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Old November 18th, 2009, 02:27 AM
clrose clrose is offline
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Exclamation Confused, Frustrated, Annoyed HELP!

Hi!
This is really my first time coming on to here and so far it looks like a really great place to ask questions and get opinions and answers so I'm hoping that I can find some help here because I'm going in circles as of now.

I have two great cats, one a 6 year old female named Mayberry and a Male 1.5 year old named Sylvester. They have both been having problems with their heind quarters for quite some time now however they seem to be completely opposite of each other, and so far I have found no answers.
The female has normal defecation like it's solid and good and everything however there is sometimes blood in the fecal matter and she has a bad habbit of rubbing her bum on the carpet. We have brought her to the vet on many occasions due to it and have been told that a) it's an anal gland infection, b) it's not enough fat in her diet, and c) she ate something to irritate the rectum HOWEVER she is on a high fat diet now and we watch her constantly and make sure there is nothing she can eat to irritate her and there is no infection to be seen. Now the male on the other hand has very runny and smelly diarrhea, he passes gas when picked up and has almost constant anal leakage, he has been to the vet and we were told that the food he's eating is okay (it's the same food as our female eats) and did all the tests and everything our vet could think of we did the whole withhold the food for 24 hours and we've withheld the water for 12 hours, and the only thing that improved the diarrhea was the with holding the water. He has no conception of being full so he will continuously eat and drink without supervision he has unfortunately not been gaining enough weight which should not be the case due to the high fat diet, and we just can not figure out what to do! Is there a problem with the food perhaps? or could there be another problem our vet just isn't thinking of?

We do also have a rat and a gecko that both the cats have access too could they be picking up some sort of bacteria from either of them?

ANY help, answers or opinions or advice would be soooo greatly appreciated!!
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Old November 18th, 2009, 03:30 AM
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What brand & flavours are you feeding? Canned or dry?

Were there fecal tests run to rule out parasites?

Did the vet express Mayberry's anal glands? Was it any better after that?
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Old November 18th, 2009, 09:32 AM
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Have you noticed any mucous on the fecal matter?
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Old November 18th, 2009, 12:02 PM
beckiandthetrio beckiandthetrio is offline
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I think what it really is gonna come down to is the food?? What are u feeding and is it canned or dry or both??

Ive had issues with the anal glands too with my male cat. I had the vet express them out and he has been pretty good since. I also added some canned pumpkin to his diet to keep his stool normal. When they have a normal poop that should be expressing the anal gland naturally.

Anyhow, Im sure more people will give better advice but the food issue i think is key here.

Becki
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Old November 18th, 2009, 04:01 PM
clrose clrose is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by growler View Post
What brand & flavours are you feeding? Canned or dry?

Were there fecal tests run to rule out parasites?

Did the vet express Mayberry's anal glands? Was it any better after that?
We're currently feeding Iams dry weight control no wet that gives them more problems and yes fecal tests were run, but came back negative, and yes the anal glands were done but it didn't help the problem.
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Old November 18th, 2009, 04:08 PM
clrose clrose is offline
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Love4himies;850663]Have you noticed any mucous on the fecal matter?[/QUOTE]
nope, no mucous

Quote:
Originally Posted by beckiandthetrio
I think what it really is gonna come down to is the food?? What are u feeding and is it canned or dry or both??

Ive had issues with the anal glands too with my male cat. I had the vet express them out and he has been pretty good since. I also added some canned pumpkin to his diet to keep his stool normal. When they have a normal poop that should be expressing the anal gland naturally.

Anyhow, Im sure more people will give better advice but the food issue i think is key here.

Becki
lol again it's Iams dry weight control as of right now, and yeah maybe pumpkin may help with his stool although I've never heard of pumpkin helping, may I ask where you learned about that?
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Old November 18th, 2009, 04:11 PM
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Oh wow!! I see Sugarcatmom is answering so I won't even try. The food IS the problem though. You would do well to heed her advice clrose. She is very knowledgeable.
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Old November 18th, 2009, 04:21 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by clrose View Post
We're currently feeding Iams dry weight control no wet that gives them more problems and yes fecal tests were run, but came back negative, and yes the anal glands were done but it didn't help the problem.
Iams Weight Control dry food is not an appropriate food for an obligate carnivore, and I guarrantee it's the source of some of your problems. These are the ingredients:

Quote:
Chicken By-Product Meal, Corn Meal, Corn Grits, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Dried Egg Product, Chicken, Dried Beet Pulp, Animal Fat, ...
Very little real meat, full of grains and filler, and it's most definitely not high in fat. What it is high in is carbohydrates, at 43% of calories. Cats should be eating less that 10% carbs. Vets really don't know very much about feline nutrition, so I would dismiss what your vet has to say on the topic and do your own research.

What canned foods have you tried in the past? How did you introduce them? You might want to try something like Wellness, Innova Evo 95%, Nature's Variety, By Nature, Merrick etc. These all have high protein and fat (which cats need) and very little to no plant matter, so low in carbs (which cats don't need). You can read more here about what cats should and shouldn't be eating and why: www.catinfo.org
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Old November 19th, 2009, 08:31 AM
clrose clrose is offline
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Aaahhh Thats great then, what types of dry cat food would you reccomend? and in regards to the wet cat foods, we did try Neutro and wellness and we gave them very little as a bit of a treat now and again, however with our female she would have very bad stomach aches and would lay on our laps and her stomache would make some ever so lovely gargleing sounds and she would just complain about it. The male would just get smellier.
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Old November 19th, 2009, 08:38 AM
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clrose - please take the time to read the website SCM included in her post to you. You will find that there is no dry food that is good for cats. Yes, there may be issues with switching to the wet. Those issues will end once the cats get used to the better quality food. Dry food was not invented for cats. Dry food was invented for owner's convenience.
All it takes is patience and a willingness to stick with it. And a bottle of cleaner. A good one is 1/4 cup rubbing alcohol, 1/4 cup vinegar, 1 cup water mixed in a spray bottle and sprayed where the offending accidents occured. It takes the smell away so the kitty does not use that spot again later on.
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Old November 19th, 2009, 09:28 AM
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clrose, after visiting this site quite some time ago, I ended up moving my cats over to a canned food only diet. My cats didn't have the trouble yours did because they had been 1/2 canned and 1/2 dry before, but the switch made a big difference.

My two overweight cats both lost a couple of pounds (one is still overweight though).

Hairballs decreased by about 75%. I mean HUGE. My three longhairs who are responsible for the vast majority of them were puking up multiple hairballs a day. Now, even during the spring and fall, I'm not even sure they throw up one a day!

One of my boys, who was getting UTIs every few months, hasn't had one in eight months.

It might take them a while to get used to it. In the meantime, the canned pumpkin might very well help settle their stomachs.
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Old November 19th, 2009, 11:10 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by clrose View Post
Aaahhh Thats great then, what types of dry cat food would you reccomend? and in regards to the wet cat foods, we did try Neutro and wellness and we gave them very little as a bit of a treat now and again, however with our female she would have very bad stomach aches and would lay on our laps and her stomache would make some ever so lovely gargleing sounds and she would just complain about it. The male would just get smellier.
None.

I wish I pictures to show you a "before" and "after" of my senior Puddles going from kibble to QUALITY canned, now on part raw. She UNaged about 10 years. Greasy, thin fur to her beautiful, grand champion quality fur she was known for back in her younger days.

Jasper and Sweet Pea's poop went from stinky and large to much smaller and almost no smell. Jasper had very soft poops, diarrhea when he was on cheap kibble, then not so bad when I changed to "quality" kibble, and now perfect ones on raw and quality canned.
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Old November 20th, 2009, 10:16 AM
clrose clrose is offline
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great i'll be changing them over ASAP then, also just regarding it we're ( my partner and i) are just wondering how much to feed them a day? one can each per day? or..? also what canned food should we stay away from? what do i want to look for when purchasing it? you guys have all been such a big help thank you so much!
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Old November 20th, 2009, 11:13 AM
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Preferably grain-free, although there are some decent wet foods that do have a small amount of grain like brown rice (Precise comes to mind). Stay away from the really cheap grocery store foods like Friskies or 9-Lives because they are heavy on the un-named (eg "meat") by-products and food colouring. Try not to feed too much fish because it's higher in toxins and is a common source of allergies for cats. Depending on your cats, you may want to rotate a few different flavours and brands to keep them interested (some cats get bored of the same canned food every day).

As for how much to feed, depends on what your cats weigh, and whether they need to gain or lose weight. Usually, a 5.5oz can each per day is a good benchmark. If they're still really hungry, feed a bit more, if they leave lots behind, maybe they need less, although make sure they're not just being super finicky. They still need to get enough calories to avoid other medical problems.

Here is a good article on how to choose a canned food: http://www.catinfo.org/commercialcannedfoods.htm
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Old November 20th, 2009, 11:46 AM
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You received lots of excellent information in changing your cat's diet.

As for your piggy Sylvester who you say has "no conception of being full so he will continuously eat and drink", he should alway be fed separately away from Mayberry in another room or in a carrier, as overeating can cause diarrhea. It is best not to free feed or leave food out. Feed them twice a day and then remove food after they have finished. If Sylvester is still not gaining weight, you could feed him an extra small meal before you go to bed.

As for picking up something from the gecko and the rat, I suppose it is possible if they are in contact and interacting with them, but I assume your vet has tested them and ruled out that possibility?

Hope you can get them straightened around soon.
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