Possible IBD- raw diet? I need all options out on the table!

Originally Posted by lionessrampant

Hi everyone-

I've had my reservations about raw in the past, but I'm considering it now that I have a guy who most likely has some cobination of IBD/IBS and/or food allergies. We've run a battery of tests on him, and have come up with no apparent cause of his diarrhea.

He's a picky little guy...he seems to only like stinky, fishy wet foods, which is what they feed at the shelter. He'd been there for 6 months and is a 7 year old crumudgeon who is resisting change of diet. He'll eat a little Felidae dry every day, but he pretty much lives for his stinky, disgusting wet food. I think that this food is a big cause of his issues and he's, well, addicted to it.

I've read in several sources that raw diets are good for IBD cats. I'm skeptical of raw because I personally don't want to work around raw meat because a) raw meat GROSSES ME OUT and b) I don't want to expose myself and my home to all of teh grossness and baddies that commercial raw meat has in it. Also, I'm afraid my 2 extremely picky cats won't go for it and I don't trust myself to make it right. I'm thinking that if I take this jump, I will DEFINITELY go with the prepared raw diets...does anyone use those? Which ones are good and how do I transition them? Also, how much does it cost compared to super-premium canned diets? And how much do I need to get to feed 3 cats? How much per cat per day?

Also, who else has an IBD cat? What do you use?

And how can I get this guy off of stinky fishy wet foods?

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Originally Posted by shambelle

I don't feed raw - I feel my IBD/IBS special guy Feline IVD Duck and Pea flavor (he can't eat any other flavor), both dry and canned. That's all he gets - no treats, no other food, ever. He has flare ups (vomiting and diarrhea), but nothing like he used to before getting him on this food.

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Originally Posted by lionessrampant

My guy doesn't have real bad diarrhea...just soft formed stools with the occassional diarrhea. He hasn't vomitted and exhibits no other symptoms and all of the tests for bacteria were negative and his allergy panel didn't show any big allergies (he can't do soy, though). So, they just call it IBS since there's no apparent cause. I did some reading on this and basically, the two suggestions were raw and prescription. I'd like to avoid the prescription foods if it's at all possible, but I appreciate your input and I'm glad that they've worked for you. You said you use IVD? What company makes that? I only know Hill's.

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Originally Posted by Apric0t

I feed Wysong Archetype, which is dehydrated raw meat chunks. Maybe that would not gross you out so much??? I really like it and so does Abby! IMO, a raw diet is the best thing for cats/dogs.

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Originally Posted by shambelle

Yep, IVD is made by Royal Canin.
I appreciated that my vet recommended it instead of Science Diet. The minimum ingredient diet agrees well with Teddy. He oscillates between having normal and soft stool, with problems in between - we have tried other foods on occasion and we keep having to return to the IVD. As you're checking out foods, you could probably ask your vet for a sample. Teddy has had problems with canned food before and the vet gave us a few cans to try at no charge. He also took back leftover food when we tried another flavor (rabbit, which Teddy loved, but his stomach didn't!)

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Originally Posted by lionessrampant

And wet food is the problem. He has completely normal stool with just the Felidae dry, but when you add wet into the mix...ick. He's really picky about his wet, too- he can tell when you've added even a little dot of another food to his nasty Friskies or whatever the shelter had him on. So I'm not sure if a veterinary diet would even work at all.

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Originally Posted by sharky

what supplement do you use with just meat??

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Originally Posted by Apric0t

Oh it's not just raw meat. Here, let me post the ingredients:

Beef, Chicken, Beef Liver, Chicken Liver, Ground Bone, Condensed Whey Product, Fish Oil (Preserved With Mixed Tocopherols), Organic Mung Bean Sprouts, Organic Quinoa Sprouts, Organic Millet Sprouts, Organic Blueberries, Organic Apples, Plums, Barley Grass, Wheat Grass, Dried Kelp, Dried Seaweed Meal, Artichoke, Dried Enterococcus faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Bacillus subtilis Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus plantarum Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus lactis Fermentation Product, Dried Yeast Culture, Dried Aspergillus oryzae Fermentation Product, Dried Aspergillus niger Fermentation Product), Rosemary Extract, Sage Extract, Choline Chloride, Ascorbic Acid, Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Calcium Pantothenate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Copper Proteinate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin A Acetate, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement.

Protein 50%, Fat 28%, Fiber 2.8%, Moisture 3.0%

Wysong does have supplements available, but I really don't see the need for them. Plus, Abby does get canned food (Rabbit or Duck or Venison Au Jus) every day along with the Archetype.

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