royal canin rabbit and pea HA dry food

My 16 year old cat was put on this dry food 6 months ago after she did a round of metro antibiotics for a UTI and never seemed to be the same since. Can Metro cause IBD in cats? My cat never stopped having the runs until being on this food for around 3 months. The vet claims it was an allergy to chicken or grains in the Meow Mix (I know...junk food) I was feeding her for 12 YEARS(!!) previously. I don't buy it....she never had diarrhea before the round of antibiotics and it took FOREVER for her poo to become solid again.  

My question is if there is another type of hypoallergenic food that is more affordable. I am currently paying about $60 per 8 pound bag of this stuff and that seems crazy to me.  Is there anything out there that is meat and no grain that could be used?  I can't seem to find it much cheaper than $58 anywhere on the internet or in pet food clubs, etc.  

Any advice appreciated...dry food only...she doesnt care for wet food.

foofurface

Foofurface said:

My 16 year old cat was put on this dry food 6 months ago after she did a round of metro antibiotics for a UTI and never seemed to be the same since. Can Metro cause IBD in cats? My cat never stopped having the runs until being on this food for around 3 months. The vet claims it was an allergy to chicken or grains in the Meow Mix (I know...junk food) I was feeding her for 12 YEARS(!!) previously. I don't buy it....she never had diarrhea before the round of antibiotics and it took FOREVER for her poo to become solid again.  

My question is if there is another type of hypoallergenic food that is more affordable. I am currently paying about $60 per 8 pound bag of this stuff and that seems crazy to me.  Is there anything out there that is meat and no grain that could be used?  I can't seem to find it much cheaper than $58 anywhere on the internet or in pet food clubs, etc.  

Any advice appreciated...dry food only...she doesn't care for wet food.

foofurface

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Hum...... Weird choice of antibiotics... Are you sure she was given Metro for the UTI and not for the diarrhea after the other antibiotic used for the UTI caused the diarrhea?
Metronidazole is often the antibiotic of choice to treat diarrhea, and it is actually quite helpful..... I will guess that no, Metro didn't cause this, and nope, will not cause "IBD"; it is actually quite commonly used for IBD cats for its anti-inflammatory property on the guts.
With that said, your vet can be right - not an allergy, but yes.... cats are not made to eat the amount of grains and fillers that are on Meow Mix. Even though you fed her for so long, with the antibiotics killing her gut flora her system might got out of balance and there you were - all of the sudden there was the reaction. Once that inbalance was set, there could be an overpopulation of bad bacteria, and to fix that can be very hard.... especially the kitty is eating a food that keeps causing inflammation.
I went through something similar - only much worst - My cat went on Clavamox for an UTI, and that gave him 14 months of diarrhea.... only to be resolved when he went on a raw diet.
If you want to keep feeding her single protein/single starch foods, you might want to try Natural Balance they do have a Limited Ingredient diet with different flavors, Chicken and Green Pea, Salmon and Green Pea, Duck and Green Pea, and I believe now they have Turkey and Green Pea.
Of course you can go the other route, dump commercial food altogether and feed her a raw diet - that way you will have full control of what she is eating..... Let alone the fact nothing will be causing inflammation on your baby's system.....
Meanwhile, make sure she is getting a good Probiotic - I like Proviable-DC; I get it on Amazon as it is cheaper; you can use others too.....
Hope this helps you some - good luck!

But definitely, at a minimum, start her on a probiotic ASAP. I use a human one. I just went to the health food store and asked for their best acidophilus probiotic. Proviable-DC is a really good one - but really, any ACIDOPHILUS probiotic will help. Just ensure it has 10 billion active cultures, even if you have to give it in two doses. :nod:

I would read a little bit of info here: http://catinfo.org/#Inflammatory_Bowel_Disease_(IBD)