Ibd Diet

[NMT75]

Hi All!

We just found out recently that one of our kitties has IBD. Her Internal Medicine Specialist put her on Royal Canin Hydrolyzed Protein kibble. After about two weeks, I requested that she also have a wet food and so she prescribed Hills z/d canned. She was only on the z/d about a week and we had to take her off of it because it was giving her really soft stools. I am trying to find a wet food that she can/will eat and so far, haven't had much luck. I really don't want another prescription food if possible because I feel like the ingredients in them are awful! Before all of this she ate Orijen six fish for her kibble and then a mix of BFF, Weruva, Cats in the Kitchen, and Fussie cat for her wet food. She is still on the RC kibble but I would like if possible to find a wet food that I can transition her to. Since we stopped the prescription wet food, we have tried:

Rad Cat (she wouldn't touch the raw food)
NV rabbit (she ate two bites and then walked away)
Stella and Chewy Rabbit (again, she takes a few bites and then walks away)
NV duck (she liked it for a short bit and then stopped eating it)
Stella and Chewy Duck (she loved the first bag but wouldn't touch the second one)


So my question is, what foods have you had success with for your IBD cats? This is all new to us so any help or suggestions will be much appreciated! Thanks so much!

 

[duckpond]

I do not have an IBD cat, my son does, and they tried every prescription and non prescription food out there. Finally they tried fancy feast classics, thats what works for their girl. I think it all comes down to finding a food your cat will eat, and that the balance of ingredients work for her. My son tried a lot of food before he did the FF. Its the only thing that has worked for her. Not a lot of help maybe, i suggest try simple foods, and keep after it till you find one that works for her.

 

[lisahe]

Welcome to the Cat Site, NMT75 ! I'm sorry that it's your cat's IBD that brought you here, though.

Two questions: How long ago was the diagnosis? And do you have any sense at all of what might be causing your cat's IBD? Avoiding that/those ingredient(s) is the first step to finding foods that won't cause symptoms. Though of course it can take some time sorting out cause and effect. Figuring that out, as duckpond mentioned, can be a little easier if you feed simple foods. We had an elderly cat who had multiple illnesses whose symptoms improved after removing grains and fish from her diet but every cat is different.

To start, since lots of ingredients can cause digestive issues, I'd look for foods with one protein, no carrageenen or gums (if possible), and no potatoes, peas, or other carby vegetables. Of course that's a nearly impossible list because hardly any canned foods fit that description -- Rawz and Tiki Cat come to mind -- so you'll likely need to branch out by, say, allowing a gum or two proteins at once, and keep track of what does and doesn't cause symptoms. Keeping a food diary and checking ingredients can be very helpful.

That said, it's interesting that your cat -- what's her name, by the way? -- did eat some of the raw foods you fed her. Did any of those cause symptoms? Were you feeding only one kind of raw food at the time? I ask that because some cats -- like ours! -- get bored with foods very easily. We feed our cats two meals of freeze-dried raw food a day (mostly Primal) and usually blend two proteins (pork and turkey) in varying proportions, feeding them with toppers and/or a bit of another food mixed in. One thing about Stella & Chewy's: we don't feed a lot of those because the food tends to be rather bony plus it's inconsistent. I mention that because maybe that's why your cat decided she didn't like the duck/goose food. I'll also note that our cats never took to Nature's Variety foods; some cats just don't like them.

Finally, here's a thread from the raw and homecooked forum that includes links to information about transitioning cats to raw food. Maybe something there would help you with the Rad Cat? Rad Cat is great food -- we feed a small Rad Cat or similar snack each day -- but it can take time to get cats to recognize it as food, particularly if they're used to dry food.

Good luck!

 

[NMT75]

I do not have an IBD cat, my son does, and they tried every prescription and non prescription food out there. Finally they tried fancy feast classics, thats what works for their girl. I think it all comes down to finding a food your cat will eat, and that the balance of ingredients work for her. My son tried a lot of food before he did the FF. Its the only thing that has worked for her. Not a lot of help maybe, i suggest try simple foods, and keep after it till you find one that works for her.

Thank you so much for your reply! We gave her a few different flavors of FF when she wasn't feeling well. We were having trouble getting her to eat anything, and someone suggested FF and she really liked it so we will have to try it again

 

[MargoLane]

Hiya! My cat has IBD - sorry to hear you're in the same boat! Get ready for a wall of text, because I spend way too much time thinking about this!

I feed a high protein, low carb diet. Mostly because we didn't have Busy long enough to find out what foods are trigger foods before she was diagnosed, and she mainly has really bad flare ups in times of great stress. So she could probably eat almost anything day to day, but we want to keep all inflammation at bay to keep her healthy and to avoid troubling flare ups.

So basically, I try to make sure her diet contains as few carbs as possible, ideally less than 10%. I use Cat Food Database to create a list of wet foods that are less than 10% carbs and higher in protein. Some contain veggies, starches and gums but since I only feed wet about once a week, I'm less concerned about that than I am the carb/protein content. You may decide to ban certain ingredients. On my list: Weruva (Cats in the Kitchen, Truluxe lines), Tiki Cat (any flavour) Nutro (perfect portions), Instinct Original (all flavours), Fancy Feast Classics and then certain flavours of Koha, Canada Fresh, Almo Nature, BFF, Hounds and Gatos, Merrick, PureVita and Wellness Core.

Since you're open to raw, I would also encourage you to keep trying! Raw is so high protein with little to no filler that it really works with my IBD cat. For Busy, too much canned food = softer stools and apartment-clearing gas. Once we switched to raw (without too much bone) we saw perfect stools in the litter box that had almost no odour. She also pees like crazy, so we know she's getting lots of moisture. I would find a canned food that your cat loves, and then slowly work in raw that is the same protein. Really slowly! We feed RadCat and it's a really great brand, especially for IBD cats. Once Busy got into raw, she'll now stuff her face with any protein we put in front of her. Chicken, Turkey, Duck, Venison, Pork, Beef, Lamb...and now that we found a great local raw company, kangaroo and buffalo are next.

And finally, if you want to continue kibble, I use the Ziwi Peak air-dried. It's basically like cat jerk, and it's all meat, no filler. Busy gets a small spoonful for overnight snacking. It's the only food she hasn't immediately scarfed, but she learned to like it. Seems like it's hit and miss with cats, but it's a good option for kibble. Best of luck - hope you find something that works!

 

[NMT75]

Welcome to the Cat Site, NMT75 ! I'm sorry that it's your cat's IBD that brought you here, though.

Two questions: How long ago was the diagnosis? And do you have any sense at all of what might be causing your cat's IBD? Avoiding that/those ingredient(s) is the first step to finding foods that won't cause symptoms. Though of course it can take some time sorting out cause and effect. Figuring that out, as duckpond mentioned, can be a little easier if you feed simple foods. We had an elderly cat who had multiple illnesses whose symptoms improved after removing grains and fish from her diet but every cat is different.

To start, since lots of ingredients can cause digestive issues, I'd look for foods with one protein, no carrageenen or gums (if possible), and no potatoes, peas, or other carby vegetables. Of course that's a nearly impossible list because hardly any canned foods fit that description -- Rawz and Tiki Cat come to mind -- so you'll likely need to branch out by, say, allowing a gum or two proteins at once, and keep track of what does and doesn't cause symptoms. Keeping a food diary and checking ingredients can be very helpful.

That said, it's interesting that your cat -- what's her name, by the way? -- did eat some of the raw foods you fed her. Did any of those cause symptoms? Were you feeding only one kind of raw food at the time? I ask that because some cats -- like ours! -- get bored with foods very easily. We feed our cats two meals of freeze-dried raw food a day (mostly Primal) and usually blend two proteins (pork and turkey) in varying proportions, feeding them with toppers and/or a bit of another food mixed in. One thing about Stella & Chewy's: we don't feed a lot of those because the food tends to be rather bony plus it's inconsistent. I mention that because maybe that's why your cat decided she didn't like the duck/goose food. I'll also note that our cats never took to Nature's Variety foods; some cats just don't like them.

Finally, here's a thread from the raw and homecooked forum that includes links to information about transitioning cats to raw food. Maybe something there would help you with the Rad Cat? Rad Cat is great food -- we feed a small Rad Cat or similar snack each day -- but it can take time to get cats to recognize it as food, particularly if they're used to dry food.

Good luck!

Thank you so much for your reply and for the links! I will for sure check them out!

Ella's diagnosis was almost two months ago. She was diagnosed with IBD and EPI. Before her diagnosis, she ate mostly fish and chicken, so I am trying to avoid both of those ingredients. The problem is, fish and chicken are what she really likes! She has never really wanted to eat anything else so this might be a little challenging to begin with.

Neither the duck nor the rabbit gave her any issues. I introduced the duck first and she ate that for a bit and was doing really well but then I think she got tired of the NV duck. She would come to it and eat a bite or two and then look at me like "are you really giving me this again!" Before her diagnosis, we had a rotation of different foods because none of our kitties is fond of eating the same thing over and over again so she isn't used to eating the same food meal after meal.

I completely agree with you about the Stella and Chewy not being consistent. She gobbled up the first bag and she loved it, I opened the second bag and she wants nothing to do with it. Out of my four cats, only one will touch the second bag and they all loved the first one.

Primal was one of the next ones on my list. She used to eat the beef and salmon and loved that one. The issue that I'm finding with that brand is that it seems that a lot of them have fish/fish oil in them and I'm trying to avoid fish since it's what she ate the most of before all of this.

 

[1 bruce 1]

Yikes, IBD and EPI is a double whammy..
Is she taking any enzymes or anything Rx for this?

 

[NMT75]

Hiya! My cat has IBD - sorry to hear you're in the same boat! Get ready for a wall of text, because I spend way too much time thinking about this!

I feed a high protein, low carb diet. Mostly because we didn't have Busy long enough to find out what foods are trigger foods before she was diagnosed, and she mainly has really bad flare ups in times of great stress. So she could probably eat almost anything day to day, but we want to keep all inflammation at bay to keep her healthy and to avoid troubling flare ups.

So basically, I try to make sure her diet contains as few carbs as possible, ideally less than 10%. I use Cat Food Database to create a list of wet foods that are less than 10% carbs and higher in protein. Some contain veggies, starches and gums but since I only feed wet about once a week, I'm less concerned about that than I am the carb/protein content. You may decide to ban certain ingredients. On my list: Weruva (Cats in the Kitchen, Truluxe lines), Tiki Cat (any flavour) Nutro (perfect portions), Instinct Original (all flavours), Fancy Feast Classics and then certain flavours of Koha, Canada Fresh, Almo Nature, BFF, Hounds and Gatos, Merrick, PureVita and Wellness Core.

Since you're open to raw, I would also encourage you to keep trying! Raw is so high protein with little to no filler that it really works with my IBD cat. For Busy, too much canned food = softer stools and apartment-clearing gas. Once we switched to raw (without too much bone) we saw perfect stools in the litter box that had almost no odour. She also pees like crazy, so we know she's getting lots of moisture. I would find a canned food that your cat loves, and then slowly work in raw that is the same protein. Really slowly! We feed RadCat and it's a really great brand, especially for IBD cats. Once Busy got into raw, she'll now stuff her face with any protein we put in front of her. Chicken, Turkey, Duck, Venison, Pork, Beef, Lamb...and now that we found a great local raw company, kangaroo and buffalo are next.

And finally, if you want to continue kibble, I use the Ziwi Peak air-dried. It's basically like cat jerk, and it's all meat, no filler. Busy gets a small spoonful for overnight snacking. It's the only food she hasn't immediately scarfed, but she learned to like it. Seems like it's hit and miss with cats, but it's a good option for kibble. Best of luck - hope you find something that works!

Thank you so much for all of your suggestions! This is extremely helpful!! This has been an exhausting journey so far, to say the least, so I truly appreciate it

 

[NMT75]

Yikes, IBD and EPI is a double whammy..
Is she taking any enzymes or anything Rx for this?

It was a shock for sure! When she was first diagnosed, she was on 1/2 a Prednisolone in the AM and 1/4 in the PM, 1/2 tsp of Viokase daily, and B-12 shots every week. It's been 6 1/2 weeks since her diagnosis and she is now on 1/2 a prednisolone in the AM, and after this week, monthly B-12 shots. We were having a ton of trouble getting her to eat the Viokase so her Internal Medicine Specialist told me to stop her on that for about a week and see if anything changes. If not, she said we could take it week by week with that and it may not be needed since her IBD seems to be more under control and she is getting the B-12. We are three days in without the Viokase and so far so good so hopefully, she will continue to do well without it! She goes back in a month for a check-up and as long as she is continuing to do well, we are going to bump her down some more on the Prednisolone. Fingers crossed

 

[1 bruce 1]

It was a shock for sure! When she was first diagnosed, she was on 1/2 a Prednisolone in the AM and 1/4 in the PM, 1/2 tsp of Viokase daily, and B-12 shots every week. It's been 6 1/2 weeks since her diagnosis and she is now on 1/2 a prednisolone in the AM, and after this week, monthly B-12 shots. We were having a ton of trouble getting her to eat the Viokase so her Internal Medicine Specialist told me to stop her on that for about a week and see if anything changes. If not, she said we could take it week by week with that and it may not be needed since her IBD seems to be more under control and she is getting the B-12. We are three days in without the Viokase and so far so good so hopefully, she will continue to do well without it! She goes back in a month for a check-up and as long as she is continuing to do well, we are going to bump her down some more on the Prednisolone. Fingers crossed

Fingers crossed here, too!!!! It sounds like you guys have had a rough few weeks, hopefully that's all behind you!

 

[NMT75]

Fingers crossed here, too!!!! It sounds like you guys have had a rough few weeks, hopefully that's all behind you!

Thank you so much!! It's been rough since the beginning of the year. I had her in and out of the vets office for months. She starting losing weight back in February. At that time, she was still eating so our vet thought it was maybe a thyroid issue. He ran the test and it came back negative. He told me she seemed fine and that I just needed to keep an eye on things and if she lost more weight to bring her back in. She started turning her nose up at foods that she previously loved and lost a little more weight, so I took her back in.

Over a number of visits, he ran blood tests, did a urinalysis, did an in-house ultrasound, and every time kept telling me that he couldn't find anything wrong with her and kept sending us home. He told me with her age (she's 8 now but was 7 when all of this started) and the tests coming back fine, that maybe she was just being finicky. He said to keep trying foods until she ate one.

When that wasn't working, he told me to give her a food that I knew she liked and if she wouldn't eat it, to take it away for a while and try to give it to her again after about an hour or so and eventually she would realize that if she didn't eat it, she wouldn't get a different one?!? I tried that for a day and then called to demand that something had to be done because I knew that there was something wrong. We had been with this vet for 11 years so I trusted him when he said she was fine until it was obvious to me that she was not fine. Well, when I called that day I spoke to another vet in the practice and she told me that she was referring me to an Internal Medicine Specialist and that I was right, something was wrong and it had to be figured out quickly. We had our appointment at the specialists and made a plan with her for all of the tests that Ella needed and then from that point, she started heading downhill really quickly. She had hepatic lipidosis, IBD, and EPI. She got down from 10lbs to 6lbs She had to be put in the ICU for a bit but the Internal Medicine Specialist was amazing!! It was one of the scariest things I have ever been through!

Since she was released from ICU, just 6.5 weeks ago, she has gained 3.5lbs back and is (knock on wood) doing great so far! It's so nice to see her back to her old self I have exhaustively been researching IBD and EPI since she came home. There is so much info out there and honestly, the whole thing is really scary but she's a strong girl so hopefully, she continues to thrive. I just have to get the whole diet thing figured out. Once I get her on a good food/foods that she does well on and will eat, I will feel much better!! Thanks again

 

[LTS3]

I feed my IBD cat a raw diet, Nature's Variety Instinct rabbit medallions. He's always eaten this brand of raw food in different proteins so it wasn't a change for him. You can give this brand a try. Rad Cat is great but some cats just don't like it Or look into making your own raw diet either from a recipe or by using a pre-mix such as EZComplete.

A novel protein canned food is an option.

Your favorite brands of "novel protein" canned cat food
Single Novel Protein Grain Free Wet (not Raw) Food? Help!

LID diets can also help:

Blue Buffalo Basics
Merrick Limited Ingredients
Koha Limited Ingredient
Natural Balance LID
Instinct Limited Ingredient Diet | Instinct Pet Food

Rawz isn't listed above since it's technically not a LID diet but it's pretty "bland" without extra fillers.

You might find these web sites helpful:

Raw Feeding for IBD Cats
IBDKitties – Helping Save Lives…One Paw at a Time

The second web site has a link at the bottom of the main page to the FB group for IBD cats.

 

[NMT75]

I feed my IBD cat a raw diet, Nature's Variety Instinct rabbit medallions. He's always eaten this brand of raw food in different proteins so it wasn't a change for him. You can give this brand a try. Rad Cat is great but some cats just don't like it Or look into making your own raw diet either from a recipe or by using a pre-mix such as EZComplete.

A novel protein canned food is an option.

Your favorite brands of "novel protein" canned cat food
Single Novel Protein Grain Free Wet (not Raw) Food? Help!

LID diets can also help:

Blue Buffalo Basics
Merrick Limited Ingredients
Koha Limited Ingredient
Natural Balance LID
Instinct Limited Ingredient Diet | Instinct Pet Food

Rawz isn't listed above since it's technically not a LID diet but it's pretty "bland" without extra fillers.

You might find these web sites helpful:

Raw Feeding for IBD Cats
IBDKitties – Helping Save Lives…One Paw at a Time

The second web site has a link at the bottom of the main page to the FB group for IBD cats.

Thank you SO much for all of the info! She has had Natural Balance LID green pea and chicken and green pea and salmon in the past and really liked those so I will have to try that out in one of the novel proteins. I picked up some Koha today and am going to try that with her for dinner tonight to see if she'll eat it. I also looked at the Nature's Variety Instinct rabbit medallions while I was at the store and liked the ingredients in that one. Before her issues, she ate a mix of wet foods with some kibble and she enjoyed that so I do want to find a kibble she likes if possible. Thanks again!! I have lots of reading for tonight

 

[darcifinn]

Hi - just weighing in their is a fb page for people who have IBD kitties. Has a lot of good information.

 

[OOtiedoes]

Hi All!

We just found out recently that one of our kitties has IBD. Her Internal Medicine Specialist put her on Royal Canin Hydrolyzed Protein kibble. After about two weeks, I requested that she also have a wet food and so she prescribed Hills z/d canned. She was only on the z/d about a week and we had to take her off of it because it was giving her really soft stools. I am trying to find a wet food that she can/will eat and so far, haven't had much luck. I really don't want another prescription food if possible because I feel like the ingredients in them are awful! Before all of this she ate Orijen six fish for her kibble and then a mix of BFF, Weruva, Cats in the Kitchen, and Fussie cat for her wet food. She is still on the RC kibble but I would like if possible to find a wet food that I can transition her to. Since we stopped the prescription wet food, we have tried:

Rad Cat (she wouldn't touch the raw food)
NV rabbit (she ate two bites and then walked away)
Stella and Chewy Rabbit (again, she takes a few bites and then walks away)
NV duck (she liked it for a short bit and then stopped eating it)
Stella and Chewy Duck (she loved the first bag but wouldn't touch the second one)


So my question is, what foods have you had success with for your IBD cats? This is all new to us so any help or suggestions will be much appreciated! Thanks so much!

Have you tried the Rad Cat Pork? It’s full of blood and cats usually love it! They also loved it topped with freeze dried ground up pork liver, or salmon treats, just a light dusting. I avoid giving my cats all poultry since chicken can be the culprit of IDB which can progress to Lymphomia of the GI track. There is another great can food with organ meats call Feline Natural, they have freeze dried too. Hill’s Science diet is an absolute joke, and it’s nothing but junk food.

 

[OOtiedoes]

Have you tried the Rad Cat Pork? It’s full of blood and cats usually love it! They also loved it topped with freeze dried ground up pork liver, or salmon treats, just a light dusting. I avoid giving my cats all poultry since chicken can be the culprit of IDB which can progress to Lymphomia of the GI track. There is another great can food with organ meats call Feline Natural, they have freeze dried too. Hill’s Science diet is an absolute joke, and it’s nothing but junk food.

I forgot to mention the new Tiki cat, mousse blend. There is a lot of fish in it though. I have used that as a topper as well. Singular protein diets are really the best, sounds like you are on the right track though!

 

[darcifinn]

My boy gets tiki cat Because there are plenty of varieties without chicken fat and we think he has chicken sensitivities. They Typically love them until one day they don’t and then they do a couple days later. Ugh cats!

 

[Nblonder]

My IBD kitty Sammy also has kidney disease and my vet advised not to feed him raw as he's immunocompromised. He has been eating Royal Canin selected protein Duck wet food for awhile. He was still vomiting and fairly thin, but his stools had become more regularly formed so he seemed stable but not improving. In an attempt to try and change his food to something high quality I was a bit hasty and ended up making him worse by feeding him beef and it gave him terrible runs and he's lost even more weight, nearly skin + bones. The poor guy! I went back to Royal Canin but added in a little cooked chicken thighs/livers to add more quality protein. I want to start cooking food for him since i'm not sure the Raw will help with his kidney disease. I've seen a lot of cooked food resources but I haven't yet located recipes IBD specifically. Any guidance appreciated!

 

[lisahe]

My IBD kitty Sammy also has kidney disease and my vet advised not to feed him raw as he's immunocompromised. He has been eating Royal Canin selected protein Duck wet food for awhile. He was still vomiting and fairly thin, but his stools had become more regularly formed so he seemed stable but not improving. In an attempt to try and change his food to something high quality I was a bit hasty and ended up making him worse by feeding him beef and it gave him terrible runs and he's lost even more weight, nearly skin + bones. The poor guy! I went back to Royal Canin but added in a little cooked chicken thighs/livers to add more quality protein. I want to start cooking food for him since i'm not sure the Raw will help with his kidney disease. I've seen a lot of cooked food resources but I haven't yet located recipes IBD specifically. Any guidance appreciated!

Since your question is related to home-cooked food, N Nblonder , it might be most helpful for you to start a new thread in the Raw & Home-Cooked Food subforum, which is here. I'd suggest mentioning in your thread any proteins or other ingredients that you already know cause IBD symptoms in your cat.

 

[Bel]

My guys have IBD and what I suspect is a chicken/poultry allergy. They've been on prescription Royal Canin v/r for 3 years and since the medication they haven't had any problems. My vet doesn't want me to switch until we know that the meds are working on Ninja. I am hoping to get them on Koha (as soon as he gets cleared) because I like their ingredients list and it might save a bit of money per month.

Koha offers a variety of proteins and some are novel proteins. Of the novel proteins they offer guinea fowl (pheasant), kangaroo, and venison. They also offer limited ingredient options for most proteins (beef, chicken, turkey, rabbit, and duck) + the novel proteins.