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Does stress cause soft stool?

2K views 26 replies 3 participants last post by  Parsa 
#1 ·
Hi, I’m back.

As it seems I have a curse on my hands with soft stools and diarrhea. This time I adopted a cat from someone he is unsure of his age but it’s definitely either 3 months or 4 months. I took some of his dry food from the person to ensure no dietary changes occur and he has also reassured me that he poops twice a day and they’re healthy solids.

So does stress have a say in this? He’s only pooped once in the past 24 hours and it was a lot (im assuming he held it in too long?) The car ride was about 2 hours and I know changing environment can be stressful.

He is very hyper, and EXTREMELY cuddly. (this cuddliness is normal I asked)

Oh and I got him yesterday.

please help. I really hate diarrhea.


(he has been vaccinated) the vet visit is booked for the weekend as it’s a government run place and we have to book appointments.
 
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#4 ·
Thing is, it isn’t frequent like every time he eats or something, it’s once a day usually (happened again just an hour ago) it’s quite soft not watery and it’s yellow. I read that it’s typical of a small intestine diarrhea. Since I spoke to the previous owner and he had not had any problems I’m wondering if it is actually stress.

‘he’s acting very normally, playful and curious weighs about 2.2KG he is a mixed bengal. Please help.
 
#5 ·
@Parsa - it could be due to stress possibly. But equally it could be diet related, as it is intermittent. Light brown soft stool indicates the food is passing too quickly through the gut and not all the nutrients are being processed and absorbed.

It's possible the loose stools may have been only occasional in the kitten's last home and the previous owner did not feel the need to mention it. The current looseness could be due to a combination of diet and stress. What reason did the previous owner give for rehoming the kitten?

Some lines of Bengals are known for their very sensitive digestions. Could be as your kitten is part Bengal, this is the case with him too and that he needs a special diet.

What dry food are you giving him and is he having wet food too?
 
#6 ·
Hi @chillminx, he had another bowel movement today so that's 3 in total since I've gotten him. It should be noted that I did increase his food as he was begging me constantly.

previous owner claimed it had to do with his gfs allergies, though now I may not be so sure. Maybe he was trying to get rid of him because of his issues. Yes, now that I looked at it more clearly it is light brown as opposed to yellow- my bad. Previous owner gave him only whiskas dry food ocean flavor. I do want to change his food to something better but his soft stool has put a damper on things. After my previous bout with diarrhea I'm being conservative and not changing his food AT ALL.

I figure it's stress, even though he is acting very friendly and curious, but I want to know how long is a normal wait period, considering he has no other symptoms?

Also, because of my prior experience with kitten bathroom troubles, I still have two cans of Royal Canin gastrointestinal veterinary. Should I give him it to see how he does? Shall I feed him less or more? One good thing is that he seems to understand thirst and is drinking water.

I'm sorry with the barrage of questions. I think I may have the worst luck when it comes to cats.
 
#7 ·
@Parsa - honestly there's no need to apologise for asking questions, we are happy to help whenever we can. :)

Whiskas dry food is not a good diet for any cat, because it is poor quality. A kitten should be fed as much wet food as they want. But dry food should be strictly limited because being a highly concentrated food it is very high in calories.

I hope you will be able to transfer him to a better quality diet - wet food only. His stools should be formed and firm. If they are not firm and formed for 99% of the time, then I would give him a few days on a plain home-cooked chicken diet, which will rest his bowel. Use chicken thighs or drumsticks. The chicken should be served chopped with the skin but without any bones. Some of the cooking juices should be added to every chicken meal for fluids.

I would feed him 4 or 5 meals a day on the chicken diet, i.e. little and often.

Btw, has he been wormed since you adopted him? It could be that the kitten has an infestation of worms causing the loose stools.

It seems odd the owner you adopted him from was unsure of his age, if he had acquired him from a breeder. I wonder if the poor little poppet had already been passed on once before since leaving the breeder's home.

On the bland chicken diet he may not poo for a few days. As soon as he passes a formed stool you should start to transfer him gradually to a wet food diet. Possibly the Royal Canin Gastrointestinal may suit his digestion. If you want to transfer him to that then I'd aim to keep him on only that for a few months (assuming that it agrees with his system and he likes it).

It is better not to introduce too many different foods at once as it is likely to upset his system. Particularly as it seems possible he has a sensitive gut.

If his bowel is no better on the bland chicken diet then it may be the case that he has an infection in his bowel, which would need diagnosing by having 3 stool samples tested at the lab.

Please update us on his progress. A photo of kitty would be nice if you have one to share with us. We all love kittens! :)
 
#8 ·
@chillminx honestly I'm really g;ad to have this forum, I think my main problem is that I've not had cats before so taking the diarrhea levels are a bit difficult haha. Whiskas must be changed, when the previous owner told me about his food I wanted to start converting him to wet food only high quality diet ASAP. (ofcourse after he was settled in). Unfortunately the digestive issues is a pain in my behind.

I am taking him to the vet on Sunday and will get a professional opinion, he told me that he had been vaccinated but didn't specify wether he had been dewormed.

I am taking your advice however and I'm boiling two drumsticks bland right now and I've starved him for about 8 hours just so he'd fully get rid of the whiskas. I am unsure as to how little or how much he should be eating, I don't want to starve him but I will go by feel and not over feed. I'll give him half the drumstick bit by bit and up to two if I feel he's really hungry.

is the broth good for him to drink?

'also, this may be a stupid question but, isn't giving him bland chicken technically changing his diet? Won't that affect his digestive issues even further? Right now I'm going to assume this kitten has never had anything other than whiskas, I want to be on top of everything this time.

'thankyou. I will post pics as soon as I get a few cute ones so far it's been poop out

Edit : btw I'm following your advice on the drumsticks but I've read many places to use chicken breast as it's low in fat?
 
#9 ·
@Parsa, chicken drumsticks and chicken breast are both low in fat if they are cooked without the skin. But the skin is good and cats need some fats. Especially kittens who use up a lot of energy. Fats = energy for a cat.

If he had very severe diarrhoea then maybe he might need a low fat diet for a few days, but it is not the situation as you describe it. Therefore he will be best with chicken drumsticks with the skin on. Drumsticks have much more flavour than breast meat and contain taurine which cats need.

I always cook chicken drumsticks or thighs in the oven for my cats, not on the hob, as it is conserves the nutrients better.

METHOD: put drumsticks in a greased roasting pan, add about 5 cms of water, cover pan with baking foil, and cook in the oven, top shelf, gas mark 5 for one hour. ,

When cooked, drain off the juices into a pyrex bowl and refrigerate for 12 hours. The fat should rise to the top; skim fat off and save it. You are left with a nutritious jelly which can be added by the spoonful (warmed up) to his chicken meals, or he can drink it as broth. Keep the jelly in the fridge and use as needed. It will keep several days in the fridge.

Giving him a bland diet for a few days is not changing his diet. You are using the plain chicken as "recovery food". As the Whiskas is not suiting him you will need to change his diet anyway. So the chicken is merely an interim diet. Without a bland diet such as chicken his bowels will not be rested. So it is a question of progressing things.

You don't need to "starve" him or fast him for 8 hours before changing his diet. Kittens need to eat regularly. His normal overnight fast while he is asleep is long enough, you don't need to fast him on top of that.

Even if he was very ill you should not fast him. If he had been vomiting repeatedly then you would need to stop feeding him for a few hours to let his tummy calm down. But again this does not apply to your kitten. You have not mentioned he has been vomiting? And diarrhoea (or a change of diet) is not a justifiable reason for fasting a kitten (or a cat).

If he is hungry then you need to feed him every time he asks. I have always 'free fed' kittens with wet food and never had an overweight kitten. But I never feed kittens dry food (or cats!)

Did the previous owner give you the kitten's Vaccination card, or tell you which vet holds the kitten's records? If not then I would contact the person from whom you adopted him and ask which vet was used for the vaccinations. Otherwise I think you need to assume he has not been vaccinated.

I assume he has not been neutered yet so this will need to be done once he is over 4 months old.

Always assume a kitten has not been wormed unless the seller tells you otherwise. You need Panacur granules for him, as they are easy to add to wet food. And they don't need a prescription. They are suitable for kittens his age. You would give a couple of treatments 3 weeks to a month apart.

https://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/...-for-cats--kittens--dogs-and-puppies-3-x-45gm

You can work through the digestive issues and get this little guy's diet sorted out, and then the diarrhoea will go. Diarrhoea is not the norm for most cats.

Keep a daily record of how his stools are (eg whether they are firm, or soft, very soft, or runny) That will give you some info to tell the vet when you see him. A kitten the age of yours would normally poo twice a day.
 
#10 ·
The person has blocked me. So I am fully assuming that I have an unvaccinated worm infested cat.

I boiled two drumsticks for about 45 minutes with just water, completely bland. He LOVED IT, so far I hadn't heard him purr whilst eating and it happened so much! I could tell he loved it. He loved the broth too, I have almost fed him one full drumstick but he's still asking for more. He keeps going to his food bowl and meowing at me, I just don't know when to stop. I understand kittens need a lot of food but as you said I should feed him less so as to not upset his stomach.

I'm sorry I starved him then, I really shouldn't have. Truth is, the previous owner told me to just free feed him the whiskas as he was used to that, I even caught him grazing a couple of times through the night. Well, that stops now. I'm going to feed him in increments.

thankyou so much @chillminx this is so much help I feel guilty for taking up your time like this. One more thing, what should be my limit when it comes to th drumsticks? The way it looks, it's just kinda difficult to calculate, especially since he's got some intestinal problems.
 
#11 ·
@Parsa

Please ensure he has 2 litter trays, as cats like to pee and poo in different places, and this is especially important if he is having episodes of diarrhoea. Open trays are best but if he is Ok using a covered tray always remove the door flap permanently as cats do not like being enclosed when they toilet, they like to be able to see out.
 
#12 ·
@Parsa - I am very pleased he likes the home cooked chicken, bless him! If all he was fed before was that awful dry Whiskas, he must be in his element with actual meat!, LOL :)

It is more a matter of feeding him 'little but often' while he has an upset bowel, rather than feeding him less overall. So 5 meals a day is good.

Can you weigh his food? Or if not can you tell me how many level tablespoons you are giving him each meal? It may be that he is genuinely still hungry. It depends on the size of the drumstick, the ones I buy are quite small and the meat from one of them may not be enough. Kittens do have big appetites. I would give him a bit of extra chicken when he asks.

Do you have digital scales to weigh him once a week at the same time of day? Weighing him is the best way to tell if he is eating enough, as he would be gaining weight steadily. You can buy digital baby scales from ebay for around £20. Keep a record of his weights.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Digi...027483?hash=item523f94b0db:g:DD8AAOSwJmJe8HRk

Please never feel guilty for asking questions, I am very happy to help. :)
 
#13 ·
@chillminx thankyou for being incredibly helpful, I don't think he wants two he's being very well behaved (knock on wood). It's just that since he's new I'm not really allowing him to get out much so two litter boxes in my room might be dangerous to me hahah. He reeeally loves it and keeps asking for seconds. I can't exactly weigh it (need to buy a scale) but I can tell you that it's about half a drumstick each time. The drum sticks are on the medium side but isn't this almost all protein compared to god knows what whiskas? Shouldn't it be more filling?

'I'm pretty much going on trail and error here, I make sure it's little enough that he finishes it all up and his seconds he finishes up aswell. So far I've yet to feed him to point that he would walk away. I think it may be the fact that he is excited about the chicken aswell, like a kid who doesn't know when to stop eating.

'so I'm thinking 3 drumsticks a day? Does that sound about right? I really haven't had a cat long enough to know if he's actually hungry or he's just begging for the sake of it.

I'll buy a scale first thing tomorrow.

Again, thankyou.
 
#14 ·
Yes, it could be that he's excited about the chicken and that's why he wants more and more, LOL! ;) 3 drumsticks a day sounds plenty. Feeding cooked meat is more filling for him but protein is digested slowly over a period of a few hours, unlike cheap dry foods that contain lots of carbs which give instant energy.

As there are no carbs in his food it is important he has some fats for energy. Are you giving him the skin as well as the meat? Also do ensure that he has plenty of the meat juices (stock) with his meals (or separately) because that will fill him up too.

If you are keeping him in your room for now, it might be best to get him neutered before you let him into the rest of the house in case he were to get out by accident and vanish. I recall you live in Dubai, will you be able to find a vet to neuter him soon? (assuming kitty is 4 months old)
 
#15 · (Edited)
@chillminx He seems to enjoy it a lot he purrs like crazy and basically leaps to get his food. Never did that with the cheap food. It might be because his bowl is quite large but even I feed that it's not too much although as I type this it seems he hasn't fully finished his breakfast atm. (I did give him more in this instance, I'm going to work so I won't be home for 8 hours. My brother goes to work at 9 am so he'll eat once again then)

I am giving him the skin, yes. He loves to drink the stock aswell so I'm happy at his appetite atleast. Let's hope for the best. Just so I know, when can I expect him to have formed stools?

Well, we live in an apartment so getting out won't be easy, but I do have a vet where I can neuter him.

edit: I forgot to add this, but since yesterday he poo'd only once and it was soft and light brown, usually he would've pooped more times in the span of 24 hours but no poop as of his last one!
 
#16 ·
@Parsa - hopefully things are heading in the right direction with his poo, as there has only been one since yesterday. :)

A few days on the chicken diet should result in firm poos, but if it does not, then it's possible he has a parasite or bacterial infection in his bowel affecting his stools. The Panacur will treat some parasites. Are you able to buy Panacur granules where you live?
 
#17 ·
@chillminx im not able to buy the panacur granules unfortunately, I am going to the vet on Sunday so I'll just ask him to be dewormed all over. We're on day 3 and so far no poop but energy levels remain high as ever, he's very curious and I've been allowing him to come out of the room a bit more often and he just loves it. So far I'm optimistic, let's hope his next bowel movement is a firm on and we can start good wet foods.

I am curious however, now that he's had a taste of "real" food I'm afraid he won't take to eating dry anymore. Is this a problem? Because as much I'd prefer to feed him nothing but wet food I still have to be economical. I do plan on buying a very high quality dry food though.
 
#19 ·
I'll definitely do my research and buy a really good quality one. Btw, I plan on feeding a mix with slightly more wet food. I think that's going to be mutually beneficial. I'm glad he isn't pooping, it's been three days since I've fed him bland chicken, he had soft stool on the first day (remainder of the whiskas) and two days of no poop. I've read that bland chicken leaves very little waste so I'm not worried yet.

His name is Toby and he made me laugh so much today, I'm so glad I got such a funny cat.
Shipping box Wood Packing materials Package delivery Carton
Cat Vertebrate Felidae Comfort Carnivore
 
#21 ·
@chillminx great news! He had two movements and the were firm, dark brown and odorless (compared to diarrhea). I have started him on Leonardo wet food which he really seems to enjoy, it looks like he was getting bored of the plain chicken hahaha. I'm going to take my time switching him over to his new food because I don't want to risk anything I'll take 2 weeks if I have to.

I am worried however, it seems as though his previous owner wasn't lying about his bathroom habits atleast and that the diarrhea was indeed caused by the trip over to my house. I'm worried that he'll start having runny poos again if I take to the vet later today. Should I wait a month before I take him?
 
#22 ·
I am glad he has had some firm stools. This is good news! :)

Leonardo is a good food. Is it the poultry based one you are feeding or the fish based one?

If the diarrhoea was caused by the change of environment when he moved to your house, then it is possible reaction to stress. A trip to the vet might bring it back or it might not. It might cause his stools to be a bit loose for 24 hrs and then he may be OK again.

I would take him to the vet if he needs to be seen by the vet though. Is there a specific reason to take him now?
 
#23 ·
I'm sorry for the late reply @chillminx i didn't have a specific reason other than the fact that I thought the owner had been lying about his health.

'the food is the poultry based one. He really likes it, in fact bad news.. he got soft stool again. This time I think I know why. He LOVES the Leonardo and won't touch the chicken anymore. I'm at a loss I don't know what I'm supposed to do now. I've tried everything to get him to eat the chicken, he just won't touch it. He had perfect stools till yesterday night. Today morning he had his first soft stool since.

I didn't want him to starve as he's really active and a kitten so I just gave him the Leonardo food for now, but small portions. Do you think I should continue this way?
 
#24 ·
As I mentioned earlier you must never starve a kitten, it is potentially dangerous for their health because they become dehydrated and go downhill very quickly.

If his stools did not form up on the chicken diet then the diarrhoea is probably not caused by his diet but more likely to be due to an intestinal parasite or bowel infection. I think you need to take him to the vet and get some safe worming treatment for him. Ask the vet for Panacur granules, they are safe and effective for kittens.
 
#25 ·
@chillminx oh no, his stools did form up, the chicken worked. But even though I'm trying to gently transition him to the new food he's only eating the new food. I'm giving him 25% of the new food and the rest is chicken yet he doesn't touch the chicken, that's why he got soft stool again.
 
#26 ·
You could consider feeding him other home cooked meats such as turkey, lamb, beef but you will need to add a supplement to it if you are intending to feed plain meat for more than a few days. I have used one called Felini Complete which is Ok to add to cooked or raw meat. I don't know whether similar supplements are available in your country.

As I say you do need to get him treated for parasites if you have not yet done so. They could be the cause of the soft stools. The plain meat diet will nearly always firm up the stools but if he has an underlying problem like worms it does need treating or it will affect his health. Have you seen any worms in his poo? Or white specks like rice around his anus?
 
#27 ·
@chillminx ive seen no issue with the stools. No white specks nothing. I don't understand how his poo firmed up for a good two days and then go back to soft? I'm going to get him to the vet today id want to see what he says about the issue. To be honest I still think it's because he's eating his new food over the chicken and not allowing for a gradual transition to his new food. He literally leaves the chicken and only eats the Leonardo. I'll see what the vet has to say.
 
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