# Kitten Food for Sensitive Stomachs??



## WhiteNile (Aug 24, 2008)

Hi! My kitten is currently awaiting the results of blood tests and stool samples due to a prolonged bout of diarrhoea, but whilst she's waiting the vet gave me some Royal Canin sensitive wet food to feed her in case it's a dietry problem. The trouble is, she doesn't really like the new food and will only eat about half a pouch (50g) a day without begining to starve herself and get upset from being so hungry, and even this is hard work (the vet says that she only needs to eat about three quarters of the pouch per day, but this seems like a huge drop for her from previously eating 50g wet in a morning, 50g dry at teatime, and 34g of wet for supper)! Personally, I don't like the idea of feeding her so much of the sensitive wet food, either, as it's adult food and since eating it she's been much more sleepy. Surely she should be having some sort of kitten food for the extra vitamins, or whatever, to keep her strength up?

I don't know what to do for best. Giving her 50g of the sensitive wet food in the morning, 50g of RC Kitten 36 dry at teatime, and something bland at supper (chicken or cod) seems to have helped the diarrhoea, but the vet said this isn't good enough; she should have all her meals replaced by the sensitive pouches. What can I do? She's very stubborn, and won't eat the same thing all day every day.

Are there any sensitive foods on the market that are specifically designed for kittens? Are there any sensitive foods that are more popular with fussy kitties?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!


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## Saikou (Apr 2, 2008)

I think chicken and white fish in supplement to a sensitive wet food is fine. If you give her chicken though, boil it with a bit of honey (gives it a roasty smell) as it is more easily digested than roast chicken. You could try a bit of raw too. Try her with some very lean beef mince. They swear by raw mince for sorting out chronic IBS/IBD troubles in cats.

There are other things that you can try adding to her food to help soothe her digestive tract like slippery elm powder, or a probiotic such as protexin to her food or water. You can get both online.

If you are worried about her getting enough vits etc, you could try something like Nourish Um for a treat, little bit a day.

I hope you get to the bottom of her problem soon (  no pun intended)


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## bee112 (Apr 12, 2008)

My Ragdoll kitten Alfie has a really sensitive tummy and the only dry food he can eat with getting runny poo is the Hill's Science Plan dry kibble for kittens (it's not the best food in the world quality wise but it's the only dry one that works for Alfie)

I also give him Natures Menu Pouches and the odd raw chicken wing/thigh


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## Guest (Oct 3, 2008)

3 of mine are on the Hills Science I/D food because they had prolonged diarrhoea. It hasn't cured them completely but it is the best they have been in months. The wet food goes through them like anything though so they are on dry for now.

All mine love the RC sensitive though so I think I have been quite lucky. You have to check with your vet before changing to the Hills Science I/D food, just to make sure. We had the same with stool and blood samples and everything else!

Louise
X


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## WhiteNile (Aug 24, 2008)

Hi! Thanks for all the advice.  I'm going to boil her some chicken with a bit of honey tonight to see how she does. I've just ordered some of the Nurish Um online, and I'm going to get some lean mince beef early in the week, so hopefully she'll find all this more appertising and better for her tummy (by the way, does the Nurish Um get mixed into their food or water, or do you give it to them as it is? I couldn't find any information on how to administer it...it just says that it's some kind of paste?).

I do actually have some Nature's Menu Kitten Chicken pouches that I bought before she had her diarrhoea problems, but I never got around to trying any of them out. Maybe I could mix a little of it in her RC sensitive in morning to see how she handles it??


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## bee112 (Apr 12, 2008)

WhiteNile said:


> Hi! Thanks for all the advice.  I'm going to boil her some chicken with a bit of honey tonight to see how she does. I've just ordered some of the Nurish Um online, and I'm going to get some lean mince beef early in the week, so hopefully she'll find all this more appertising and better for her tummy (by the way, does the Nurish Um get mixed into their food or water, or do you give it to them as it is? I couldn't find any information on how to administer it...it just says that it's some kind of paste?).
> 
> I do actually have some Nature's Menu Kitten Chicken pouches that I bought before she had her diarrhoea problems, but I never got around to trying any of them out. Maybe I could mix a little of it in her RC sensitive in morning to see how she handles it??


Yeh you could try mixing a little but in with her normal food..


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## WhiteNile (Aug 24, 2008)

bee112 said:


> Yeh you could try mixing a little but in with her normal food..


Okay, thanks! I'll give that a go in a day or two, then.


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## Saikou (Apr 2, 2008)

You can mix it with her food, or she may just lick it from the tube, mine do. It smells a bit like bovil or marmite or something like that.

I hope all the suggestions make a difference


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## WhiteNile (Aug 24, 2008)

Just got a phone call from the vets to say her results. Apparently, she has/had a bacteria that causes enterities (not sure what the name of the bacteria is now  ), so hopefully, he says that she'll only need the sensitive food for a couple more weeks. I'm glad that she should soon be able to get back to her regular food, as this sensitive stuff is making her miserable, but I don't know how she's meant to have got the bacteria?...she's had her enerities jab.


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## kozykatz (May 18, 2008)

Surely if it's a bacterial infection she should be on antibiotics? Otherwise how is it going to be eliminated?
Soemtimes I have to wonder how vets' minds work 

enteritis is just a general name for inflammation of the gut - it doesn't have to mean feline infectious enteritis which is a specific very serious disease. (that can be vaccinated for)



WhiteNile said:


> Just got a phone call from the vets to say her results. Apparently, she has/had a bacteria that causes enterities (not sure what the name of the bacteria is now  ), so hopefully, he says that she'll only need the sensitive food for a couple more weeks. I'm glad that she should soon be able to get back to her regular food, as this sensitive stuff is making her miserable, but I don't know how she's meant to have got the bacteria?...she's had her enerities jab.


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## Leah100 (Aug 17, 2008)

I would think her appetite has probably been affected by having such an upset tum too, I'm sure she will eat better as she improves. The RC sensitive helped my cat a lot after an upset tum. It's only chicken and rice based, if she has been really unwell she is more at risk of developing sensitivities to some of the grain and gluten based fillers they put in lots of the other foods which might be why your vet wants her to stick to just one protein source and rice [I think] is the most easily digested carb ingredient.
Once she is back on track she should be able to have the stuff she likes better.

Have they given abs or prokolin or something similar to help settle her tum?


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## ErbslinTrouble (Sep 1, 2008)

kozykatz said:


> Surely if it's a bacterial infection she should be on antibiotics? Otherwise how is it going to be eliminated?
> Soemtimes I have to wonder how vets' minds work
> 
> enteritis is just a general name for inflammation of the gut - it doesn't have to mean feline infectious enteritis which is a specific very serious disease. (that can be vaccinated for)


I would have thought that sometimes its best not to immediately give antibiotics and let the normal immune system work first if it's mild. other wise you compromise the natural immunity and make it more difficult in future with other bacteria. if you lower the agitation in the gut and reduce the amount the body has to 'fix' then it's easier for the body to fight off the infection on it's own. same with humans with children and germs and also the main reason why they suggest you shouldn't drink when you are on antibiotics because it lowers your natural immunities and compromises the system as a non sensitive diet would, doesn't actually do anything to the actual antibiotic you are taking. just makes it more difficult for your body to use them. not to mention the antibiotics will affect the normal good bacteria as well as the bad in the gut.


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## kozykatz (May 18, 2008)

but this problem has been ongoing for quite a while now, they had to wait over a week to get the test results too. Would be interesting to know what bacteria it was!



ErbslinTrouble said:


> I would have thought that sometimes its best not to immediately give antibiotics and let the normal immune system work first if it's mild. other wise you compromise the natural immunity and make it more difficult in future with other bacteria. if you lower the agitation in the gut and reduce the amount the body has to 'fix' then it's easier for the body to fight off the infection on it's own. same with humans with children and germs and also the main reason why they suggest you shouldn't drink when you are on antibiotics because it lowers your natural immunities and compromises the system as a non sensitive diet would, doesn't actually do anything to the actual antibiotic you are taking. just makes it more difficult for your body to use them. not to mention the antibiotics will affect the normal good bacteria as well as the bad in the gut.


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## ErbslinTrouble (Sep 1, 2008)

kozykatz said:


> but this problem has been ongoing for quite a while now, they had to wait over a week to get the test results too. Would be interesting to know what bacteria it was!


yes would be.


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## WhiteNile (Aug 24, 2008)

kozykatz said:


> Surely if it's a bacterial infection she should be on antibiotics? Otherwise how is it going to be eliminated?


During the first two weeks that she had the diarrheoa, she was given two different types of antibiotics; the vet said today that this was the antibiotic that he would've prescribed for the bacteria she has, so therefore doesn't need it now, as her stools seem to be inproving. He said that if her stools get worse then I should go back to the vet for more antibiotics, but if they continue to improve I just need to keep her on a sensitive diet for an extra couple of weeks.



kozykatz said:


> enteritis is just a general name for inflammation of the gut - it doesn't have to mean feline infectious enteritis which is a specific very serious disease. (that can be vaccinated for)


Oh, I see. I didn't realise that beforehand. 



kozykatz said:


> Would be interesting to know what bacteria it was!


Yeah, the vet told me the name of it but it was a very long name, so I can't remember what he said.  This is my first and only cat, so I'm not that familiar with kitty diseases.


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## kozykatz (May 18, 2008)

It's great that she seems to be improving now


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## WhiteNile (Aug 24, 2008)

Hi! Just thought I'd add that I tried feeding her raw mince today and she physically couldn't eat it.  Not that she didn't want to eat it, she was a little hesitant at first but seeing as this is her first ever raw meal it wasn't unexpected, but she literally couldn't chew it. Is this common with kittens eating raw mince? Qetesh is missing one of her upper canine teeth, could this be the reason for her trouble?

Is it possible to cook the mince first for her, or won't this be digested as easily?


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## ErbslinTrouble (Sep 1, 2008)

WhiteNile said:


> Hi! Just thought I'd add that I tried feeding her raw mince today and she physically couldn't eat it.  Not that she didn't want to eat it, she was a little hesitant at first but seeing as this is her first ever raw meal it wasn't unexpected, but she literally couldn't chew it. Is this common with kittens eating raw mince? Qetesh is missing one of her upper canine teeth, could this be the reason for her trouble?
> 
> Is it possible to cook the mince first for her, or won't this be digested as easily?


i wouldn't have thought so have you had her jaw checked to make sure the jaw line is connecting properly. i've known and seen cats with 2 to no teeth eat dry food so i doubt the missing tooth is the problem. I(student nurse) assisted with a removal of a lower canine tooth that had gone through the lip of the kitten, he was only 13weeks old. he's fine now and has no issues eating.


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## Kiskasiberians (Oct 2, 2008)

WhiteNile said:


> Hi! Just thought I'd add that I tried feeding her raw mince today and she physically couldn't eat it.  Not that she didn't want to eat it, she was a little hesitant at first but seeing as this is her first ever raw meal it wasn't unexpected, but she literally couldn't chew it. Is this common with kittens eating raw mince? Qetesh is missing one of her upper canine teeth, could this be the reason for her trouble?
> 
> Is it possible to cook the mince first for her, or won't this be digested as easily?


This is uncommon my kittens are feed raw mince from 6 weeks and start to get rabbit chunks and day old chicks at 8 weeks. You can cook it if it is just mince without bone,

Karen
Kiska Siberians


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## WhiteNile (Aug 24, 2008)

Kiskasiberians said:


> This is uncommon my kittens are feed raw mince from 6 weeks and start to get rabbit chunks and day old chicks at 8 weeks. You can cook it if it is just mince without bone...


She doesn't seem to be able to pick it up in her teeth because the raw mince doesn't separate easily, and if I hand feed her little bits at a time she seems to chew on it for ages and get fed up.  Since loosing the tooth a couple of months ago she's often found things difficult to eat; I think it's because she was incredibly spoilt a few months back when she was having bad teething problems, being hand fed all the time. She still often expects to be started off with her meals by being fed. 

Anyway, if I cook her the mince to try, should I boil it? If so, how long does it take to boil...I've never boiled mince before??


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## ErbslinTrouble (Sep 1, 2008)

WhiteNile said:


> She doesn't seem to be able to pick it up in her teeth because the raw mince doesn't separate easily, and if I hand feed her little bits at a time she seems to chew on it for ages and get fed up.  Since loosing the tooth a couple of months ago she's often found things difficult to eat; I think it's because she was incredibly spoilt a few months back when she was having bad teething problems, being hand fed all the time. She still often expects to be started off with her meals by being fed.
> 
> Anyway, if I cook her the mince to try, should I boil it? If so, how long does it take to boil...I've never boiled mince before??


not long to boil/blanch i would have thought 7 mins? depending on how much you have. 5 tablespoons maybe..5 to 7 mins. have you thought about maybe sticking the mince in a food processor blender thingy and making it even finer like a paste?


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