IBD/ food allergy issues. At the end of my rope on this one..

This post comes after the second sleepless night this week.
Its a long story, but probably necessary to get to where I need help. So, my poor Chester did alright on Iams Hairball and Weight Loss formula for five years with occasional diahrrea. Then one day in July he started throwing up, so I took him to the vet. They put him on Hills Prescription Z/D allergy formula. His diahrrea worsened to daily. They added a probiotic. It became less diahrrea, still daily. They tried an antibiotic. Massive diahrrea all day. I got fed up and told the vet I'm putting him on raw. For a week he was the happiest, healthiest cat ever. Then, week two he got constipated, I gave him a little pumpkin. He got constipated again. I gave him more pumpkin. This doesn't work, and results in emergency vet visit at 1am because he's laying on this side straining and crying.
So, I try mixing in some high fiber canned. He gets constipated again, recoverable with pumpkin. I take him off the raw entirely and switch to all canned. Now last night we're back to vomiting and diahrrea. I'm at a bit of a loss. Should I try a different kind of raw? This is when he thrived if not for the constipation. Please help, I don't know what to do anymore.

What was the first type of raw you tried? Some of the commercial ones have a high bone content which can cause constipation. I would recommend a different raw.

Have you tried Miralax? And I agree with vball91, some formulas are higher in bone content for sure! That's part of why I make my own (that and it's cheaper).

I gave him Natures Valley Instinct. So for now, at least to try to settle things, I'm giving him one serving of raw (got Rad Cat since they don't list bones in their ingredients) and one serving of the Iams he originally had in the evening (not crazy about putting him on Iams, but I'm going with the two foods I've had the best luck with.)
Originally I was thinking of doing a homemade diet for Chester, but my vet strongly advised against it because of the potential of improperly balanced nutrition. Any suggestions for a raw that doesn't bind?

The Nature's Variety is one of the higher bone contents at 15%. I think Rad Cat is a good choice. I think it uses a calcium supplement but can't remember what right now. What about trying him on just the Rad Cat?

As for homemade raw, the Raw Feeding Resources sticky at the top of the Raw & Home-Cooked Cat Food forum talks about how to balance home-made raw including different calcium sources like eggshell powder which might be a good option for constipation-prone Chester.

RadCat uses eggshell calcium, so I'd say give it a try!

As far as homemade, there are balanced recipes out there. There's also the option of using premixes that you add to meat or meat and liver.

I've never heard of the premixes, what's that?
As far as just the Rad Cat, honestly paranoia. I'm worried the lack of fiber might result in more 'plumming issues.'

Premixes are complete and balanced mixtures that you add to meat or meat and liver. TC Feline, Better In The Raw, Alnutrin...they're listed in the raw and homecooked resources stickies. Most of those use eggshell for the calcium source.

MsBari said:

I've never heard of the premixes, what's that?
As far as just the Rad Cat, honestly paranoia. I'm worried the lack of fiber might result in more 'plumming issues.'

Click to expand...

And some cats with IBD do need a little bit of fiber in their diet: but as fiber (other than in very small amounts) is not a natural part of a cat's diet, and so many cats with IBD do well on the raw diet without fiber, it's probably best to try the Rad Cat (probably the best commercial raw diet available) without fiber first, and see how things go.

I don't know if you're aware, but calcium is constipating. You'll note that calcium supplements for humans are almost always combined with magnesium: this is because the calcium alone makes many people constipated (if our bodies are properly absorbing the mineral). Calcium and phosphorus, the two most prevalent minerals in our bodies, need to be eaten in a proper ratio.

Nature's Variety does have the proper calciumhosphorus ratio, but it's done with a high bone content, as mentioned by vball91. I transitioned my cats to raw using Nature's Variety, and one of my cats became very constipated. I "thinned out" the bone content of the Nature's Variety with just plain meat meals several times a week, and then from there ended up making homemade. There are a number of "TCS cats" that have become constipated on the NV raw. :nod:

Rad Cat uses a more conservative calcium content, and also as mentioned, it's provided in the form of eggshell rather than fresh bone. (And a number of us use eggshell in our homemade raw rather than fresh bone).

Since your Chester did so well on the raw at first, he obviously needs the unprocessed diet. :rub: I'd try the Rad Cat without fiber first, but keep a close eye on him in the litter box.

As many of us have faced these issues, and a number of people are feeding a raw diet because of IBD in their cats, you may want to consider starting a thread in the Raw & Home-cooked forum: http://www.thecatsite.com/f/65/raw-home-cooked-cat-food

Thanks so much for the tips! Chester's doing a bit better today. I gave him several small meals yesterday using Rad Cat chicken mixed with water to make a broth of sorts. I'm interested in the premixes, where do you get that? As far as having him be all raw, that's what would be ideal. If I add miralax, how much do I add? Do I use it daily?

Well, miralax is an osmotic laxative, not a fiber. It just sucks water of the body into the colon. A typical starting dose for a cat is 1/8 of a teaspoon daily. Many use it long term, but IMO, there are other benefits to using a (mostly) soluble fiber like slippery elm bark powder once a day or several times a week.

This is a discussion of slippery elm bark powder, written by a vet (includes instructions) http://www.littlebigcat.com/health/slippery-elm/ It has anti-inflammatory properties in addition to all of its other benefits. It is very soothing (and healing) to the GI system.

If you want to read up on feline constipation, even though the discussion doesn't include any information or consideration of raw food and the impact of minerals (calcium) in the diet, this is incredibly educational: http://www.felineconstipation.org