Loose stool caused by tapering pred or diet change?

What a tangled web! My 10.5 year old cat Vivian has been taking 5 mg prednisolone to treat large intestine inflammation and related symptoms for about 4 months. It firmed up her stool for the most part, there was still an occasional loose one, and still a trace of blood at the end of the bowel movement. So she started on chlorambucil 1.8 mg per day a couple weeks ago to address remaining symptoms AND because the pred. induced diabetes. Hoping to put the diabetes in remission, I reduced pred by half last week. My goal is to find a balance of enough immune suppressant to keep GI symptoms at bay, but at a low enough dose to reduce blood glucose to the extent she can go off the insulin I now have to give her. The GI was okay for several days but then yesterday she began to have loose stool, gah! I will add that I began offering her a half can or less Fancy Feast food around insulin time because I am having a heck of a time getting her to "eat on command" even though I remove any food source for a couple hours before that so I know she's hungry. She was totally rejecting the canned prescription food and I heard Fancy Feast tastes good to cats, that's why I tried it  out of desperation to get her to eat at an appointed time. She will take some canned food, but in such tiny amounts that I have to be insistent with her and put her in front of it several times to get a sufficient amount in her in the hour before insulin. A giant hassle twice a day. So my question is, could the small amount of Fancy Feast she has eaten twice a day for the past few days be considered a diet change significant enough to give her loose stool? Any experiences with this? Of course the most likely culprit is the reduction in pred, which makes my heart sink because if I have to put her back on full dose pred for her GI issues, she almost surely will not be able to get off the insulin. She has never had food sensitivity issues in past, but she has also not had the multitude of health problems she is now exhibiting.  Seeking input -

thanks you

Laura

The first thing I'd do is stop feeding the fancy feast and see if that firms up her poop again. If you're struggling to get her to eat the prescription food it might be worth trying fortiflora as a topper...just a little, not the full probiotic dose. Another pre insulin option would be to try plainly cooked meat. That might be enticing enough to do the job.

I really hope you're able to get her back on an even keel soon

I recently started giving my cats more wet food. And fancy feast too. They also started getting soft stools. I wondered if the FF was causing it too. I stopped the FF and hope that helps. 

Good idea to cut out the Fancy Feast and see what happens. I only gave her two cans in 2 or 3 days but you never know. This morning I gave her the regular Hills DD she's been eating, or should I say not eating lately and mercifully she ate it, so insulin was delivered and our blood glucose curve is well under way.

Poop so far today is better than yesterday but not as good as it had been - kind of a mixed bag. Guess I'll stick with the DD and chase her around with the bowl until I pull my hair out at insulin time. She takes food much better in the morning than the evening, even though I try to make sure she's hungry. You can't play hardball and switch to an "eat it now or suffer until tonight" approach with a cat with Vivian's issues.

I am so hoping she responds okay to the pred tapering and we can get this blood glucose straightened out for Vivian - insulin and all that goes with it is a real drag...

Great that she's consenting to eat her prescription diet...for now, anyway It really would be worth trying her on plain cooked meat for her evening pre-insulin meal. Plain chicken (for example) may be far more appealing than the Hills, but shouldn't upset her tummy. :cross: that you're able to get her insulin free soon

So I tried a little Fancy Feast mixed with Vivian's regular prescription canned food, I thought a slower transition might be easier on her system, and she'd still be getting the taste of the FF to encourage eating canned food. I did this for a day. Loose stool. Again, there are several factors that could mess up Vivian's GI function on a given day, to me it really looks like Fancy Feast. Took it away and the next day she was ok in the litter box again.

She's been on half her normal dose of prednisolone for two weeks and due to continue the taper now, to every other day. Very nervous about that, I may put it off for a few days because I am also starting a transition to EVO dry food to supplement her canned food that she often refuses and because my other can eats dry food. EVO is very low in carbs - lower than the canned food she currently eats - and I'm trying to move her in that direction so I can get her off the insulin and manage diabetes with diet if possible. Early indications are that she likes it, she took a few morsels for a treat which for finicky Vivian is a pretty big deal. Anyone with IBD/SCL cats have successful experience feeding them EVO without "rocking the boat"? 

Hmm...that's interesting, @Cat Pal. My cat Caesar has mild/moderate IBD and is on 5 mg prednisolone every other day. I recently gave him some Fancy Feast and it gave him horrible diarrhea. He eats primarily the EVO 95% canned now, but I have given him FF in the past with no issues. I wonder if something's up with FF recently?  Caesar does pretty well on the EVO 95% canned (sorry, can't vouch for the dry since their recall). Sebastian is the one with severe IBD/pancreatitis, and EVO would probably make him deathly ill. So...it all depends on the kitty.

I've read in other threads that the fish varieties of fancy feast have caused diarrhoea in a few cats, but the all meat ones don't cause a problem. Don't know if that helps here, but interesting to note.

EVO recall?

Cat Pal said:

 
EVO recall?

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Yes, in 2013 (http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm357630.htm) and then again in 2014 (http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm424607.htm).

It was completely cleared off the shelves in every pet store where I live for [what seemed like] quite a long time.

Wow, I had no idea. Over on the feline diabetic forum EVO comes with high recommendation because it is very low in carbs. Apparently high in calories though. Too high to give 1/2 cup a day to my diabetic intestine disease cat AND my 18 pound fatty on a diet? I need a food that meets both their needs.

Cat Pal said:

 
Wow, I had no idea. Over on the feline diabetic forum EVO comes with high recommendation because it is very low in carbs. Apparently high in calories though. Too high to give 1/2 cup a day to my diabetic intestine disease cat AND my 18 pound fatty on a diet? I need a food that meets both their needs.

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EVO canned is low carb but high in fat. Some cats may not be able to tolerate the high fat content.

Yes I've heard folks say EVO is high in fat, but the canned is lower in fat and the dry is only slightly higher in fat than the  Hills DD I've been feeding my cats - so I guess it's all relative. They handled the DD ok, except it has a a really high carb content. That's why I've got to find an alternative, and am wondering if EVO could fit the bill.