Ok, both the mogs have been on a brand new diet of Animonda and Grau for the last 10 days or so. I had noticed recently that Hobbes had become a bit grumpy when we picked him up. Put two and two together yesterday when he literally broke through the utility door to get to his litter tray.

Yep, Hobbes has got pretty bad diarrhea and a sore stomach. I picked him again just now, he had a grumble at me then legged it out into the garden where I saw him deposit another sloppy load. He's now happy again and playing about in the sun.

I'm not sure how long this has been going on for, or if Jazz has the same problem, as they're both outdoor cats - they hardly ever use their litter. Do you think this could be due to the change of diet (previous diet was Whiskas/Felix/general rubbish)? I would have thought that any stomach trouble would be sorted by now, 10 days since the dietary change over .

And to top it all off (and completely unrelated) he's suddenly limping on this right forelimb. I knew it was too good to be true - this cat has only ever been to the vet once in his entire life for illness (a weird case of ringworm as a result of being too darn nosey), and now tummy troubles and lameness.

Bah.

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How was the new food integrated, was it gradually mixed in with his new food in increasing ratios or was it a complete change over? Also did the diarrhea start straight after the change or has it just developed?

Did you do the changeover gradually - mixing the two food together, slowly increasing the new and decreasing the old?

As for the leg, I'd definitely get it checked out.

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Err...it was a complete cut and change, no phasing out (I know, I know, I should have done a gradual change, but the new food had just arrived, the old food had finished, and I was impatient!).

I'm not sure if the upset tum is a new thing or if he's had it since the change - I'll keep monitoring him as much as I can (difficult though, as he usually goes out either really early in the morning, or just before bed to do his business). Pretty sure the sore stomach has been there for a few days as he's never normally grumpy when I pick him up.

Should I just leave him for the next few days and see if he gets better? Just surprised if it is due to the food that his stomach hasn't settled down by now.

p.s. he's really taken to this new diet and he has been eating the most horrendous amounts of food recently...could it be due to over eating??

p.p.s. the litter smell yesterday was honestly the worst stench I've ever come across. We had to evacuate the ground floor!

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I suspect it may be the rapid change, after all there's a big difference in quality between the types of food. However, it could be anything really, a bug, something he's eaten outside etc.

Personally if it was deinitely diet related I'd probably try feeding hime just boiled chicken for a couple of days to see if that settles his tummy and then slowly mix in the new foods with the chicken. However, if he has any other symtoms or it doesn't clear up on the chicken I'd pop him along to the vets because the diet change may just be coincidence.

Hmmm, that's what I'm slightly concerned about i.e. the fact that it's been a whole 10 days since the change and he's got this problem now...or he may have had diarrhea for the last week, I'll never know.

Will try him on some plain Chicken Applaws (don't have any other chicken at the moment) and see how he is.

But seriously, TEN days??!!

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If the diarrhoea is bad I'd at least ring your vet. If he has def had diarrhoea for 10 days thats quite bad really and he must be feeling pretty rotten.

If they look otherwise ok and aren't kittens I'd try starving for 24 hours then a couple of days on just cooked chicken or cooked white fish, then gradually introduce one of the new foods other a few days and gradually phase out the cooked meat/fish. I'd keep them on just the one for a few weeks before gradually introducing the other food and then feed in rotation.

I agree about the vets visit and examination owing to the tenderness when being picked up. There's definitely inflammation somewhere it's most probably the cause of the diarrhea and ten days is a long time. He may be reacting to an ingredient in the new food but it could be something else as well. I'd also keep an eye on stool colour and consistency in order to be able to pass this on to vet.Has it been normal colour so far?

I'd stop the food for the moment-I'd be inclined to feed him something like boiled chicken and see if it clears up. Which Animonda are you feeding him the beef or chicken ones? Standard Grau or grain free? It's difficult to pinpoint the possible offending agent with two foods on the go!

Yesterday the diarrhea in his litter was quite dark; this afternoon observing from the conservatory window it looked paler. He was eating Animonda Chicken & Cheese (senior) yesterday, today Grau grainfree (turkey and tuna I think) and Applaws Chicken.

I also just remembered that a few days ago he knocked over a milk bottle and drank quite a lot - could it be that possibly?

His appetite seems fine and he's now back outside having a late night amble before bedtime. He was asking for more food earlier but I didn't give him any - he's got a bowl of dry food available if he's genuinely starving.

Another thing, he really, really likes his new diet so he's eating more than he normally would (with Whiskas/Felix he would generally just lick the jelly off and only eat a small amount of the chunks) - could the diarrhea be simply due to over-eating?

Thanks for the advice folks - I'll keep an eye on him and see how he is tomorrow.

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Since the problem commenced 10 days ago-the milk incident may well have exascerbated things but it's definitely not responsible for instigating it.

Over-eating would be far more likely to results in vomiting than diarrhea. It's more a case of what he's eating rather than the amount which causes a reaction like diarrhea.

Definitely in view of yellow poo one for the vets though I'd definitely stop all three ( thought it was only two new ones! ) foods as well!