Thread: The runny loose stool & the quest for a solid poo fixed !

Originally Posted by candes

Almost forgot, there is science diet dental kibble too for others that may have cats with gingivitis. But I would honestly never suggest science diet. But what you feed is your option.

And at one time, humans didn't brudh their teeth either. It was "not natural" obviously since nature didn't invent the toothbrush.

Well, I agree with you about Science Diet.

Of course, toothbrushes do not grow on trees and are not found in nature, and are not 'natural'.
But I'm not interested in whether something is natural or not.
The fact is, most cats will be pretty horrified by having their teeth brushed.
And they are not actually humans, no matter how many human-like characteristics they have, so you can't rationalise to them what you are trying to do.

So giving them something to chew is a good alternative.

Hi Grace, here's some more advice on chews.

If you’re uneasy with feeding bone, or if Willow doesn’t take to chomping on wings right away, chicken gizzards (stomachs) are an excellent alternative. They are quite tough and most cats will commit murder for them. When mine are munching on them I can clearly hear their teeth ripping and tearing through the meat. It sounds very much like a person eating an apple!
My crew also go crazy for raw chicken necks. I always smash them with a hammer (the necks that is, lol) for easier eating.

Other chewing options are chunks of beef (not steak but the kind you use in a stew) and horse meat (but I understand the latter is something of a taboo subject in some cultures).

As other people already have said, by no means revert back to kibble or any other dry stuff even if it is marketed as dental-this or dental-that. They do not work (source: both my vets). In particular, stay away from the Hill’s t/d. It is cr*p (source: a quick glance at the ingredient label).

Good luck!
Anna

Just to insert my perspective; I have been having problems with soft stools and runny bums for a while. I have been trying to eliminate (pun not intended!) individuals foods one by one. The boys are now on white fish, HiLife kitten (leftover pounces) and Animonda Von Felstein Deluxe dry food and for the last few days all is well. I think the tinned food is still too rich for them en masse so later this week I am going to go back to it but in much reduced potions and rely on the boys grazing as much dry as they like. If that works I will slowly build it up, but it does seem that too much "high quality" (i.e. grain free German and Swedish food) is too much for them for now.

I have a whole range of other dries (large kibble and normal) to slowly try them on but I will be taking a much more steady, slow approach from now on - at least a week to move from one to another. And the same with the tins. I must buy more than a weeks worth of a single flavour though

Originally Posted by Peter Galbavy

I think the tinned food is still too rich for them en masse so later this week I am going to go back to it but in much reduced potions and rely on the boys grazing as much dry as they like. If that works I will slowly build it up, but it does seem that too much "high quality" (i.e. grain free German and Swedish food) is too much for them for now.

I agree - we got our 3 'settled' on Felix and high quality dry (Origen and Taste of the Wild) - then out of the blue the 2 girls get soft or runny poo. Manage to get them back to normal (Hill i/d and prokolin), get them back on their usual diet then a few months later one of them gets it again!! So I've come to the same conculsion - high quality food seems to be a bit too rich for them at times!

Quick update ,willow has now been on an all wet diet of bozita for the last week ,with the odd boiled chicken thigh each day and a blob of nutri plus gel ,she is doing text book poo's half the ammount she was doing before & once a day with little to no smell ,her coat is looking great and she is full of beans .....

Next step a raw chcken wing for her to get her teeth into today ,will let you know how that works

A very happy Grace & willow

Wow i have a lot to learn! I didnt kno cats cld eat raw chicken and meat. I thought
that stuff cld mk them get worms and be really sick.
i want my baby boy to be a big healthy boy. I feed him purina kitten chow
Dry. And also a can of wet food each day. Wt else should i be giving him?
Any and all ideas are appreciated

Originally Posted by pouncysmom

Wow i have a lot to learn! I didnt kno cats cld eat raw chicken and meat. I thought
that stuff cld mk them get worms and be really sick.
i want my baby boy to be a big healthy boy. I feed him purina kitten chow
Dry. And also a can of wet food each day. Wt else should i be giving him?
Any and all ideas are appreciated

My cats have been on an exclusively raw meat diet for about one year now. It hasn't given them worms and it hasn't made them sick. In fact they are in much better shape than they were before.

If you are looking for more info, there is a subforum on raw feeding in the nutrition section.

Take care,
Anna

Well it took willow all of 0.3 sec's to work out the chicken wing was food , followed by 15mins of chucking it in the air, purring, scooting it around the floor before it was chewed to bits ,to say she enjoyed it would be an understatment ,think i've given it to her at just the right time as could hear a crunchy noise as she was eating her meal last nite and looks like she is breaking in her adult teeth ,altho when i looked in her mouth it looked like a T-rex had come along and swapped his teeth for her's i hope she grows into them or shes going to look like a crocodile

Willow says thanks Howlinbob was an excellent bit of advice
oh nearly forgot to ask but how often should i give her a wing every other day ok ?

Grace&willow

Hey, well done to Elmo and Willow! Isn't it wonderful to see them enjoying their food so much.
Sounds like she's growing an impressive set of new teeth, hopefully this will keep them sparkling!

A chicken wing every other day is OK, I think. I give mine once or twice a week, but they are mostly raw fed so they get lots of chewy chunks as well.

How about a picture of Willow? xxx