My cat had intestinal surgery 5 days ago. Can he eat kibble?

There is a possibility that she may have soft stool for the rest of her life, but not diarrhea. This will depend on where the piece of intestine was resected. This is usually no problem. As for diet, I would always recommend a good quality canned kitten food, and later as an adult, a good quality canned cat food. That is one sweet kitty. Thanks for taking such good care of her!

It is common for dogs and cats not to pass stool for several days after these types of surgeries - probably due to the drugs used during anesthesia and the lack of food intake before and after the surgery. I usually don't get concerned until 5 days have passed as long as the cat is eating normally, is not vomiting, and is not straining or attempting to defecate. I bet Jones will go in the next couple of days!

You can try moistening a little of his hard food if you have his hard food on hand. You can soften it with a little warm water so it is moistened a bit. You do want to try and avoid completely hard food or kibble as it may irritate the stitches inside the gastrointestinal tract.

Great question! I'm glad Thor is feeling better and his bowels have returned to normal! I would keep him on the chicken diet for at least five days, and then start mixing in his biscuits with the chicken. Over the next week, slowly increase the amount of biscuits and decrease the amount of chicken until he is eating the biscuits only. I hope this helps :-)

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! That is a great question and actually very commonly asked. There is really nothing special to feed him. The most important thing is to make sure that he is eating with a good appetite so I would just keep him on his usual diet if that is what he likes. Good luck and have a great day!

The incision is holding together. Yes, typically the stitches are not pulled tight at the time of surgery to allow for the skin swelling that naturally occurs after the surgery. As for the diarrhea, it could be due to stress or any medications Ella was given after surgery. I can give you a home remedy for her to see if that helps. Withhold food for 12 hours, then feed a bland diet of boiled white meat chicken (no bones) in small amounts several times a day for a couple of days. Then slowly add back in her normal diet. If the diarrhea continues on the bland diet, she starts vomiting food, stops drinking water, starts vomiting water, or becomes very lethargic, she will need to see a vet right away. Best of luck.

I’m glad to hear that Kit is doing ok and I hope she continues to have a speedy recovery. I expect most pets to have a bowel movement within 1-3 days of the surgery. If she is eating well, things will eventually come through. If she does not have a bowel movement by tonight, I recommend to have her seen tomorrow by her doctor to make sure everything looks ok and normal in the healing process. The doctor may recommend another radiograph if they are concerned with ileus (that’s when the gut stops moving the ingested food). This condition can sometimes spontaneously occur or could be related to the initial cause of the GI upset. Another medication may also be prescribed. Best of luck and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.