IBD and recent diet change

Lindy1 said:

 
Hello, I have a 16 year old cat that was diagnosed with IBD 2 years ago.  He has done well with being on prednisalone daily, a probiotic and eating either Hills ID or Purina EN prescription wet food.  That is until recently.  Recently he has been sniffing at his food and walking away.  In an effort to get some food in him, I bought small cans of several non prescription but what I thought were good quality grain free cat foods...Halo Spots Stew and  Natural Balance limited ingredient and NB wild pursuit high protein grain free. He gobbled these up like he was starving and I thought I had solved his poor appetite.  However within 1 day, he is now having liquid diarrhea.  I feel so bad for him.  I am trying to learn from this mistake.  To my untrained eye, I thought the ingredients looked OK, but evidently not.  Or did switching his diet "cold turkey" in and of itself cause a reaction?  I would be so thankful if someone could give me some advice.  I feel terrible and want to get him back to the best routine for him.  btw...his name is PeeWee and he is a sweetheart.  Thanks!

Click to expand...

The loose stool is likely just from changing foods rapidly, probably not from the ingredients being poor. I'd suggest mixing in some probiotics with his new wet food to help with the change. I'd be a little concerned about feeding too much Halo though because i know their foods are high in carbs and pretty expensive for what you get. It does sound like he's bored with his food. I think food rotation is really important and a great way to keep cats interested in their foods. 

IBD cats are notoriously sensitive to food changes. Any switches need to be made very gradually to avoid shocking the digestive system. Also, look at the protein sources he's used to. From what I can see, the Hills is pork and chicken based and the Purina is turkey based. Other foods with these proteins are most likely to be be tolerated by him (given that he's doing well on the prescription diets). If I was to eliminate one of these three, it would be the chicken, as this is the most likely to cause a reaction. I say this simply because IBD cats are often recommended novel protein diets, and chicken is the most widely used of the three in cat food generally (and therefore the least 'novel').

The other thing I'd say is that your boy isn't used to grain free, high protein food. A few months ago I switched my 13 year old boy over to a grain free diet. Initially he had a bit of diarrhoea, despite my being careful AND him having no history of digestive issues.

So - don't panic! Go back a set, and take it slow. Don't feel bad - it's such an easy mistake to make...especially when you have a cat who's not eating. It might be worth getting some FortiFlora to use as a topper in the meantime - most cats love this, and it can be enough to get them eating again.

M missmimz - while a food rotation is really good for most cats, its not such a great idea for those with IBD. Their digestive systems are very delicate, and a limited diet (usually a prescription or limited ingredient food - and often only one brand/type) is often an essential tool in keeping them stable and in good health