Flame-point Siamese and tummy troubles

Question
Hi! I've recently adopted a "flame point" Siamese kitten
with some troubling tummy issues. He keeps having blood in
his stool. The first time it came about he had terrible diarrhea and I took him to the vet promptly. He was tested
for worms and it came back positive (despite me being told
he was recently dewormed by the pet shop I bought him from)
and the vet gave me medication for the worms as well as an
antibiotic for his supposed stomach bug. All was well within
a few days! It's been at least two weeks since I finished
off his antibiotics and last night he had bloody stool again
(though no diarrhea). I've been told that his breed
typically has lots of stomach issues and that this may be
due to food allergy. (He's eating Blue Buffalo brand Kitten
Longevity formula). Obviously I'll be taking him to the vet
again but do you have any experience with siamese having
these sort of issues and is there a better brand/mix of food
I could be feeding him that's going to be easier on his
tummy?
Thank you!

Answer
Hi Jacquie,

Siamese can be prone to belly issues.  However, I have found many of them outgrow these troubles after kittenhood, like other breeds, and hopefully this is just related to parasites and bugs that most kitties face as youngsters.  

It's important to remember that oral dewormers (for roundworms) must be repeated at least once, or worms will reappear over and over again.  If your veterinarian gave your kitten an oral dewormer, he will have needed the dose repeated 2-3 weeks after the initial dose.  Some vets will give yet another dose after this.  So if your kitty received an oral dewormer from the vet but you weren't sent home with a follow-up dose, call the vet to check on this.  Topical dewormers, applied between the shoulders, do not need to be repeated, as they provide continuous treatment for one month.

Blue Buffalo is a pretty good food.  However, it does have some grains in it, which can be difficult for cats with a sensitive stomach to digest.  I personally prefer to feed my cats a grain-free diet.  My own cats get Taste of the Wild (www.tasteofthewildpetfood.com), an all life stages grain-free food.  Some other good brands are Felidae Grain-Free, B.G. (Before Grain), Evo and Wellness Core.  No one food is right for every cat, but in general, the more protein and the fewer grains you provide in a cat's food, the closer you are mimicking his natural diet, and the better his body is going to respond to it.  I see far fewer stomach, skin, urinary tract and even ear problems now that I feed my cats a grain-free food.  You may want to think about mixing your Blue Buffalo half and half with a grain-free food to see how he responds (convert slowly so as not to worsen stomach upset).  If you like, you can eventually switch him over completely to a grain-free food.  Siamese are an especially great breed to keep on a grain-free food because their active lifestyle and high metabolism demand the high protein content in these foods.

In some cases, cats are sensitive to proteins in foods, and they need foods that have the proteins already broken down into amino acids.  These are only available in prescription foods such as Hill's z/d.  You should talk to your vet about trying your kitten on this food if no commercial diet seems to help.

Best of luck!

Jessica