Cat gas

[WhiteKitties]

Anissa seems to have gas and we're not sure what causes it or what to do about it. Her room always stinks now since it's too cool to leave the window open. We've both noticed as we're playing with her that she passes gas regularly and the stink is awful! Hubby said he could hear her intestines or stomach grumbling this evening after dinner, and we've never heard that with the other 2 girls.

We've had her three weeks now, and while we've changed her diet a little I didn't think it would take her this long to adjust. She was getting about a tablespoon a day of wet food at the shelter, and now half her food is wet. Could that still be the issue or could there be another issue? Is there anything we can give her to help?

[Ducman69]

How about a feline probiotic. Or you can even use human ones, just use 1/2 or 1/4 of a pill and squish it with the flat blade of the knife to turn it to powder and mix w/ wet food. Krogers has it by me refrigerated in the health food section.

I put Wesley on a probiotic along with flagyl for his diarrhea, and his poops were so impressive (and gas free unlike before) I had to give him a high paw for a job well done. I think his last movement weighed over 5 Courics.

[Susan]

It might be that she's eating too quickly or overeating. If you think that's possible, try feeding smaller meals more often. Also, her food might be too high in carbs or soy. If you're not already feeding a grain-free (low carb) wet food, consider switching. Finally, as suggested by Ducman, a feline probiotic might help.

[NRD]

Yes, to me that could still be the issue.

The suggestions made so far appear excellent, even though I didn't do as they said. My Little Hersh was four months when I adopted him and was on junk kibble. I was told he had a "delicate stomach". I changed him over to high-quality wet, undoubtedly too quickly, and I ended up calling him Stinky Butt (but not to his face!) for the next six weeks or so. His diarrhea improved within the first three weeks, but he still had gas and that stinky odor for about another three. I feed him three meals a day.

It's four months later now, he eats like a horse--make that a very big and hungry horse--and never seems to have gas any more, nor loose stools. So he adjusted to a consistently higher-quality diet, including L-Lysine and fish oil, but it did take awhile.

[Heidi n Q]

I will add another vote for a probiotic. If the gut flora get outta-whack, it takes a while for the good bacteria to re-colonize and balance the bad bacteria.

[WhiteKitties]

Oh, I feel much better now! She's been eating four moderate sized meals a day - 2 wet and 2 dry, same as the other 2 girls. Fern and Fergie will throw up if I only feed them twice a day, because they'll inhale their food too fast, so I switched them to 4 feedings a day and they've been fine. Anissa is definitely excited to get her food when I bring it to her, but I'm sure she's still adjusting to mealtimes vs. free feeding as the shelter did it. It's grain free all the way, I won't do anything less for my girls, so quality is not an issue.

I will take a look for a probiotic this weekend and try that as well. I'm so glad to hear that it will probably resolve itself in a few more weeks once she fully adjusts!