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Problem with canned food

Chatanuga Jan 29, 2009 09:54 AM

About a year ago this past September, I'd split a pouch of Whiskas cat food with my cats. It's wet cat food with a lot of gravy. Both cats ate it with no problem. Chessie had been eating it for a while, and when I brought Casey Jones home, I thought I'd split it between them. The following day, Casey developed diarrhea. I took it to my vet, and everything checked out normal. They said it could be caused by his only having dry cat food prior to that.

However, the loose stool never really cleared up, and he was then found to have a stomach infection. The infection cleared up, but he had a loose stool issue for a while afterwards. My vet had given me some canned food to give him to help calm his stomach and let it return to normal. He always ate the canned food with no problem, and the loose stool cleared up.

After the diarrhea/loose stool a year ago, I didn't give him any more of the Whiskas pouches.

When I was starting to switch both cats from kitten to adult cat food, the loose stool would come back for a day and then clear up. It's been normal since then.

A couple weeks ago, I was in the pet food aisle while getting groceries and found some cans of Iams cat food that was basically like the food from the vet's office, which was also Iams. I split one of the cans between both Chessie and Casey as a treat. They both ate it pretty fast. However, once Casey was done, he went across the kitchen and vomitted it back up.

At the time, I figured he wasn't used to canned cat food, and with eating it as fast as he did, it just hadn't agreed with him. So last night, I tried it again, this time giving Casey only a couple spoonfuls of the canned food. He ate it all, went across the kitchen, and again vomitted it back up.

He's eating the dry cat food and drinking water just fine and has occasional treats with Chessie a couple times a day with no problems. Is it possible that his stomach can't handle the canned food?
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Chessie and Casey Jones relaxing together.

Replies (3)

PHKitkat Jan 29, 2009 01:58 PM

Hi There,

Sure, it's possible that there is something in canned food that doesn't agree with Casey. It's possible that his system is reacting to some kind of additive or he may even have some kind of food allergy. Any change in diet can cause diarrhea and/or loose stools in cats but Casey seems especially sensitive. He may even have inflammatory bowel disease which can flare up with certain foods or ingredients in the foods. Sometimes even something as simple as food coloring can affect a very sensitive cat.

As long as Casey is acting normally and doing well on his regular diet, he should be fine. You can ask your vet about allergy testing, but honestly, the tests are very expensive and not the most accurate in cats. Often, it's just a matter of finding the right foods for a particular cat.

Take care,

PHKitkat

Chatanuga Jan 29, 2009 03:45 PM

Thanks for the response. I'll have to look around and try to find something else for him then. At least I know the food won't go to waste since Chessie's eating it with no problems.
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Chessie and Casey Jones relaxing together.

Chatanuga Feb 12, 2009 09:09 AM

Well, Casey seems to now be shying away from canned food, even though he gets excited when he sees me fixing it for him and Chessie. After the second can of Iams that I had for them, I tried a can of 9 Lives. He would smell it and then back away from it. I tried a 3rd can of Iams (different flavor from the other two). He took just two cautious bites and about a minute later threw up. Last night, I tried Whiskas, and he wouldn't even touch it. I think he's starting to think that he's going to get sick if he eats the canned food.
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Chessie and Casey Jones relaxing together.

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