Expert: Tina - 11/10/2007

Question
My cat gave birth to 5 kittens about 6 weeks ago. She is no longer feeding them and we have since found homes for all 5. Yet my 1yr old cat only has diarreah now. She is filling her litter box in two days and then goes elsewhere if I don't clean it. We feed her hard food. She was fine until the kittens came. She seems very hungry all the time and we constantly catch her on the counter or stove looking for food. (She never did this before the kittens.) It seems as though something has changed in her since she gave birth. Should I switch food? Will this pass?

Answer
HI Dave,

If you have not already done so, your first step is to take your cat to the vet to be spayed, and while she is there bring a stool sample for the vet to test for parasites. It's likely that she has picked up some parasite that is causing the diarrhea, but there could be another cause, such as an infection related to the pregnancy - and it's best to have the vet examine her. I'm sure you also know how important it is to avoid having more kittens in the future, even if you found homes for the first 5, there are simple not enough homes for more kittens in the world.

As for feeding, I do not recommend dry food at all. Many cats develop irritable bowel syndrome (IBD) after years of eating dry food, IBD is characterized by smelly stool, diarrhea and weight loss and will not get better only worse unless the diet is changed. Dry food contains too many carbohydrates for cats, so it is difficult to digest. I recommend feeding her a high quality grain free canned cat food and NO dry food at all. PLease read the following websites for more information:

http://www.catinfo.org

http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=library&act=show&item=whycatsneedca...

http://www.catnutrition.org