Cat recently diagnosed with IBD - I have a few questions

[denice]

I think IBD has many different causes, that is why the same thing doesn't work for every kitty.  My kitty was only 18 months old when he had his first flare.  He also didn't start with mild symptoms, he was hospitalized on an IV with his first flare.  I still don't think diet had anything to do with his flares.  There was simply no rhyme or reason to the flares.  He would be fine when I left in the morning and I would come home to the stains on the floor where he had been vomiting bile.  He would go anywhere from a few weeks to a few months between flares.  The only dietary thing I found that he couldn't tolerate was beef.  That was because his reaction was very obvious and very quick.  

 

[lisahe]

@Ty3535, what kinds of food does your cat like? Meaning does he prefer pates or shreddy foods? I'm with @catwoman707, both in suspecting the fish is the culprit and in thinking long-term about what your cat has been eating. (Then again, I'm quick to blame fish and grains after our cat's IBD issues.) If your cat's been eating lots of mixed-protein foods, possibly with grains and carrageenan, it may be tough to find answers without feeding him some really simple foods. It also sounds like he's been a real fish-eater, as our cat was. As others have mentioned, figuring out IBD's triggers can be very hit-or-miss.

What is your cat's name, by the way?

 

[ty3535]

His name is Enzo, and he's a Serengeti =) he's never eaten anything less than IAMS- the problem is he was my husbands cat for the first 5 years of his life and wasn't exactly fed an ideal diet as far as variety is concerned. He only ate dry food until I came along 3 years ago, and since then, it's been only the best. Wellness, blue, avo derm and the like. I always look to make sure protein is the first ingredient, and good protein, no by-products. He prefers shredded and isn't a big fan of pate, so any food suggestions are greatly appreciated! I was thinking of trying blue basics and limited ingredient instinct. Also, when you say fish does that encompass all seafood or perhaps just tuna?

 

[denice]

If I am not mistaken the Serengeti was created by crossing a Bengal with an Oriental.  Bengals are notorious for having issues with highly processed foods, I think it could be the small amount of wildcat in their genes.  I would definitely try very simple foods like Nature's Variety.  I would even consider possibly a home made diet if that is something you would be interested in trying.

Seafood in general has been implicated in both digestive and urinary tract issues.

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

...
Some people do a different protein every day, which doesn't make sense to me because exposure to an irritant protein can have effects days later, and you won't be able to pinpoint which protein is causing a problem if you rotate too often. Switching every few weeks to months makes more sense to me.
...

I agree.

... I was told to feed him one protein (I chose tuna since he prefers it) for 8 weeks to determine if that's the problem. The issue is I have always fed him a variety of proteins, daily. So eliminating the culprit will be tough. Have you had any experience with steroids? This was an option my vet gave me. I think I'll try to see if he'll eat the Royal canin hypoallergenic diet. It's rabbit and I'm not sure how he'll feel about it, but we'll see!

I agree with many posters here, that chicken and fish are likely culprits if they have been in most or all of the "variety of proteins" foods you've been giving him. Trying grain-free "limited ingredient" foods would help you to pinpoint which proteins over several weeks' time that he can tolerate without having an IBD flare-up. You've mentioned trying duck and venison... have you tried just one brand of duck? Maybe another brand of duck might be more appealing than the brand you tried on him so far? Venison is pretty "gamey", some cats don't like it, along with rabbit. But again, maybe it is a brand preference for your cat. Lamb was mentioned as being a more common protein, but you might try a limited ingredient lamb food in any case (like Nature's Variety Lamb) to see if he will eat it. And turkey is a good one to try as well.

It is grain free, it's avo derm tuna with prawns. I have a sneaking suspicion the culprit is tomato-I was feeding him a seafood tomato bisque from nutro for a few months. Oddly the first ingredient in the "seafood" bisque is chicken. I'm just hoping tuna isn't the culprit since it's his favorite. I think I'll steer clear of the steroids unless absolutely necessary. Thanks for the input regarding those!

Steroids can increase blood glucose levels (hence a lot of cats developing diabetes from more long-term steroid use). If perchance your cat already has diabetes, the use of steroids will need to be discussed in detail with the vet so the two of you can decide upon the pros and cons of steroids for reducing inflammation.

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

His name is Enzo, and he's a Serengeti =)
... He prefers shredded and isn't a big fan of pate, so any food suggestions are greatly appreciated! ...

Sigh, poor Enzo! It may be that he might have to start liking some pates! A lot of the limited ingredient diets are pate.

 

[ty3535]

Sigh, poor Enzo! It may be that he might have to start liking some pates! A lot of the limited ingredient diets are pate.

Are there any suggestions if he just plain won't eat it? He's so picky I can see him going on hunger strike! I know how dangerous it is for cats not to eat which is what makes me the most nervous.

 

[ty3535]

I agree.
I agree with many posters here, that chicken and fish are likely culprits if they have been in most or all of the "variety of proteins" foods you've been giving him. Trying grain-free "limited ingredient" foods would help you to pinpoint which proteins over several weeks' time that he can tolerate without having an IBD flare-up. You've mentioned trying duck and venison... have you tried just one brand of duck? Maybe another brand of duck might be more appealing than the brand you tried on him so far? Venison is pretty "gamey", some cats don't like it, along with rabbit. But again, maybe it is a brand preference for your cat. Lamb was mentioned as being a more common protein, but you might try a limited ingredient lamb food in any case (like Nature's Variety Lamb) to see if he will eat it. And turkey is a good one to try as well.
Steroids can increase blood glucose levels (hence a lot of cats developing diabetes from more long-term steroid use). If perchance your cat already has diabetes, the use of steroids will need to be discussed in detail with the vet so the two of you can decide upon the pros and cons of steroids for reducing inflammation.

I spoke to the vet about the steroids and she isn't a fan unless we absolutely can't get the inflammation under control. Which we will hopefully do with a diet change. I'm also looking into probiotics.

 

[LotsOfFur]

Ask your vet about Fortiflora. Dr. Pierson from
catinfo.org talks about using this as a topper for picky cats when transitioning to a wet food diet.
(I have also seen that several people on TCS use or have used this product)

I know you have already been feeding wet food and you are worried your picky cat won't be open to trying new proteins so I thought this might help.

I don't think Fortiflora will be "enough" probiotic to be used as the only probiotic but maybe it will be helpful.

I know how much you love your kitty and it is so stressful when we are playing guessing games trying to get them to eat, especially when dealing with something medically with them.

 

[lisahe]

Sigh, poor Enzo! It may be that he might have to start liking some pates! A lot of the limited ingredient diets are pate.

PushPurrCatPaws has a good point here about pates and shred foods.

One thought for the very, very beginning, since you mentioned that Enzo (great name!) ate a lot of dry food in his earlier years and since you mentioned that he'd been eating the Nutro bisque, which has wheat gluten: If I were in your place and still trying to figure out a strategy for how to feed the little guy (which is so not easy and takes a fair bit of strategizing), for the short interim, I might try feeding him only foods on hand that are completely grain-free, if you happen to have such foods. I'd keep a very close eye on him, though! Just cutting grains seemed very helpful for our cat, who ate a truckload of dry food in her years. All that said, even better if you're already trying some new foods with a new protein!

So many ingredients can cause problems that this really is all about trial and error. Did I or someone else suggest a food diary on your other thread? I found that very helpful for Brooksie.

As for a few chicken-less and fish-less foods that we've fed, some with big, fat caveats that probably make them not very helpful...

-Nutro Natural Choice's sliced turkey is a big, huge favorite here and it has no grains, carrageenan, or vegetables. They also make chunky turkey loaf. These foods really seem to appeal to a lot of picky cats. (downsides: pork broth and "egg product," which is likely to be chicken-based)

-Weruva's Steak Frites is beef shreds (downsides: expensive, has potato. upsides: our pate-eating cat loved it when she was sick)

-Merrick's LID duck and turkey are pates that our shred-loving cats absolutely love (downside: chicken eggs in the "egg product" could be a problem if Enzo has issues with chicken)

-Hound & Gatos's lamb pate is another pate our cats will eat (downside: has duck liver!) H&G also makes beef and pork foods, but check to see about liver!

-Tiki Cat's Gourmet Carnivore line has a shredded beef liver and lamb food, though it's very rich. (I'm not a big fan of beef for cats myself but...)

I'm not sure what kind of pet food stores you have where you live but I found that people working in some of our stores (even Petco, where there's a cat-specializing vet tech who loves talking about cat food) were extremely knowledgeable about cat foods and diets. It's worth asking if anyone has suggestions for IBD cats.

Good luck!

 

[ty3535]

Thank you so much! I will make a note of all of those to try. I know right away he won't eat beef-I've tried a few different brands and he won't eat it. I'm hopeful about the duck and lamb, and if by some miracle chicken wouldn't be the problem that would be fantastic. Chicken really only composed a small amount of his diet, which leaves me believing it's the fish. When we say "fish" does that refer just to tuna or anything seafood related?

 

[lisahe]

Seafood in general has been implicated in both digestive and urinary tract issues.

Regarding the vague term "fish," I'd go with what Denice wrote, above.

Fingers crossed that the lamb and/or duck might help... at least there are some decent foods that have them! It's also hard to tell what might be bothering him... wheat, corn, carrageenan (so ubiquitous!)... who knows what you will find!

Do you have a picture of Enzo? I looked up Serengeti cats and they look beautiful!

 

[ty3535]

image.jpeg

• ty3535
• Sep 26, 2015

 

[ty3535]

Supplement as in what is it? 

Beware of chicken too, simply because there is chicken and fish in most cat food.
Not that you feed friskies canned, but as an example, their foods almost all have fish and/or chicken in every single one, despite it being beef, or whatever.
It's just cheap and can be called meat by products.

My point here is basically, I think it's fish with your cat, good chance at least for sure, since that has been his protein for years.
You don't say what the food was that you fed him during his life, but even if it were kit n kaboodle, or whiskas, nobody is going to give you a bad time, it is what it is.
But otherwise if you don't say, google the food and read it's ingredients, make sure that chicken wasn't in there too, it's common whether you would know it or not without actually reading the ingredients to know.

Chicken and fish are extremely common IBD culprits.
Carageenan and guar gum, and wheat gluten also.
But I still think yours is fish

The supplement is Wysong biotic ph- which he's taken for a few months and his crystals are completely gone which is amazing to me. I don't have all the ingredients handy but I do recall seeing something chicken related.

 

[lisahe]

What a handsome cat -- he looks long-legged and lean, like our lynx mix! It looks like he has a great enclosure, too. Thanks for posting the picture!

 

[ty3535]

What a handsome cat -- he looks long-legged and lean, like our lynx mix! It looks like he has a great enclosure, too. Thanks for posting the picture!

Thank you so much! He's my baby =) he's battling a bad URI right now and it's making me very nervous :-/

 

[samus]

Are there any suggestions if he just plain won't eat it? He's so picky I can see him going on hunger strike! I know how dangerous it is for cats not to eat which is what makes me the most nervous.

Slowly mix it in with a food he likes (one spoonful on the side one meal, which he'll probably ignore, each meal mix them together a little more). If he won't accept it after one or two weeks of doing that, then you can try a different brand with the same protein, or try again with another protein he's not likely to be allergic to. Fortiflora is a good topper to get him interested, it has "animal digest," meaning you don't know exactly what proteins are in it, but it's not something you'd need to use forever, just long enough to get him used to a new food. Or find other allergy friendlier toppers (freeze dried chicken is recommended a lot, my cat really likes greens powder (wheat, barley, spirulina all seem to work) and nutritional yeast (not brewer's yeast)) that you could use to tempt him.

I used to have to mash my cat's food with water when I was transitioning her to wet, but since yours already eats wet at least that's easier.

It's so frustrating to find out years later that what you thought was a really good diet ended up causing problems. When my cat was a kitten, I noticed the food I was feeding her (Iams? Purina? I think the bag was purple) was making her coat really oily and from then on fed her only "premium" cat foods (named meat first ingredient, no corn or soy...) like Wellness and etc. Almost always fish or chicken based, incidentally. I fed her canned once in a while, but she wasn't interested and I didn't push it since I didn't realize how important it was. Now she has kidney issues and IBD. I'd read about raw maybe ten years ago, but always thought it sounded like too much work. And I still haven't started, even though I know it's probably the only way to get food that's the right balance for her kidneys and without ingredients that would irritate her bowels.

 

[ty3535]

Slowly mix it in with a food he likes (one spoonful on the side one meal, which he'll probably ignore, each meal mix them together a little more). If he won't accept it after one or two weeks of doing that, then you can try a different brand with the same protein, or try again with another protein he's not likely to be allergic to. Fortiflora is a good topper to get him interested, it has "animal digest," meaning you don't know exactly what proteins are in it, but it's not something you'd need to use forever, just long enough to get him used to a new food. Or find other allergy friendlier toppers (freeze dried chicken is recommended a lot, my cat really likes greens powder (wheat, barley, spirulina all seem to work) and nutritional yeast (not brewer's yeast)) that you could use to tempt him.

I used to have to mash my cat's food with water when I was transitioning her to wet, but since yours already eats wet at least that's easier.

It's so frustrating to find out years later that what you thought was a really good diet ended up causing problems. When my cat was a kitten, I noticed the food I was feeding her (Iams? Purina? I think the bag was purple) was making her coat really oily and from then on fed her only "premium" cat foods (named meat first ingredient, no corn or soy...) like Wellness and etc. Almost always fish or chicken based, incidentally. I fed her canned once in a while, but she wasn't interested and I didn't push it since I didn't realize how important it was. Now she has kidney issues and IBD. I'd read about raw maybe ten years ago, but always thought it sounded like too much work. And I still haven't started, even though I know it's probably the only way to get food that's the right balance for her kidneys and without ingredients that would irritate her bowels.

Even before we found out about the IBD I tried raw and he was having none of it-I tried doing it myself, I tried Wysong, and a few other commercial brands of raw and he wouldn't eat any of it.

 

[lisahe]

Even before we found out about the IBD I tried raw and he was having none of it-I tried doing it myself, I tried Wysong, and a few other commercial brands of raw and he wouldn't eat any of it.

Oh, that's too bad! I'd wondered about raw for Enzo since they're often just one protein. Our cats love the raw part of their diet, particularly Rad Cat.

 

[denice]

Many kitties won't eat raw.  Some kitties will also eat it for awhile, quit and absolutely refuse to eat it again.  The ''best' diet in the world isn't going to work for a kitty if he absolutely refuses to eat it.