What (commercial/prescription) foods have worked/have you tried for your IBD cats?

goholistic

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People swear that a raw diet helps tremendously with chronic gastrointestinal disorders in cats, whether it be irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), pancreatitis, triaditis, etc. After hearing their stories and journeys transitioning to raw, I believe it! However, there are still a lot of us not ready to take that step, or who are still carefully researching and working our way towards a raw diet very slowly.

What commercial/prescription diets have helped your cat with an intestinal disorder?

All three of my senior boys suffer in some way - Boo has chronic constipation, Caesar has IBS, IBD, or intestinal lymphoma (not confirmed), and Sebastian recently had idiopathic pancreatitis and still shows signs of gastric distress. They currently eat both dry and wet food, and I am working towards transitioning them off the dry, but it is difficult when Caesar and Sebastian have occasional anorexia and I need them to eat whatever they'll eat.

Sebastian was eating the Nature's Variety Limited Ingredient Duck dry food, but he stopped eating it for some reason, even before he got sick. Why do cats do that? I ended up buying the Merrick Purrfect Bistro Adult Chicken dry food because he likes it, but I was told by a vet recently that he should really be on a novel protein diet, like rabbit. So, now I'm thinking of slowly transitioning him over to the NV Limited Ingredient Rabbit dry food as a start, but I don't like that the protein is so low. Why is it so low? Boo and Caesar are eating the NV Limited Ingredient Turkey, and they are doing okay on that.

My cats eat a variety of brands/flavors of wet food, but most of the ones they like have rice or brown rice in them. If I eliminate those, I'm left with very few. I keep trying different brands of novel proteins, but they are finicky. I'm ripping my hair out trying to find foods that meet all the criteria: 1) high protein, 2) low carb, 3) grain free, 4) fish free, 5) novel protein (how important is this really?), and 6) something they'll actually eat.

I came across some really interesting options in pet food, and I also want to know if anyone has tried these.

Great Life Cat Food
www.doctorsfinest.com/category_s/55.htm
Their Grain & Potato Free Chicken dry food is kind of interesting, but it's not a novel protein. They also have a few canned cat foods. Apparently their ingredients are both sourced from, and manufactured in, the U.S.

Rayne Clinical Nutrition (by prescription only)
www.raynenutrition.com
They have a Rabbit & Sweet Potato dry food and a variety of novel protein canned foods, such as Rabbit & Squash and Kangaroo & Squash.

Onesta Organics (treats only)
www.onestaorganics.com/cat_food.php
They have certified organic cat treats made from chicken/turkey hearts, gizzards, or liver.

I look forward to hearing from everyone! I'm really struggling here!
 

denice

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I don't know why cats stop eating a food.  Mine don't do it with kibble but they are both hopeless kibble addicts.  I don't know how many times I have thought I had found a wet food that they would eat a little of daily and they would just decide they didn't like it after all.  As you know I have given up the diet thing other than still trying to get them to eat at least some wet food and I took the steroid route.  I really hope you do find something that works.
 

franksmom

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Yes my cats are interested in any kibble even dog kibble and would never get sick of it if I fed them kibble.

My cat Frank has either IBS or IBD-I did not do the biopsy but he had chronic vomiting and hairballs. I transitioned him to wet and right now he really only likes the nature's variety line. I started my transition to wet with the pride line because it is sliced or minced meat in gravy but he will now eat the regular can too. He only eats lamb and duck as I will not feed the rabbit because it is sourced from china. He also gets tiki cat but he is not as interested in it as he used to be and I give him the chicken and egg or the chicken and wild salmon. He also gets weruva sometimes but again he seems happiest with just eating the nature's variety. With every meal I also add vitality science supplements (http://www.vitalityscience.com/v/AllProducts/Cat-Diarrhea-Vomiting/feline-Diarrhea-Vomiting.asp). I also crush up freeze dried chicken on top of his food to get him started. If I feel he or, my kitten Ava who eats pretty much the same diet, have not consumed enough calories I give them some nature's variety LI turkey, they also sometimes get it as a topper on their wet. Ava also gets some raw but Frank does not seem to be able to digest raw as he has yet to keep down freeze dried raw and will not touch regular raw food. 

He has been doing very well but if his diet changes at all he gets sick. Last week he vomited because my gave him temptations treats and he was not getting his vitality science. Yesterday he vomited because I gave him primal freeze dried raw beef and salmon. His vomiting is not as big a deal as it used to be because he does not stop eating. Every time he vomits I give him a syringe of the vitality science supplements and I am guessing they settle his stomach because he eats right after and keeps it down. I also will be keeping him shaved and I need to redo him because his last vomit had a hairball in it. 
 

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GoHolistic said:
5) novel protein (how important is this really?)
That's difficult to say, because it would depend on whether intolerance of certain food antigens is a contributing factor, which is probably true in about half of all cases. The thinking is that the pet can't be allergic to anything it's never been exposed to, hence the use of a "novel" protein.

http://www.dcavm.org/05dec.html
Food sensitivity reactions were suspected or documented in 49% of cats presented because of gastroenterologic problems (with or without concurrent dermatologic problems) in a prospective study of adverse food reactions in cats. Beef, wheat, and corn gluten were the primary ingredients responsible for food sensitivity reactions in that study, and most of the cats responded to the feeding of a chicken- or venison-based selected-protein diet for a minimum of 4 weeks. The authors concluded that adverse reactions to dietary staples are common in cats with chronic gastrointestinal problems and that they can be successfully managed by feeding selected-protein diets. Further support for this concept comes from studies in which gastroenterologic or dermatologic clinical signs were significantly improved by the feeding of novel proteins.
GoHolistic said:
Sebastian was eating the Nature's Variety Limited Ingredient Duck dry food, but he stopped eating it for some reason, even before he got sick. Why do cats do that?
I suspect that some cats stop eating a certain food simply because they get tired of it, just like a lot of humans do. Our last cat made a real habit of it, so I had somewhat complicated weekly and quarterly food rotation plans. Usually he'd start eating a certain food again after it had been out of the weekly rotation for about three months.
 
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denice

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I think I may try a cooked diet.  With his long term steroid use I don't want to try the raw.  I need to look at it further to make sure I get the supplements right.  I know that commercial pet food producers add the taurine after cooking so it isn't broken down and also getting the calcium right.

I really think I will stick with some kind of poultry and rice combination because of the things I have tried that has worked the best.  I know I will stay away from beef, that really does not work for him.  I know that human babies with a lot of digestive and allergy problems do well on lamb I may try that.
 

Willowy

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If you aren't ready for raw, maybe try homecooked? I have one with FLUTD but she won't eat canned food, so I have her on a homecooked diet from this site: http://www.dogcathomeprepareddiet.com/index.htm and she's doing great. I tweaked the diet slightly by adding liver and sardines (about 1 ounce of each per pound)(well, I try for about 10% liver so more like 1.6 oz per pound). If you use a human one-a-day multivitamin (probably best for an IBD cat, since pet vitamins usually have flavorings and other additives), use one per 2 1/2 pounds of food.

(I'll also point out that it's super easy. I don't even like cooking meat but it's still super easy for me)

I don't know how it would work for an IBD cat but at least you'd have full control over the ingredients, as limited as you want, no weird additives or anything. I use all the different proteins in the recipes, and sometime make a batch with ground pork as well :D. I put the chicken through the food processor after cooking, because otherwise it's hard to shred it uniformly enough to mix all the supplements in. I might use the meat grinder before cooking instead of the food processor next time.
 
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goholistic

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Thanks for all your responses!
I forgot to mention that I do understand that all cats are different and what may work for one cat may not work for another. Nonetheless, I like hearing what your cats do well on.
Originally Posted by Franksmom  

He only eats lamb and duck as I will not feed the rabbit because it is sourced from china.
I just recently learned this, even with the dry food, so I am going to reconsider the rabbit. It's a shame the rabbit is sourced from China.
That's difficult to say, because it would depend on whether intolerance of certain food antigens is a contributing factor, which is probably true in about half of all cases. The thinking is that the pet can't be allergic to anything it's never been exposed to, hence the use of a "novel" protein.
 
Thanks for the link! Unfortunately, there are not many commercial or prescription options in the way of novel proteins for cats. For some cats that have issues with chicken, they also have issues with turkey and duck. For some that have issues with beef, they could have issues with buffalo and venison. I'm thinking we need meerkat.

If you aren't ready for raw, maybe try homecooked? I have one with FLUTD but she won't eat canned food, so I have her on a homecooked diet from this site: http://www.dogcathomeprepareddiet.com/index.htm and she's doing great. I tweaked the diet slightly by adding liver and sardines (about 1 ounce of each per pound)(well, I try for about 10% liver so more like 1.6 oz per pound). If you use a human one-a-day multivitamin (probably best for an IBD cat, since pet vitamins usually have flavorings and other additives), use one per 2 1/2 pounds of food.

(I'll also point out that it's super easy. I don't even like cooking meat but it's still super easy for me)

I don't know how it would work for an IBD cat but at least you'd have full control over the ingredients, as limited as you want, no weird additives or anything. I use all the different proteins in the recipes, and sometime make a batch with ground pork as well
. I put the chicken through the food processor after cooking, because otherwise it's hard to shred it uniformly enough to mix all the supplements in. I might use the meat grinder before cooking instead of the food processor next time.
Thanks Willowy. I did take a look at this already when LDG sent me the link in another thread. At first glance, it seemed like even more work than raw. But I will look at it again. I definitely would like more control.


I was ready to strangle Sebastian last night. He wouldn't eat the Natural Balance Duck & Green Pea wet (which he has eaten before) and he wouldn't eat the Wellness Turkey wet. He ate a little Tiki Cat chicken. I gave in and put his dry food down. 
He likes canned foods with fish in them, but I'm trying not to use them.
 

Willowy

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Well, it is more work than raw (since you don't cook raw :tongue2:), but no more so than cooking your own dinner. And. . .it takes less thinking, I guess? :lol3: Just cook it up and add the supplements when it's cooled a bit, and you're good to go. Raw is probably less work altogether once you get used to it, but I think more cats will accept cooked meat easier than raw meat, so it's less work to transition, usually.
 

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My cat is allergic to chicken and salmon.  There are very few cat food (wet or dry) that don't have some form of chicken in them.  I had him on Nature's Balance Duck and Green Pea (wet and dry) and then like you said one day he just stopped eating it.  So finally I found Purina One Sensitive Systems.  This cat food is sort of marketed for "sensitive skin" issues, but there is no chicken or salmon in it so I tried it and he did good on it.  The protein count and water count on this one are better than some dry foods.  I know there's this debate going now between wet food or dry food or raw food.  I kinda used to stress out about it but I settled on the fact that it won't do any good to give my cat what someone else tells me is "the best" if a. I can't afford it, or b. he won't eat it, or c. both.  I've tried lots of extremely expensive food for Gabriel, but none of them gave him the energy and dealt with his allergies like this one does.  I have to be very careful with what he gets.  If I accidently let a tiny piece of meat fall on the floor when I'm cooking and he eats it he can get bleeding in his stool.  He's just super sensative.  So I just settled on giving him what he will eat and what won't make his allergies flare up.  Purina One now has a wet food component to go with the dry food so the Sensitive Systems has a wet food.  I haven't been able to find them in my area yet, but I'm hoping I will soon so I can try them for Gabe.
 

denice

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I tried the Purina Sensitive Systems a long time ago but that was when he was sick and I was just trying to find something that he would eat.  He would get to the point that he wouldn't even eat the meat baby food which is really sick.  The last thing that he would eat when he was sick was those Meow Mix cups but I don't think they even make those anymore.
 
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goholistic

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Well, it is more work than raw (since you don't cook raw
), but no more so than cooking your own dinner. And. . .it takes less thinking, I guess?
Just cook it up and add the supplements when it's cooled a bit, and you're good to go. Raw is probably less work altogether once you get used to it, but I think more cats will accept cooked meat easier than raw meat, so it's less work to transition, usually.
So let's say I wanted to follow the Turkey Diet recipe for cats from that website. Would I pick up ground turkey from the grocery store? Or request whole ground turkey from the butcher? What's the purpose of the vegetable oil? Where do I get bone meal powder? And what the heck is salt "substitute"? LOL. I do have Nu-Cat multivitamins because I give a half daily dose to Boo, but I know not all cats like the flavor.
 
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goholistic

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My cat is allergic to chicken and salmon.  There are very few cat food (wet or dry) that don't have some form of chicken in them.  I had him on Nature's Balance Duck and Green Pea (wet and dry) and then like you said one day he just stopped eating it.  So finally I found Purina One Sensitive Systems.  This cat food is sort of marketed for "sensitive skin" issues, but there is no chicken or salmon in it so I tried it and he did good on it.  The protein count and water count on this one are better than some dry foods.  I know there's this debate going now between wet food or dry food or raw food.  I kinda used to stress out about it but I settled on the fact that it won't do any good to give my cat what someone else tells me is "the best" if a. I can't afford it, or b. he won't eat it, or c. both.  I've tried lots of extremely expensive food for Gabriel, but none of them gave him the energy and dealt with his allergies like this one does.  I have to be very careful with what he gets.  If I accidently let a tiny piece of meat fall on the floor when I'm cooking and he eats it he can get bleeding in his stool.  He's just super sensative.  So I just settled on giving him what he will eat and what won't make his allergies flare up.  Purina One now has a wet food component to go with the dry food so the Sensitive Systems has a wet food.  I haven't been able to find them in my area yet, but I'm hoping I will soon so I can try them for Gabe.
I'm glad you were able to pinpoint what your cat is allergic to!
 

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Hopefully the other raw feeders will chime in on this, but what about adding Alnutrin With Calcium to cooked meat and liver? That might help those concerned about a balanced recipe.

For those that want to add rice, I guess you would combine it with the meat for a final meat weight?
 

vball91

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I believe the Alnutrin formulas, Wysong Call of the Wild, TCFeline, and BalanceIT supplements can all be used with cooked food. I'm not sure of the calculations, but I think I would leave out any rice in figuring how much of the supplement is needed. At least for the Alnutrin and CoTW, the calculations are done for meat (and liver). I think including rice would throw off the proportions. You can add rice, but I don't think it's necessary or desirable to supplement it.
 

ldg

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Yes, if you're going to use one of the vitamin premix supplements that are usually used for raw food, I would use the amount of premix for the weight of the meat, or meat and organs, before other ingredients (like rice) are added. :nod:

Also, once you find a recipe your cat likes, there's no reason not to make large batches and freeze them in portions, so you don't have to cook every meal! Just take them out and dethaw them like we do when feeding raw food. :nod:

And see whether or not she needs the rice. Some cats with compromised GI systems will do better with it; others will do better without it.

I don't see a link to the IBD kitties website in this thread yet, but there is a great deal of information on this site: http://www.ibdkitties.net
 

peaches08

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Some of these folks need to add rice due to their cat's GI issues, hence I mentioned it. My guess is to slow down motility. I don't know how much rice the cat needs.
 
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Willowy

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So let's say I wanted to follow the Turkey Diet recipe for cats from that website. Would I pick up ground turkey from the grocery store? Or request whole ground turkey from the butcher? What's the purpose of the vegetable oil? Where do I get bone meal powder? And what the heck is salt "substitute"? LOL. I do have Nu-Cat multivitamins because I give a half daily dose to Boo, but I know not all cats like the flavor.
I just use ground turkey, yes. Since it will be cooked, handling/grinding/etc. isn't such a big deal like it would be for raw. The oil is because turkey doesn't have enough fat in it otherwise (notice the beef formula does not require oil, LOL). Salt substitute is made of half potassium chloride, half sodium chloride, for people who need a low-sodium diet. Morton's brand is readily available. If you use Nu-Cat vitamins, use 16 per pound. My kitty doesn't like them plain but doesn't seem to notice them mixed in with the meat (I crush the vitamins to powder). You can buy bone meal online. KAL brand is recommended by the guy who wrote that site: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00014D1LK/?tag=&tag=thecatsite I don't do the recipes with rice, just the meat ones, but some kitties might need the rice to bulk things up.

You could also use COTW or Alnutrin with calcium. If you're going for limiting ingredients, that might not be best though. Could be something in there that triggers his IBD.
 

ldg

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The alnutrin with calcium shouldn't, unless egg yolks are a problem.

http://www.knowwhatyoufeed.com/alnutrin_with_calcium.html
Ingredients: Ingredients: Egg yolk powder, calcium carbonate, taurine, iodized salt, vitamin E, iron amino acid chelate, copper citrate, manganese amino acid chelate, zinc oxide, vitamin D3, folic acid, vitamin B12, vitamin B1.

The Call of the Wild definitely might trigger issues, though it hasn't for a number of raw fed IBD kitties. It's also much more expensive to use: http://www.wysong.net/products/cotw-dog-cat-supplement.php

Ingredients: Chicken, Chicken Liver, Calcium Carbonate, Lecithin, Kelp, Plums, Dried Seaweed Meal, Ground Bone, Calcium Lactate Pentahydrate, Coral Calcium, Barley Grass Powder, Wheat Grass Powder, Taurine, Organic Blueberries, Carrots, Direct-Fed Microorganisms (Bacillus subtilis, Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactococcus lactis, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus lactis, Aspergillus oryzae, Aspergillus niger, Yeast Culture), DL-Methionine, L-Carnitine, L-Arginine, Phytase, Sage Extract, Rosemary Extract, Choline Chloride, Vitamin A, Vitamin D3, Vitamin C, Niacin, Iron, Zinc, Thiamin, Manganese, Pyridoxine, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Copper, Folic Acid, Menadione, Iodine, Selenium, Biotin, Vitamin B12.
 
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goholistic

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Thanks for all the info everybody! If I try a cooked diet, I'll buy ground turkey...assuming not ground turkey breast, but the regular one that has a little more fat. I'll add a premix such as Alnutrin with Calcium calculated to the weight of the [raw] meat/organs. Since Boo has chronic constipation, do you recommend the Alnutrin with Eggshell Calcium? If I add this, do I still need the egg, vegetable oil, bone meal and salt substitute as stated in the original recipe? I'll also assume that the Alnutrin would be added after the meat is cooked to avoid breaking down the nutrients. I suppose I'll need to use some of the juices from the cooked meat to stir in the premix. I did go out and buy the Egg Yolk Lecithin for Sebastian's hairballs. Does this interfere in any way?

Well, as picky as my cats have been lately, it wouldn't surprise me if they don't like a home cooked meal either. 


Out of curiosity, I want to know what you think about the Great Life dry cat food I linked to in my original post. I know most of you don't feed dry food for many good reasons, but just comparatively speaking. Here's the link again: www.doctorsfinest.com/product_p/gfccf.htm. It uses chicken, so obviously this is not a good option for cats with a chicken allergy or intolerance. It doesn't use potatoes or peas as the starch, a great option for cats with allergies to those. It does concern me that the fat content is pretty high compared the amount of protein. And of course, carbs are high, but that is expected with dry.

The "weekend vet" that wants Sebastian to be on an all dry, novel protein diet suggested the Royal Canin Limited Ingredient Green Peas & Rabbit. I told him I refused to go ALL dry. In looking at the ingredients of both the dry and wet of this variety, they don't seem to be too bad, relatively speaking. This is a last resort, though.
 

franksmom

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Has anyone used the TC feline supplement? (http://tcfeline.com). I was going to get the one with freeze dried chicken liver added. I am thinking of trying to add some cooked food to Frank's diet because he is so limited to what I can feed him. I was thinking about roasting or using a slowcooker because he loves gravy? Would I add salt?
 
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