Raw diet for IBD?

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Ana & Frosty (GA)

Ana & Frosty (GA)

Member Since 2018
My oldest civvie might have IBD, based on her symptoms and ultrasound.

We are seeing a pet nutritionist in a few weeks, but in the meantime I’ve been doing some research online and came across some information about a raw diet being helpful for IBD.

My sister feeds her cats Primal freeze dried nuggets, and looking at their website, the product looks promising. I’m wondering if anyone here had success with this brand of food for IBD?

She also feeds “instinct raw boost”. I haven’t looked that one up yet, but again, looking for any experience on here.

Thanks! Here’s a pic of her with her shaved belly. :cat:
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There’s a Facebook group about this! I make Spot’s raw food at home and use the Food Fur Life mix, so I don’t know about the commercial brands but there’s a lot of info on this page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/RawFedIBD/?ref=share

I have nothing but good things to say about the changes I’ve seen in him since we switched to raw. Just 6 months ago he was 7lbs and I had all kinds of concerns about digestive issues, possible EPI or IBD. Not to say he won’t ever relapse but for the time being, his issues have resolved and he’s up to a 12lb happy playful kitty :cat::cat::cat:
 
Thanks so much for the info! I just requested to join.

I looked up the food fur life, and it looks like it’s an additive to any raw or cooked meat diet?
 
@SpotsMom so far the group isn’t helpful. Everyone is just telling me I should make the food myself and try to push their product on me. I said like 3 times that making the food isn’t an option. I don’t feel that I need to justify as to why. Everyone has a different home situation and different lifestyle and some people can’t make the food for their own, very valid reasons. It’s just not gonna happen, and i feel like me saying I won’t be making the food should be enough.

I find a lot of the time when something is asked in forums, a good portion of people don’t actually “LISTEN” to what you’re saying, and just keep pushing their own ideas on you. It’s frustrating. I specifically asked if someone had experience with a particular food brand on the FB page, and like 3-4 people answered with something not even remotely related to my question, and kept posting links to their products. Ugh.

Maybe I should just do my own research and make my own decisions rather than going out there and surveying the public.
 
I’m sorry that’s been your experience. I’ve found them to be very helpful, but it does depend on who is answering your questions at any particular time. There are plenty of people on there who use commercial foods and even Primal. I’m sorry none of them chimed in :(
 
Cricket has problems with certain proteins, may be IBD, may be allergies...
But I have found that Vital Essentials Raw Chub is great for her gut-wise. I rotate duck and rabbit, but they have other proteins as well. It comes frozen and she loves it. She'll even gnaw away at it frozen.
I like it because unlike many of the other frozen foods, it doesn't contain a bunch of vegetables, no starches, etc. They also have frozen patties, which make serving easier.

https://www.vitalessentialsraw.com/cat/food/

I also give her Instinct Raw Toppers - which are the freee-dried raw bits they put in their "Boost" bags - as a treat during glucose tests.

I have fed her Primal Freeze nuggets. She did well with it but I stopped because I couldn't find the carb content...

I looked into making my own and my lifestyle doesn't afford that type of time commitment or the big financial investment of buying the bulk animal parts.

I only supplement raw though, she eats Hound and Gatos canned as well.

Good luck finding the right brand for your cutie!
 
Just to chime in with IBD treatment ideas, a good probiotic can be an option, too. I've recently been adding profivex powder to my cats' dishes once a day. It mixes well with soft food. I've already started seeing a difference in Frisky (my civvie cat). She's the one who's just come off of a 45 day round of antibiotics and it was really messing with her system.
 
Bronx's dad said:
Hi Ana,

Not sure if you saw this, but some good info and food recommendations:

https://www.wwwallaboutcats.com/best-cat-food-for-ibd
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Thanks! I read this and also sent it to a friend who is a registered dietitian for humans like me. We definitely like and agree with everything the article says. I just wish there were studies published about this already so vets would jump on board.

@SpotsMom i am trying to transition Bella onto raw, but it’s hard when she’s barely eating anything. Part of the problem also is that you can only leave raw out for 30 minutes. I think it took her 30 minutes just to try something from her bowl. At this point, I had dry mixed with raw to entice her, and FF in the other compartment of the bowl in case she didn’t want it. She picked out the kibble and ate some ff. I gave it 2 hours and had to throw the rest away. How does one transition a sick cat who doesn’t wanna eat as it is to food that won’t make her sick?
 
Ana & Frosty (GA) said:
Part of the problem also is that you can only leave raw out for 30 minutes. I think it took her 30 minutes just to try something from her bowl. At this point, I had dry mixed with raw to entice her, and FF in the other compartment of the bowl in case she didn’t want it. She picked out the kibble and ate some ff. I gave it 2 hours and had to throw the rest away. How does one transition a sick cat who doesn’t wanna eat as it is to food that won’t make her sick?
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I understand all too well the frustration of a cat who barely wants to eat. Spot used to be super picky and his lack of appetite and being underweight were some of the reasons I decided to try out raw in the first place. I used to let him free feed, so one of our first challenges was getting him on a feeding schedule. I got both cats an auto feeder with a built in ice pack, so they get small meals every 4 hours. If you need to, you can leave raw food out longer than 30 minutes, just leave it on ice or drop an ice cube in the middle of the food.. and if it starts to dry out, just add a bit more water.
As for transitioning, slower is definitely better. For Spot, I started him with 1/4tsp of raw mixed with a can of FF, and increased by 1/4tsp per day (decrease the FF by the same amount you increase the raw). Small enough he didn’t even notice the gradual change. It’s a slow process, but eventually we were able to stop the FF altogether.
 
@SpotsMom how long did u give him to finish the food before u threw it away when you mixed raw with the fancy feast? My cat takes hours to finish her food. That is my challenge
 
My cats have the Surefeed pet feeder which works only with their microchips so they can’t steal each other’s food. There is no room for an ice pack there and the ice will dilute the food ...
 
I have one snarfy cat who always cleaned up after Spot when he didn’t feel like eating. As a result we started just giving him a small meal every hour or so, then gradually increasing the size of the meal and the time between them. It’s definitely a challenge training a cat to eat on a schedule! My advice is to just be patient and consistent.

My cats actually lick up all the melted ice water along with their food, so they get extra hydration too. If your cat doesn’t like that, you could try freezing her food into little cubes and give her meals half frozen/half thawed.
 
SpotsMom said:
It’s definitely a challenge training a cat to eat on a schedule! M
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We don’t have a good schedule, both my fiancé and I work erratic hours. We both left at 6:30 this morning and got home at 8. The cats eat before we leave and whenever we get home. It was a lot more difficult and stressful with Frosty.

I have only been introducing raw at night and I’ve been giving them 2 hours to eat whatever they will then throwing the rest out. In the morning I would have to wake up even earlier than I do now and only be able to give them 45 mins the most. That’s he best I can do.

I wish I had a normal job with normal hours . It’s just adding more frustrating to an already frustrating issue
 
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