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Hello!
I posted on here awhile back about my cat's chronic vomiting and received a lot of helpful info. I did end up going to a GI specialist a week ago to pursue further testing. I have attached the summary results of his abdominal ultrasound here if anyone is interested! Essentially, they cannot rule out small cell lymphoma at this point without an intestinal biopsy but it is likely moderate to severe IBD in both upper and lower GI segments.
A little background:
My 6 y.o. male Devon Rex cat, Freddie, has had issues for a few years with intermittent vomiting and inappetence. He has also had fairly loose and foul smelling stools most of his life but otherwise acts healthy and happy. He went almost 2 years with no issues, but in October, he had a severe episode of vomiting that contained blood, and very bad diarrhea that was maroon in color. We went to the ER where he received supportive care (anti nausea, appetite stimulants). It was at this time that I decided to slowly switch him over to a freeze dried raw diet, as I knew a lot of people had success with this. He was previously eating Weruva wet canned food, mostly chicken and fish flavors. He was doing really well on the raw diet (Stella & Chewy, multiple proteins) and was pretty stable until three weeks ago when he went through another bad flare up and had to receive anti nausea medication for a week. We scheduled an appointment with a specialist, which was one week ago. There, they also noticed he has a heart murmur which really complicates his care. They said he may not be a good candidate for a biopsy because of the anesthesia, and he may also not be able to go on steroids, depending on the severity of his murmur. They suggested we do a novel protein diet first, and if that doesn't work then he needs to get an echocardiogram before deciding what to do next. If it is an allergy, it is likely chicken or turkey based on his symptoms in the past and the fact that he has eaten predominately chicken most of his life.
The issue is, they prescribed a Royal Canin canned rabbit and pea formula which I personally think the ingredients are garbage. My old cat was on a prescription diet for hyperthyroid and it made her very unhealthy, to the point she had pre-diabetes which immediately went away when I got her off that food so I am very hesitant. It contains a lot of fillers, as well as carageenan and other ingredients that are known to cause irritation. For now, I am proceeding with a novel protein freeze dried raw diet of only rabbit (since he has never had that before) and cut out all other treats completely to ensure he is only eating one protein. The brands we are feeding currently are Vital Essentials and Primal, and I make sure to rehydrate with plenty of water. Thankfully he likes this diet so far (he's VERY picky) and his poops have been so much better - solid and not stinky at all. He has thrown up 2 or 3 times in the last week which is not great but at least it is less.
The vet suggested we try probiotics as well, so I am giving him one capsule of Proviable DC in his food once daily. His bloodwork contained low levels of B12, so we are about to start him on a once daily liquid B12 supplement as well.
Should I be concerned that he is still occasionally vomiting on this new diet? It's been about 1 week of him only being strictly on one protein. Does anyone have any suggestions of anything else to try in the meantime? I really want to do everything I can for him to avoid steroids, given that the vet is really concerned about his heart.
Thank you!
I posted on here awhile back about my cat's chronic vomiting and received a lot of helpful info. I did end up going to a GI specialist a week ago to pursue further testing. I have attached the summary results of his abdominal ultrasound here if anyone is interested! Essentially, they cannot rule out small cell lymphoma at this point without an intestinal biopsy but it is likely moderate to severe IBD in both upper and lower GI segments.
A little background:
My 6 y.o. male Devon Rex cat, Freddie, has had issues for a few years with intermittent vomiting and inappetence. He has also had fairly loose and foul smelling stools most of his life but otherwise acts healthy and happy. He went almost 2 years with no issues, but in October, he had a severe episode of vomiting that contained blood, and very bad diarrhea that was maroon in color. We went to the ER where he received supportive care (anti nausea, appetite stimulants). It was at this time that I decided to slowly switch him over to a freeze dried raw diet, as I knew a lot of people had success with this. He was previously eating Weruva wet canned food, mostly chicken and fish flavors. He was doing really well on the raw diet (Stella & Chewy, multiple proteins) and was pretty stable until three weeks ago when he went through another bad flare up and had to receive anti nausea medication for a week. We scheduled an appointment with a specialist, which was one week ago. There, they also noticed he has a heart murmur which really complicates his care. They said he may not be a good candidate for a biopsy because of the anesthesia, and he may also not be able to go on steroids, depending on the severity of his murmur. They suggested we do a novel protein diet first, and if that doesn't work then he needs to get an echocardiogram before deciding what to do next. If it is an allergy, it is likely chicken or turkey based on his symptoms in the past and the fact that he has eaten predominately chicken most of his life.
The issue is, they prescribed a Royal Canin canned rabbit and pea formula which I personally think the ingredients are garbage. My old cat was on a prescription diet for hyperthyroid and it made her very unhealthy, to the point she had pre-diabetes which immediately went away when I got her off that food so I am very hesitant. It contains a lot of fillers, as well as carageenan and other ingredients that are known to cause irritation. For now, I am proceeding with a novel protein freeze dried raw diet of only rabbit (since he has never had that before) and cut out all other treats completely to ensure he is only eating one protein. The brands we are feeding currently are Vital Essentials and Primal, and I make sure to rehydrate with plenty of water. Thankfully he likes this diet so far (he's VERY picky) and his poops have been so much better - solid and not stinky at all. He has thrown up 2 or 3 times in the last week which is not great but at least it is less.
The vet suggested we try probiotics as well, so I am giving him one capsule of Proviable DC in his food once daily. His bloodwork contained low levels of B12, so we are about to start him on a once daily liquid B12 supplement as well.
Should I be concerned that he is still occasionally vomiting on this new diet? It's been about 1 week of him only being strictly on one protein. Does anyone have any suggestions of anything else to try in the meantime? I really want to do everything I can for him to avoid steroids, given that the vet is really concerned about his heart.
Thank you!
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