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Changing food - diarrhea

3K views 17 replies 6 participants last post by  FluffyLove 
#1 ·
Please I need some advice!
My cat Joey has been scratching like crazy ever since we go him in August 2018. I think he did it even before we got him. He mostly catches behind his ears, under the chin, above eyes and around his whisker-area.
We've been to the vet about this problem about 4 times now and he doesn't have lice or fleas, his ears look healthy, his skin and coat as well.
The vet suggested Ensyl-f for herpes, but we ended up only halfway through (about 2weeks)ecause he started getting diarrhea.
The last time he suggested maybe trying hypoallergenic food and cutting out chicken. He's been on Meowingheads chicken since we got him. I bought Farmina's Vet Life Ultra Hypo.
And.. I didn't switch over to the new food properly, slowly.. Instead just gave him the new food alltogether today ? I just had in mind that the chicken could be causing him problems so I kindof didn't want to feed him food that might be causing him problems anymore, if you know what I mean.. The vet didn't specifically say to do it gradually anyway, so this is how it ended up..
He had semi-diarrhea (not completely runny, but pastey..) tonight around 4am so I had to give him a bath because he got it allover his coat ? and I took the food away, leaving him only with water bowl for now.

What should I do? Should I feed him 50/50 now that he's already eaten 100% new food all day, or will it make it worse now? How gradually should I increase the ratio of new food?..
Also... Could fish be the cause of this? Since Ensyl-f and Vet Life Hypo Ultra both contain only fish?

Thank you for any advice in advance!
 
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#2 ·
With any food changeover, it's always best to do so slowly a little at a time over a few weeks (say, 1 teaspoon or less) until converted. Suggest you keep him on the Farmina food with a teaspoon or less of his Meowingheads chicken added, and very gradually over the next 3 weeks decrease the chicken until his bowel movement is normal. All the best.
Here is a good link on nutrition:
https://catinfo.org/
 
#4 ·
Just thought I'd make an update.
I tried gradually increasing the new food vs previous one by about 10% everyday, but he got diarrhea again once I reached about 80:20 ratio, new food:previous food.
That was about 2weeks ago

Currently, I'm increasing the new food by 1g everyday per portion(25g). So far so good (KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK?). We're only at about 40:60 new:previous now, but I'll take it slow. Better safe and slowly than diarrhea at 4am on a long haired cat?

Wish us luck and that we reach 100% new food without an upset belly again???
 
#5 ·
My boy scratches crazy too and has mild hyperesthesia, I change his food 2 weeks ago to sensitive stomach blue buffalo..

2 days ago I received Jackson Galaxy skin soother which some say is snake oil...I put it on my hand and pet him, placebo effect or not today is day 3 and he does not scratch as much...go figure...time will tell but whats $28 bucks?
 
#6 ·
Another update, still struggling...

So the last time we took our time and gradually changed meowing heads chicken to farmina ultra hypo. And even though we did this in a course of 21 days, he still ended up getting diarrhea!
Once we hit the mixture of about 15:85 (old:new) he got runny again ?.. He was on 100% farmina for 3 or 4 days, but because his diarrhea wasn't getting better, I switched back to meowing heads and his digestion went back to normal straight away.

The frustrating thing about all of this is that if he's on meowing heads chicken, his digestive is fine, but he scratches like crazy! And if we have him on farmina hypo(fish), his scratching subsides but he has diarrhea ?

What should I do? Should I try another brand of hypoallergenic product that doesn't contain chicken?
Does anyone have any suggestions?
 
#7 ·
Since the brands and dry food aren't working well, I think it would be a good idea to try something else. Usually, if a cat has allergies/sensitivities to certain food, (e.g.chicken), the usual advice is to try the cat on a novel protein, something he hasn't had before, e.g. lamb, rabbit, kangaroo meat. Usually the best food is one that is natural, without additives, such as berries, veggies, grains (rice, wheat, soy, etc.) as cats are "obligate carnivores" (in the wild they only eat meat, and maybe a little grass). There are some different types of food that are meat that is freeze-dried pellets that are softened with water.....you might want to try one of these in a novel protein. Some pet stores carry frozen meats of different kinds. Some people make their own cat food. In the following link, there is a recipe for making your own cat food. So hope some of these options are helpful. All the best!

Here's a good link of proper nutrition for cats: https://catinfo.org/
 
#8 ·
Catloverami, thanks again, I was just about to make a new thread, asking for some good quality food suggestions, and saw I had a reply (not sure why I don't get notifications about replies, I'll check my settings). Since it seems he is sensitive to either chicken or fish, I was thinking about changing the proteine source, but wasn't sure what to try. Thanks for the link, I'll check it later on the pc! ?
 
#10 ·
Is duck meat OK as an alternative to chicken due to sensitivity?

My cat seems to be sensitive to chicken and fish.

Is duck a good alternative, or is the protein the same as in chicken meat?

I'm deciding on buying Aatu-duck. I haven't tried this brand before, but seems to be good as it has 85% of meat, with no meat derivatives.
 
#11 ·
I can't edit my previous post, so I'm reposting here.


My cat seems to be sensitive to chicken and fish.
(symptoms: chicken: scratching, overgrooming,
fish: diarrhea)

Is duck a good alternative, or is the protein the same as in chicken meat?

I'm deciding on buying Aatu-duck. I haven't tried this brand before, but seems to be good as it has 85% of meat, with no meat derivatives.

Edit: I found this food has salmon oil in it. Will this cause a problem, or is sensitivity only caused by meat? (cat had diarrhea when on fish diet)
 
#13 ·
The problem is, I can't find any foods that contain only one source of protein. It's always chicken + fish, rabbit + fish or chicken,, etc. I've started with aatu duck from today. This was the only food available with a single protein.
Could you recommend any other foods? If you know of any (no fish or chicken)? Maybe from zoohit? I'd be grateful for any suggestions!
 
#14 ·
You could consider rodents - like people feed to snakes. RodentPro and Big Cheese are sourcess I've heard good things about. But unfortunately one must buy in quantity, so if rodents aren't popular you'd be stuck with rats or mice in your freezer. Maybe find a pet store and buy a couple to test.

Just please DO NOT try heating or thawing a frozen rodent in your microwave. That does not end well.... BLAM, guts everywhere. :(
 
#17 · (Edited)
I've never offered frozen/thawed/warmed rodents to house cats, but suppliers of rodents are out there. That would be a "single protein" ingredient. It should also be "complete" - in that the fur, organs, and guts all would be there. That's the trouble with meat from the market, it's not a complete food.
 
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