Best Cat Foods For Diarrhea
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If your cat has an acute bout of diarrhea, he needs a bland diet and time to recover. Chronic diarrhea, however, may be a symptom of inflammation or intolerances, indicating that a dietary overhaul may be in order.
The best cat foods for diarrhea have simple, meat-based, anti-inflammatory recipes, ideally including probiotics or other digestive aids.
That’s why I’ve chosen Stella & Chewy’s Freeze-Dried Raw Absolutely Rabbit Dinner Morsels as the best cat food for diarrhea.
These freeze-dried morsels are packed with highly-digestible meat and organs, contain sources of fiber for digestive health, and are fortified with probiotics to support a healthy gut flora population.
At a Glance: Best Cat Foods For Diarrhea To Buy
We highly recommend looking at the comparison table we have below where we highlighted the features of each product. You’ll also find more detailed information about each product later in the article.
Compare Best Cat Foods For Diarrhea
|
Overall Best
1. Stella & Chewy's Absolutely Rabbit Dinner Morsels Freeze-Dried Raw Cat Food |
Most Popular
3. Vital Essentials Rabbit Mini Patties Grain Free Limited Ingredient Freeze-Dried Cat Food |
Best For Allergic Cats
4. Hound & Gatos Lamb Formula Grain-Free Canned Cat Food |
Best For Gravy Lovers
5. Weruva Cats in the Kitchen Chicken Frick 'A Zee Chicken Recipe |
Best For Senior Cats
6. Dr. Elsey’s cleanprotein Grain-Free Duck & Turkey Formula Canned Cat Food |
|
|
Protein
44% Min |
Protein
23.4% Min |
Protein
52% Min |
Protein
12% Min |
Protein
10% Min |
Protein
11% Min |
|
Fat
30% Min |
Fat
6.6% Min |
Fat
15% Min |
Fat
8.0% Min |
Fat
2.5% Min |
Fat
8.0% Min |
|
Fiber
5.0% Max |
Fiber
0.3% Max |
Fiber
3% Max |
Fiber
1.0% Max |
Fiber
0.5% Max |
Fiber
1.0% Max |
|
Life Stage
Adult |
Life Stage
Adult |
Life Stage
All Life Stages |
Life Stage
Adult |
Life Stage
Adult |
Life Stage
Adult |
|
Type
Freeze-Dried |
Type
Fresh |
Type
Dry |
Type
Wet |
Type
Wet |
Type
Wet |
|
Made In
United States |
Made In
United States |
Made In
United States |
Made In
United States |
Made In
Thailand |
Made In
United States |
Our Top Picks For The Best Cat Foods For Diarrhea
Stella & Chewy's Absolutely Rabbit Dinner Morsels Freeze-Dried Raw Cat Food
Product Info
- Protein: 44% Min
- Fat: 30% Min
- Fiber: 5.0% Max
- Life Stage: Adult
- Type: Freeze-Dried
- Made In: United States
Guaranteed Analysis
Dry Matter Basis
- Made with a single source of animal protein.
- Features rabbit, a novel protein appropriate for cats with food intolerances.
- Contains probiotics for digestive support.
- The food’s low carbohydrate content may help to reduce inflammation and support long-term health.
- Not all cats enjoy the rabbit taste.
- The food might contain too much bone for some cats.
It’s primarily made from rabbit, which is considered a novel protein and isn’t likely to cause allergic flareups. In addition to rabbit, the food contains pumpkin seed and probiotics for digestive health support. Each pound has at least 50 million CFUs of probiotic microorganisms.
While the food has a reputation for helping cats with diarrhea, it’s not a great choice for every cat.
Like some other freeze-dried and raw foods, this product is heavy on bone, containing a good bit more bone than your cat’s natural prey. This high bone content means the food might have too much phosphorus for cats with kidney disease. Some say the food’s bone content sent their cats’ digestion in the opposite direction of diarrhea—it made them constipated.
Smalls Other Fresh Ground Bird
Product Info
- Protein: 23.4% Min
- Fat: 6.6% Min
- Fiber: 0.3% Max
- Life Stage: Adult
- Type: Fresh
- Made In: United States
Guaranteed Analysis
Dry Matter Basis
- Simple, meat-based recipes for cats
- Fresh food sent right to your door
- Real turkey as the main ingredient
- Highly digestible, rich in moisture
- Must create account and start subscription to order
- Meals aren’t portioned by calorie needs (multi-serving packs)
Smalls offers fresh, human-grade recipes made with real animal proteins. This Other Fresh Ground Bird features turkey thigh (skin on) with chicken liver as supplemental protein. The only other ingredients are fresh veggies like green beans, peas, and kale with some vegetable oil to balance out the fat content. All in all, it is highly digestible which is great for your cat.
What you’ll really like about Smalls, however, is that they send the cat food to you. Just fill out a quick profile for your cat and they’ll make recommendations and send the exact right amount of food your cat needs.
Vital Essentials Rabbit Mini Patties Grain Free Limited Ingredient Freeze-Dried Cat Food
Product Info
- Protein: 52% Min
- Fat: 15% Min
- Fiber: 3% Max
- Life Stage: All Life Stages
- Type: Dry
- Made In: United States
Guaranteed Analysis
Dry Matter Basis
- Contains highly-digestible protein.
- Made with rabbit, which is rarely allergenic.
- The food has a simple ingredient list.
- Added digestive enzymes may support healthy digestion.
- The food isn’t very well-known and doesn’t have a lot of customer reviews.
Instead of inflammatory carrageenan, the food is thickened with agar-agar, one of the safest binding gums you can use.
Like all Vital Essentials foods, it’s enhanced with a unique blend of digestive enzymes, yeasts, and chelated minerals. These ingredients purportedly help to support healthy digestion. Though there aren’t many reviews on this recipe, people who’ve bought other Pure Vita foods say they’re great for their cats’ digestion.
Hound & Gatos Lamb Formula Grain-Free Canned Cat Food
Product Info
- Protein: 12% Min
- Fat: 8.0% Min
- Fiber: 1.0% Max
- Life Stage: Adult
- Type: Wet
- Made In: United States
Guaranteed Analysis
Dry Matter Basis
- Includes highly-digestible ingredients.
- Features a novel protein for cats with allergies.
- Has a short, simple ingredient list.
- Contains salmon oil as a source of anti-inflammatory omega-3s.
- Expensive.
The food also contains agar-agar as a non-inflammatory binder and salmon oil as a source of anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids.
One reviewer calls this product “the only food that doesn’t give my cat diarrhea,” elaborating that “the diarrhea she’s had for the six weeks we’ve had her went away! I no longer have to put a towel in my lap and on the furniture to absorb foul leaks. We have our house back, and the kitty is happy and gaining strength.”
The food is easy to digest, palatable, and can help to reduce inflammation. Its biggest downside is its price. All Hound & Gatos foods are on the expensive side and their lamb recipe is one of their priciest.
Weruva Cats in the Kitchen Chicken Frick 'A Zee Chicken Recipe
Product Info
- Protein: 10% Min
- Fat: 2.5% Min
- Fiber: 0.5% Max
- Life Stage: Adult
- Type: Wet
- Made In: Thailand
Guaranteed Analysis
Dry Matter Basis
- Features a single protein source.
- Includes highly-digestible ingredients.
- Includes fish oil as a source of omega-3 fatty acids.
- Low carbohydrate content supports general health.
- Expensive.
This recipe contains a few more thickeners than the others on this list, with locust bean gum, xanthan gum, and guar gum working together to stabilize and thicken the food. Though these aren’t species-appropriate inclusions in cat food, they’re not inflammatory like carrageenan and are safe for cats with or without diarrhea.
If your cat doesn’t have any chicken intolerances and prefers shredded foods, this product from Weruva could be a good option.
Dr. Elsey’s cleanprotein Grain-Free Duck & Turkey Formula Canned Cat Food
Product Info
- Protein: 11% Min
- Fat: 8.0% Min
- Fiber: 1.0% Max
- Life Stage: Adult
- Type: Wet
- Made In: United States
Guaranteed Analysis
Dry Matter Basis
- Made with highly bioavailable protein sources.
- Low carbohydrate content.
- Supplemented with New Zealand green mussels.
- Very expensive.
The food is thickened with agar-agar, a safe and non-inflammatory thickening agent. It’s supplemented with New Zealand green mussels, which may help to reduce inflammation associated with diarrhea.
Overall, this food is gentle on the stomach and, thanks to the inclusion of anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids, could soothe your cat’s digestion.
How Do You Choose The Right Food For Your Cat With Diarrhea?
Factors influencing which food is right for your cat include whether the diarrhea is chronic or acute, whether or not your cat’s suffering from other conditions, food allergies, and your cat’s taste and texture preferences.
Feeding A Cat With Acute Diarrhea
If your cat suddenly started having loose bowels and this isn’t a recurring event, you’ll first want to give his digestive tract a break. Let him fast for 12 hours. Diarrhea itself impedes nutrient absorption and food will only make the situation worse.
After a 12-hour fast, switch to a bland diet. This is traditionally cooked chicken and rice, but feel free to skip the rice. Cats are obligate carnivores whether their stool is well-formed or not. Instead, consider boiled chicken, pork, turkey, or rabbit in an unseasoned bone broth. This diet isn’t nutritionally complete, so you shouldn’t feed it for more than a couple of days.
After a couple of days, gently switch your cat back to his old diet or, if symptoms haven’t subsided, try a new food that’s gentler on the GI system.
Feeding A Cat With Chronic Diarrhea
Cats with chronic diarrhea have soft or liquid feces for three weeks or more. If your cat has chronic diarrhea, your main focus shouldn’t be on the fact that your cat has loose stool. Instead, that focus should be on the underlying problem that’s causing the symptom. You’re feeding a cat with irritable bowel disease, food intolerances, or another condition affecting the digestive system.
If possible, identify that problem and feed your cat accordingly. A limited-ingredient diet that’s fortified with probiotics and anti-inflammatory fish oil is usually a good option, but you’ll have to fill in the details based on your cat’s unique needs.
Rosalie Smith
My cat, 15 has chronic diarrhea. Blood tests for hyperthyriodism was negative, kidney, liver, pancreas in normal range, but lymphocytes high. Changed to a LID canned food diet, duck and turkey. Tried 2 probiotics from vet, didn't help, also use a digestive enzyme. What company product could you reccomend. that might help?
Mallory Crusta
Hi Rosalie, thanks for the comment! Has your vet mentioned an IBD diagnosis? I'm not a vet, but the symptoms you're describing generally sound consistent with IBD, and I wonder if an IBD-friendly diet would be able to help. You might like our article on the best cat food for IBD. This article covers a number of diets (therapeutic and otherwise) that may help and also touches upon other things you can add to your cat's diet to reduce some of that inflammation and help them feel better.
Kate Barrington
Hi Rosalie, so sorry to hear your kitty is sick! Have you considered that it might be food allergies? My cat had chronic diarrhea for a year until I realized the problem. Once I switched her to a single protein recipe she improved drastically. Ziwi Peak has a number of single protein options and is generally a high-quality choice for canned food.