Loose stools

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Bluebell
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Loose stools

Post by Bluebell »

Hi, my male cat has been having loose stools for a couple of days, I keep him in overnight and he has been using the litter tray. No foul smell. Not completely liquid, some small lumps (sorry tmi!) He seems completely well in himself, eating and going outside as normal. Would you be concerned? I was thinking maybe give him cooked chicken for a couple of days and see if it helps? Or do you think it warrants a trip to the vets? Thanks.
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Lilith
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Re: Loose stools

Post by Lilith »

Hi, yes, I'd switch him to chicken for a couple of days, just to see if that helps and if it's a temporary upset. Boiled white rice is good too; you could cook a little in with the chicken and see if he eats it. Obviously if it's a chronic thing you'll need to get it checked out, but like you I'd be inclined to see if diet does the trick first - all the best with him :)

ps - edit - if there's any skin on the chicken I'd pull it off before cooking as it can be fatty (sorry - expect you know this anyway but just in case anyone else doesn't ...) :)
Bluebell
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Re: Loose stools

Post by Bluebell »

Thanks so much for your helpful reply Lilith. I have cooked two chicken breasts and chopped them up into small chunks, when he next appears I'll see if he'll eat some. I did catch him drinking manky rain water that had collected at the bottom of the slide the other day, I wonder if thats upset him a bit. Silly boy! I'll try the rice too, got plenty in the cupboard. :)
vanilla
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Re: Loose stools

Post by vanilla »

Bluebell wrote:I did catch him drinking manky rain water that had collected at the bottom of the slide the other day, I wonder if thats upset him a bit. Silly boy!
That could be it. Mine drank some rain water last week and I also noticed loose stools. He seems fine now.
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Ruth B
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Re: Loose stools

Post by Ruth B »

Some cats seem to prefer manky rain water to nice fresh tap or bottled water, we have a pond and so many drink out of it it tends to be referred to as the local watering hole.

While the chicken is certainly a good idea to help settle his stomach, I would also suggest keeping an eye on what you feed and when he has these loose times if they reoccur. I have a young (just under 3 years) male cat who has continually had problems with his bowel motions. Some things I have found out that can cause it,
cat food containing wheat, we now try and buy only wheat free cat food, but some times it it a bit hard to tell.
Fish flavoured cat food, I think all the oil on these doesn't help.
Things he helps himself to outside. He is allowed to wander so we never know quite what he finds else where. Lately we have had to keep him confined for a few weeks while work was done in the garden, while he was never as solid as the two girls his motions did firm up for the time. We let them back out last weekend and what did i find in the litter tray, what looked more like a cowpat than what a cat produces.

He is fine in himself and the vet has never found anything wrong, if he didn't use a litter tray and just went in the garden we would never know he had a problem.

I do try and give him a meal of cooked chicken, minced beef, or fish every few days which I do find seems to help the problem.

As for too much information, it seems that half the threads here can be about what a cat does in its litter tray.
Bluebell
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Re: Loose stools

Post by Bluebell »

Thank you for the replies, RuthB thanks for the information, really helpful. He does wander in the day so as you say, who knows what he may have eaten. Unfortunately he turned his nose up at the chicken, I offered a pouch of his usual felix but he only had a couple of mouthfuls, so it seems he's lost his appetite today. I think a trip to the vets tomorrow is in order. I'll let you know how he gets on.
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