Help Bengal with colitis not eating Pet ID prescription diet

jasmine mcmurdo

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Can anybody help me I am at my wits end. I have a rescue Bengal, two months ago she was diagnosed with colitis. She is supposed to take a steroid every other day which I crush up and put with her food. She is on Pet ID prescription diet. All was going well until the vet said reduce her steroids to half a tablet every other day, gradually her appetite decreased for pet ID. About a week ago she stopped eating it altogether. I rang the vets they said up the dose of steriods to one tablet every other day, because she wasn't eating we had to put it down her throat, it was so stressful for her so I went back to crushing the tablet up in her food. She has refused to eat the food. I have bought cooked chicken ... She won't eat that, I have opened up a can of tuna, she won't eat that, I bought Purina dried cat food, she won't eat that, my other rescue bengal eats wet food, the sick bengal sniffs it but walks away. We think she is currently being fed elsewhere because she spends all day outside and only returns home in the evening., I am at my wits end. They both have metal feeding bowls is this a problem should I try using ceramic bowls for the sick cat? I am going round and round in circles, it is affecting my own wellbeing, it is hard not to think about this problem all the time. She appears healthy stil, not much weight loss hence why I am certain somebody is feeding her but I don't know who. Does anybody know what I could try feeding her on, I just want to see her eat at home again.
 

detmut

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my cat had something similar, an acute problem not chronic. she was cured with medication but didn't eat for 5 days. the vet gave me prescription ROYAL CANIN Feline Gastrointestinal HE. she ate that for a while but i could only get it at the vet. i finally switched to otc Royal Canin Special 33. you can get all on Amazon now.



 

denice

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Is there any way you can keep her at home to get a handle on whether or not she is eating.  I have an IBD kitty whose symptoms when he had flares included anorexia.  I let one of his flares go too long and he ended up with fatty liver.  I really think the first thing that you need to do is find out if she is eating.  Sniffing at food, even acting excited when your getting the food ready and then walking away from it is pretty classic behavior for a cat that is nauseated.

I know that generally speaking Bengals tend to do better with simpler foods, foods that are as close to just meat, liver and supplements as you can get.
 
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jasmine mcmurdo

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Thanks for replying. Do you have any uggestions about what food would help her and where I might purchase it from, I live in the UK
 

StefanZ

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1.  If you continue with letting her out, you can try with having a breakable collar on her, and on it, a message capsule.   Where you ask the feeder to phone you, and - not to feed her, because she is going on a especial diet and also must take medicines in her food.    Hopefully the feeder finds the capsule, and reads the content.

2.   I dont know much about brands common sold in GB.   [oops, edit]

My  tip would be goat milk, fresh or bottled.  Or even dried.   Goat milk is known as very mild, so it can hardly harm, may be very beneficial.

I suppose plain unsweetened full fat youghurt should work too.   Added acidophilus or bifidus bacteria no disadvantage.

 A brand they probably have in GB is James Wellbeloved.   I know many cats like this, and its often used for sensitive stomachs, and for cats with allergic problems.  So although its no vet prescription diet, its almost used this way.    Contains much rice, but apparently  made so its easy to digest.

As  Denice mentioned, her behavior may be partly problems with nausea.  Mention this to the vet, there are medicines against nausea too...

Does she often  licks her lips sort off?  its one of the symptoms of nausea...  I have difficult to describe it exactly, as its years I saw it last, but  If you look closely at the cat in this situation, you can see the behavior in these moments isnt the usual behavior...

Good luck!
 
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jcat

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Thanks for replying. Do you have any suggestions about what food would help her and where I might purchase it from, I live in the UK
Are you familiar with zooplus? You'd need to run it by your vet, but you might be able to feed her a grain-free, single-protein canned food like Thrive Complete , Catz veal, or Lily's Kitchen Chicken Parfait. This online dealer has MAC'S Sensitive Lamb with Carrots and Turkey with Carrots, which might also be suitable.

Our IBD cat can only eat grain-free, mono-protein food, and he does well on the Catz veal and both sorts of MAC's Sensitive (in addition to a German prescription food not sold in the UK).
 

conikat

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My sister has a Bengal with the same problem. She put the pill in a small piece of banana and he pretty much swallows it whole! Might be worth a.try?
 
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jasmine mcmurdo

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just an update to all that replied. My cat began staying away from home, she was right off her food, she would sniff at it and then ask to go outside. Anyway I haven't seen her since Thursday and I think somebody else was feeding her!

Thanks for your replies, now for the detective work, posters, animal rescue centres.
 
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