My 5 month old kitten has gas, what is causing this?

[amcs76]

My 5 month old kitten Tipsy has had gas since we adopted her the beginning of November. She farts quite frequently throughout the day, and it's very smelly.

We also have another cat who is 1 1/2 years old. We recently found out he had a parasite, which he most likely got from our kitten. Both our cats are indoor cats, and our vet said that our kitten Tipsy is most likely the source of the parasite. However, her stool tested negative for the parasite. Our vet said that she could still have a parasite in her body, just that it hasn't starting hatching eggs (which from my understanding is what gives a positive testing for a parasite). Anyways, the vet said the gas could be caused by the parasite. She wanted both our cats to be treated with antibiotics for the parasite, and both be de-wormed two more times. Both cats have since finished all the antibiotics and have both had their de-worming medication. But, our kitten still has gas.

The only other thing I can think of that would be causing this is that our kitten sometimes eats our older cats food. Their food dishes are in separate rooms, but I still catch Tipsy eating from our other cats dish. Whenever I catch her doing it I spray her with water and pick her up and bring her to her own dish.

Could this be the cause of her gas? And what can I do to stop her gas? Is this normal?

Any suggestions are appreciated. I thought that perhaps this might be something normal, but our older cat has never done this (at least not when I've been around him).

[sugarcatmom]

Originally Posted by amcs76

My 5 month old kitten Tipsy has had gas since we adopted her the beginning of November. She farts quite frequently throughout the day, and it's very smelly.

What does Tipsy eat?

Originally Posted by amcs76

Their food dishes are in separate rooms, but I still catch Tipsy eating from our other cats dish. Whenever I catch her doing it I spray her with water and pick her up and bring her to her own dish.

A better idea would be to feed both cats the same high quality wet food and let them eat out of each others dishes if they wish. There is no reason to feed different foods to your cats, they both have the same requirements. Spraying Tipsy when she eats could have negative repercussions, such as a food aversion.

Originally Posted by amcs76

And what can I do to stop her gas? Is this normal?

Supplements you might want to look into would be a temporary course of probiotics or digestive enzymes.

[Love4himies]

My first thought is that it is the food causing the tummy upset. A high quality canned that is low in carbs is best for your cats and is what your cat's digestive system is meant for

http://www.catnutrition.org/index.php


http://maxshouse.com/feline_nutrition.htm

[Koteburo]

My sister recently rescued a kitten (female) and she was fostering her (she kept it haha of course) and she mentioned the same kind of problem, farting a lot and really smelly as well. She was dewormed but that didn't stop the farting. Changing foods to something softer could help. The farting has reduced so far.
Not unusual in kittens the farting. When I got my Mulder she used to fart. She was on dry foodie where she was born. Now she doesn't fart. She eats canned Evo 95%

Sometimes cats even on dry food diets correct the farting but if not then you have to look into changing to wet.

Sugarcatmom knows a lot about cat foodie

Oh I assume you dewormed all your cats by now or else they'll be re infecting each other.

[kasey&roxie]

Switching to a good quality canned food is the way to go if you are not feeding this already. It will be much better for them and may alleviate the gas.

Do they or did they have any diarrhea? I adopted Roxie and Kasey last year and Roxie had foul smelling, bloody poop. Kasey started getting intermittent runny poop as well. We did a few fecal tests and all came back negative. They both also had gas. I switched vets and had them do a fecal that was sent out to a lab and Kasey's came back positive for Clostridium bacteria. We did a round of metronidazole and both have been fine ever since.

We did a PCR fecal test at an outside lab which tests for DNA in the samples and is much more comprehensive than a fecal float or fecal smear which some vet offices do in house.

Sugarcatmom mentioned about negative repercussions with spraying Tipsy for eating food from the other cats bowl. We use to spray Kasey for eating from Roxie's food and I believe this lead to a food aversion over a few months. He would only eat a few bites of his food at a time and gradually ate less and less until he wasn't even eating a 1/8th of a cup a day. He lost close to a pound of weight.

They use to eat side by side in the kitchen, I moved Kasey downstairs to eat in our rec room and he started eating more again. Now they are on scheduled feedings 4 times a day and he eats him meals with gusto once again.

[amcs76]

She eats Science Diet Kitten dry food. Top eats Science Diet Adult light dry food.

Hmm I never thought that spraying her with water might lead her have food aversions. The only reason they're on different food is because Tipsy is on kitten food, which I was told she should stay on until she is 1 year. And Top is on light food because he is overweight. I may consider switching them both to wet food, but I really dislike the smell and their stool seems to be softer. We fed Tipsy wet food once in awhile when we first got her, and to Top back in the early all when he had ulcers on his tongue.

Thank you for your advice!

Originally Posted by sugarcatmom

What does Tipsy eat?



A better idea would be to feed both cats the same high quality wet food and let them eat out of each others dishes if they wish. There is no reason to feed different foods to your cats, they both have the same requirements. Spraying Tipsy when she eats could have negative repercussions, such as a food aversion.



Supplements you might want to look into would be a temporary course of probiotics or digestive enzymes.

[amcs76]

Top hat diarrhea quite badly, and bloody poop. Which is when we took him back to the vet for the 2nd time to have them do a stool sample test to confirm what was causing the diarrhea. It was a parasite that was causing the diarrhea. So they were both treated with antibiotics, and Top no longer has diarrhea anymore and has returned to normal. Tipsy never had diarrhea, but was still treated for the parasite since the vet said she was the most likely source of the parasite.

I'll stop spraying her with the water, as I don't want her to have any food aversions. Never even occurred to me that that could happen by spraying her.

Originally Posted by kasey&roxie

Switching to a good quality canned food is the way to go if you are not feeding this already. It will be much better for them and may alleviate the gas.

Do they or did they have any diarrhea? I adopted Roxie and Kasey last year and Roxie had foul smelling, bloody poop. Kasey started getting intermittent runny poop as well. We did a few fecal tests and all came back negative. They both also had gas. I switched vets and had them do a fecal that was sent out to a lab and Kasey's came back positive for Clostridium bacteria. We did a round of metronidazole and both have been fine ever since.

We did a PCR fecal test at an outside lab which tests for DNA in the samples and is much more comprehensive than a fecal float or fecal smear which some vet offices do in house.

Sugarcatmom mentioned about negative repercussions with spraying Tipsy for eating food from the other cats bowl. We use to spray Kasey for eating from Roxie's food and I believe this lead to a food aversion over a few months. He would only eat a few bites of his food at a time and gradually ate less and less until he wasn't even eating a 1/8th of a cup a day. He lost close to a pound of weight.

They use to eat side by side in the kitchen, I moved Kasey downstairs to eat in our rec room and he started eating more again. Now they are on scheduled feedings 4 times a day and he eats him meals with gusto once again.

[sugarcatmom]

Originally Posted by amcs76

She eats Science Diet Kitten dry food. Top eats Science Diet Adult light dry food.

Ya, the ingredients in SD are really quite horrible for an obligate carnivore and are quite likely a factor in your kitten's gas, as well as a factor in Top's weight problem. Please switch them both to wet food. Doesn't have to be kitten food, and absolutely shouldn't be "light" food, which is way too high in carbohydrates. This link is a must read for anyone with an overweight cat: http://www.catinfo.org/?link=felineobesity

Originally Posted by amcs76

I may consider switching them both to wet food, but I really dislike the smell and their stool seems to be softer.

Not sure what brands you've tried in the past, but the better quality canned foods like Wellness or Nature's Variety really don't smell bad. Stay away from too many fishy flavours as well (which cats shouldn't be eating a lot of anyway). The softer stool should go away once the cats adjust to their new diet. You can help the process by introducing new foods slowly, and adding a pinch of probiotics to the food while they transition.

Good luck!