Food question; loose stools

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Joe and Jinx

Joe and Jinx

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Hi everyone, my cat Jinx has had loose stools since I started him on wet food after his diagnosis. I've tried FF Classic Chicken, Wellness Chicken and Turkey, Merrick's Cowboy Cookout (Beef), and Nature's Variety/Instinct Chicken Formula which have all produced diarrhea. My vet suggested getting him back on his pre-diabetes food for one month in the hopes that it will firm up his stools and confirm that it's a diet issue. The problem is, it was dry Iams kibble with 35% carbs. So I have no intentions of doing that. Another option is getting him on long-term flagyl which has been effective at firming up his stools but the risk is that he might develop a resistance to the antibiotics and I'll be dealing with a potentially greater problem.

So before I consider getting him on a long-term antibiotic, I'd like to exhaust all other options. I've used the following calculator (http://www.scheyderweb.com/cats/catfood.html) to check the carb content of two different kinds of Nature's Variety/Instinct dry kibble. Their Chicken Meal Formula (http://www.naturesvariety.com/Instinct/ ... le/chicken) has ~10% carbs (I need to figure out the exact % of Ash) and their Limited Ingredient Diet: Turkey Formula (http://www.naturesvariety.com/Instinct/ ... /LIDturkey) has 13.5% carbs. The benefit of the latter is that it's supposed to be better for sensitive stomachs by limiting the ingredients to one protein and one hypoallergenic starch.

I was thinking I could start mixing a small amount of either into his wet canned food to see if it firms up his stools. I know the carb content for each isn't ideal but I'm trying to deal with a difficult situation the best I can. Freeze dried raw or regular raw are also options. Also, I'm not set on Nature's Variety so I'm open to other suggestion. I'd very much appreciate thoughts and/or advice on this. Thanks, everyone.
 
I think raw is definitely a good bet for cats with digestive issues. Evo dry is probably the lowest of the dry - around 7%. But still, it raises the bg levels for some cats.
 
Some cats benefit from using probiotics, such as FortiFlora (your vet may carry it; it may be less expensive online).
 
Did you gradually switch him over to the wet food?? I know drastic changes in diet can cause digestive upset in a cat, just as it would in a human. Maybe gradually switching him from dry to canned would help? I have a cat with Irritable Bowel Disease and Pancreatitis, so I definitely know how you feel. :sad: I had to switch her to soft food very, very slowly and even use an appetite stimulant. On top of that, metronidazole & amoxicillin (at the same time) helped clear up her diarrhea tremendously. I now give her that combo every time she has a flare-up of Irritable Bowel.

Good luck & hope Jinx feels better very soon!!
 
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