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Expert: - 9/27/2011


Question
Hello,

I have two kittens that are four to five months old. For the past few days, they have been having diarrhea (very loose stool but regular bowel movement frequency) intermittently: one of them will have normal stool, while the other one have diarrhea. I notice that when I switch their canned food (Felidae, grain free) to a homemade cooked chicken and rice, the diarrhea stops. They are as playful as always and have very good appetite.

I am wondering whether they have developed food intolerance with the canned food, or whether they have some deeper underlying issues.

Thank you very much.

Answer
Well that depends on a lot of things. Are they wormed and if so, how often have they been wormed?

Are they eating a high quality dry Kitten food as well? Do they eat the canned every day?

There is very little fiber in canned food and animals, just like humans, need fiber. That is why the rice is helping them. No animal can go without some sort of fiber or vegetable matter in their diet. All animals, wild and domestic, need this- be it from grains, or actual vegetable matter as is the case with wild carnivores. The first thing they eat is the stomach contents of their prey.

So aside from worming them, they need to be on a higher fiber diet, such as Science Diet Kitten Growth. They cannot live on chicken and rice as that is not balanced enough for them.

After you check their worming schedule, slowly get them on some dry food along with the canned.

If they continue to have diarrhea then they need to be checked for other parasites such as coccidia.

I hope that they are current on all vaccinations as well.

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Jana Connell RVT, CVT

Expertise

PLEASE READ BEFORE SUBMITTING TO ME: I am NOT a vet and do NOT diagnose diseases. That is only for a licensed Veterinarian to do. I will give you suggestions and steer you toward calling your vet for help. You can call the vet's office and talk to the technician there or the vet at times. Don't be afraid to call them! If you have a serious issue with your pet please post it to one of the veterinarians in here- I will tell you the same thing in my answer. IF your pet is injured or in an emergency situation, CALL YOUR VET- Do not wait and post in here. Just call the vet's office and get them in to see the vet right away. Critical treatment time is lost if you seek answers here when you should have your precious pet at the vets!! Don't sit at home waiting for an answer when your pet is critically ill or injured!! I can answer most questions about small animal and wildlife care as well as small animal nutrition. I can also answer questions about all phases of dental care for small animals. I DO NOT answer questions about birds (unless it is wildlife or songbirds) or HAMSTERS/GERBILS/CHINS/GUINEA PIGS/REPTILES/FROGS/RABBITS/PET BIRDS OF ANY KIND so please submit these questions to the appropriate sections. I, as well as other experts in here, do NOT do homework questions- that is for YOU to do! Please respect these rules for all of us. Thanks!

Experience

I have over 35 years experience in the field of veterinary medicine. I specialized in small animals and did wildlife rehab for over 25 years, mostly raptors, squirrels and opossums. I am a Small Animal Nutritional Consultant with 6 certificates from Hills Pet Foods, CNM and Purina. I also specialized in Small Animal Dentistry which is a field I truly love.

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Audubon,World Wildlife Federation, American Society of Veterinary Dental Technicians.

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Licensed with California and Oregon, RVT and CVT. Certified Veterinary Dental Technician Have over 500 logged hours of Continuing Education Credits(that means I keep up to date!).

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Nominated for Expert of the Month for the last 5 years.

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