Lesson 1: Feeding During Stool Changes

🧠 What fosters must understand

• Do NOT change food during diarrhea — diet shifts are a top trigger for worsening stool and stress.

• The priority is to maintain calories first, firm stool second.

✅ Feeding rules when stool is soft/watery/mucusy

1. Continue the current diet only

Use the exact food the kitten arrived eating. Popular safe rescue choices often include:

• Purina Pro Plan Development Kitten (if this is the baseline)

• Royal Canin Mother & Babycat (if this was original diet)

• Hill's Science Diet Kitten (if this was intake food)

(If your program uses a different intake food, you can replace this talking point for fosters.)

2. Feed small, frequent, highly digestible meals

Stool statusFeeding styleSoft stool3–4 meals/day, normal portions, small add-ins okActive diarrhea4–6 mini meals/day, 1–2 tbsp each, keep it going

• Warm food slightly to increase smell and interest

• If the kitten is face-planting food, calm and redirect — it can be a behavior sign of sickness, not hunger alone

3. Approved gut-safe add-ins

These do not count as a food change because they support the intestines:

• FortiFlora (1x daily sprinkle)

• Kitten Lady Kefir Suggestion (plain kefir 1 tsp max if lead allows)

• Plain Pumpkin (¼ tsp – 1 tsp depending on size if directed)

• Unflavored Electrolyte Mix (in water bowl during diarrhea)

4. Hydration support

☑ Offer water at all times
☑ Add electrolytes only to water, not food
☑ If diarrhea is significant, medical lead may recommend sub-Q fluids

Safe thermoregulation + hydration protects kittens because chilling worsens gut motility.

⚠ Foods to avoid during stool changes

✖ Dairy (milk, cheese, flavored yogurts)
✖ Human baby food unless explicitly approved
✖ Rich treats or sudden new protein sources
✖ Dry-only feeding if diarrhea is active (wet food helps hydration)

🧴 Litter & feeding hygiene pairing (remind on site)

• If diarrhea started after deworming or antiprotozoals, irritation may be parasite related.

• Continue feeding unless a vet or lead says to pause, but reduce to mini meals and monitor.

🚦When feeding changes later are allowed (future gut stabilization stage)

• Only after stool normalizes and kitten is thriving

• Must be done slowly over 7–10 days, increasing by 10–20% new food per day

• Always keep probiotics consistent during transitions

🗣 Script you can give fosters (great to add under this lesson on your site)

“Right now we protect the gut by keeping food the same. You can add a probiotic sprinkle, but no big switches. If they’re eating, we stay the course and monitor hydration and weight while meds clear parasites or protozoa from the intestines.”