Savannah Kitten Fell Into the Bathtub

[katnoir]

Katnoir, for what it's worth, my savannahs seem to be very sensitive to cat food. Most of them cause the loose stools. If you find one that seems to work well, stay with it.
Now the sneezing. We had a cat (DSH) that would endlessly sneeze. Could not stop the sneezing for years. Multiple vet visits with poor results. One day we switched kitty litter and stayed with that brand for a month because the price was good. The cat stopped sneezing for the first time in years. We stuck with the litter and he lived out the rest of his life without sneezing. And despite being old, he actually perked up. I will only use litter made in the USA, not from a certain country across the Pacific ocean, which was where the previous products were from.

I've been wondering about the processed cat food as well...and the litter.

• Re: litter, he is on Swheatscoop - I think it is called....the breeder had him on that.
• I have my other two cats on a nut-by-product litter in pellet form (it's from California), so I've been wondering about slowly switching him to that, unless someone can offer a better suggestion.
• My cats do not share litterboxes at this point as baby is still in partial quarantine.

• Re: Food, For a while, I was making his food (boiled rice and chicken) and the diarreah stopped completely. I had planned to continue doing homemade, but the food additive that I had requested the vet order for me (containing taurine and other supplements) was on backorder and I didn't want to keep him on the non-supplemented diet any longer.
• I put him on the new GI diet from the vet almost two weeks ago. (Medical Feline GI High Energy), and it has slowed down/stopped the runny diarreah (as described in my previous post).
• The supplement that I ordered has now arrived and it is meant to be added to a homemade diet, so I am thinking that I am going to slowly and start weaning him back to home-cooking.
• I am a strong believer in grain-free diets. Could anyone suggest a good home-cooked recipe that I might try?
• I also have some Nature's Way frozen cat food tablets in the freezer and on the rare occasion he gets those, he really loves them, but I'm not sure that they do anything to help his loose stools, although he has never been solely on that food.

I would just really like to get things settled for him; he is such a lovely cat. Thank you all for your suggestions.

Kat

 

[Patti]

I think it would be fine to switch over to the nut by-product litter. Swheat Scoop makes me nervous because I heard a horror story years ago about a kitten that ate some Swheat Scoop and it clumped in its tummy causing a bowel obstruction. I only use non-clumping litter in my home (wood pellets in my case).

As for the food, you can search 'raw diet' on this forum (search box is in the upper right hand corner of the page) or Google BARF diets (bones and raw food) on the internet.

 

[SV Dad]

Katnoir, I pretty much go simple with the food and litter. Purina Fancy Feast grilled, and Purina Tidy Cat get the job done without issues. 3 Savannahs age 6, 3, and 2 and a 5yo DSH. All healthy.

 

[admin]

As for food...I use Blue Ridge Beef kitten mix for the kittens and Zuri gets ground quail with bone from Blue ridge beef and then I add a supplemental mix to it...but she and the kittens also eat Proplan canned food...and the kittens get RC Babycat...

As for litter...I used the newspaper pellets when the kittens were just learning to sue the litterbox but now use World's best and Equine Pine pellets from Tractor Supply...$7.99 for a 40 pound bag...

 

[katnoir]

Thank you SO much everyone; all very good advice....this has to be the most helpful forum I've ever been a part of! I'll make some slow changes and let you know how things go.

One quick question, and I am extremely curious about this. I know that all cats grow at different rates, but it seems to me that kitty is gaining a lot of weight really quickly. He is 18 weeks old now and has put on 3 pounds in 5 weeks - and he is as lean as can be, just getting really long and tall and solid. Do Savannahs grow in 'spurts'? The breeder has always told me that it is likely that he will be a larger than average kitty and while my only true concern is that he is a healthy boy, I wonder if this crazy growth will slow down soon, or is this normal for a male Savannah? He just seems to always want to eat! The minute I open my fridge, he jumps up inside it and I have to lock him in his room whenever we eat, because he gets right in our plates!

Thanks again for your help!

Kat

 

[Patti]

Yes, Savannahs tend to grow in spurts, I think this is completely normal for your little (or not so little ;-) guy.

 

[shelby]

He wil grow at a faster rate his first 6 months.;>) You are correct that all are individuals and growth rate can be quite different even in siblings. As far as the fridge..he has learned that good stuff is kept there. They are creatures of habit. Try feeding him prior to preparing your meals. If he has a full tummy...he may just relax while you eat...if ...you are not giving him food off your plates!LOL jUST MAKE SURE YOU ARE ALLOWING HIM TO EAT ALL HE WANTS. YOU WILL NOT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT HIM OVER EATING(IN MY HO) at this age.
www.dreamweavercatz.com

 

[katnoir]

Thank you everyone!

 

[katnoir]

Oh dear....very bloody diarreah this morning. Yesterday, we realized that my daughter had left hear earbud headphones on the couch...one of the soft plastic earbud covers was missing...the other was in front of the scratching post....we fear baby swallowed it. It was small and very soft and flexible...could this be causing the problem? I'm going to get him to the vet as soon as my husband takes my daughter to school.....I think we need to xray - give his history, as although the previous diarreah kind of resolved, his poops have been pretty soft even with being on the Tylosil. Does anyone have any advice? I'm so worried that the vet will say he needs surgery...I hear that obstruction-type surgeries are very dangerous for kittens.... My adult cat swallowed something last year and I just gave him massive amounts of hairball treatment and it slipped right out.....

 

[DocMac]

LOL - I am buying a Rubbermaid containter today - these cats get so LONG!

gotta love it!