8 month old with IBD

[milosmom33]

Hello,
I'm new here and looking for some ideas for my 8 month old who has IBD. He was on the Hills Science Diet for Kittens when we adopted him at 3 months old. He was thriving until he was 6 months old. Then he started wheezing, vomiting and lost his appetite. I noticed his stomach was making so many sounds and seemed like it would twitch. The vet did multiple tests, bloodwork, xray for his lungs and an ultrasound where they thought he swallowed a foreign object. There wasn't a foreign object but a biopsy of his stomach was taken and it revealed he has IBD. We were given a prescription for Royal Canin PR (rabbit) food. He begs for food and seems hungry so I'm glad he has an appetite but he eats much smaller amounts than he used to. He still throws up occasionally (maybe once every 3 days), his stomach still makes a lot of sounds and he wheezes on and off. Can IBD also cause wheezing? The vet referred us to an internal medicine specialist but the appointment won't be for another 4 weeks. I was thinking of switching him to Dr. Elsey's cleanprotein because it has less ingredients. We also adopted his brother so it's obvious to us there are differences in their appetite, energy and comfort levels.

 

[LTS3]

Take a read through these two web sites for IBD treatment:

IBDKitties – Helping Save Lives…One Paw at a Time
Feline IBD

Prescription food isn't needed. It's ok to feed something other than what the vet recommends The Rawz brand of cat food is usually recommended for IBD cats because it has few junk fillers that can irritate tummies. There are other novel protein limited ingredient diets you could try. I personally feed my IBD a commercial raw diet.

Wheezing isn't an IBD symptom. It could be asthma. Gurgly tummies are common with some IBD cats. A probiotic may be helpful.

Did the vet prescribe any medications? Steroids are helpful to calm flare ups.

 

[cataholic07]

Are you feeding wet or dry? Wet food is best for cats with IBD. You want to feed 4-5 meals a day, carrageenan wet only. Feeding smaller meals help the body to digest better. B12 shots can also help your kitty feel better. A LID diet is helpful for some cats with IBD as sometimes it happens due to food allergies. As well heat up the food and feed it on a raised platform.

 

[R@ch]

The only thing that helped my ibd kitty was raw rabbit (Stella & Chewy or VitalCat rabbit) with puréed pumpkin. But it worked 100%. My guy doesn’t do well with veggies, especially peas.

 

[milosmom33]

Take a read through these two web sites for IBD treatment:

IBDKitties – Helping Save Lives…One Paw at a Time
Feline IBD

Prescription food isn't needed. It's ok to feed something other than what the vet recommends The Rawz brand of cat food is usually recommended for IBD cats because it has few junk fillers that can irritate tummies. There are other novel protein limited ingredient diets you could try. I personally feed my IBD a commercial raw diet.

Wheezing isn't an IBD symptom. It could be asthma. Gurgly tummies are common with some IBD cats. A probiotic may be helpful.

Did the vet prescribe any medications? Steroids are helpful to calm flare ups.

He was tested for asthma and doesn't have the markers for it. The vet doesn't feel comfortable giving steroids to an 8 month old cat either. We took him for a second opinion and they seemed just as stumped and referred us to an internal medicine specialist - that appointment is 2 months from now.

I've been trying different foods and brands and no matter what he throws up and sometimes it's worse than others. Blue Buffalo Limited Ingredient Duck has been the best but that's not saying much. He still throws up but it's not as projectile as other times and it's less. He eats about 1-2 tablespoons at a time so I've been giving him smaller feedings more often. I'm pretty frustrated because he seems miserable and our normal vet has basically thrown up her hands.

 

[Astragal14]

My IBD kitty was in the exact same situation but without the wheezing (I wish I could help there, and I agree it's likely unrelated to IBD). We're now at a point where he's doing well from a combination of a careful diet plus specific supplements. He still regurgitates on occasion but his episodes are significantly less frequent (once every 4-6 weeks vs several times per week).

A lengthy diet trial with various prescription foods did not help him, and in some cases made him worse (Royal Canin PR rabbit made him so much worse). It was only after comparing ingredients and tracking his symptoms that I figured out on my own what foods/ingredients were making him sick. And again I agree with LTS3 - prescription foods aren't necessary. My boy's diet is mostly Rawz wet food, with some Dr. Elsey's and a few other wet brands as well.

My boy can't have any of the following ingredients, and these are in a LOT of foods! Some quickly make him sick (like sweet potatoes) and some take a few weeks (like regular potatoes):
Regular potatoes and all potato products (potato protein, etc)
Sweet potatoes
Pea products (no pea protein, pea fiber or pea starch, but regular peas are okay as long as they're English peas and not field peas.... which is info I can only find by contacting the manufacturer)
All gums (guar gum, xanthan gum, etc)

I'm so sorry he's going through this, 8 months is so young for an IBD diagnosis! I definitely recommend comparing ingredients across his different foods. You may find ingredients where he has a low tolerance, and maybe a higher tolerance for others. I'm wondering if he has a higher tolerance for the Blue Buffalo duck but there is still something that is causing issues... it's just not as bad as other ingredients, and this is where comparing ingredients can really help.

 

[MooneyandMontysMom]

The only thing that has worked for my picky IBD boy is the Instinct LID grain free rabbit wet food. Bonus: They haven’t had any food shortages since we’ve been on it which is great. It’s got peas but he doesn’t mind. Unfortunately it took steroids to get us stable. I really resisted and tried finding a food based solution but he just kept developing more and more triggers. Our current no list is: fish, potatoes, grains, carrageenan, and chicken. Fish and potatoes were the initial culprits. Good luck!

 

[Timmer]

My girl is currently on a food trial and eating only the Royal Canin PR rabbit food. It's been three weeks now and I don't think it's helping, on the other hand, our vet said it would be a good 6 weeks to notice a real change. Yes, she was wheezing prior to this and this food did make her stop. She also stopped vomiting, but I noticed her stools were loose sometimes. She is very thin and I'd like her to gain weight. I am too scared to try raw foods.
It's not easy figuring these things out but I agree 8 months is very young for a cat to have IBD.

 

[lisahe]

My girl is currently on a food trial and eating only the Royal Canin PR rabbit food. It's been three weeks now and I don't think it's helping, on the other hand, our vet said it would be a good 6 weeks to notice a real change. Yes, she was wheezing prior to this and this food did make her stop. She also stopped vomiting, but I noticed her stools were loose sometimes. She is very thin and I'd like her to gain weight. I am too scared to try raw foods.
It's not easy figuring these things out but I agree 8 months is very young for a cat to have IBD.

Is this the food you're feeding her? ROYAL CANIN VETERINARY DIET Adult Selected Protein PR Loaf in Sauce Canned Cat Food, 5.1-oz, case of 24 - Chewy.com
It does have peas and carrageenan, two ingredients that I would definitely try to avoid for a cat with digestive issues.