anyone else experience kitty "runs" when feeding EVO ancestral diet dry?

[faranya]

I have two Manx-cross rescue kitties - Gollum, age 5 and Aragorn, age 13 weeks. Both have tiny tail stumps and typical Manx body shape. I also have a regular tortie female, age 11, but she doesn't figure into this equation. She can eat anything and everything without incident.

Gollum has soft stool at the best of times; he's been very ill with cardiomyopathy, kidney issues and then liver failure (some of you probably remember my posts over the summer). I continue to give him denamarin on alternating days. I recently adopted Arie from a shelter some distance away. He was vet checked earlier this month and pronounced healthy. Gollum has been a fixture at our vets most of the year. They don't seem worried about his "production". They're just pleased he's made such a remarkable recovery, given that he nearly died. He is still on diltiazem and potassium supplements, for life.

Arie, too, has soft stool. Frequency isn't problematic; output isn't excessive either. It's just the texture/consistency and associated pungent smell. He has full bowel control, and this isn't a case of diarrhea with watery stool stuck to the fur, sore bum etc. Neither cat ever experiences this. If I didn't check on them from time to time when they're in the litterbox (I like to scoop out whatever they leave ASAP), I'd never notice the softness when it does happen. They're thriving and energetic. They play together like big and little brothers. Arie seems to be fitting in quite well even though the jealous tortie cat hates him. He eats well, drinks regularly and is growing quickly. He was wormed and needled just before I adopted him and has his next vet appointment on January 2, when they're up and running after the holiday break. If he is of appropriate weight, he will be neutered then as this vet specializes in early spay-neuter surgeries. I plan to take a stool sample for analysis just in case something was missed earlier.

I'm trying to keep them on canned food and use only top quality brands - Eagle Pack, EVO, GO Natural, California Naturals, Felidae. I also add a bit of slippery elm (made into a liquid) to the food to help them retain moisture in the gut. The last few days, the kitten has been gradually "firming up". But Gollum is a dry food lover and today I took pity on him and gave him a bit of the EVO. Arie loves it as well. He grabbed his share. Bad idea!

Within hours, they were back to being - shall we say - pudding-poopy. So now I'm wondering whether anyone has noted this kind of thing as a result of feeding the EVO dry? It is definitely a food rich in nutrients and high in protein. Is it possible that a chronically challenged cat's system, and also that of a 3-month-old kitten, can't quite handle it? I know Manx cats tend toward elimination issues at times so this might also be a factor.

Needless to say, I've removed the dry kibble once again and it's back to a totally-canned diet. The tortie is miffed. I sneak her the EVO when the others aren't around and quickly take it away when she's done. At age 11, she resists change with a vengeance.

Any feedback from EVO kibble users would be helpful.

Brenda

[geechiecat]

My cat Maggie, who passed away in November at 17, used to get the same runs you describe when I gave them all Missing Link on their food. Fortunately my vet suggested this cause before a lot of expensive tests were done. I quit feeding it and the runs stopped. I'm wondering if there is a common ingredient in the Missing Link and the Evo? Apparently enough cats reacted to the missing link that the vet knew it was a possibility.

[faranya]

I didn't see your reply or I would have answered sooner. I just figured nobody was going to answer and stopped checking the post. I've discontinued feeding the EVO, which saddens me as it's such great food, and am now just feeding Eagle Pack Holistic Select as their kibble variety, plus wet food (although they hate pretty much all of the top brands and eat very little unless I add a "dressing" of something less than perfect - like Fancy Feast or Friskies pate on top of Innova or Felidae or Wellness or whatever). They seem to like the Eagle Pack dry, so I offer it to them twice a day but not free choice. I give them Go! grain-free treats as a snack. The kitten also gets a handful of Iams kitten dry food as a treat because it's something he will eat. He has a poor appetite. The vet is suspicious of IBD or juvenile pancreatitis although the stool samples didn't have any fat content.

Took them back to the vet, however, since the problem hadn't resolved completely and G was starting to get irritable when picked up. Turned out that he had coccidia - despite a negative stool sample in December - so he was treated for that until he tested negative again. Aragorn had no coccidia at all, after two samples, but was treated anyway, as was the third cat just to be sure. Now they're on Prozyme and it seems to be helping with the digestion issues. Their coats are wonderful!

But I still feel there was a connection, somehow, to an ingredient in the EVO that their tummies didn't agree with. Thanks for telling me about your own experience with this kind of thing. We don't get Missing Link here. I assume it is similar.

Brenda

[Marty11]

I fed Evo to my dog and she got really bad gas right away. Took her off and she returned to normal.

[catlover2]

Coccidia will definitely cause malodourous pudding stools. Any change of food from one brand to another should be done very gradually a little at a time over a week. It's best to keep them on a food that you find works and gives a normal stool. Some Manx kittens do have very sensitive digestive tracts, but as they mature usually this improves. Hope things get straightened out soon.

[faranya]

Hi Marty. So it's not just my two, then? Good to know.

Thanks for the kind thoughts, catlover. Poor Gollum has been through the most awful sequence of illnesses, so I suppose he's lucky to be here at all. He looks great; last summer when he was battling hepatic lipidosis he was very jaundiced, anorexic for weeks and lost six pounds. I was sure I was going to lose him. Arie (Aragorn) the kitten is very lively, bright-eyed and cheerful. He just has the body shape of a mink; he is gaining weight but it's a slow process. He doesn't seem too keen on eating much at a time. I've completed the switch to the Eagle Pack; I mixed the two brands for awhile until the EVO was gone. But the canned is a different story. He likes one brand one day, then the next he turns away from it. He tends to eat tiny portions, but then come back later for more.

My vet put him on the Prozyme but he eats so little at once that he wasn't even getting that, so I dilute it in a bit of water and give it to him with an oral syringe. He actually doesn't mind, but sips at it as if I'm offering him milk through a baby bottle! Then I feed him. I sprinkle Prozyme into the dry food as well. It seems like an excellent product for any cat, not just one with a touchy tummy.

I appreciate your responses.

Brenda