Cat with a delicate stomach.

[BTZPusspusspuss]

My senior cat seems to have fairly runny stools as his normal state. He is on Whiskas wet (2 sachets a day) and RC sensible dry (one scoop per meal). He’s healthy in himself and has a good coat, very active, complete scavenger and will steal food given the chance. Any tips for helping his stomach settle more. The shelter seemed to think he was fine with Whiskas (we’ve had them 8 months now) but I’m wondering if I should move him to something else. I’ve seen people mention the pro-kalin but there’s a paste and a powder? Does it matter which or would a general probiotic type powder help? Trying not to go insanely expensive as I’m feeding three and one is already on a full renal diet!

He’s beautiful! Our boy was prescribed the Pro-kolin paste by the vet - he wouldn’t touch it in his food and I had to squirt it into his mouth (it has a nozzle and you dial it to the correct amount then push down). He’s good with medication so I just got him on my knee, tilted him back and said “open”, a bit like giving a baby a bottle. After he initially refused it on his food I got the powder you can sprinkle on food - and he wouldn’t take that at all.

If you want I can pop some of that in the post to you - it’s little sachets so won’t be expensive to send and it’s just going to waste here. Has he seen the vet?

Thanks @Judystilldreamsofhorses He’s seen the vet but his weight is good and he’s maintaining on his current diet. So she wasn’t concerned. He chowed his way through food with some granules on a while back so I’m pretty sure it doesn’t even touch the sides! Did the Pro-kolin seem to make any difference?

We were prescribed it for colitis which is an acute rather than chronic thing - I don’t know if it would have resolved on its own or if it was the paste really. Happy to pop some sachets in the post for you to try though.

@JudystilldreamsofhorsesHave pm’d you. 🙂

Mine wouldn’t touch the pro kaolin either. I put my sensitive girl onto amazon own brand grain free and it really helped her.

@InQuiresandplaceswheretheysing was that wet or dry?

Never known a cat to accept pro-kolin unless it's forced down their throat! My vet has recommended Fortiflora for my boy with chronic (possibly terminal) IBD - his poo is liquid most of the time nowadays.

They’re ready to post 🐈🐈‍⬛🐈

could someone else be feeding him stuff thats upsetting his digestion? is he an outdoors cat?

@GrumblingGeek he does like to roam our garden but doesn’t seem to go that far, especially as the weather is turning. So in the summer it was definitely more likely that he was stealing food from elsewhere, don’t think anyone else was feeding him then, and he’s not out enough now it’s cooler.

I’m surprised your vet did nothing!
Ours suggested a week or so of gastro food (link below) with some probiotics until tummy settled then gradually onto either hills science plan, wellness core or orijen food.
I don’t think whiskers is a very good food for them…
https://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/canned_cat_food_pouches/hills_prescription/digestion/276472?variantId=276472.6&abd=true&freelisting=1&utm_source=google&utm_medium=google_shopping&utm_campaign=24017190451&utm_term=276472.6&utm_content=pla&utm_id=24017190451_198268829436&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=24017190451&gbraid=0AAAAAD9Xn6WTRiOsp6GMKeE_EtpmlBEVP&gclid=CjwKCAjw0LzWBhBOEiwAKQd0cKsL0LluplztaMoDDIqH7ZJ6NturDPeeEK5tpiRY7W9VwaN71G4ErRoCzqkQAvD_BwE&activeVariant=276472.6

No I know Whiskas isn’t ideal, but when a box only last three days the cost mounts up quickly, however an exploration of the “better” food might have to be done! We only had one before so he was on natures collection and ND biscuits and didn’t eat much! (Compared to the one that is half Labrador!)

my vet told me boiled rice and chicken when mine was ill. i added tuna after a couple of days as she wasn’t into the rice and practically ate nothimg.

Vets love rice and chicken. My dad used to take our massive feral farm cat to a vet in Cambridgeshire more than 40 years ago and the vet always recommended this.
The cat didn't have an upset stomach he had battle wounds from fighting. God alone knows what he was fighting as he was the size of an average labrador. I remember my poor old granddad who had dementia screaming when he saw the cat once as he couldn't work out what he was at first. The cat refused point blank to eat the rice and preferred chicken raw.

There's a few reasonably priced grain free brands out there, I use Harringtons and HiLife. Plus if you shop somewhere like Zooplus and get the bigger boxes it works out much cheaper than smaller boxes in supermarkets especially if you order enough to get free delivery.

I’m already using zooplus for the Whiskas. But will check out the other brands. I have a good local pet shop that lets you buy individual sachets of the various special diets so I will investigate.

There was a thread on here recommending hairball dry food for upset cat tummy.

My cat was the same, turns out couldn't tolerate chicken so switched to the fish only box and problem resolved!

That’s a cheap option! Will def give that a whirl.