Natural Balance FIV and IBD

Hi all. My cat Snorkel is a stray. Got him in August. Took him in , wormed etc and had rabies found he had FIV so no other vaccines.

Well, for 8 months he had dirreah on and off of stinky nature. I tried diets (switching to Blue Buffalo Wilderness) etc. He did better it got less stinky but still bad and runny - pudding poos I call them.

Now, I take him to vet, suspecting IBD but the vet is only slowly going through the testing and I am sure he thinks the cat has a) IBD or b) cancer.

My question: I've heard that IBD cats can respond well to novel protein and am considering the natural balance venison or duck with peas. Has any one had luck with this?? For cats that have developed IBD worsening over time, and that may also have other issue eg FIV??

Or do you find you have to also treat with cortico steroids? I have hopes of diet cure alone, but I may be barking up a tree. Help anyone???


Suggestion? Stories of experiences with NB? It seems the closests to a raw diet which is where I will eventually go. I believe Feline Future and Natural Instincts can help me create a diet that is raw that I can serve all my cats... just trying to understand if the vension and duck with pea will help me settle the cat, so I can "test" what protiens he has issues with.

Thanks so much all. I am a newbie to this...

I didn't know cats could have IBD.

I don't know anything about cats with IBD, but I do know enough to get by about people with IBD. I have Crohns disease and IBD, and my father just coincidentally as a physician is a gastroenterologist who specializes in IBD, Crohns, and UC.

Corticosteroids at least in people are considered a temporary solution. Over time, they can cause bone density loss, weight gain, and a wide range of other really bad things such as Cushings syndrome.

Currently, IBD is treated with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory type drugs, antibiotics, and immuno-suppressants. Ironically though, certain NSAIDs can cause IBD symptoms to worsen, like Aleve and Ibuprofen.

I have NO idea what the current treatment is for cats with IBD.

What I do know however is that my father recommends to his IBD patients that they NOT eat raw foods like sushi or whatnot. So, perhaps the raw food diet for your cat might not be a good idea if he/she has IBD. The thinking behind this is that some research theorizes that IBD is caused by a lack of the immune system's exposure to certain organisms such as certain bacteria or parasites. Then, after not having these things to attack early on the immune system is somewhat uneducated. At some point, something comes along that the immune system doesn't know how to deal with due to it's previous lack of exposure to at an earlier age, and not knowing what to do, the immune system responds like a drunken, enraged, blind individual just attacking anything, including itself.

So, to lessen the severity and frequency of flares, NOT exposing your cat to parasites and bacteria is probably a good idea, and therefore a raw diet might be a really bad thing.

Also, there has been research linking IBD flares and severity to food-bourne parasites and resulting bouts of gastroenteritis.

I have no clue if any of this research applies to your cat. I'm just throwing it out there.

What I eat, to reduce my symptoms, is fully cooked food that is not too oily or greasy, and stuff that is easy to digest. So, high quality fully cooked canned food that has the consistency of baby food, and is not left out too long might be your best bet.

wow. I just read that your cat also has FIV. That's really weird.

In humans, there are very very few people with HIV and IBD because the two are kind of polar opposites in terms of how the immune system works. The treatments for each are contraindicated.

If your cat has IBD, it probably means the FIV isn't affecting him/her too much (yet). Theoretically, your cat's IBD should go into full remission once the FIV causes any type of real immune-deficiency.

Actually, cats are nothing like humans... They can and do get FIV, but it often does not progress to any disease as with the human HIV. Not really the same effect at all. Seems to be alot more mediating factors as to severity of the disease etc. Most cats, BTW will have kidney failure if they live long enough. Or heart disease. Or cancer. Just a fact of aging.

There's lots of sound research out there, and I've read it all re: FIV and IBD. What I really want to know is:

How does Natural Balance comapre to a Raw Food diet? How close is it? I've heard great testimonials about cats with IBD and food allergies recovering on Natural Balance, but want to hear more,

about cats with IBD or food allergies eating it and getting better, just as many, many cats on Raw food recover splendidly from allergies and all sorts of problems caused by food additives, dyes, preservatives, animal digest sprays, and other crap that gets put into dry and wet commercial products.

Since I will probably try some canned stuff PRIOR to switching to Feline Future and Natural Instincts to "create" my own raw diet for my kitties.

That's why I posted to the Raw Food section. Feed back from raw diet folks who use those 2 products would be good.

Unfortunately my post was moved, as I also included the medical info. Not what I really wanted to happen - moderators misunderstood, LOL!!

Didn't communicate correctly I suppose - too late and a fried brain, LOL.

comparing a cooked ( ie pressure) canned to raw is like comparing apples and oranges...

I know a bit about IBD /IBS in humans and animals ... so far best diet is kinda bland.. ie right now IBS dog eats chicken and veggies with whole food supplements , slippery elm and apple pectin( as needed) ... I cook her chicken fully when she does beef it is rare to med rare as with her this give the most consistent stools ... the dog did get raw last spring she is a seasonal eater

I know nothing of FIV except how it is spread ... I have heard it compared more to a human flu than HIV ... ARE there special needs like higher protein or lower fat??

easy to digest protein

egg = 100% digestibility( neutral in the world of oriental medicine

chicken = 91% ( warming

beef= 89% ( neutral

lamb= 85% ( HOT

No... I wasn't saying it was weird for your cat to have FIV... I meant - to have both FIV and IBD seems to me just to be an odd combo.

I guess FIV must really be different in how it works and progresses from HIV as you say.

Originally Posted by LawGuy

No... I wasn't saying it was weird for your cat to have FIV... I meant - to have both FIV and IBD seems to me just to be an odd combo.

I guess FIV must really be different in how it works and progresses from HIV as you say.

Click to expand...

http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/brochures/fiv.html

basic info for you ... lol.. this is all I know

Originally Posted by opilot

Now, I take him to vet, suspecting IBD but the vet is only slowly going through the testing and I am sure he thinks the cat has a) IBD or b) cancer.

My question: I've heard that IBD cats can respond well to novel protein and am considering the natural balance venison or duck with peas. Has any one had luck with this?? For cats that have developed IBD worsening over time, and that may also have other issue eg FIV??

Or do you find you have to also treat with cortico steroids? I have hopes of diet cure alone, but I may be barking up a tree. Help anyone???


Suggestion? Stories of experiences with NB? It seems the closests to a raw diet which is where I will eventually go. I believe Feline Future and Natural Instincts can help me create a diet that is raw that I can serve all my cats... just trying to understand if the vension and duck with pea will help me settle the cat, so I can "test" what protiens he has issues with.

Thanks so much all. I am a newbie to this...

Click to expand...

I have had quite a bit of experience with IBD/Cancer in cats. My Woody had it so I've done alot of research on the subject and have direct experience with it and I hate to be the bearer of bad news but IBD is incurable. It can quite successfully be managed but cured? No. Woody was a raw fed cat for over a year before developing IBD/Cancer. The vet had me take him off the raw food and we comprised on Natural Balance Venison & Green Pea as a novel protein source. I believed as you do, I thought I could find a good raw compromise but unfortunately Woody passed on before I found that compromise.

The Natural Balance Venison did a wonderful job (with and after the initial steriod treatment) of firming up his stools. Along with it the vet had me add a SCANT 1/8th of a tsp of canned pumpkin daily to his food for a fermentable fiber and we added probiotics to his food. Between these things the vomiting and diarrehea stopped...until I tried to feed him raw food again. Be cautious here...some IBD cats do quite well with raw, others cannot tolerate it. My Woody fell into the latter catagory even though his main diet was raw before he got sick.

Here's a link to a wonderful and supportive group with better brains than I on this subject. They were quite helpful to me when I was going through Woody's illness. I highly suggest you join: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/FelineIBD/

Good Luck!

Originally Posted by sharky

comparing a cooked ( ie pressure) canned to raw is like comparing apples and oranges...

I know a bit about IBD /IBS in humans and animals ... so far best diet is kinda bland.. ie right now IBS dog eats chicken and veggies with whole food supplements , slippery elm and apple pectin( as needed) ... I cook her chicken fully when she does beef it is rare to med rare as with her this give the most consistent stools

... the dog did get raw last spring she is a seasonal eater

I know nothing of FIV except how it is spread ... I have heard it compared more to a human flu than HIV ... ARE there special needs like higher protein or lower fat??

easy to digest protein

egg = 100% digestibility( neutral in the world of oriental medicine

chicken = 91% ( warming

beef= 89% ( neutral

lamb= 85% ( HOT

Click to expand...

Question Sharky, what does warming, neutral and hot mean next to the protiens?

I'm no vet but I've never had a probiotic not work on firming up a cats stools. I don't know if one brand works better than another but they have worked every single time for my cats.

Originally Posted by BBDOLL22

Question Sharky, what does warming, neutral and hot mean next to the protiens?

Click to expand...

those are the heat index of it for oriental medicine purposes