Hi Everyone. Jus wondering what exactly you all feed your kittens. I seem to be getting mixed advise. Our breeder recommended Good dry food and fresh meat . Our vet and pet shop owner think it should be only the dry food and water and that is all they need.
I,ve been having litter box problems as in the poo stinks , is wet and is being stood in and brought around the house....not a pleasant experience at all!!
Can any of you please advise what sort of diet is best and tips on how to improve litter issue would be very welcome. He doesn't seem to bother digging and burying, just leave on surface to be walked in on next visit. Sorry for the gory details!!
Thanks

Hey, lots of people on here give dry food with raw and feel the raw helps with firming up stools, some give just dry and have no problems. What food is it that you're using? Mine improved a lot once I got them onto Orijen. Have you spoken to your vet about it? Because some cats are sensitive to certain foods and a special sesitive food or a grain-free like Orijen can make a lot of difference.

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Sammie & Ari


http://www.spoiledbengal.com

Thanks for advice. I think i'll just leave him on dry food for a few weeks and see how it goes. I'm hoping its just a kitten phase. Don't think i could handle the smell in the house like this all the time
Thanks again

Where are you located? In the US, Hills is not exactly the best food to feed (although the vets may tell you otherwise, but they actually have contracts to sell the stuff and make money from it). From previous discussions it seems the European version might be better. Some food brands add Yucca schidigera to the food for odor control, so adding Yucca extract to your cat's food might help control odor, but I'm not sure how safe it is and what dosage would be good (ask your vet if in doubt). You could also try digestive aids like probiotics. Poo does stink, but very stinky stuff usually indicates it doesn't get fully digested.

I'm in Ireland. I'll see how it goes with this food and if there is still a problem in a few weeks i might try some of the other foods mentioned. How long would it ake to see a difference do you think?

I had a couple of fosters with slight poo problems probably due to change in food (since they were rescues, there's no telling what they've eaten before). In those cases it cleared up within a week or sometimes just days of staying consistently on one food.

Some cats don't do well with food changes. I've read it has to do with the bacteria that help them digest. Especially when they've been on one type or brand of food for a while, the bacteria in their digestive tract have become specialists for that particular food. If the food is changed suddenly, the types of bacteria and their numbers may not be suitable for the new food, thus causing digestive upset. This can be prevented by changing gradually from one food to another so the bacterial "ecosystem" in their guts has time to adjust. Most recommendations are to do it over 1-2 weeks, so I think that's probably the time frame you're looking at. If the digestive system is completely ruined (e.g. after a course of antibiotics or due to severe diarrhea or something like that), it can help to add some "friendly" bacteria to the food, e.g. in the form of yogurt with living cultures or probiotic additives.

(Personally, I have the feeling that offering a variety of different types of foods and rotating foods frequently can help prevent this "specialization" of the digestive tract and the cats are less susceptible to having problems with food changes. In the wild, cats don't eat the same thing for every meal day after day either. So that might be another possible strategy besides sticking consistently with one food.)

Thanks a mill for all your advice.I changed my boys dry food and wow what a difference with almost immediate results. Cant believe i didn't think of this earler. The poor thing must have been quite uncomforatble to be like that all the time. He seems so much more content.There has been no more pee incidents either. I am thinking that maybe he was doing this to tell me he wasnt feeling well.
Thanks again. Great Forum