Wookie is lovely, he's the most normal kitten I've had in 20 years 🙈 He hasn't been taken to the vet yet, she's closed because they got Covid exposure: either a client or a staff member tested positive but at this stage, I'll wait and see with him, the diarrhoea isn't severe and we'll do deworming and probiotics first.
Giardiasis is a pita to get rid of but I don't think Wookie has that. A few years ago I had a young shelter cat that pooped chemical warfare too. Vet couldn't find anything in the stool so we put him on Hills intestinal diet. He was supposed to show an improvement within 1 week to 10 days but didn't. I kept feeding it to him, since the bag was there and after a month, his poops finally became normal. Royal Canin Sensible is also pretty good. I assume you've ruled out IBD food allergies as a possibility?
Oh, he has food allergies. We know for sure fish, which causes him to have the poops and the barfs. But there is something else which causes watery eyes/sneezing/itching that I haven't narrowed down yet but is definitely plant-based since a vegetarian digestive supplement (because I was trying to avoid one with fish) caused that. So it could be that once I figure that out, it will have something to do with his chemical warfare poop as well. But most of the digestion-friendly foods have fish in them (MOST cat food has fish in them), so no, he eats whatever food is allergy-safe, at least as far as fish goes.
Fish is a terrible allergen for many cats and shouldn't be added to foods but yes, it's in there because it's a cheaper protein source. Maybe try a hypoallergenic prescription diet? It's expensive but worth it
I struggle to buy food as it is. But he's doing good on the current diet. Just stinky poops.
I'm sorry to hear that. I struggle with the cat bills too but my first cats taught me that cheaper foods brought problems too and the vet bills then cost even more... I had a cat with a urinary blockage
The foods aren't cheap. I spend over $150 per month just on wet food. They're eating quality food.
I've been through the crystal urinary blockages with my first cat, and he was on prescription food for allergies at the time (there was no such thing as crystal-specific prescription food back then).
Oof. For that reason, my tribe gets wet food as a treat only
Maggie doesn't eat kibble anymore, though I always have it out in case she chooses to (she's 17 and skinny). And Yuan is a chonk and wet food is less calories, so it's good for him, too.