My anxious cat has loose stool. What food is best for her sensitive stomach?

Common causes of diarrhea or loose stools in a young cat include food intolerance, food allergies, intestinal parasites, bacterial or viral gastroenteritis, stress colitis, among a few others. Based on her history, stress from the visit or a change in treats may be the cause. You can try a medication like ProPectalin AntiDiarrheal Gel for Dogs & Cats that has probiotics and a small amount of kao pectate in it - it also tastes good. If the diarrhea/soft stools continue next week, or if Pico starts showing signs of lethargy, inappetence, or straining, I would definitely have her checked out by a vet.

You can find a feline probiotic to add to her diet or try a sensitive stomach formula food or a prescription such as Science Diet I/D. If this does not improve the stool she may need to see a vet. Older cats can get an inflammatory bowel disease and stress can definitely make it worse. It will take some vitamin supplements and daily medication but usually improves by then. If not then they will look into further testing such as an ultrasound or a biopsy.

I suspect food allergy or IBD. I recommend you try the following: 1. Change the diet to Purina ProPlan Sensitive Skin and Stomach. I have had a lot of luck with clients using this diet and it has really helped. Change the diet slowly over a week's time to prevent further GI upset. ( https://www.purina.com/pro-plan/cats/sensitive-stomach-skin-cat-food ) 2. Start her on a good probiotic made for cats like Fortiflora. It comes as a 30 day course. I would do all 30 days. ( https://www.proplanveterinarydiets.com/products/fortiflora-cats-probiotics/ ) If after this, no improvement or the problem returns then more testing for IBD would be needed. I would not be worried about the blood unless it persists for days on end. I know it is concerning to you but it is just from the colon being irritated. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Hello Sometimes a food intolerance and/or allergy can cause loose/soft stools as well as various intestinal diseases that interfere with food absorption (less common though in cats Colby's age). There are various diets available for cats with food allergies/intolerance, some OTC and some require a vet to prescribe. You can ask your veterinarian if given Colby's medical history if they would recommend changing his food and, if so, what diet they recommend. If possible having a list of all prior diets is helpful.

Sometimes changing the diet helps or adding more fiber to the diet as well can help firm up the stool if there are no underlying causes of soft stool such as an infectious cause like parasites. You can try and add a tablespoon of regular canned pumpkin puree (not the pie filling) to her food to see if that helps firm it up. I would also recommend a fecal test with her veterinarian.

Submit a stool sample to your veterinarian to diagnose intestinal parasites or bacterial overgrowth. Deworm him if indicated. You can also have the vet collect a sterile urine sample to submit for urinalysis and culture to rule out UTI or stones. In the meantime, try a 24 hour fast followed by a bland diet in small, frequent amounts. Begin with one tablespoon of food every hour and gradually increase the amount. Feed bland until the stool is normal then transition slowly to the regular diet. Consider a veterinary probiotic, such as FortiFlora, ProViable or ProStora, to promote gut health. A pheromone product such as Feliway spray or plug in diffuser may decrease any anxiety. A small animal repellant along the border of your property will keep strange animals away and out of sight. Thoroughly clean soiled areas using an enzymatic cleaner such as Nature's Miracle.

Cats, unlike dogs can eat only meat and be fine, as they are obligate carnivores. Dogs can actually be fed a vegetarian diet but cats cannot. If she was doing well on the previous food then transition her back if you want, or you can give her a little more time to get used to the new diet. You could even transition her to a completely canned diet. If you changed her abruptly from one to the other, that could be what started her problems, especially if she has a sensitive stomach. Since she's eating fine I don't think you need to rush her to the vet just yet, as long as she seems well otherwise. Decide what food you want to feed her long-term and transition her slowly from her current diet by offering her some of each dry food in two separate bowls for a few days. Then put 75% old food/25% new food in the bowl together for a few days. Then go to 50%/50%, then 25%/75%, taking a few days each time. Gradually reduce the amount of old food until she is completely fed the new dry food. If she gets an upset stomach, you can back up a step and hold there until she feels better. If she loses her appetite, starts vomiting, becomes lethargic, then do get her in to see your vet as soon as you can.