Natures Variety-IBD

Would this be an ok food for a kitty with a sensitive tummy? Sam fully recovered from a bout of pancreatitis about 3 weeks ago and I have since switched him to an all wet grain free diet. I was a little paranoid about the fruits and veggies in the Instinct (although I was able to pick out the peas and carrots). He does seem to like it and I can tell the higher quality ingredients keep him fuller longer. Also, He has been having loose stools throughout the past couple weeks as I attempt to try him out on several grain free brands, etc... Not liquid poo, just soft steamy (very smelly) piles LOL Is this normal when mixing wet brands? He did have a solid poop this evening, just hope it sticks. One last question- do kitties puke if they get overly hungry? Sam has actually be quite tolerant od the different brands i have tried him out ona and only puked a couple times (after eating), but i do think he's puking little pukes overnight and while waiting for me to get home from work for his second feeding. His appetite is still really goos. Any advice on the NV, the puke or the poop probs would be greatly appreciated! Oh, and I did order him a probiotic, it hasn't arrived yet. Thank you!

A probiotic is good as long as it's a good one. Which one did you order?

I think NVI is pretty good. I don't like the carrots and peas either, but at least they are easy to pick out. if your cat likes it and tolerates it well, that's good. Which ones did you try? For an IBD kitty, I would stick to novel proteins if you can.

Yes, cats can puke from excess stomach acid. If you can feed at least 3 times a day: before work, after work, before bed, that would be better than twice a day.

The loose stinky poops are definitely a sign of something not agreeing with his system. The vomiting and loose poop are both common signs of IBD although the vomiting could be from excess acid too.

It is very good that he recovered from the pancreatitis and has a good appetite. Is he on any drugs?

I ordered him Proviable-DC per some recommendations on this site. Is that an ok one?

So far I have only given him the chicken. A little scared to try the venison as he puked on Natural balance Venison and pea limited ingred. I've read some things about certain foods being too rich, so that's what had me concerned re: the NV. I did buy a can of beef and lamb as well but haven't tried it yet.

I do feed three times a day. Morning, afternoon, and evening. Prior to his pancreatitis, he was eatin free fed dry and half a can a wet a day. I do think he feels better on the all wet, I just feel like I'm starving him (especially overnight). Is this just a routine he needs to get used to? I really don't want to give him any dry food whatsoever.

No meds now that he has recovered. And to be totally honest with you, he hasn't officially been diagnosed with IBD, I have just suspected some minor IBD in the past along with a grain allergy. Vet didn't mention anything about IBD when he saw X-rays, just the positive pancreatitis test. I'm just trying to be proactive to not only prevent a flare up of the pancreatitis again, but to possibly treat any IBD symptoms he might have thru diet. Blood work came back perfect and vet said he's extremely healthy for 11 yrs old. Weight is back to 8 1/2 lbs after losing about a pound when sick. That's another thing I'm watching, as the vet wants him keeping weight on, and I'm worried an all wet diet may do the opposite.

Proviable is a pretty good pet probiotic. Most of us raw feeders use the human probiotic Natural Factors Double Strength Acidophilus/Bifidus which is something to consider for next time.

Good that you're feeding 3 times a day. During the transition to scheduled feeding, you may want to try to add a 4th feeding if you can. I totally struggled with this as well with my cat. She would absolutely vomit from going too long without eating. He will adjust to the schedule, but it mat take a while. I would stay away from any dry.

IBD is very hard to diagnose. I suspect my cat has a mild form as well, but I am not willing to do a biopsy to confirm. Since feeding a good species-appropriate diet is so much better for her anyway, I am feeding her the best diet, regardless of IBD.

Thank you, Vball!

My kitty with IBD and chronic pancreatitis ( and diabetes) did well on the NVI Venison canned.
He might have done fine on another one like duck. I just happened to pick venison for one of the proteins he wasn't used to.

and this is a cat that would have bloody diarrhea and vomit if he ate something that gave him a flare up. even one time was going into shock by the time I got him to the emergency vet, after he had got into some other cats food.

THe Natures Variety Instinct is pretty high calorie so that may help keep weight on , if you can keep the inflammation under control.
I also gave him Vitamin B-12 injections.

He actually did even better when I started feeding the raw NVI venison as about half of his diet. When I fed all raw or mostly raw he tended to get constipated, prob. from the bone. I could have done other things, but I just fed about half canned and half NVI raw frozen and that worked

I have an IBD Main Coon (Senior) who enjoys the NVI canned as well. Something to keep in mind the veggies in this food account for ~5 percent. Very small percentage imo. NV also has a limited ingredient formula (Canned and Dry). I tried the limited ingredient dry but they overate and bad stools.http://www.naturesvariety.com/Instinct/cat/can/allSomething to keep in mind with biopsies. A negative isn't definitive because the disease doesn't necessarily effect the entire gastrointestional tract so a biopsy may grab a "healthy" portion and miss the "unhealthy". I went through a situation where the my cat was given an antibiotic and steroid (lasted 2-4 weeks). Since the vomiting/dirrhea returned at around week 3 we knew it was IBD or worse.B12 shots can help because IBD cats can't absorb B12 through their digestive tract. Shots by definition bypass this issue.Priobiotic you have is fine. May cause very loose stools at first since war is raging on between the good/bad microbes in the cats intestines.