What are you feeding him?

 

each day he eats:

1/2 of a 5.5oz can of Wellness Core wet (split into a morning and evening meal)
1/2 cup of Wellness Core dry.

Some days he gets a freeze dried mini-shrimp as a treat, which I rehydrate in water. They're a cat treat, but I can't remember who makes them

 

My kitten has the same problem but from what I read its because he doesnt have his tail to help squeeze it out, if that makes any sense. Not sure what it could be as im new to this whole pooping problem thing

 

Hmmm, sometimes even a very subtle change in food can make the difference. My cat is always on wet and dry Wellness and then he gets daily crunchy treats...but even if I give him a few too many treats, it affects his digestion and can cause sloppier poop. Try not giving the mini-shrimp for a couple days and see if that changes his consistency of poop....not sure if it needs to be harder or softer but maybe that would do the trick.

 

One of my cats also had trouble with elimating poop and when I stopped feeding a particular type of treat, it stopped. So, it is possible that it could be what you are feeding the kitty.

 

The pure canned pumpkin (not pie filling with sugar) is known to be useful for both diarrhea and constipation, so I would start with a little, say 1/2 tsp./meal and see if that makes a difference. I agree with AC that no kibble would likely be better. If the poop is getting stuck in the rectum with more frequency, kitty may be developing megacolon. Occasionally Manx have this problem, but so do other cats as well if they are often constipated.

 

Thanks for the suggestions!


To the people who commented on treats:
The treats I'm feeding him are these:

. They're very small, and we don't give him many - maybe he gets 3 per week. I'm not convinced that an amount that tiny could interfere with digestion, but I'm definitely no expert. (First-time pet owner here!)

Milo is hard to 'train'. I can't always use affection to reward him because he has moods where he doesn't want to be touched, and he doesn't always care when we praise or scold him (on the other hand, when *he's* in the mood for it, he loves to be picked up, cuddle, sit on our shoulders, sleep curled up with us, "groom" us, etc!). He's very willful, he's an "I do what I want" cat! I've even resorted to the spray bottle at times, and yes he will continue scratching the screen doors while my husband or I spray him and say "NO!!" His desire to have fun or explore seems to outweigh his desire to please us. We're making progress though! But because of that, I'm very hesitant to take away a method of rewarding him that works.


Morquinn - yes that does make sense, and I'd never thought of that before - that a cat might move his tail and muscles around the base of the tail to help him or her eliminate. Milo does have a tail, and I had the vet confirm his tail is normal (because when we first got him, he would chase his tail and bite it - I was worried he didn't realize it was part of him!), so I don't think that's his issue. I hope you're able to solve your tail-less kitty pooping problem!


Here's what I decided to do:
After reading Auntie Crazy's post, I've been gradually increasing his wet food and decreasing his kibble, so he should be at 1 can and 1/4 cup kibble in a few days. If he continues to have the occasional poop-sticking-out problem, I'll try pumpkin puree with no sugar added like Catloverami suggested, and if we still have problems I'll switch brands of treats, then food.

We're only able to consistently put out wet food for him twice per day, so I'm hesitant to take away the kibble entirely as long as he's growing. I'm kind of at a loss as to how to balance "feed him as much wet(raw is too much for me currently, maybe in the future) food as possible" with "always have food out for a cat under one year", and "kittens like to eat small, frequent meals".