Hills Z/d For Ibd?

[WinniesMomma]

Yesterday morning I picked up a new food for Winnie to try. The vet wanted her to try a hypoallergenic food..Winnie isn't losing weight, but not gaining.
(If you are not familiar with the original post regarding her health, you can visit it here -https://thecatsite.com/threads/ibd-or-intestinal-lymphoma.389581/ )

The vet office had on hand Hills Z/D. The vet said it wasn't necessary to slowly give her the new food since it should be easier on her.
So I gave it to Winnie yesterday and last night, and she liked it, as she ate it all up. This morning, her stomach was louder than it normally is when it is bothering her. I am wondering if it is the food. I still have a few cans of the food she was eating previously (Purina EN), so I am going to give that to her today and see if it makes a difference.
She just ate a treat with a half tab of Cerenia, so hopefully that will get her stomach settled as well.
Is anyone familiar with Hills Z/D for IBD?

 

[daftcat75]

What's her ideal weight and how many calories are you feeding her today? Is her IBD stable (no wonky gut and butt stuff)? Is she getting B-12 shots? She won't gain weight without them.

Because she has IBD, she will need to eat more than she would if she didn't have IBD. IBD is basically reduced gut function (things aren't digesting like they should.) So you play this balancing game of getting even more calories into her while also not taxing her to the breaking point (vomiting and diarrhea.) More smaller meals. It's exhausting, for sure. But it's been the surest way to manage Krista's IBD and get weight back on her.

 

[WinniesMomma]

She's currently 11lb, and the vet would like to see her get to 12lb. (Years ago she used to weigh more, but she was slightly overweight.)
Yes, she is getting B12 shots weekly. I do give her smaller, multiple meals per day. Overall she has about a can to a can and a half (the standard 5.5 size can) a day spread out. (I have told the vet office this and they have not said it is too much or not enough.
She has not had diarrhea, and she had a small amount of vomit about a week ago. But other than that, no gut/butt stuff - other than her having stomach grumbling/nausea here and there.

 

[daftcat75]

A little napkin math:

Conventional wisdom says 20 calories per pound. I'm assuming Winnie is also a senior? That's more reduced digestion function. So let's shoot for 30 calories per pound.

360 calories for 12 lbs of target weight.

An average pate will be about 30 calories per ounce. So you'll need to feed as much as 12 oz. The Purina EN is more calories than the Hills Z/D. You can meet that 360 on two cans. The can itself recommends 2 1/8 cans for 12 lbs of bodyweight.

Now I'm not saying she absolutely needs 30 calories per pound. But she might. You've got both IBD and senior cat digestion working against you.

You can either try to sneak her another meal/snack or a few more grams per meal. Take it slow if you have a half can gap to make up. Better to keep things slow and stable than go too fast and have her reactive again.

 

[daftcat75]

If she's stable on the EN, I'd keep her on the EN precisely because it has more calories by volume than the Z/D. There are better foods with even more energy by volume than the EN. Keep her stable first. But then you can try to mix in a higher quality/higher energy food as tolerated. Rawz Turkey is 199 kcal per 5.5 oz. Hound & Gatos has a turkey at 191 kcal per can and they are available on Chewy for about the same price as the EN. I'm just looking at turkey to compare apples to apples across brands. Also turkey can be a good protein for cats with chicken sensitivities--as long as the recipe is all turkey and doesn't also contain chicken or "poultry." Rabbit is good too but more expensive and harder to find a good recipe. Rabbit formulas often get diluted with other proteins. It makes it cheaper but also more difficult to shop for sensitive digestions.

 

[WinniesMomma]

Thanks so much. Yes, she is going to be 12 this year. She did well on the EN. Of course since she ate the Z/N yesterday, she wants that now versus the EN. Darn stinker. Her stomach still seems to be bothering her. I'm hoping once she is up from her nap she will want to eat and I can give her some EN.

 

[LTS3]

My vet prescribed Z/D for my IBD cat. I still have the unopened case of food a year later. I just continued to feed my cat his usual raw food only now I can only feed him rabbit because chicken gives him a flare up.

Prescription food may be helpful to some IBD cats. Raw diets and novel protein bland-ish canned foods are helpful to other cats.

 

[WinniesMomma]

Thank you for replying. I tried giving her the EN food, as well as the Z/D food, and she only ate a little. At points she makes a regurgitation sound, her stomach must really be bothering her. This is the worst it has been lately. I will have to call the vet tomorrow if she's still acting like this. I have a few Fancy Feast cans, I am wondering if I should try to give her some of that, or go out and get some meat baby food. It's frustrating seeing her not eat much. She also hasn't used the bathroom since earlier today.. probably because she hasn't eaten much.

 

[WinniesMomma]

She did end up peeing in the litter box. I went and got her some turkey baby food, beef baby food and chicken baby food. She ate almost the whole jar of turkey (small jars, though) and a few bites of Fancy Feast. So at least she got some food in her. Fingers crossed she feels better tomorrow. Then I can go forward on figuring out the EN vs Z/D