no enzymes to digest any sort of grains, so that is just filler. And drop the Purina, that is crap food.

If you haven't already, I highly recommend that you read: The Whole Pet Diet by Andi Brown. I found this book at my library and after reading it, bought a copy on Amazon. She explains each ingredient, what it does, why it is good for the pet, and provides recipes. Even if you don't cook for him, this will go a LONG way towards you understanding what is a good food.

Cats seldom drink water, they are meant to get all their fluids from their prey. So don't feed just dry kibble; that is really just a back up. They must have soft / canned / wet food, always.

Those you named are well known high quality foods: Blue Buffalo, Wilderness, Evo, and Wellness. For kibbles. I use Earthborn Holistics for kibble, as they use all human grade ingredients, are manufactured in a human food factory, and have never had a recall.

For canned / wet: Soulistics at PetCo has several grain free varieties. Also good brands: Weruva, Fussie Cat and Tiki Cat.


BTW, last Sunday I made a batch of Spot's Stew, from the book above. Used to make it once a month, and realized I hadn't made any in almost a year. Gosh the dogs and cats are so happy with it! Very healthy for them, too.

The Whole Dog Journal did a review of this book, and their only negative was that she doesn't discuss the need for calcium, enough. They said her recipes include sufficient calcium, that was fine, she just didn't go in to explaining it enough, for those folks who go off and create their own recipes. Not a bad review!

[maid25cats]

The grain Free ones are better for them but just like kids and vegetables,
Mine will not eat the grain free ones

I feed mine Natures Recipe Dry ( they will only it the Salmon one)
The wet they will only eat the Salmon and the Tuna.

I feed them the Soulistic Gravy flavors.
The Gelle ones are gross (the labels look the same and the print is small)

[kaycountrygal]

Sun, Apr 27 2014
Thank you maid25cats. Because George isn't really used to any wet cat food (other than A/D), maybe he'll eat whatever I choose. For a little kitten he certainly has a big appetite.

Thank you Sandie for your response. Yes, the vet/techs did an Intestinal Parasite Test on him & I got Strongid. He was first wormed on Apr 11 before I got him & I was told to wait 2 weeks before 2d deworming which was Apr 25. I'll do it this week. I do think his stool is some better since he is no longer taking metro.

I was astounded & a bit confused at the huge variety of cat foods--unbelievable!! I did a lot of research online (glad I did) plus asking you folks about it before I went to pet stores. I read (and I hope it's true) that Evo cat/kitten is good for felines with diarrhea and/or possible IBS. I decided to put him on canned No Grain Evo kitten/cat Turkey & Chicken Formula--the Ancestral Diet. I went to two pet stores today & second one had EVO kitten-cat in 5 oz cans. I also got a 2.2 lb bag dry Evo to have on hand & might mix a little bit with his wet. If it agrees with him, I'll order the tall cans online if shipping isn't too high

I appreciate all the time you took to respond to my question. Thank you.... Kay