Tribby having IBS symptoms again

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CassWTribby

CassWTribby

Member Since 2017
hi everyone,

Despite several trips to the vet, close food monitoring and trying to get her to eat pumpkin (Tribby hates pumpkin and won't eat if it's in her food so I have been feeding it to her with an oral syringe- which she also hates) and decent BGT levels, poor Tribby has IBS symptoms again. I have tried all the OTC methods of treating IBS in cats as well as prescribed antibiotics, anti parisite, and prescription food. She gets no kibble and diabetic approved canned foods only. We have not tried steroids because my vet is concerned about her senior status and side effects. If she doesnt improve soon then I will have to try a steroid or similar medication. Unfortunately with all the supplies and tests and vet visits my funds are a bit low at the moment.

Last night I heard her have an explosion of diarrhea and then when I checked she was sitting hunched as if she had a painful belly with a pool of runny stool behind her. She is eating all right but has been wanting strange foods lately. Everything from broccoli to hot dogs! She will even steal it out of the pan while it's being cooked!

Her BGL has been ok although occasionally it will be in the teens at her night check and injection. I'm thinking she is maybe getting into the other cats food?

Any thoughts on the diarrhea and how to treat it? She seems to do better on whole cooked foods like chicken or tuna but does not have any teeth so going to a raw diet would be difficult.

Thanks in advance! I am at my wits end! I feel after my first 2 months of treating her diabetics and testing her BGL we are doing good then another bout of diarrhea hits. :(
 
Have you tried Metronidazole ? It's not a steroid and has helped my IBD kitty for bouts of diarrhea in the past. He doesn't need to be on it permanently but only when acute flair ups hit.
 
Have you considered a food allergy? Flame and I first came here in 2008 after rounds and rounds of antibiotics, steroids, prescription foods, etc. and thousands of dollars. Nothing helped his diarrhea. He became diabetic because of the multiple rounds of steroids. After joining the FDMB and changing his diet to a high protein, low carb... and at first, limited ingredient diet (no grains, no glutens) within a few weeks his diarrhea stopped and never came back.
Turns out, his body could NOT process grains and glutens. As long as I stuck to grain/gluten free, low carb food, he was OK.

Some people have been able to trace their cat's sensitivity to a certain protein source... beef, chicken, fish, etc. Sometimes, trying a novel protein (like duck, venison, lamb, rabbit) can help. Some folks have tried an "elimination diet" where you only feed one protein source at at time for a period of time... so only chicken for a week or so (not sure on how much time) and if symptoms persist, eliminate chicken and move on to only turkey for a week or so, if symptoms persist, eliminate that and move on to another protein, etc.

Just wondering if you've considered food related allergies at all or had Tribby tested for allergies? I'm sorry that I'm not more familiar with your history. I just happened to see this post and thought I'd share my experience with Flame.
 
Leo has done much better on a limited ingredient novel single protein grain free diet with his IBD. Not perfect, but an awful lot better. His bowel movements have been better than I've ever seen them. It's worth trying the novel proteins.
 
Found an article to add on to Donna & Flame's post:

Excerpt:
"The new diet needs to be fed exclusively for a minimum of 12 weeks. This means no treats, unless they contain only the same novel or hydrolyzed protein, and no table scraps. You will need to check the ingredient list on any supplements you give, since many pet supplements have chicken or beef flavoring added. If you give medication with pill pockets, you will need to find an alternate method of giving your cat’s medication.

If a food allergy is present, cats will start responding to the elimination diet within four to six weeks, but it is important to continue the trial for the full 12 weeks. If the trial is successful, cat guardians are asked to return to the food that was fed before the trial. If symptoms return, a food allergy has been confirmed. Many cat guardians won’t be willing to go back to the original diet to confirm an allergy if they’re seeing an improvement or complete resolution of their cat’s symptoms. Cats can stay on these hypoallergenic or novel proteins indefinitely." Source
 
Which foods does everyone prefer for cats with IBS and diabetes ? I'm shopping tomorrow and hoping to start budesinode soon. Liver in her food seems to make it worse. So much stress!!
 
We use Natural balance wet food L.I.D. venison and duck for our IBD kitty. It helped about 50-70% in reducing the diarrhea and occasional bleeding. We still had to go on the steroid because his IBD had been neglected by his original owner and he probably had to heal up quite a bit in his intestine we are at about 95% normal BMs at this point after a couple months and considering reducing the steroid.
 
Yes. Flagyl/metronidazole has become ineffective. It did help the first time though. Also pancur for parasites, justvin case. At the vet now and I'm hoping to try budenoside.
 
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