and another question -- IBD

4meezers3kids

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Anybody got any pet theories about causes of IBD in cats? My vet thinks it is carbs in dry food ... my last SEVEN cats have had IBD or other GI disease. Not all died from it, but all required medical management as well as dietary, before the end. All but the first had been on premium foods (Iams or Hills) for most of their lives ... some got occasional table scraps, earlier in my experience, later I stopped that altogether. and I am beginning to come up with theories about alien life forms, unidentified viruses ... prion diseases ...

So ... feel free to jump in and comment -- what do you think?
 

sharky

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TOO many grains and dried foods being feed to obligate carnivores

Wet food is better for it and better to prevent some of the issues...\\

I have Ibs and so does my dog ... NEITHER of us is on a HIGH fiber diet as they merely push out and cover up the main cause ...

Pm me if you want the long version
 

emmylou

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These conditions do lead you to wild speculation... because they don't give you a lot of answers, you suspect everything.

My cat has ulcerative colitis, which it now appears (after ruling out most everything else) was triggered by virus that caused an inflammatory reaction in the colon; he had a bad respiratory infection and that's when it started. But ulcerative colitis is apparently uncommon in cats; it's more common in dogs.

As far as foods go, I've gathered that the more wet food an IDB cat eats, the better. My vet specialist said that this is likely because the moisure helps. With dry food, she says you have to be careful not to feed dry food that is very hard or has large pieces... in my cat, these would scratch or irritate the colon. And she also advocated finding a balance in terms of fiber intake, because too much could irritate as much as too little.
 

mschauer

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I've been wondering a lot about all the digestive problems discussed in these forums. It does seem to be way too common a problem. Although it doesn't seem to be a single problem. More like digestive problems in various forms.

Commerically processed foods are high on my list of suspects. Even humans, as hooked on convenience foods as we are, don't eat food as highly processed as what we feed our pets. This despite that their systems should be even less likely to tolerate highly processed foods than ours.

But, my two long lived siamese (RB at 18 and 22 yrs) did do well on low quality (9 Lives) but wet foods. They never had any digestive problems. But that's only two cats...

I think the raw food advocates are right for the most part. I think that is a healtier diet for cats. I just wish it wasn't so hard to get them to accept it. I would have started my 3 on raw when they were kittens if I knew then what I know (or think I know) now.
 
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4meezers3kids

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Yeah, but the cats of my salad days, so to speak (gotta get the fiber reference in there, hah hah) ate Purina CAT CHOW and never so much as a poot out of them! That is what throws me.

I would do the raw thing perhaps, if I had more faith in the sanitary processing of meats ... yyyyech.

And the last seven, I had on primarily WET foods ... with only a little dry added, for crunch satisfaction. So the carbs theory, while it is SO logical and obvious, is not all of it ... I like the hard food/ leaky gut connection.

And while most were siamese outcrosses, free-breds, etc., one was a DLH found out in a field ... so it seems not to be genetic.
 

mschauer

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Originally Posted by 4meezers3kids

And the last seven, I had on primarily WET foods ... with only a little dry added, for crunch satisfaction. So the carbs theory, while it is SO logical and obvious, is not all of it
I don't think it is a wet food/dry food or low carb/high carb thing. I think it is mostly the processing. The high temps used, whether in dry food or wet, destroys enzymes and bacteria, nutrients, etc that are needed to aid digestion. They then try to add back what was destroyed as "supplements" but that is never the same as getting it naturally.

.. I like the hard food/ leaky gut connection.
Yeah, that is interesting. I have never heard it before. Wouldn't the food be pretty soft (broken down by stomach acids) by the time is gets into the colon?

Yeah, but the cats of my salad days, so to speak (gotta get the fiber reference in there, hah hah) ate Purina CAT CHOW and never so much as a poot out of them! That is what throws me.
That's like my siamese on 9 Lives. I wonder how many others out there can say they had long lived, healthy cats that ate nothing but "low quality" foods?

I do think there is something wrong about so many cats having digestive problems these days. And I do think it is more prevalent "these days".
 
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4meezers3kids

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Yeah -- my vet WHOM I LOVE - -she even gave me the name of the adoption agency I used to adopt ALL THREE KIDS!


Anyhow, she said when she began practice, IBD was considered RARE! That's be like in the late 70's. And now, look at it.

Anyone know of any veterinary probiotic formulas? That is one thing I am considering doing ... need one without ANY lactose -- I already know what yogurt does does to some of mine. I tend to be medically/veterinarily conservative but this disease situation is driving me NUTS.
 

mschauer

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Originally Posted by 4meezers3kids

Anyone know of any veterinary probiotic formulas? That is one thing I am considering doing ... need one without ANY lactose -- I already know what yogurt does does to some of mine. I tend to be medically/veterinarily conservative but this disease situation is driving me NUTS.
A probiotic would include *lactase* that is needed to break down lactose. It wouldn't contain lactose. I use Eagle Pack Holistic Solution. It cured my Coco's chronic loose stool.
 
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