I was posting on a thread in the behavior section and mentioned my one cat had IBD and how a raw diet solved that problem. My cat was 5 months old when the symptoms began. @catwoman707 recommended that I post my experience here in case it is useful for others. If this isn't in the correct place, please feel free to move it.
I adopted Isabel when I found her in a feral colony I was managing with TNR (trap-neuter-return). She wasn't a member of the colony but was likely dropped off in the area. The vet thought she was 4 1/2 months old.
I brought her in and slowly introduced her to my then 5 year old cat, Sadie. It wasn't long before I started seeing loose stool. It wasn't diarrhea, but it definitely wasn't good poop. But she was my first kitten and I figured that might be what comes out of a very young cat-especially since I didn't know what she'd been eating before and changing a diet can cause digestive issues.
Over the next several months, that loose stool came and went. My cats were on a kibble diet at the time-for Sadie's urinary crystals. Over the next 2 years, that loose stool become everything from blowout diarrhea on the walls to stool that was a pudding consistency-would come out formed but couldn't hold it's shape when it hit the litter. Foul doesn't begin to cover the smell that was her poop, and it lingered for an hour at least. She also vomited at least once a week, almost always immediately after eating-but I just thought she was eating too fast. It didn't occur to me that was a symptom. Weight loss is often a result of IBD, but Isabel was holding weight and her life didn't seem to be affected by the loose stool.
During those two years, Isabel was on tylon (sp?) powder, metronidazole, Intestinal Plus prescription food, de-wormer, forti-flora, and probably something else I am forgetting. We tried prednisilone for a bit, but I was unhappy with how Isabel acted on it and it didn't make much of a difference, though it did improve the poop some. The vet wondered if she could have Tritrichomonas foetus since she came from a feral colony.
It got better over time, not great, but better, but when she was 4 it took a turn for the worse.
We were in a new city with a new vet. We tried a hyrdrolyzed protien kibble and a novel protein diet. Isabel never missed the litter box, but now her little bottom was sore and the poop sometimes stuck to it. I had to trim her fur regularly to keep her clean. We tried prednisilone and b-12 injections. She had an ultrasound. Nothing worked long term except pred and that made her a fat lump on the floor. Couldn't wean her down to a low dose or the symptoms came back.
I started researching IBD when the vet suggested that as a possible diagnosis. I found lots of good information and anecdotal evidence that a raw diet might be the solution. My vet was not thrilled with the idea, but I gave her the information I found, including a cat hospital's recommendation of a raw diet (So she investigated the vets there and their claims.). After researching it, she said, though she couldn't endorse it, there seemed to be some evidence in it's favor and she would support me in this and that we were a team to make Isabel's life better. In other words, if it all went badly, she wouldn't say "I told you so," but would just help Isabel with anything she contracted.
It took months to fully transition. The first day she ate 100% raw, she had some of the worst diarrhea she had ever had. It was the last time she had diarrhea or loose stool. She stopped vomiting, her poop barely smells. She has lost weight-she needed to-and she has her joy of life back. She is more playful, curious, and her quality of life has never been better.
I adopted Isabel when I found her in a feral colony I was managing with TNR (trap-neuter-return). She wasn't a member of the colony but was likely dropped off in the area. The vet thought she was 4 1/2 months old.
I brought her in and slowly introduced her to my then 5 year old cat, Sadie. It wasn't long before I started seeing loose stool. It wasn't diarrhea, but it definitely wasn't good poop. But she was my first kitten and I figured that might be what comes out of a very young cat-especially since I didn't know what she'd been eating before and changing a diet can cause digestive issues.
Over the next several months, that loose stool came and went. My cats were on a kibble diet at the time-for Sadie's urinary crystals. Over the next 2 years, that loose stool become everything from blowout diarrhea on the walls to stool that was a pudding consistency-would come out formed but couldn't hold it's shape when it hit the litter. Foul doesn't begin to cover the smell that was her poop, and it lingered for an hour at least. She also vomited at least once a week, almost always immediately after eating-but I just thought she was eating too fast. It didn't occur to me that was a symptom. Weight loss is often a result of IBD, but Isabel was holding weight and her life didn't seem to be affected by the loose stool.
During those two years, Isabel was on tylon (sp?) powder, metronidazole, Intestinal Plus prescription food, de-wormer, forti-flora, and probably something else I am forgetting. We tried prednisilone for a bit, but I was unhappy with how Isabel acted on it and it didn't make much of a difference, though it did improve the poop some. The vet wondered if she could have Tritrichomonas foetus since she came from a feral colony.
It got better over time, not great, but better, but when she was 4 it took a turn for the worse.
We were in a new city with a new vet. We tried a hyrdrolyzed protien kibble and a novel protein diet. Isabel never missed the litter box, but now her little bottom was sore and the poop sometimes stuck to it. I had to trim her fur regularly to keep her clean. We tried prednisilone and b-12 injections. She had an ultrasound. Nothing worked long term except pred and that made her a fat lump on the floor. Couldn't wean her down to a low dose or the symptoms came back.
I started researching IBD when the vet suggested that as a possible diagnosis. I found lots of good information and anecdotal evidence that a raw diet might be the solution. My vet was not thrilled with the idea, but I gave her the information I found, including a cat hospital's recommendation of a raw diet (So she investigated the vets there and their claims.). After researching it, she said, though she couldn't endorse it, there seemed to be some evidence in it's favor and she would support me in this and that we were a team to make Isabel's life better. In other words, if it all went badly, she wouldn't say "I told you so," but would just help Isabel with anything she contracted.
It took months to fully transition. The first day she ate 100% raw, she had some of the worst diarrhea she had ever had. It was the last time she had diarrhea or loose stool. She stopped vomiting, her poop barely smells. She has lost weight-she needed to-and she has her joy of life back. She is more playful, curious, and her quality of life has never been better.
I hope Isabel continues to stay happy and healthy. Your vet sounds like a keeper too - willing to do some research and have an honest discussion with you. The team approach attitude speaks volumes in my opinion.
That's great also that you have a vet who seems open minded enough to consider something she initially wasn't comfortable with.
