Self Regulation?

[Brigitte Cowell]

Make sure any transition between kibbles is a slow one, even with his loose stool issue a sudden change is not the answer. The only sudden transition that doesn't seem to have an ill effect is the change to a raw diet or straight cooked chicken nothing else. Any commercial food formula needs to be a gradual transition...

 

[admin]

Must be a trait of F1 and possibly later gen SV's, because every time I go near his litterbox, which is in the bathroom, he eliminates whether he's "ready" or not. Must have something to do with the need to please the master?

Joe. my F5's do the same thing

 

[John Popp]

An abrupt change to the diet will definitely cause some loose stools even if it's a food they have tolerated well in the past. I am pretty confident that the duck and pea will work for you, although even when it does, you are going to want to start adding some variety back into their diet. At a young age kittens will want what their bodies are calling for and just like humans when they get older they'll start just wanting what tastes good. So a varied diet is definitely a good thing, and once you have some consistent results in his stools time to introduce a percentage of other food into their diet.

As for the litter box habits, Chongo will also drop nuggets practically on demand as well.

 

[Louie'sDad]

An update:

We ran Louie through a 14 day course of Ronidazole (120mg/ml) fish flavored liquid which was administered easily; he seemed to like the flavor and it was swallowed with no problems. He tolerated it well, with no apparent neurological affects. Unfortunately, 7 days after ending the treatment, his stool is still at the 3/4 normal 1/4 loose state.

At least I know now, for sure, that he is free of parasites. I am now in the process of switching him from EVO Turkey and Chicken Formula to Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance® L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets® Green Pea & Duck Dry Formula.

I have enough of the medicine left for another 14 day course. I will send it to any of you who wish to use it.

 

[Louie'sDad]

The new diet did the trick! After a 6 day transition, normal stools now with very little odor. Thanks to all who contributed, with a special thanks to John Popp who suggested a duck and pea diet. Brigitte was especially helpful with a raw diet suggestion, which would have been my last resort, and others who had many good ideas which were also used.

Great thing about this kibble is that it's non-prescription and actually cheaper per unit volume than most other boutique foods as well as some of the good quality non-boutique kibble. At $ 2.50/pound a real value, although the caloric content is about 20% lower than the richest, nutrient dense foods, he is consuming about 20% more per day.

 

[John Popp]

Glad it's working and in a few weeks of stable loaf pinching I would try to insert a small amount of variety. Just like us they'll grow tired of the same food, and you'll always have it as a fall back if the problem arises again.

Our boy has 3 basic foods we feed him, and we always try to insert something a bit different. He's not adverse to any of them, just likes some more than others. I know where I need to go if the loose stool issue arises again, and it's still something he gets every third day or so.

So again, I'm happy it's working out and I'm sure he'll pack on a bit of weight now that his digestive issues are resolved.

 

[Louie'sDad]

Glad it's working and in a few weeks of stable loaf pinching I would try to insert a small amount of variety. Just like us they'll grow tired of the same food, and you'll always have it as a fall back if the problem arises again.

Our boy has 3 basic foods we feed him, and we always try to insert something a bit different. He's not adverse to any of them, just likes some more than others. I know where I need to go if the loose stool issue arises again, and it's still something he gets every third day or so.

So again, I'm happy it's working out and I'm sure he'll pack on a bit of weight now that his digestive issues are resolved.

Stable loaf pinching? I saw that on the Groove Tube years ago!

I have an unopened 10 pound bag of R Canin "Special 33" kibble that I was going to exchange for more of the duck and pea kibble. I'm confused now about variety. I'm thinking that variety (CHANGE) causes distress in cats, and that they should be on a stable diet. Sure, I'd like to rotate with the R Canin, which I know he tolerates from a previous trial. How do I go about rotating between the 2 foods? Lou seems to like everything I give him. How do you know when he gets tired of his food?

 

[Anatole Cannon]

Joe,

I agree with Paige completely on ronidazole! This is a drug that needs very exact dosage and has very serious side effects. During my battles with TF in the past I have lost three kittens to this drug. They were older kittens, 16 weeks old, but since they were loosing weight, they were slowly being given a dosage higher than what they should, as the dosage was not adjusted daily to their weight. They also didn't show the typical symptoms assosciated with the drug, so by the time we (my vet and I) figured out what was happening, it was too late. Has your vet talked to you about the dangers of ronidazole? Since savannahs tend to be sensitive to medications, especially the early gen cats, I personally would be VERY sure (have a confirmed test) that this cat has TF BEFORE just deciding to treat with ronidazole. You can do a DNA fecal test that is quite accurate. Any other test for TF is a total waste of time.

Anatole

 

[Louie'sDad]

Anatole,

Thanks for your concern, and my condolences on the loss of your three kittens to TF. Look at post #184 and you'll see that I've already run my now 7 MO F1 thru the regimen. I figured that the tests are so "hit-and-miss" that I'd bypass it and treat as if the infection was present. The dosage prescribed and administered was actually about 30% higher than the minimum recommended by Dr. J Gookin, was well tolerated, but, unfortunately the infection was never present to begin with.
Yes, my vet and I discussed it in depth and she agreed with my urging to go with the ronidazole without prior testing.

 

[Louie'sDad]

Well, it looks like the bowel gods are not smiling on me. The cow-pies have started again, after three weeks on the Green Pea and Duck food.
What the hell?