Healthy cat with "puddle" stools

[Silverbelle]

My cat Silver, is just over 2 years old. I know all of the arguments and reasons for NOT feeding a dry kibble but she refuses everything including a raw diet, believe me I have tried.

My girl has loose "puddle" stools and quite smelly gas. She has had multiple fecal tests done all negative. Her bloodwork is perfectly within normal ranges. Her behavior is totally normal she has no other symptoms of not being perfectly healthy.

I have tried Natural Balance, Wellness, Wellness Lite (little chubby) and just yesterday switched to Innova Lite. Her stools have been this way on all of the above foods. She also eats Old Mother Hubbard treats and gets a Wellness vitamin once daily.

She is also a water baby. She is either drinking water, playing in water, sitting in water or wanting you to turn on a fawcet so she can watch the water. She has a water fountain and loves it and likes to drink the water that falls from her sisters face (Boxer). The vet is actually "assuming" that because of her high water consumption and lack of clinical evidence supporting a medical cause that more water=loose stool. In theory this may seem believable but I have been owned by cats for more than 20 years and this is a first for me.

Does anyone else have a cat that is otherwise healthy but suffers from loose stools and foul smelling gas??

Pictures of my girls:
http://photobucket.com/albums/v610/camisilver/

[Meowmie]

I have to say this. With digestive problems, even serious digestive problems such as IBD, bloodwork can come back looking perfectly normal.
It doesn't tell us anything. With digestive problems we cannot rely on bloodwork results.

The puddle stools and the gas tell you there is a digestive problem that requires attention before serious illness results.

My advice would be to try this diet:
http://www.epinions.com/content_131984166532

and perhaps some other prescription diets as well, and if they don't work, seek help from a holistic vet. One way or another you will have to do something about this situation. And the sooner you get started the better.

I'd just like to ask you, how many days did your cat go without food before you decided that she refuses everything else? (Forget about raw food, many cats won't touch that no matter what.)

One more thing though. It could help if you had a blood test done to find out whether your cat has food allergies and if so, what foods she is allergic to. The results could make finding the right food for her a whole lot easier.

[coaster]

I don't buy the water as the cause of the loose stools. It just doesn't make sense. Excess water is absorbed and excreted. Have you tried the Natural Balance Venison & Pea? It's hypoallergenic.

I almost hate to make this recommendation because nutritionally it's pretty crappy: Hill's Science Diet Sensitive Stomach formula (available OTC). Early in his time here Rocket had several episodes of pudding poop and each time I was able to normalize it with the Hill's. Eventually I found a food that agrees with his stomach (Felidae) and I was able to phase it out. But I suppose it's worth using for a short if it's just as a bridge to something better.

[Silverbelle]

She went nearly 48 hours without eating anything when I tried to get her to eat wet food and I tried multiple varieties all to no avail. I even mixed small amounts in with her dry kibble and she walked away and pouted. I don't think she understands the concept!

She will eat any variety of dry kibble that I put in front of her. She has been on Natural Balance, Wellness, Wellness Lite, and now Innova Lite. After reading many posts regarding lite versions I will be changing this over the weekend. She loves to eat and is overweight at 11lbs. She is quite small (frame-wise) and needs to be closer to 8lbs-9 at the most.

The vet said she would not suggest allergy testing unless other symptoms were to present, (scratching, chewing feet etc...) So, in this situation we are trying to determine what food, if any is causing the gastro upset. The vet does not think so but I have been down that road before with another allergy sufferrer.

Thanks for your replies.

[coaster]

You mentioned changing over the weekend. Just in case I misunderstood, you do know about switching gradually, right? I've done 25%/75% for 5-7 days, 50%/50% for 5-7 days, etc. Even more gradual is appropriate in some cases. Sorry if you know this already.

[Meowmie]

Just one comment. If the vet doesn't understand the seriousness of this problem, you either have to tell the vet you want the allergy testing done (the blood sample has to be sent to a special lab), or you have to find another vet who is much more knowledgeable about this problem.
One thing you can't afford to do is let this situation continue.

I've said it many times before and I'll say it again, as long as kibble is available, it's not possible to switch a cat to a canned diet. They have to go without it to accept a different texture.