Expert: Jessica - 12/5/2009

Question
I have been feeding siamese kitten, 4 month old with purina kitten chow  with two bowls  a day and fancy feast twice a day.Am I feeding him too much for his food because he is having diarrhea or is  it because of the brand?And I took him to the vet and he gave Albon, antibiotic and the latest clavamox. What is the best canned food and dry food for  this type of breed and  for his upset stomach

Answer
Hi Anna.  There is another gastrointestinal antibiotic called metronidazole (Flagyl) that targets bacterial infections in the gut as well as a protozoan germ called giardia.  Since the Albon didn't work, perhaps your kitten has a germ that Flagyl would be better at treating.  If possible, it would be great to get a fecal sample in to the vet.  A fecal smear can help screen the kitten for giardia and campylobacter.  However, smears don't detect 100% of infections, so treatment with another antibiotic may still be recommended.  Ask your vet about this.

Your kitten's diet could certainly have to do with his diarrhea, though.  My experience with Purina Kitten Chow is that it does frequently cause diarrhea, and the probable reason for this is that it contains a lot of corn.  As carnivores, cats have short digestive systems that aren't adequate for breaking down grains such as corn and wheat.  So these ingredients give a lot of cats diarrhea, and Siamese can be especially prone.    

The "best" food is relative, and you will probably get a different answer from each person you ask.  However, a great many nutritionists now agree that grain-free foods are best for cats, since grains are not part of a cat's natural diet.  This means the food should not contain corn, wheat, rice, barley, etc.  The brand I feed my own cats is Taste of the Wild (www.tasteofthewildpetfood.com).  This is a dry food appropriate for all stages of life, kitten through senior.  

Most canned foods contain little or no grains, so canned foods tend to be easier on the stomach, and you have more that's "safe" to choose from.  However, those too high in fat content can also cause diarrhea, and Fancy Feast can be a little on the rich side as far as this goes.  Some better brands are Nutro Natural, Eagle Pack, Wellness and many other brands that contain few byproducts (byproducts should be absent or lower on the ingredients list).  But I feed my own cats 9-Lives, which is a lower quality food, without any problems.

You may want to consider dividing his portions into 4-5 smaller meals of canned food, while providing him with dry food freely throughout the day.  This way, he is less likely to overeat when his meals are given to him, which can lead to stomach upset.

Best wishes!

Jessica