My friend has two cats. When he is around he gives them some meals of canned food and some meals of dry food. For a test run, he bought an automatic feeder and had it give them dry food only for a day or two. Seemed to work OK. Then he was gone for a night or two and when he came back the cats had diarrhea. What is the likely cause? Do you think the problem is that they are getting only the dry food and no canned? Or do you think they are eating too much food? Or are they just stressed because he was gone?
2006-11-20 06:49:05 · 13 answers · asked by pamgissa 3 in Pets ➔ Cats
Oh yeah - I forgot to mention that they are indoor cats so it is unlikely that they are eating something foreign.
2006-11-20 06:50:04 · update #1
The dry food is an expensive brand.
2006-11-20 06:54:11 · update #2
So it could be the food it could be the stress and it could also be the combo of both. Tell your friend that the cats should be on a low magniesuim low sulfur dry cat food. This helps reduce the risk of the cats getting a urinary tact infection and crystals forming in the bladder.
Also stay away from buying friskies cat food. This is a bad cat food and this help to cause the infection that my cat had
2006-11-20 07:05:11 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It could be the food, it could also be the stress.
If your friend was away for a few days with no one actually coming in and checking on them, then they could be a bit stressed.
Cats aren't really open to change. Him being away changed what they were used to and it could definitely have stressed them out.
If the diarrhea is gone, then I wouldn't worry about it. Diarrhea that lasts for more than 24 hours can be a problem as they can become dehydrated. Have him keep an eye on them and feed them small amounts during the day as opposed to a cupful in the morning and a cupful (or whatever serving size he gives them) at night.
2006-11-20 06:57:41 · answer #2 · answered by BVC_asst 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
If you don't change the food a bit at a time over the period of a week or so, it will upset kitty's tummy and cause diarrhea. You need to mix 1/2 old food and 1/2 new food for a week until you are feeding just the new food, reducing the old food portions each day.
2006-11-20 07:01:06 · answer #3 · answered by hello 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Keep the cat on dry food at all times, I had the same thing happen and once I stayed with dry food, everything was o.k. This will take a few days to a week to see the difference. Also If this keeps happening, the cat may have worms. So make sure he/she gets checked for that if sticking to the dry food doesn't work.
2006-11-20 07:12:58 · answer #4 · answered by Lynette W 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i learned that wet food gives most diarrhea. but that was for dogs, i never had a cat... if u change the kind of food u give ur pet, it'll react in some way but barfing it up or pooping it all out. I don't think cats would get stressed if thier owner is gone, really... my pets dont stress, they just are confused about where i go! it's cute, really... ;-)
good luck with your friend's cats!
2006-11-20 06:52:58 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would think its stress from him being gone. Although cats seem to differ from dogs that way. My cats never miss me, LOL. But I have noticed they only get the runs when I feed them ANY canned cat food (I also have indoor cats). They almost never get the runs with the dry food. And I don't buy any scientific brands for them. I buy them 9 lives and they love it and never had a problem with it. I also only give them water. Milk will always give them the runs. And they never get any table food. They wont eat it anyway!!!
2006-11-20 07:44:57 · answer #6 · answered by Chicago Girl 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's probably the stress. Cats also get diarrhea from milk.
2006-11-20 06:59:05 · answer #7 · answered by C.S. 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It might be a combo of stress and giving them DIFFERENT cat foods. He might want to just stick to one. I know people like to give their kitties "treats", but it might not be sitting to well with their tummies.
We have 2 indoor cats and they are fine when we leave for the weekend. It's when we change cat foods we have a problem!
I would tell him to just stick to either canned or dry. If one still gives them problems, then go with the other.
2006-11-20 06:58:55 · answer #8 · answered by someoneoutthere 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
May be giving cats cheap cat food. Check the label, you may be surprised at what's in the food.
Try changing their diet
2006-11-20 06:52:48 · answer #9 · answered by Rod H 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Food You Bye At A Store Can Make Them Sick
2006-11-20 07:18:06 · answer #10 · answered by mks 7-15-02 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋