My kitten has soft stools after intestinal surgery. What diet?

Congrats on your new kitten! Since Stella was on Hill's before, it's not likely the cause of her soft stools. Intestinal parasites are common in young kittens, and that could be a cause of her soft stool. Check with the shelter to see if she has recently received a deworming treatment, and if she has not, I would give her one. If she is up to date on her deworming treatments, keep an eye on her stools and if they become diarrhea, have her seen by a vet. Best of luck, I hope this helps.

The soft stools could be cause by trauma from the fall, a parasite, or an infection. The best thing would be to have a vet examine him to see if he has any injuries from the fall. If you can't get him to a vet and he is otherwise acting normal then you could deworm him with a broad spectrum dewormer, feed him a bland gastrointestinal diet, and add a probiotic to his food and see if that helps clear up the soft stools.

I would recommend rechecking a stool sample. Parasites are not consistent shedders so he may also had a different intestinal parasites that the dewormer didn't cover and may need something else. I would recommend another visit to your veterinarian to have them perform a stool sample. I would also recommend a prescription bland diet. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Smokey. I recommend that he sees his veterinarian as soft stool is not normal in a kitten. The vast majority of these cases are due to an intestinal infection or a diet sensitivity. His veterinarian will likely perform fecal testing. Deworming medication or an antibiotic may be necessary. If this does not help, then a diet change could be needed. A high quantity kitten food is needed though. Royal Canin, Purina ProPlan and Hills Science Diet are all good options. I hope this information helps!

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.

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 hope Jones is feeling much better. String and cats just don’t mix, do they? In my experience, it has been long enough to start your regular food without any problem. You may experience some diarrhea due to a sudden dietary change again, however. But I will say that I would make absolutely certain with your regular veterinarian that performed the surgery, that this would be OK to do so before actually switching back to your regular food. I hope I have helped you. Thank you very much for your question.