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- May 13, 2013
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Hi everyone,
I feel like I have reached the end of the line with my 11 year old boy.
He was completely healthy until around 6-7 and then his bowel issues started. He was on a mix of various wet foods and then seemingly overnight he started to get explosive diarrhea that smelled hideous and sometimes had fresh blood/mucus.
Over the next few years this was managed through diet and an occasional course of stomorgyl for a bad flare up. He was on RC gastrointestinal wet exclusively for a few years and that worked great until it didn't. Then he was on a particular flavour of wet fancy feast that he seemed to do well on. Again that worked well until it didn't. The vet suspected that his gut flora didn't develop properly as a kitten (he was rescued out of a bin), and/or some kind of IBS/IBD.
Last year he went through I131 treatment for hyperthyroidism. This seems to have resolved at least.
At the moment he has been on RC anallergenic food for 5 months. He responded really well to this too until about a few weeks ago. He was scratching himself silly and ended up with wounds all over his head/arms. This was the first time he's had skin issues. The vet recommended a course of steroids (7.5mg prednisone morning and night) for both his skin and to his gut. He has now been on the meds for 3 weeks. The skin cleared up immediately but it hasn't done much for his gut problems. He had a few good days about a week into the steroids but his diarrhea quickly returned. Stomorgyl used to be an effective bandaid for acute symptoms but it doesn't seem to work anymore either.
He will cry and dig around for ages before he goes no.2. He doesn't go more than normal, its just that its a wet puddle when he does go. I try my best to keep his environment controlled, he's indoor only, same litter/cleaning products for years. Other than the watery poop he is his normal happy cuddly self.
I am considering weaning him either off or onto a lower dose of the steroid, depending on how his skin reacts, and then move him onto a raw diet. This is the only dietary thing we haven't tried but if this doesn't work I'm really out of ideas.
Any thoughts appreciated
I feel like I have reached the end of the line with my 11 year old boy.
He was completely healthy until around 6-7 and then his bowel issues started. He was on a mix of various wet foods and then seemingly overnight he started to get explosive diarrhea that smelled hideous and sometimes had fresh blood/mucus.
Over the next few years this was managed through diet and an occasional course of stomorgyl for a bad flare up. He was on RC gastrointestinal wet exclusively for a few years and that worked great until it didn't. Then he was on a particular flavour of wet fancy feast that he seemed to do well on. Again that worked well until it didn't. The vet suspected that his gut flora didn't develop properly as a kitten (he was rescued out of a bin), and/or some kind of IBS/IBD.
Last year he went through I131 treatment for hyperthyroidism. This seems to have resolved at least.
At the moment he has been on RC anallergenic food for 5 months. He responded really well to this too until about a few weeks ago. He was scratching himself silly and ended up with wounds all over his head/arms. This was the first time he's had skin issues. The vet recommended a course of steroids (7.5mg prednisone morning and night) for both his skin and to his gut. He has now been on the meds for 3 weeks. The skin cleared up immediately but it hasn't done much for his gut problems. He had a few good days about a week into the steroids but his diarrhea quickly returned. Stomorgyl used to be an effective bandaid for acute symptoms but it doesn't seem to work anymore either.
He will cry and dig around for ages before he goes no.2. He doesn't go more than normal, its just that its a wet puddle when he does go. I try my best to keep his environment controlled, he's indoor only, same litter/cleaning products for years. Other than the watery poop he is his normal happy cuddly self.
I am considering weaning him either off or onto a lower dose of the steroid, depending on how his skin reacts, and then move him onto a raw diet. This is the only dietary thing we haven't tried but if this doesn't work I'm really out of ideas.
Any thoughts appreciated
