My cat has a bad case of the runs!!. Anyone know a good cat food for hardening cat stool?????

Question

I adopted my cat from the Humane Society about a month ago. They were feeding him Purina Cat Chow complete formula. They asked me to keep him on that for a while before I decide to change brands.

The Cat Loves the food. But after a couple weeks he has the shits bad!!!! He was only at the shelter for 3 days before I got him.

Has anyone else had this problems with Purina cat chow??? I would love to know if anyone else had this same problem with there lovely feline buddy :)

Please give me some suggestions on what food has worked well for you.

Thanks for the help!!!!

-Jeremy

Answer 1

As one suggested, pumpkin will help your kitty. But what would help even better is to make sure your cat is healthy. Even from a shelter, they can pick up many different things. 3 days is plenty of time, and he may have been on the streets before they got him. (Did they give you any background info?) You want your cat checked for worms, ear mites and fleas. And a good vet will assess the health of your kitty. And also set up a vaccine schedule, and neutering at the proper age if not done already.

It could be a delayed result from something caught at the shelter, or even before. It could be simply due to stress from the new environment. You may have changed something very subtle after several weeks, and he is reacting to this.

Cats can get dehydrated quickly with diarrhea, especially kittens so this is something to get checked out promptly.

Answer 2

I do think that in many cases, it's a case of the cat's system needing to get "used" to it. I get lots of foster cats, most from the shelter where they are getting donated dry food (junk food). Upon getting to my house, they are switched immediately to a canned diet, and a dry mix of EVO and Wellness. I don't feed them all canned (as I do my own) as I need to get them to eat. Very often the canned will cause loose stools (in kittens especially) but it goes away as their system gets used to it. Fish is a good source of loose stool too - feeding an all-chicken food helps greatly. I also think the loose stool is often caused by the ingredients in the low-quality canned. I mean - all those by-products have to have some pretty funky interactions with a cat's system. I agree that when a cat eats a mouse or a bird, they are getting the offal and all that, but when they eat by-products, that's all they're getting, and goodness only knows what chemicals are in there. It's bound to do a number on their intestinal tract! No different than when we eat something that doesn't agree with us. So if wet food causes loose stool, then I'd suggest switching to a higher quality wet food, at least one where by-products are far down the list of ingredients, and just sticking with it for a while.

Answer 3

Is there blood, too? Could be worms. Does it stink to high heaven?? it could Coccidia. Is is pure liquid or just loose? he needs more fiber. Sounds to me like he could have worms - that is usually quite commong with cats that have been on the streets. Have him treated for round worms - use Pyrantel. It probably wouldn't hurt to get him treated for tape worm while you are at it - use droncit. It could also be Coccidia - that needs to be treated with Albon. The best antibiotic for diahrea is Amoxidrops. Try adding Science Diet canned food RD - about half a can twice a day - it has lots of fiber and that should help. Also any light food has higher fiber. NutroMax is a very good product. With a higher quality food, you shouldn't have to worry about waiting to switch him. I would do it right away - and get the light formula for the higher fiber. These are things that you can try. What I would - personally do first - is deworm him and get him the Science Diet RD with the NutroMax. If that doesn't help, take him to the vet since you will probably need a prescription for the other things that I mentioned. If the Humane Society is worth anything, you should be able to contact them and tell them what the issue is to see if they will help you out with the meds. I have fostered for almost 4 years and I ALWAYS help the people who adopt my cats in any way humanly possible. Also it really doesn't matter how long he was in the shelter - whatever he has he probably got before he got to the shelter. They have to eat just about anything to survive on the streets and that is probably what happened and it just takes time for whatever it is to start causing problems inside...

Answer 4

I never had this problem and I used to feed my cats Purina Cat Chow (in the blue bag). Now I feed them Purina Naturals... for some reason they are wild for this food! Anyway, you should maybe take him to the vet. Recently a friend of mine had a kitten with a bad bad case of the runs. Turns out the kitten had toxoplasmosis! Also your cat could easily become dehydrated, so it is worth consulting with your vet.

Answer 5

Well, it depends what the cause of the diarrhoea is doesn't it? It might not be a food problem! In fact it's unlikely to be if you haven't changed the food.

I think you better go and have your cat checked by a vet before you start messing around with his diet, it might not be the best thing. The cat's history is unknown, he could have anything wrong with him.

Chalice

Answer 6

He could have caught something in the shelter.

Let me ask... did you feed him any milk or milk products? Cow's milk is BAD for cats and can give them an upset stomach or runs.

If he is an outdoor cat, he may have eaten something to make him ill.

With all the recalls on cat food, I'd take him to a vet if it lasts more than 1 day.

Answer 7

If he's been eating the same food in pretty much the same quantities, then something else has upset his stomach.

You simply need to get him to the vet, asap, as diarrhea can be very dehydrating over time.

Answer 8

My vet had me switch to hill's prescription diet w/d when my cat had diarhhea, it helped a little. It's got a lot of fiber in it. You can only get it at a vet's office or on line. Probably you should check with your vet.

Answer 9

i work in a vet hospital, you should bring the cat in because it could be a few things such as worms.. soo they would de-worm the cat there. you should also bring a stool sample so they can check it for worm eggs. goodluck, peace.

Answer 10

It might not be the food, the cat might be sick. Take it to the vet.