Mazy cat's new record!

Carolina said:

Oh no, not at all.... This is only for a while.... With time her own body will produce enough enzymes on her own to digest the food....
Eating kibbles all her life does that to the kitty. But with time and proper food their system get in tune they get better.....
Bugsy used to have these issues too, and so did Lucky, for that matter. Acid build up was a huge issue for Bugsy. None of them need enzymes anylonger, and are just fine.
Today they only have issues if I am severely late for a meal, while in the beginning Bugsy had problems very often in the morning, no matter what. Enzymes and closer together meals did the trick for him.
Now that his system has adjusted to raw, he is doing great and he has no regurgitation issues, even if the meal is late and without enzymes :nod:

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THANK YOU!!! You have given me hope.

I try to stay positive but I worry about her so much.

otto said:

THANK YOU!!! You have given me hope.

I try to stay positive but I worry about her so much.

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You are one of the most dedicated caring parents out there that I know of,  you have done an amazing job.  Try to stop worrying so much   I only worry when mine stay out past curfew  

Hey, if I am reincarnated as a cat, will you please be my parent?

Last night Mazy regurgitated her last meal of the night, and everything she had had earlier (including chunks of raw chicken breast) came up with it.

I was shocked to see the earlier food (4 hours previous) still in chunks like that. So...the digestive enzymes will help her digest those meals faster?

She doesn't usually regurgitate at night, but yesterday she went 8 hours in the daytime without food, which is not usual. But...she kept the first two small meals down, which was .5 ounces of canned, then 40 minutes later .55 PMR.

It wasn't until 4 hours later, with her final snack (.5 oz) that she brought it all back up. I waited an hour, then gave her a small dose of pepcid and another canned meal which she ate and kept down without trouble.

This morning she ate her first meal (the one I give her right away) with egg yolk lecithin without trouble. A half hour later she would not eat the Rad Cat chicken, even with garnish. Flat out refused. I gave her some canned food and she ate that and kept it down without trouble, but did show signs that her tummy was upset, so I gave her a catnip bud. She ate that and perked right up after that, started running around with Queen Eva.

Because of the holiday I am going to be gone probably 10 hours today. . I will give them all a meal right before I leave, and I will give Mazy cat a pepcid. I hope that will hold the acid down for her.

She has a check up scheduled in 3 weeks, it is her usual six month check up with PureVax rabies vaccine (she gets bloodwork in June). Mazy has not lost any weight, with the exception of the half pound I wanted her to lose, after getting her off the c/d. That weight loss was over a period of 10 months, she reached her goal two weeks ago.I monitor her intake carefully and weigh her weekly.

Side-track question - why is she getting a rabies vaccination? She doesn't go outside unsupervised, and you don't ever board the kitties, no? With her compromised GI system, I'd think she'd qualify for a health exemption if the issue is county law... ????

Yes, the digestive enzymes will help her digest the food faster. :nod:

I hope the pepcid does the trick today!

Rabies is law here, the law is taken very seriously, and enforced, and it (rabies) is prevalent. There are bats....heck there was even one in my house a couple of months ago. While I do believe the PureVax probably protects longer than one year, I won't risk my girls, I have to keep them up to date on the rabies vaccine. I hope to see the Purevax someday approved as a three year vaccine, but with the power the drug companies wield, that's not going to happen any time soon. They get a lot more revenue with a shot only approved as a one year vaccine, after all.

And...Mazy bites. If she bit someone...at the vet, say, and was not current on her vaccine, she'd be subjected to a 6 month quarantine. I already live in fear of Mazy ever having to spend time in a stainless steel cage for a day or two, because of testing. Imagine a quarantine? No, I can't take a chance of that happening to her.

PS Oh yeah, she had her first after-fast meal....and seems to be doing okay. I was only gone about 9 hours, but still that is too long for her. She's here on my lap, purring, (and growling because she wants to rest her chin on my wrist and my wrist is bobbing her head up and down:lol3

Now we're going to play some Games, then I will feed them all.

Oh gotcha.

Glad the pepcid did the trick and she seems good to go with the meal!

Yeah, I've been over and over the rabies vaccine issue with myself, not only with Mazy but with
Tolly and Queen Eva. There's just too much risk, to not keep them current.

An example: Late last summer, (summer before this past one I mean) before I even knew Tolly was sick, I had to go to urgent care to get antibiotics for a "bite" from him. What happened was I was trimming his claws and a siren went off outside, startling him. Tolly was normally very placid when getting his nails trimmed but my hand slipped into his mouth as he struggled from being startled and his fang sunk into my finger. It was a fairly deep puncture, so I had to go. Knowing the drill, I brought Tolly's rabies certificate with me. I had to fill out forms, and field calls from the Department of Health.

Tolly was put on a ten day home quarantine, even though he was a 12 year old indoor cat who had never missed a rabies shot in his life. When the ten days were up the Dept of Health called me back to follow up, and when I wasn't able to call them back right away during business hours they called me every single day, until I was in a position to return the call and report that Tolly was fine, no rabid symptoms. If he hadn't been up to date he would have been subject to a six month quarantine in a cage. He didn't even live six more months, can you imagine, if he'd been in quarantine when his cancer symptoms started?

That's how serious it is taken around here.

Queen Eva with her mal-absorption issues, in a 6 month quarantine, eating some cruddy kibble? Mazy with her fear of stainless steel, not to mention her digestive problems? No, no, I have to keep them up to date. Mazy doesn't have any adverse reactions to the shot, though Queen Eva does. Last year she was sick for a week. This past September she was only down for two days. It's rough, but the alternative is just..not to be thought of.

I've already been through too many incidents where I had to deal with the dept of health and cat bites (Mazy bit me twice in the first six months she came home, real bites as opposed to Tolly's accidental bite, both bites were bad and needed antibiotics)

Well...not sure I meant to go off like that, but I promise you I have thought it all through many times, and it all comes back to...the side effects of the Purevax vaccine are, while not good, the lesser of two evils.

Mazy has had her second meal (I waited a full hour this time) of turkey thigh and liver (with calcium and taurine) and is keeping it down..looking quite happy about it too. I made the chunks smaller this time, I'm wondering if the chicken breast chunks were maybe too big last night. She ate them without trouble but...they were big, and still whole, when she brought them back up four hours later with her bed time meal.

Mazy has been on the digestive enzymes for four days. So far so good. I split the daily dose into three of her meals, adding it to her "pre meal" serving. This gives it time to start working, before she gets the rest of her meal. I'm not seeing any of her feeling urpy signs. Which are, slow to eat, hesitating over her dish, lip licking, a funny huffing she does sometimes, which I think is the acid coming up into her throat, If you've ever had that happen, you might have an idea what I mean. Burping, then running down the stairs regurgitating as she goes. I'm not seeing any of that.

Poops are normal, her activity level is high, her spirits are high. Lots of cuddling with me and purring.

She passed the usual five day regurgitation-free mark yesterday. (her pattern, with the exception of the 15 day stretch and the 8 day stretch, has been every five days)

I'm going to start working on larger servings, or at least servings closer together, the goal being that she finish an entire meal (1.5 oz) within 90 minutes, rather tiny portions every half hour spanning 2 or more hours. I don't mind doing the constant feedings, and my current lifestyle works well with that, but....still, I want to make that change.

Thank you Laurie and Carolina for your encouragement and advice on this. I am feeling really hopeful about the Prozyme now.

Today is (will be) 7 days without regurgitation. This morning I thought she seemed a bit urpy. She burped after her second breakfast serving...and that was all. JUST A BURP.

This may not sound like much, but usually when she burps, her breakfast comes with it. So that is progress. 7 days, while not her record, is the third longest span she has ever gone without regurgitating, so far. 15 days, and 8 days are her other note-worthy time spans. I'm hoping this one goes on forever!

I can't believe I resisted the digestive enzymes for so long. Oh well, no point in looking back.

PS I've been watching her like a hawk this morning...now knowing her signs of acid reflux. She was reluctant to come to her third breakfast serving, which, tied in with her ...look...earlier today and her burp.....I decided to cheat and gave her a pepcid dose before her third meal. She did eat the serving, but slowly and with hesitation, which she always does when she is feeling urpy. However, I engaged her in a little play after the meal,(she was willing) dangling a string for her to rise up on her hind feet to bat at, she burped again, and has kept everything down. Whew.

Mazy got through her urpy day yesterday without regurgitating and today there has been no sign of any discomfort at all. Excellent appetite, no burping, no hesitating over her meals, or reluctance to come for meals.

By the way, late last night she had another very large burp, right after her final meal of the night. Right in my FACE, LOL. We were playing Hide and Peek. I was hiding around the edge of the bathroom doorway, as she crept toward me. Next time I peeked around the corner she was up on the bookcase that puts her almost level with my face, as I peek around. I made a little EEK! so she would know she got me, and then (as is the ritual) leaned in for a head bump kiss. She started to bump her head up for the kiss and instead opened her mouth and let out a huge burp! The look on her face was priceless, and mine probably was too. She licked her lips a couple of times, but nothing followed, she didn't even jump down and start to run away.

And..like I said, there is no sign of any problems today.

An interesting development with the digestive enzymes. Mazy's poop is starting to look almost like the poop of a 100 % raw fed cat! (she is 1/3 raw, 2/3 canned)

The digestive enzymes work by enabling the cat's digestion to extract the most nutrients from her food, right? So Mazy is not pooping out any of the good stuff now, just the unnecessary stuff from the canned portion of her diet. The guar gum and pea flour I guess. :lol3: She's still having more poop than a 100 % raw fed cat would I think, but much of it is just those empty shells, with fur inside.

Yesterday was the tenth day with no regurgitation!

This morning she went almost nine hours between meals because I had a bad night, and as a result overslept. Usually I make sure Mazy doesn't go more than 8 hours between meals. I was a little nervous, because a longer wait often brings on that over production of acid and she regurgitates. But not this time. I was tempted to give her a pepcid dose to forestall the trouble, but decided to see what would happen without it. Not only did she NOT regurgitate, she is showing no signs of any tummy upset at all!



So...her longest span so far was 15 days.

Second longest is now 10 days. I feel so hopeful!

Today would have been 14 days, but Mazy cat ended the streak this morning. I knew something was up, when she hesitated before eating her final breakfast serving. She confirmed it when she did that funny snuffling she does when she eats, when she's having some acid reflux. She ate, jumped down, told me she had to pee (she always tells me) I went down with her, and she peed. So far so good.

Back upstairs I continued to hover. I was just about to reach for the catnip, thinking a nice bud would help, when she started the hyuck hyuck. I caught her before she could run and gently guided her to the kitchen (as opposed to the rug) and let her have at it. There was no foul odor, so that is a good thing. I decided to give her a pepcid dose. Rather than add more stress I decided to try something different, I slipped it into the middle of a PureBites freeze dried chicken treat, after giving her a first piece untainted, and she actually ate it, pepcid and all!

They all go crazy over those PureBites. I wonder why that is, it's just freeze dried chicken breast (cooked first), not another thing in it. But they go bonkers for it. I don't use them very often.

Tonight she has been full of energy and high spirits. After her pre-meal she fished out a Fur Mouse and chased it all over the apartment. then she played Chase Me Chase You with Queen Eva, then she stalked Jennie, to make her swear.

So on we go.....starting the count again.

Well, at least these stretches are regularly getting longer!!! :cross:

Thanks for your support Laurie! You're right, there has been a lot of improvement. Soon it will be one year since I took Mazy cat off the c/d. My goodness remember all the struggle to find even one can food she could tolerate? In those days I was happy if she went three days without regurgitating. Now she's been on partial raw for 3 1/2 months, and the digestive enzymes were started 12 days ago and I need to remember to be patient. The healing is happening, it just takes time.

But..geez, it's difficult not to feel let down and disappointed. I so want her to make it past that 2 week mark. But hey..I used to 'so want' her to make it past that 5 day mark, so yes, you're right there is progress. It helps so much to talk about it, and I can always count on you to give me encouragement and a proper perspective.

Thats great!

:lol3: Just call me "The silver lining."

Gail, it's been 15 days since that last post... any news?

But yeah, wow, you put SO much work into finding food for her! But we're well past baby steps here, now! :rub:

:lol3: Just call me "The silver lining."

Gail, it's been 15 days since that last post... any news?

But yeah, wow, you put SO much work into finding food for her! But we're well past baby steps here, now! :rub:

Her latest stretch is 9 days, broken this morning. I really thought she was going to be okay, yesterday she had a very upry day, burping quite a lot after every meal, but keeping her meals down. I could tell by her manner she was uncomfortable, so first I tried some cat nip but when she continued to look unhappy I gave her a pepcid dose.

Half an hour after the pepcid dose last night she was running around like a kitten, so it was a good call. However, this morning, without warning she brought up her breakfast at the second serving.

It seems, when the upset starts, she just HAS to bring it up, before she can move on. After this morning's hurl she has eaten with great appetite and kept everything down with no trouble, and has run around with Queen Eva without a care in the world.

I think she may always have these episodes. If I can keep them to no more frequent than once every 9 days, I may have to learn to live with that. I am not happy about it, but short of subjecting her to a lot of invasive testing, which I am not going to do at this point, I guess we just have to keep on truckin.

There is no discernible pattern. Her bowel movements are normal, and she is passing plenty of fur in them. She pees three times a day (she still tells me when she has to pee, so I follow her down and watch her do it :heart3 Her weight is stable her activity level is high, she is very social, very cuddly, with a soft coat that can't be beat.

:heart2: Aw, I'm sorry. :rub: BUT ... if she throws up once every week or two, it's a big improvement from where she was. And I do suspect that she'll continue to heal, and these episodes will become less frequent. :cross:

I may have found a pattern. Maybe. First...when she does start an urpy cycle, it usually lasts several days before she goes back to acting perfectly normal like she never puked in her life. This time it lasted 3 days (I hope it's over, anyway)

The first day, she burped a lot, but kept everything down. I gave her a pepcid. the next morning she brought up her breakfast after the second serving, and she did the same thing this morning. Now....if all follows as usual, that will be the end of it for at least 7-9 days.

I keep going over and over and over the cat journal trying to find something, anything, that is different in the day or two before she starts a cycle.

I may have found it. There is a food that she absolutely loves. When I first took her off the c/d, she couldn't keep this one food down at all, that was in the days when she could only eat one single food, and one food only. Once she was transitioned to partial raw she improved so much that I started adding this food back into her rotation. I thought she was doing fine with it, she never throws it up anymore.

BUT...after Dr Pierson released her protein/fat/carb list I discovered that this food is really high in carbs, 22%. So, I cut the feeding of it down to less than once a week. The pattern I've found MAYBE, is that one or two days after she has this high carb food, she starts a regurgitation cycle.

The thing is, it's not every single time. At least, it wasn't, when she was getting it twice a week. Her body maybe was more used to it, when she had it more frequently. But now that she is having it so seldom, maybe, MAYBE, her body can't handle the carbs, her body just can't handle the carbs.

Gosh, I hate to cut another food out of her rotation. Especially a food she loves so much. But I'm going to now, to see if it makes a difference.

Speaking of "regurgitation", I read an article by Dr Becker a week or so ago on this. The way she described the difference between regurgitating and vomiting would make what Mazy is doing vomiting, not regurgitating, even though she does it immediately after eating.

According to Dr Becker's article, regurgitation is when they simply bring it up. No contracting of the abdominal muscles. Now, sometimes Mazy simply brings it right up, but usually, even though it is immediately after she eats it, in fact sometimes she is still eating, her abdominal muscles ARE heaving.

More to add to my list, when Mazy has her six month check up. I had to reschedule it, because I had the flu. I took a shorter appointment, otherwise I would have had to wait until mid January, so I think I'm going to leave her a voice mail on Monday morning with some of the questions I'll be coming in with. I wish she had e mail.