Queen Eva has a food allergy - Page 2

Thank you everyone for taking the time to offer your suggestions and support.

I brought in another stool sample and this one has been sent off to a lab for every culture and test applicable. Queen Eva also has an appointment next week to see the vet.

She continues to act "fine", she has not lost weight (she is a petite cat and naturally slender), her appetite is good, her coat is lustrous and shiny and her eyes are bright, and she is lively as ever, though I think she is tiring faster, seems to need little 30 second rests in between her head-long romps, but I'm not sure if she's always done that and I am just looking for something to worry about, or if it is new.

So I have the appointment scheduled, but if she suddenly takes a turn for the worse I can just bring her in.

Will update when I hear back about the lab results.

That's what I was thinking too. And my vet, but then she hasn't examined Queen Eva yet either.

I spoke to vet today. Labs aren't in yet. Because of the constant food rotation (Queen Eva will not eat the same canned food more than one day in a row, if that, so I have to keep changing up) vet has suggested I try feeding her ONLY the dry Evo, which she seems to eat with consistency. I am not happy about that, as I hate having cats on a dry diet. But vet thinks we need to get her on ONE and only one food for a while, to see if that makes a difference.

Ugh. I haven't given her ANY Evo in a couple of days, so it will take a few days to transition her to all dry.

And in the mean time we wait for the lab results to come back. Oh phoooey, forgot to ask about the probiotic.

Thank you everyone, for your support and feedback.

Queen Eva's diarrhea stopped once I took her off the chicken cat foods. But she continued to have too many bowel movements. She was having these HUGE poops three times a day, and eating twice as much food as a cat her size needs. And not only huge, but still too soft. Not diarrhea any more, but....I think the description is "soft serve ice cream" consistency.

Clearly she was not digesting her food properly, since she was pooping it all out, and eating so much to try to make up for it. But what on earth was causing it?

Because she is so finicky I had to keep giving her different canned foods, which she would eat a ton of for one day, then refuse the next.

I had a rotation of three canned foods going, with sometimes a garnish of (ugh) some fancy feast classic fishy flavor to encourage her to finish. She was also getting a small amount of Evo salmon and herring grain free kibble every day.

I brought in yet another stool sample to the vet and this one got sent out to the laboratory for every test and culture there is. In the mean time, my vet advised me to limit her diet to ONE food. I explained the difficulty with that, but she insisted I try this. She wanted me to put Queen Eva on the Evo kibble, since she seemed to eat that so readily. I compromised and stopped all canned foods except the Before Grain Beef, and the Evo grain free kibble.

When Queen Eva, inevitably, started rejecting the single canned food after repeat servings, I garnished it with a few Evo kibble. This seems to be working okay, though now she is starting to reject the kibble sometimes. But I am following vet's orders. Vet said, when Queen Eva rejects a meal, put it away and then offer it to her again at the next meal time, instead of trying something else, or offering it again in a short time. I hate doing that, because Queen Eva is so thin. But since my vet seems to end up being right about everything she tells me 99% of the time, I tried this. And....it's working!

So. Queen Eva has been on the limited diet now for 6 days. Just the Merrick Before Grain beef, and the Evo grain free Herring and Salmon kibble. When she refuses to eat, I pick it up and put it away and offer it again at the next meal time. She usually then will eat! She is down to two bowel movements every 24-36 hours, and they are normal, smallish in size and solid! Once again my vet is right, LOL.

She has gotten a bit thinner though. But I am hoping as she gets trained to eat only these foods she will stop skipping meals and start to fatten up again.

As for the lab results, all negative. No parasite of any kind detected. No bacteria of any kind detected. No toxin of any kind detected.

Now we continue with the limited diet and see what happens. Queen Eva has an appointment scheduled for Friday July 8. I made that appointment last week, envisioning a need for blood work, x rays, ultrasounds.....worst case.....exploratory surgery. Up until this moment I have not put my fears into words, but now that she is doing better, I feel hope that it's not as serious as I feared and these things won't be necessary. I won't cancel that just yet, until I see how things go this week.

When looking at these two pics I can see she has gotten thinner in the past week.

......June 24, 2011........................... July 2, 2011


I just love this one of her face

Queen Eva has had one normal poop every 24 hours or so for the past 48.

She is learning to eat just the two foods (merrick before grain beef, EVO herring and salmon grain free kibble) every day.

I love my vet!

Hi Violet, thank you for your post. I am aware of the problems associated with feeding fishy foods to cats and up until now I have not fed fishy foods to cats for 26 years. However, sometimes (like Mazy with her c/d) we have to make "lesser of the two evils" type decisions.

I needed a grain free kibble for Queen Eva that does not contain chicken or other poultry/fowl, that she will eat. My resources where I live are limited, and after an exhaustive search the only food that fit the bill is the Evo herring and salmon.

The Evo kibble makes up about 1/4 of her daily intake. Currently she is eating 1/4 cup or less of the kibble and 5-6 oz of the Before Grain beef. The more of the canned she eats, the less of the kibble.

I also know about the dangers of a cat not eating. So far, following my vet's advice about this, when she refuses a meal, it appears it is just because she is not hungry, when it is offered at the next meal she eats it with every evidence of enjoyment and cleans her dish. But I will keep in mind your suggestion that the food may be bothering her.

I also know the benefits of feeding a variety of foods, and the reasons for it. I spout that advice to people all over the internet, LOL. But again, we come back to the lesser of two evils. While Queen Eva was eating a wide range of foods she was having all these intestinal issues. Cutting her back to only two foods has, so far stopped the issues.

I would, at some point, like to introduce a wider range of foods to her, but I am not in any hurry at this point. As you say, it can take months for issues to show up, so constantly changing her diet is not going to be beneficial to her.

I am ALWAYS looking for foods to introduce to my cats, to add to their rotation, it is a never ending quest. Your idea about comparing foods ingredient by ingredient is very good, and I will work on that, thank you.

I have saved your post for future reference, in the event that Queen Eva develops more problems.

By the way, Queen Eva has begun to put back on the weight she lost last week as she adjusted to me not following her around begging her to eat. Her padding over her ribs has returned. She'll be seeing the vet on Friday, and I'll get a weight on her then.

Sometimes she is in such a hurry to eat she doesn't even bother standing up

From start


to finish!

Thank you!

Thank you!

She's not kneading, but you know what, Jennie does sometimes knead when she eats. Queen Eva doesn't knead at all, except just recently: a couple of times she has jumped on me when I am reading on the couch when I have this soft "summer" blankie over me, and tried some inexpert type kneading. She's kind of spreads her paws wide and wanders all over, but it's very endearing and I hope she does more of it.

Update to follow.

Queen Eva had her vet visit yesterday. She has lost a whole pound since this problem started. This concerned the vet greatly, especially after I mentioned she had already gained a little back since the diet change. After a thorough check up the only thing found other than the weight loss was a lot of gas in Queen Eva's belly.

So, vet advised blood work, which I agreed to. We've started her on Proviable dc made by NutraMax, an excellent probiotic made specifically for cats and dogs. It comes very highly recommended to me from our own Carolina, and I was glad to find out my vet carries that now instead of Forti Flora. (I am less enamored of Forti Flora than I once was because of certain ingredients)

I rather gagged at the price of the Proviable dc and have found it for a more manageable price at entirelypets.com which is where I get my other NutraMax products too (Mazy's cosequin for cats and .Tolly's denosyl) though I did take some home to get her started. Like the cosequin and denosyl it is a supplement, not a 'drug', so I do not need a prescription for it. I know that entirelypets buys directly from the NutraMax manufacturer so I feel comfortable getting these supplements from them.

We talked at length about diet, in case the current diet does not pan out in the long run, and further testing, in case things get worse. The diet try vet would recommend is the Hills z/d, it is made with the hydrolyzed proteins. which simply means the proteins are already broken down, making them easier for the cat to digest. While I am the first to speak up and say prescription diets have their place, I really really do not want to put her on that food.

Further testing might include an ultrasound or a scope procedure to 1) see what's going on in there without opening her up and 2) take tissue samples for a biopsy.

None of that is stuff we are doing now, just for future reference.

For now, Queen Eva continues on the two foods, the Before Grain Beef canned making up the bulk of her diet and the Evo Herring and Salmon to add extra protein and fat and calories (40% and 18%, 133c for 1/4 cup) and one dose of Proviable dc daily.

She again managed to steal some of Tolly's food Thursday night and had an extra poop, of the "sick" variety because of it, early Friday morning, but nothing but her own food since then, so hopefully she's back on track.

PS Queen Eva has been with me 11 months. She has been to the vet 6 times and I have spent over $1000, just in vet bills, in her first year. I haven't the slightest regret. Rather, when thinking along these lines my thought is to shudder to think what would have happened if she had ended up in the wrong hands.

Thanks for your replies Violet and Carolina!

Queen Eva's stool sample was sent to a lab for a slew of tests to the price of about $300. I forgot to get the papers before I left , so I can't tell you right now exactly what those tests were, but all were negative.

The vet of course went over them with me, but...brain like a sieve you know, and I didn't write it all down since I expected to have the print out. I'll be back there on Tuesday for Tolly's routine check up, so I will have all the papers after that, and will answer those questions then.

The only test that was not done was the Trichomoniasis and that is because the stool sample wasn't fresh enough, but the likelihood of that, my vet feels, is small, as her symptoms don't really add up to Trichomoniasis.

I'm not sure when the weight loss began. She's so slender to begin with. The diarrhea completely stopped after I took her off all foods containing any chicken. There has been no diarrhea since then, except on two instances when she managed to steal some of Tolly's chicken foods. But in an effort to make sure she was eating enough her diet was varying widely, different canned foods almost every day, but none that contain chicken.

This was when she began having those giant stools three times a day. She was eating a very large amount of food, 8 or 9 ounces of canned; of Merrick brands (other than poultry flavors), some California Natural, and I know it's awful but I was garnishing the food with some fancy feast classic fish flavors, in order to get her to eat. I was using only the FF that is on the diabetic approved list, but still, I hated using it, but felt desperate for her to eat enough. Some of these foods contain some grains, and other vegetable matter. In addition she was having a quarter or more cup of grain free dry, first the Natural Balance pea and duck (a disaster) and then the Evo herring and salmon.

Vet instructions were to stop feeding so much variety, and to stop offering a replacement food when she refused the food we wanted her to eat. Vet wanted me to feed ONLY the Evo herring and salmon kibble (grain free food) but I balked at that, and insisted on keeping her on one canned food too, the Before Grain beef.

Almost immediately after stopping all the extra foods, the frequent giant soft stools stopped. For a few days she had two BMs a day, of normal texture color and size, and then that dropped to one normal size shape and texture BM, every 22-23 hours.

Some of the weight loss certainly happened early in this transition, because she did miss a few meals, as I followed vet's instructions. (put the food in front of her at meal times, if she refuses it, pick it up and don't offer anything else until next meal time)

However, she soon began eating when served, without me garnishing, or following her around etc.

Queen Eva is now eating 5.5 oz of Before Grain beef canned food a day (135 calories) and about 1/4 cup of Evo grain free herring and Salmon kibble (130 calories). She eats the serving that is put in front of her (as long as there are no distractions), but does not, ever, ask for more. I feed five times a day on a schedule. They fast for about 9-10 hours, from 11 pm until 8 or 9 a.m.

She is extremely active, so while 265 calories would be way too much for the older cats, the hope is that she will now begin to gain back that lost pound. Queen Eva has always self regulated, so I think when she no longer needs quite so much food, she will cut back on her own. She is having one normal size, shape, color and texture bowel movement a day on this diet.

The proviable dc probiotic has been added because vet did say she seemed very gassy. She suggested, without pushing, the z/d, but I said no, I am not ready to go that route yet.

Queen Eva has a beautiful coat, soft and silky and shiny. Her eyes are bright clear and dry, her teeth white and clean (I brush them), heart and lungs sound, temperature normal, no abnormalities felt when her body is palpated.

Her energy level is normal for a one year old cat.

Blood was taken for superchem and cbc (electrolytes) (also retested for FeLV-negative). Her bladder was empty so a urinalysis was not done.

I'll bring her in next Friday and get a weight on her to see if she's starting to gain again. By then of course we'll have the blood work results in.

I have gone extremely broke, all this on top of what I spent rescuing Blue, which I had not quite recovered from yet, has caused me some hardship, but I won't complain. Even if I'd known this expense was coming, I would have done the same for Blue as I did.

Vet may allow Tolly to skip a bloodwork, he is doing so well and that will help me a little.

Hi!

Queen Eva is doing very well! We put her on a probiotic called ProViable DC, as it appeared she was having a nutrient absorption problem.

I discovered that the chicken cat foods she cannot eat are the ones made in Thailand (Weruva, Soulistic, Petite Cuisine) because they give her diarrhea.

Currently the bulk of her diet is Caster&Pollux Chicken veggie casserole. Every few days she gets a can of Before Grain Beef, instead. She has EVO grain free Herring and Salmon kibble for snacks, but not every day.

She is eating a normal amount again, but as is normal for her, her daily intake varies from day to day. Yesterday she ate 6 oz of canned food and 1/4 cup of the Evo (not all at the same time). The day before that she ate 4.5 oz of canned food only. It varies like that from day to day.

She gets the ProViable every day now and is having once daily bowel movements that are normal in size shape and consistency for her size and appetite.

She's finally put on a little weight, it is lovely to pet her and feel some padding rather than skin and bones and her coat is plush and glossy.

Her energy level is right where it should be for a 15 month old cat, though she did have a quiet spell when Tolly was sick. Queen Eva is Tolly's Nurse, and she worries over him when he is not feeling well.

She will likely be on the ProViable her whole life.

Her next check up is September 20.

I hope your little baby gets better. It's so worrisome when they don't thrive and you can't find an answer.

Ask your vet about the ProViable DC, it's great stuff. It comes in a capsule, and you just mix it right in their food. Queen Eva likes it, if I forget to throw the empty capsule away she steals it and chews on it.

Thank you!

I thought I noticed some weight gain after 8 days on the ProViable, but I didn't bring her in to be weighed until a month had passed, and she had gained half a pound at that point.

Queen Eva was on only the Before Grain Beef canned, and the Evo Herring and Salmon kibble, for about two weeks after starting the ProViable, but then she balked at eating the same food every day.

That was when I cautiously tried the new to her brand of Castor&Pollux chicken. She didn't have any problems with it (still doesn't) She and Tolly both really like it.

So she eats that about three days in a row, then I feed the Before Grain Beef for a day, then back to the Castor&Pollux chicken for three days....and so on.

Vibes for your little Lulu, I hope you can get her on the right track.

Lulu

Yes I do indeed know how you are feeling at this time. It's scary and frustrating, nerve wracking, and expensive. All you want to do is enjoy your kitten, and let her live her life, but there is all this other stuff to deal with.

I have to buy most cat food on line, where I live there is no pet specialty store. There is a feed store and they carry the Evo, but not the other foods I feed.

Thank you Mike, I'm glad too. I love my baby girl so much, she is a really special little cat.

And the way she Nurses Tolly when he is sick is just wonderful to see.

I am not surprised. Tolly was Ootay's Nurse for many years. It stands to reason that Ootay would send us a Nurse for Tolly as he enters his senior years and his health problems multiply.

And Queen Eva also has taken up the slack as Mazy cat's playmate, since while Tolly still loves to play, he does not enjoy Tumbling Games as much as he used to.