Good commercial foods for IBD cats?

Although my kitten is stil being monitored and no firm diagnosis has been made, I think that my vet is leaning toward a diagnosis of Irritable Bowel Disease for him. If that turns out to be the case are there any good store-bought cat foods out there that are easy on his stomach? Doing a raw food diet is NOT an option for me right now, and I believe it would make things worse for him. He has already been on Royal Canin Gastrointestinal and Hill's W/D, neither of which seemed to change anything. The only thing that has ever "cured" him temporarily was treating him with Sulfasalazine. The loose stools came back about 2-3 weeks after stopping the medication. I'm not sure if a dietary change will help or not. I am currently feeding him Blue Buffalo Basics Limited Ingredient Fish and Potato (dry), and I have been told not to switch his food for now. That includes giving him canned. The reports about Blue Buffalo lately are alarming, but the food has worked wonders for my adult cat, who is no longer vomiting after eating. The kitten is back to having loose stools though. I have expressed my concern about Blue Buffalo to my vet, but she wants me to stick with it and swears by this food. You would think she has stock in the company or something! Blue Buffalo has a Sensitive Stomach food, but it has chicken and eggs, and I was told to avoid these foods because of my other cat. She has basically had me avoid any ingredients that could be potential irritants for both cats, including chicken, beef, corn, soy, wheat, eggs, and dairy. She seems to be against turkey and duck for now, too. She thinks that rice is okay though, and apparently fish is NOT bad? I'm so confused! Anyway, back to my original question: has anyone successfully treated their cat's loose stools or IBD with a commercial cat food (not raw)? Should I stick with Blue Buffalo Basics?

How old is the kitten and is she related to your other cat with possible IBD?  The reason I ask is that it is really unusual for a kitten to have IBD.  Has she been checked again for the usual parasites and been checked for the more unusual ones  like Tritrichomonas_foetus‎ or giardia?  Normally you try a novel protein that the cat hasn't eaten before.  Of course I also believe wet food is better.

There is some validity to the  deal with rice.  It does sometimes help with diarhea.

Denice, I was not able to read all of your post. It seems to cut off when you start talking about rice. The adult cat and the kitten are not related. I adopted them 3 1/2 years apart from different places. The kitten is 7 months old. He has had loose stools since I got him at 3 months old and apparently before that in the foster home he was in. He had coccidia parasites when I first got but does not any more. The vet sent a stool sample away to a lab to be tested and there were no more parasites of any kind found. I think that Sulfasalazine is commonly used to treat IBD, and this is the only medicine that has ever worked on him--not metronidazole That is why

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Oops, I meant " not metronidazole or amforal." "That is why the vet believes it could be IBD."

I hit submit on accident.

I would like to read what you were saying about the rice, if you would like to repost.

Sorry, I keep replying to myself! I just saw that you said "the other cat with possible IBD." My adult cat has never been suspected of having IBD-just the kitten. I think the vomiting in the adult cat was solely a dietary issue or food intolerance because she stopped when I switched foods (no more corn or chicken). The kitten has had loose stools on every kind of food.

My cat has probable IBD and he is on a small dose of a steroid to control it.  Prednisolone is normally used but there have been on and off supply problems with it.  He is now on Dexmethasone.  There was no reason for the change other than supply issues with the pred.

There is some validity to your vet suggesting rice for diarrhea, it does sometimes help.  I know my other cat, the one that doesn't have these chronic issues, will get diarrhea with grain free.  I have always fed a food with a little rice in it.

Patches hasn't been given Sulfasalazine.  I know it is sometimes used for IBD.  He has been given metro when he had a flare.  I'm not sure what parasites they checked for but if a sample was sent to a lab then it wasn't just the float test.  I would be concerned about a diet of mainly fish.

With IBD it isn't so much finding food that is easy on the stomach as it is to find food that doesn't trigger a flare.  Have you tried any proteins like lamb or rabbit.  They are unusual proteins that aren't routinely found in cat food.

Here is an excellent website on IBD, run by one of our members.  I've directed you to the "food" section, but it's worth taking a look at the entire site, when you have time.

http://www.ibdkitties.net/Food.html

Thanks for the info on the web site. The food that I am giving him does not have most of the possible irritants that are listed because the vet told me to avoid those. I was alarmed though about possible arsenic in rice. The second ingredient in the food I'm giving him is whole ground brown rice.

Tabbysia said:

Although my kitten is stil being monitored and no firm diagnosis has been made, I think that my vet is leaning toward a diagnosis of Irritable Bowel Disease for him. If that turns out to be the case are there any good store-bought cat foods out there that are easy on his stomach? Doing a raw food diet is NOT an option for me right now, and I believe it would make things worse for him. He has already been on Royal Canin Gastrointestinal and Hill's W/D, neither of which seemed to change anything. The only thing that has ever "cured" him temporarily was treating him with Sulfasalazine. The loose stools came back about 2-3 weeks after stopping the medication. I'm not sure if a dietary change will help or not. I am currently feeding him Blue Buffalo Basics Limited Ingredient Fish and Potato (dry), and I have been told not to switch his food for now. That includes giving him canned. The reports about Blue Buffalo lately are alarming, but the food has worked wonders for my adult cat, who is no longer vomiting after eating. The kitten is back to having loose stools though. I have expressed my concern about Blue Buffalo to my vet, but she wants me to stick with it and swears by this food. You would think she has stock in the company or something! Blue Buffalo has a Sensitive Stomach food, but it has chicken and eggs, and I was told to avoid these foods because of my other cat. She has basically had me avoid any ingredients that could be potential irritants for both cats, including chicken, beef, corn, soy, wheat, eggs, and dairy. She seems to be against turkey and duck for now, too. She thinks that rice is okay though, and apparently fish is NOT bad? I'm so confused! Anyway, back to my original question: has anyone successfully treated their cat's loose stools or IBD with a commercial cat food (not raw)? Should I stick with Blue Buffalo Basics?

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I have an IBD senior cat.  SO surprised by your vet's recommendations. I would STOP feeding your cat DRY food.  It's loaded with carbs and the phosphorous content can lead to urinary blockage.  It's also susceptible to bacterial issues as it often contains ingredients sourced from China. Go to Catinfo.org and bookmark the site, for easy access.  Written by a 'diet centric' veterinarian, it explains what to look for when buying commercial cat foods, and what to avoid.  The research is extensive, but SO helpful.  All so-called 'healthy' brands are listed, with their protein, fats, carb content. Canned wet food is BEST... although homemade is better. FISH should be minimal...only as a treat.  Grain-free on a label doesn't mean the other ingredients in the can are good (read catinfo.org)... meaning peas and starches are often used as fillers.  BLUE BUFFALO falls into that category:  catinfo.org says  "I have stopped using the term "grain-free" since it has become somewhat meaningless.  Many companies (e.g., Blue Buffalo) tout that their products are "grain free" but then they just load up the food with high carbohydrate ingredients like potatoes and peas which are not grains but still contribute a significant carb load (and plant-based protein) to the food.  The "grain-free" descriptive has become very misleading."

EXCELLENT FOR CATS WITH IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease)   http://www.ibdkitties.net/IBDguidelines.html

As outlined in the IBDkitties.net site, a high protein, low carb wet food with limited ingredients and thickeners is best. Though not novel protein, interestingly, many do well with Fancy Feast.

If you do decide to switch foods or add canned, or transition to canned, it is best done very slowly.

I noticed that you are responding to a thread that I started almost two years ago. A lot has changed since then. The kitten that I was referring to at the time did NOT in fact have IBD, and his stools did firm up after switching foods. He is healthy now, almost two years old, and has no problems--except being super hyper.

My other cat, has since been diagnosed with IBD. She has had her ups and downs, but has been doing very well lately for several months on prednisone and canned food. She does still eat a little dry, but she seems to do okay on it.

If you have an IBD cat- read up on it- many have been cured by listening to vets with nutritional backgrounds- many go the steroid routes and all that anti nausea stuff when it is not treating the root of the problem and will end up making your cat sicker.

Fancy feast chicken pate wet food is an inexpensive transitional food that you should try- it is something like 85% meat and no carb crap like the more expensive "vet" food which apparently is all a marketing ploy.

Most vets seem to be brainwashed and know nothing about nutrition so trust them at your will.  Find a good holistic one.

Mine took out the dry and the cat is 89% better on that alone.

It is true that diet plays a very important part in IBD, and prescription diets aren't usually necessary.  As LDG posted just a few posts above, cutting out most carbs, limiting the ingredients and thickeners helps immensely.   That being said, depending on how severe it is, sometimes medications are also necessary. 

I know this is an old thread, but I have a four and a half month old kitten that is having the same problems that your kitty experienced. What brand/type of food finally worked for you?

stacim said:

 
I know this is an old thread, but I have a four and a half month old kitten that is having the same problems that your kitty experienced. What brand/type of food finally worked for you?

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In case you don't get any responses, since as you know this thread is fairly old, maybe there will be something in this thread that will help you out:  http://www.thecatsite.com/t/304161/help-finding-good-foods-for-ibd-cat

stacim , do checkout the link mrsgreenjeens posted.

I typically start Kitties out on Nature's Variety Instinct (NVI) Limited Ingredient Turkey *canned only*. If it is just a good issue, there is typically some improvement after 3-5 days. If that doesn't work, I try NVI Limited Ingredient duck in canned.

What is your kitten's history? How long have you had him? What tests have been done? Has he been checked/treated for Coccidia and Giardia (fecal test sent to outside lab). Has he been dewormed?

Thank you @mrsgreenjeens. I will check it out. 

CatPack said:

@stacim, do checkout the link mrsgreenjeens posted.

I typically start Kitties out on Nature's Variety Instinct (NVI) Limited Ingredient Turkey *canned only*. If it is just a good issue, there is typically some improvement after 3-5 days. If that doesn't work, I try NVI Limited Ingredient duck in canned.

What is your kitten's history? How long have you had him? What tests have been done? Has he been checked/treated for Coccidia and Giardia (fecal test sent to outside lab). Has he been dewormed?

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I have a male blue mink mitted ragdoll ( I know that they are not traditional & some say they are not real ragdolls but I love him no matter what he is). He was born on August 13th, and I got him from a breeder on November 19th.

I noticed the loose stools as soon as I got him home, but the breeder said that she had given him a wormer the day that we picked him up so I attributed it to that. The breeder was feeding him  Blue Buffalo Healthy Growth Kitten Food and I have kept him on that but have also added Friskies Chicken Classic Pate to his diet. I changed the food gradually and I really didn't see a change in his stools when I added in the wet food. They have just always been like diarrhea or pattylike.

He has been checked for FELV/FIV and heartworms. All the tests came back negative. He has also had fecal examinations from the vet twice. There found no worms. The second time I took him to the vet his stools were sent off to the lab and were checked for less common parasites like Coccidia and Giardia, etc. Those results also came back negative.

The vet put him on Probiotics. At first he was given the paste once a day for 3 days and a capsule sprinkled on his food each day. The probiotic seemed to work overnight and his stools firmed right up. However, when we stopped it ( the paste stopped after 3 days and the capsules after 5) the diarrhea came right back. He was put back on the paste for and capsule (paste for three days) and again his stools have firmed up again. The vet said that we should keep him on the probiotic capsule for at about 4 to 5 months and then try to take him off again,. She said that if the diarrhea comes back again, he will most likely have to remain on the probiotic for his entire life. 

I don't have a problem with keeping him on the probiotic but something in me says that it may be that he is just on the wrong food. I just don't want to upset his sensitive system and would like to try our a food that has worked for others with similar problems. 

Thank you for your help. 

Thanks for all the background! Good to hear he is responsive to probiotics.

Do give the Nature's Variety Instinct a try...canned-only, no dry food. The NVI canned has no grains or soy and also does not contain any gums/thickeners (guar gum, carrageenan, etc...) which can aggravate some kitties' GI system. Turkey has been a good place for me to start so far.