Jasper has IBD and now is experiencing constipation

[amberkenn2016]

Small update!

Jasper has been eating Instinct Rabbit pate wet food, slowly introducing it to him. First off, he's RAVENOUS for it. Second, he has been "gulping" quite a bit less, so I'm guessing the rabbit was the right move, though it may be too soon to tell. I kinda wanna celebrate it a small bit though!

As for slippery elm and calming drops: not sure if it's just the food change, but I've been noticing he's alot calmer and his tummy has been less upset. He's been able to flop on his back and sleep that way, which, if he isn't doing this, I know something is bothering him.

I haven't contacted the vet for more meds yet, as he's been improving since making these changes, though I definitely will if he declines again. I know I've said this alot but thank you guys again! For your help I'll give more updates in exchange if anything changes!

 

[lisahe]

Small update!

Jasper has been eating Instinct Rabbit pate wet food, slowly introducing it to him. First off, he's RAVENOUS for it. Second, he has been "gulping" quite a bit less, so I'm guessing the rabbit was the right move, though it may be too soon to tell. I kinda wanna celebrate it a small bit though!

As for slippery elm and calming drops: not sure if it's just the food change, but I've been noticing he's alot calmer and his tummy has been less upset. He's been able to flop on his back and sleep that way, which, if he isn't doing this, I know something is bothering him.

I haven't contacted the vet for more meds yet, as he's been improving since making these changes, though I definitely will if he declines again. I know I've said this alot but thank you guys again! For your help I'll give more updates in exchange if anything changes!

I'm glad to hear this update! I hope you mean that he's already calmer and has less stomach agitation without the elm or the drops -- it's always great when these problems can be resolved with just food!

Fingers crossed that Jasper continues to feel better. And eat rabbit ravenously.

 

[amberkenn2016]

I'm glad to hear this update! I hope you mean that he's already calmer and has less stomach agitation without the elm or the drops -- it's always great when these problems can be resolved with just food!

Fingers crossed that Jasper continues to feel better. And eat rabbit ravenously.

So just after I posted that update, he went back to not feeling great again. I'm disheartened to say the least. I thought we were on the up and up but his stomach issues/IBD has always humbled me somehow. I wonder if I need to dial back how much of the new wet food I'm giving him? I also called the vet to see if we could get Zofran on board, and they don't carry it at their practice but would be willing to call it in for me, and so we will be waiting on that.

I just feel horrible? He's nauseous again, it's taking him a hot second to get comfy when he lays down. I'm worried about what we can do if this diet/med change doesn't help him. I feel like I'm doing my best for him but at the same time, it's just not good enough.

 

[lisahe]

So just after I posted that update, he went back to not feeling great again. I'm disheartened to say the least. I thought we were on the up and up but his stomach issues/IBD has always humbled me somehow. I wonder if I need to dial back how much of the new wet food I'm giving him? I also called the vet to see if we could get Zofran on board, and they don't carry it at their practice but would be willing to call it in for me, and so we will be waiting on that.

I just feel horrible? He's nauseous again, it's taking him a hot second to get comfy when he lays down. I'm worried about what we can do if this diet/med change doesn't help him. I feel like I'm doing my best for him but at the same time, it's just not good enough.

I'm so sorry to hear this, amberkenn2016 . IBD cats can be like this: they seem to be doing well but then they seem to suddenly feel worse. Don't blame yourself: you're doing the best you can and you're looking for ways to help him feel better.

What's especially hard about all this is that every new food, no matter how good it is, presents potential pitfalls. It may be that the new food has something in it that's now causing nausea. Or there's something different going on that has nothing to do with the food. Nowadays, I question environmental stress -- noise, like the chainsawing and log chipping across the street this morning, or even drops in barometric pressure -- if Edwina seems to be feeling a little off. Now that she's on the supplement that works for her, those stressors (rather than food) are usually the source of her problems. Rescue Relief and extra attention are usually keep her from getting too stressed.

When she does have relapses, though, I give Edwina a dose (or two or three) of Cerenia, which seems to kind of "reset" her. Maybe Zofran will have the same effect for Jasper? Edwina's relapses usually have something to do with human error: feeding too much at once, causing regurgitation, is the most common problem. If you're not feeding small meals, you might try that approach to see if it helps. One of the most difficult things for me is to remember that Edwina may seem to be eating normally but she still has a wonky gut. We still need to be very careful how we feed her. It's been almost a year and a half since her surgery and I still don't quite get that!

When I can't associate a relapse with any environmental stressors or our feeding mistakes, I consider what's in Edwina's diet. Is there an ingredient that's just been added to her diet? If not, is there an ingredient that I'd rather not feed to begin with because I know it can cause digestive issues? This is how ingredients like tapioca starch and xanthan gum came out of her diet. Some food sensitivities take time to develop so problems don't often/always appear immediately after a new ingredient comes into her diet.

That's more than enough out of me! I hope you're able to get Zofran into Jasper so he's back on track soon!

 

[stephanietx]

Are you giving him any kind of antacid to settle his tummy? You can get Ondansetron from the vet, but if you have any plain Pepcid, 10 mg (Fomatidine), you can give 1/4 tablet 2x a day. That will help settle the nausea. Also, slippery elm might help. It helps decrease inflammation and reduce nausea as well as helping with constipation and/or diarrhea.

 

[amberkenn2016]

lisahe Please go on as much as you like! I appreciate how in-depth you go, especially with how much you talk about Edwina. I'll have to tell Jasper about her and that he isn't alone in all of this.

I looked at the BB Basics Turkey he has been on prior to the rabbit; there are different gums in there. So I'm glad I'm making the switch. And I'm getting a journal together to track Jasper's habits/trends in food. I'm also kinda wondering too if it's stress that causes the issues with his flares or if flares cause his stress. I think it's potentially a chicken and egg kinda thing.

 

[amberkenn2016]

Are you giving him any kind of antacid to settle his tummy? You can get Ondansetron from the vet, but if you have any plain Pepcid, 10 mg (Fomatidine), you can give 1/4 tablet 2x a day. That will help settle the nausea. Also, slippery elm might help. It helps decrease inflammation and reduce nausea as well as helping with constipation and/or diarrhea.

I've been giving him 2.5 mg of famotidine at least in the morning, and I think I'll start doing it 2x a day consistently. With all the new additions to his routine, I've been hesitant to throw everything at him all at once, and I've been trying to figure out a routine that works for him. Plus it seems as though the famotidine isn't working as well as we'd hoped. He isn't puking but I feel he is still a little nauseous.

 

[stephanietx]

amberkenn2016 once we got my boy's nausea or indigestion or whatever you want to call it under control, that helped him eat better and feel better in general. He was able to rest, the deep kind of rest, and feel confident enough to sleep in his bed and not on the couch next to one of us (me or my husband). One other thing to try is Simethicone drops (baby Gas-X). Our vet has us give 0.3mL-0.5mL every 8 hours, as needed. This was a total game changer for us. This is the one we use.

Amazon.com

 

[lisahe]

I've been giving him 2.5 mg of famotidine at least in the morning, and I think I'll start doing it 2x a day consistently. With all the new additions to his routine, I've been hesitant to throw everything at him all at once, and I've been trying to figure out a routine that works for him. Plus it seems as though the famotidine isn't working as well as we'd hoped. He isn't puking but I feel he is still a little nauseous.

I'm glad some of this is helpful. I've learned a lot from the experiences of others -- you just never know where you'll get the tip you need.

I have to be quick right now (dinner's cooking!) but wanted to say that famotidine seems to be a love/hate sort of drug: it works really well for some cats (particularly for acid barfs) but not others. It helped Edwina for a day or two or three (I think I gave it twice a day) but that was about it. But one catmom friend said it worked really well for her cat who tended to barf acid when his stomach was empty. Cats! They're all so different! Slippery elm, on the other hand, really helps calm Edwina's gut.

I'm so glad to hear you're going to keep a journal! That can be so helpful, particularly since almost literally anything could be causing Jasper to feel sick. Gums, potato, peas, other rogue stuff, you just never know. We have to stick with lots of simple foods. And try to keep the stress down. I think you're right, it's a chicken/egg kind of thing: when Edwina was having trouble last summer, I keep thinking about breaking the cycle of her stomach problems. That totally fits with what stephanietx just added about how if they feel better they eat better... and so on! It's figuring out how to break each individual cat's cycle that's so difficult. But you're on the way!

 

[amberkenn2016]

So another update:

Jasper is still struggling a little. He has now been on the Zofran for the past day, and last night he was close to normal I'd say. He was laying on his back and sleeping for a bit, which makes me believe he was feeling alot better. Today however, he is gulping a little still and can't relax on his back again. I am giving him the Zofran 2x a day, 2mg each time. I was hoping this would help us, but now I'm not sure if maybe I need to give that med more time.

I've been looking at raw diets and I bought a sample of EZ complete a little while back. I'm very tempted to start trying to slowly get him into a raw diet. I'm part of the Raw Feeding for IBD Cats facebook group, and I feel confident in choosing the proteins I'd use. However, I'm wondering if this would be worth a shot to try? And could anyone share their experiences with it?

My vet is somewhat against it, their reason being that it's hard to create a diet suited to their needs. But honestly? I feel as though I'd want to give it a shot. From what I've read, there's many cats who have IBD that reacted very positively to a raw diet. And I'm just nuts enough to do even more research on it to make sure he's getting the nutrition he needs.

 

[fionasmom]

About Raw – IBDKitties

From the much larger website:
IBDKitties – Helping Save Lives…One Paw at a Time

 

[amberkenn2016]

Update!

Jasper is now on 50% raw as of right now, and he's barely eating his old food now. He has vomited since the food change, but I'm giving him more frequent meals since it's usually bile that he pukes up. A daily dose of famotidine seems to be helping with that as well.

He's been eating raw for a few weeks now, I'm just hoping we can fully switch over soon so that I'm not buying soooo much food for him to keep transitioning. Good news though, he's back down to every other day pred instead of everyday! I'm taking that as a win at least.