IBD Flares - Diet transition help?

[NeekoNeeko]

Hi all,

It's hard to know where to begin. My cat, Peach, (he is between 10-12 yrs, not sure since he was a former stray) has always been a chronic puker and we've been dealing with it for years. This is not normal. Within the past six months, though, he has been having cyclical 'episodes' (vomiting, crying, and diarrhea in quick succession - over a span of a few hours) and then being fine the next day.

 

[fionasmom]

Welcome to The Cat Site! Has he been diagnosed with IBD? Has the vet seen him over the last 6 months since the vomiting/crying/diarrhea has been happening?

 

[NeekoNeeko]

...I posted too early. Anyway...

A typical episode consists of vomiting 4-8x in the span of two or three hours, yowling, mucus-y stools (with some blood), etc. Horrible to watch and heart wrenching for me to babysit him through. He has been to the vet about 4 months ago where she had done bloodwork, a fecal test which had all come back notmal, and put him on Hills Hydrolysed Protein Z/d dry and wet food since I had seen him throw up when given pure chicken... I'd suspected a protein allergy.

He was fine for about a month with no issues and then he began having episodes again every two weeks.

We've since then taken him off of the Hills Z/d and have been giving him foods without chicken. However, foods made with fish seem to be the second alternative and he has not gotten any better with his flares. I still am highly suspect this is diet related. I've seen some of you guys have success with removing dry food and I am thinking this might be a reasonable alternative. All of my life, since having cats when I was little, my mom has free fed them dry food.

I'm a young adult still living at home and mom still insists leaving out dry food between the two wet food meals they receive is the best option. I have suggested taking him off of the dry food but she thinks he'll never become fully acclimated to wet food.

To IBD cat moms/dads/parents - how did you do it? What was your experience in finding out your kitty's triggers/allergies? If you weaned them off of dry and onto single protein wet foods - what was your routine? Any recommendations for foods containing a single protein or foods not laden with chicken or fish hidden in the ingredients? We spend hours reading ingredients on cans when we shop, trying to find suitable wet (and oh my god not to mention the struggle of finding dry food).

Just looking for support... insight. <3

 

[NeekoNeeko]

And... because I love to brag, here is my handsome son.

 

[fionasmom]

Best food for senior cat with CKD & possible IBD
IBD - do hydrolyzed protein & novel protein diets really help a cat with IBD
Hypoallergenic cat food recommendations?

Check through the above and see if anything is helpful. You might have to work out an arrangement with your mom about the feeding of dry food.

 

[NeekoNeeko]

Thank you! I have checked it out. I need to find somewhere local for the Rawz food I think, or find a way to order it. It looks good! I've thought about home prepared foods or adding supplements to their meals. I just need to have a talk with her I think since both of our monies contribute to cat groceries...lol.

 

[NeekoNeeko]

So... the general consensus is that changing all of the cat's routines (3 meals a day/wet food) for Peachy is torturous. Sigh.

How do I get anyone in this household to see reason?

 

[LTS3]

Thank you! I have checked it out. I need to find somewhere local for the Rawz food I think, or find a way to order it. It looks good! I

Where to Buy | RAWZ

RAWZ Where to Buy. Fresh, minimally processed pet foods.

rawznaturalpetfood.com

Note that the web site lists just a few authorized online retailers.

To IBD cat moms/dads/parents - how did you do it? What was your experience in finding out your kitty's triggers/allergies? If you weaned them off of dry and onto single protein wet foods - what was your routine? Any recommendations for foods containing a single protein or foods not laden with chicken or fish hidden in the ingredients? We spend hours reading ingredients on cans when we shop, trying to find suitable wet (and oh my god not to mention the struggle of finding dry food).

Use this chart to find canned foods that do not contain chicken and whatever else you are avoiding:

Check This Out.... Chart For Cat Food Ingredients

Over the past couple of weeks, @cheeser and I have been working on a cat food ingredient chart that anyone can use to find suitable foods a food sensitive cat can eat or if a particular ingredient is to be avoided for preference reasons, such as no gums. Cheeser already had a personal...

thecatsite.com

My IBD cat has always eaten raw food so there was no transition for him. A single Pill Pocket gave him diarrhea and that's how I figured out that he no longer can eat chicken.

IBDKitties – Helping Save Lives…One Paw at a Time

www.ibdkitties.net

Feline IBD - Healing can happen!

Address the root cause of IBD in your cat. Treat inflammation and gut dysbiosis with proper tools to restore health, not just manage symptoms.

www.rawfeedingforibdcats.org

Is your cat on any medicine to help with the IBD? Steroids are really helpful. My cat only needs a short course of steroids every now and then depending on symptoms.

 

[NeekoNeeko]

He is not on steroids. I lost a kitty boy to lymphoma earlier this month... I do have some leftover prednisolone from when I was treating him. However if we do go the course obviously I'll need to consult with the vet again.

I'll check out the chart. It looks neat! Nowhere near us has the Rawz and Lotus brands... both of which look like promising options. I need to look for online ordering as a potential option.

 

[cataholic07]

With IBD he does need to be on prednisolone. I would recommend novel proteins and wet food only no dry, no carrageenan, no xanthum gums. And rotate often. If he vomits something he will not want it again for awhile. You should get some cerenia as well

 

[NeekoNeeko]

Thank you! I'm on mobile but the chart looks AMAZING. I'll check it out when I get to my PC. Now it's all about finding food availability here... chicken and fish are the most common protein sources. Ugh. And convincing the family that getting the cats into a routine isn't terrible... lol.

 

[daftcat75]

Something that might be easier on you and the family and him especially is using timed feeders for wet food. This should make covering daytime and overnight more hands-off and easier for him. IBD kitties do well with smaller meals fed more frequently. With the chronic inflammation of the gut, it helps to feed a little at a time to improve the odds that each meal stays down. I fed my Krista up to six times a day: usually two breakfasts, two dinners, and a meal spread across two feeders (in case one failed to open) for afternoon and overnight. You might try four meals first: breakfast and dinner with lunch and overnight going into the feeders. Once you add meals, it's really hard to take them away without your cat reminding you of the schedule.

I recommend using the feeders in pairs in case one doesn't open. That kind of failure doesn't happen often (about four times out of the hundreds of uses I got with Krista.) But when the price of a failure is a stomach acid barf, it's better to be protected. I also recommend the clamshell feeders over the wheel feeders. The wheel will rotate uneaten portions back inside the feeder. There's no time limit on a clamshell portion once it has opened. And best of all, you can pick up a pair of clamshell feeders for less than one wheel.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FT93YM2/?tag=thecatsite

I definitely do recommend shifting to an all wet food diet, preferably centered around Rawz single protein pates. This will make figuring out his trigger foods so much easier. Rawz will send you samples if you write them. Incredible Pets on the Rawz online retailers is one retailer who will sell Rawz by the can (or the case) making it easier to try different recipes. I think Cherrybrook may also sell by the can.

I recommend weighing him once a week. The easiest way to tell the difference between lymphoma and IBD is the relentless weight loss that comes with lymphoma. Even when you stabilize him so he's not having butt or gut incidences and he's eating enough, if he is still losing weight, that's a hallmark sign of lymphoma.

Steroids are helpful. But diet (determining and eliminating triggers) and vitamin B-12 will be his best medicine. If you haven't discussed it with your vet already, you should ask him about B-12 shots. A cat that has been having chronic vomiting is likely to have the kind of inflammation that makes getting B-12 from diet alone challenging. And B-12 is necessary for proper digestion and absorption. Fortunately the shots are cheap and easy to do yourself if he needs a typical course (weekly for a month, and then a maintenance schedule worked out with your vet but probably once a month.)

 

[NeekoNeeko]

Yes - thank you! B-12 shots actually helped give my baby boy with lymphoma better QOL, so I'm certain it would be good for Mr. Peachy. Lymphoma is a hell of a disease - literally my worst nightmare when it comes to my kitty loves. I had 2 kitties pass with it.

I will also have to look into these samples of Rawz. We're on a tight budget when it comes to feeding ourselves and these guys, so I understand her reluctance to eliminate dry food since at large it's much cheaper.

Peachy doesn't seem to be an acid barfer - he really only barfs... it seems like when a trigger is irritating him. His fur is thick too, he has frequent hairballs. Like I explained to mom, something's setting his immune system on fire.

Again, thank you, thank you, thank you all, for the outpouring of support and advice. This site for sure makes for warm feelings and like I'm not so alone, lol. I've been sick with anxiety and sleepless nights dealing with sick kitty babies.

I will keep posted with updates.

 

[NeekoNeeko]

Also, lol, a side note and a frustration I'm sure you all can relate to: man, pet food stores are so dog dominated! At least around here, the cat food options are so small compared to the options available for dogs! I love dogs - as well as all animals - but as a cat mama, I'm so frustrated!!!