London's raw transition

[sunnybelle76]

Ok,

I have added some commercial raw (nature variety duck)  nibbles to his food, just 2 little bits I warmed them up anyways. Boy did he love that, I blended it with his food.

He normally has an am poop but still has not gone, not sure if it is the raw food that did that or cuz of his flare up yesterday. Still waiting to see what the outcome would be in his poop.

It is scary to try this but after hitting the pet store again yesterday and seeing yet someone else scoop up food from the fridge, I thought I might as well try a couple of nibbles in his food. That is what I bought them for, the worse that can happen is he poops really...lol

****He went poop and it was definately formed almost hard, he went a second time which was loose to soft and a 3rd time which was just poop drops***

I have to make note that I am still using NV and RC hypoallergenic so I am not 100% sure which is causing the flares....

Very strange that he went so late, typically according to my "poop logs", he goes in the morning mid afternoon and late at night....

I will try the raw nibbles in his am food again tomorrow....

 

[ldg]

Raw food will change the volume, texture, smell, and frequency of his bowel movements. Most cats on raw will have a bowel movement once every one to three days. It should be firm, and will be MUCH smaller in volume as so much more of the food is bioavailable to them.

 

[sunnybelle76]

Day 2:

Again a delay in pooping, he went last night at 3am (I know because he came to meow me awake).....He has not gone yet, almost 3pm now. He did go several times later in the day yesterday. I am introducing the raw nibbles only in the am and waiting and watching how he reacts.

At the same time I am downsizing the royal canin into his nature variety canned food. It is down to a tablespoon or less blended into his food.

Waiting...

 

[ldg]

Sunnybelle, we're happy to share this journey with you, but out of respect for Oakshimmer, I think you should consider starting a new thread in this forum to follow your kitty's progress and ask questions.

 

[sunnybelle76]

So i believe I am on day 5 of raw nibbles adding in am food.

The poops have been less in frequency, and even saw a couple soft to hard poops. He is also completely off the vet food as well, and

I did notice a big difference in the frequency of movements that he has thru the day.

He is also making more trips to the litter boxes and less surprises outside of litter box.

He currently is on NV duck formula canned with NV raw duck nibbles in the am blended into his food.

More energy? Have you met my cat....lol He already is quite active, always in the kitchen, begging for food to begin with. But I guess the RC vet food is soy versus meat, so he has 3 months of meat eating to catch up on..

 

[sunnybelle76]

I am sorry I didn't know how to navigate thru the forums, I think this is my own thread?

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Yes, this is your very own thread.  You're fine

.  And it sounds like London is doing well too

 

[sunnybelle76]

On Monday London had a terrible flare up, he hasn't pooped in over a day (not normal for him he is more once or even twice a day), he was dropping poop out of his butt. He threw up a couple of times and this went on for about 30 minutes. He than went to hide under a blanket and slept for about 3 to 4 hours, he emerged and wanted to eat again like nothing had happened.

He had a similiar flare up a week prior.

The food is NV canned Duck Formula and NV Raw Nibbles, he was getting 2 raw nibbles in the am, warmed up with his food which I also warm up (better for him to digest it). The 2 days he had flare ups I increased the nibbles and both times he reacted, however in between the 2 flare ups days (cuz they were about a week apart) he was fine, poops were normal, eating was fine, no issues.

So I am not sure if it is the increase in raw nibbles or was he getting into something or found something on the ground to eat. He is a rascal and jumps on counters, eats plants (which we have moved out of his reach) he snags toast if we are not careful, can open the garbage can lid with his nose, he has even managed to open the green bin and snag bread in the past. Very smart cat....

Been monitoring him since Monday, tuesday am he had a soft to hard stool. Today he had a smaller stool hardish in the am. I want to add the raw nibbles again but concerned if it is causing the flare ups or is it something else he is getting his hands on.

any suggestions?

 

[oakshimmer]

Sorry to hear about poor London. It is very frustrating to have a sick kitty.

It's hard to say what made him react poorly, like you said it could be either one of the foods or something else he had got into when you weren't looking. The only thing I could suggest is doing a process of elimination test. It will be hard to pin point what food he is reacting to if you are giving them both at the same time. Maybe just give him one or the other at feeding time, and wait and see if there is a reaction. Then give him the other food later in the day as a snack and see how he does. If he has a sensitivity to one of either the canned or the raw, hopefully you will be able to narrow it down this way. It could be possible he has a sensitivity to duck all together, but only time will tell. Or he could be like my cat and go from being great, to feeling a little sick for no reason. Like she is today, seems a little off but we are used to that unfortunatly. I try not to worry about it as much and just try to keep her comfortable. It's the best I can do.

Hard stool is very normal. My cats is very small and hard. The only time I would be concerned with the stool is if there are none at all or if they are soft. Be happy that he is passing a hard stool now. Must be nice for both of you!

Great job by the way. I am sending good

to you and London.

 

[sunnybelle76]

London is defiantely a smart kitty maybe too smart. He tends to wake me up for more food, if I ignore he usually does something stupid. I have learned to accept the middle of the night cries and give him a smidge of food, last night he was a pest. I noticed when there is high pressure outside he tends to be more hyper.

Last night I got him paw handed with a box of crackers that he knocked over, I do not know if he ate any but I fished one off the ground that he was trying to figure out. I heard the thunk in the kitchen and bolted into the kitchen, there was this big box of crackers that was quite high up, somehow he tipped over.  I am contemplating a camera to see what else he does. Bugger thinks he is a dog.

I tried one raw nibble this morning with his canned food.

 

[ldg]

Well, unfortunately if there's an issue, you won't know if it's because he did get some crackers or if it was the raw.

Silly kitties!

 

[ldg]

Also just wanted to add... my cats used to wake me up, tromp on me, pull at my hair while I was sleeping... because they wanted food. We had to keep all surfaces clear, because Flowerbelle would push things off onto the floor.

If it turns out London's problem has been his getting into things he shouldn't, and not the raw, then if you ever get to 100% raw, expect a much more satisfied kitty. The NIGHT we were on 100% raw, no one woke me up for food, and it hasn't happened since. The raw is much more satisfying to them. :nod:

 

[sunnybelle76]

Thank god I am not alone, I was starting to think London was just possessed.

The other cat Princess sleeps all the time and basically his polar opposite in almost every way.

yes silly kitties

 

[sunnybelle76]

London was having some sort of flare up, I heard that this is just what cats with IBD have from time to time. It wasn't out of hand, yesterday he had pretty good size poops in the am, but than had a bunch of little poops at 7pm. Not sure what the cause was, this am he also had a poop, soft and little bits of loose. He also threw up but liquid and clear, so I didn't give him raw nibble today to feel it out and see what was cause. I had also tried to increase his food amounts which could also be the cause, 2.5 cans for 2 cats, maybe it is too much for him.

Though poop was on looser side, it was a mild flare up in comparision to Mondays flare up & he is using the litter box.

Again since Monday, he had been fine, so again not sure if it is raw nibble or food or something he is getting into. SO I have taken away raw nibble today to see what happens and see what his stools look like today

 

[sunnybelle76]

Needless to say the raw has been put on hold for now, he seems to be doing okay with just the canned food at the moment. Wondered if anyone knew how long I should keep him on duck before I move to another flavour and how to do the switch? slowly??

 

[sunnybelle76]

So I am hoping that I can get an easy receipe to try with my cat to see how he does on homecooked food, which is what I would like to try.

If someone could send me the name of a book or something would be appreciated!

 

[vball91]

Visit felinenutrition.org. I was just there earlier today and there was a bone broth recommended for IBD kitties. Search for IBD (sorry, I'm on my phone and can't link right now).

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

So I am hoping that I can get an easy receipe to try with my cat to see how he does on homecooked food, which is what I would like to try.

If someone could send me the name of a book or something would be appreciated!

Are you talking about COOKING the food, or recipes for RAW?  Completely different.  Not sure if it's you just accidentally used that work or not

 

[sunnybelle76]

Hi

I am thinking cooked because he does have such a sensitve stomach (I heard raw can be rough on a cat who has allergies and IBD) I tried NV raw nibbles, and only one or two and he was reacting to them so I had to stop.

 

[vball91]

Actually, raw has been very beneficial for some cats with allergies and IBD. Look up Carolina's transitioning thread. Her Bugsy had an amazing turnaround with raw.

If your cat has food allergies, then NV was not a good commercial raw to try because NV has a bunch of ingredients other than meat, so he could be reacting to any of those.

You can try cooked or raw pure meat. You don't need a recipe. Cats don't need rice or veggies. I would try him on plain raw or baked chicken pieces (unless he has an allergy to chicken). You can feed just this for up to 2 weeks without worrying about balancing or supplementing.