? Diet Change due to chronic diarrhea

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Jade & George

Jade & George

Member Since 2021
It’s been over a year since I’ve posted, as I had successfully gotten George off insulin using Weruva food. However, she seems to have developed IBS so our vet prescribed Royal Canin Rabbit & Pea. It was successful in that she’s finally having normal stool after over a week of frequent diarrhea, BUT I just tested her BG and got 340. I’m devastated. The insulin I have is over a year old so I’m going to call the vet tmrw to see if I can get a new bottle.
Has anyone had experience with a diabetic cat with IBS? Does anyone know of any low carb foods that are also limited ingredient with only novel proteins?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Jade & George
Dx Nov 2021, OTJ Feb 2022. Relapsed due to diet change due to IBS dx May 2023. Currently feeding Royal Canin Rabbit & Pea.
 
I'm so sorry. Your vet should know how to manage both conditions! Royal Canin foods are notoriously high in carbs.

Take a look at ZiwiPeak foods. They have a rabbit and lamb and venison varieties that may meet your need for a novel protein. Another option is a raw food diet. I have an IBD cat (non-diabetic but my cats get low carb) and I buy ground pork, bison, or venison at the supermarket. I then add a pre-mix (it's a powder that's mixed with water and added to the ground meat and has all of the supplements that will make the food nutritionally complete -- I use EZComplete from FoodFurLife).

Another option is to go to a place like Chewy's and filter all of the choices for a canned food by the protein. You may have to use a carbohydrate calculator or Dr. Lisa's food chart to check the carb level.

I found this website to be helpful regardless of whether you opt to switch to a raw diet. There's tons of information on managing common IBD issues (e.g., diarrhea). They also have a Facebook page if you have questions.
 
Both Minnie and Bobo had/have IBD. Luckily, I just needed to remove beef and pumpkin from their diets and they were fine on FF. But I did look into ZiwiPeak and already made raw as Sienne mentioned. Another brand is actually called Raw. I’m feeding Bobo a raw food made by Steve’s Foods called Quest. You may want to go to a local pet store, not a chain, and ask. I found the staff at my local independent pet store very knowledgeable and they suggested a few brands I had never considered.

I understand your frustration as Bobo was put on budesonide which made him diabetic. I got him off of it and am working on getting him into remission. Btw, is the insulin past the expiration date? I’m not sure about ProZinc but Lantus is good for 2 years.
 
Thank you Sienne and Ale! I went to my two local pet stores but didn’t have much luck - they had lots of LIDs but the only rabbit choice had chicken broth. I did buy some Stella & Chewy freeze dried rabbit morsels but I have no carb data on them so there’s more research in my future.

I took her BG again and it was 295 so I’m glad it’s not continuing to rise - I feel like I have a little more time to figure this out, esp. bc she’s acting her usual self and not drinking or peeing more. I fed her another 1/2 can of the Royal Canin knowing it’s not the best choice but it’s all I’ve got.

I found a pet store about an hour away that has Koha LID rabbit so I’m gonna head down there. Oh and my vet wouldn’t give me insulin so there’s that. The ProZinc in my fridge is from Nov. 2021 but the expiration date isn’t until Feb. 2024 so I’ll use it if I can’t get her back down by diet.

I will also look into raw diets but I don’t even cook for myself so I’m not sure if trust myself to “cook” for her. I’m very uncomfortable with raw meat - it triggers my anxiety (that is well managed by medication but I still try to avoid triggers).

Thank you again!
 
I got a few cans of Koha LID Rabbit Au Jus, Identity LID European Rabbit Recipe, and Rawz Rabbit Pate and Rabbit & Pumpkin Pate, as well as a bag of Primal Raw Frozen Rabbit Nuggets. I’ve got about an hour to decide which I’m going to introduce tonight. I’m leaning towards the cans, and only the Rawz Rabbit Pate doesn’t have pumpkin.

Ale - How did you figure out it was beef and pumpkin that were the problem? I was feeding a wide variety of Weruva (tuna, salmon, chicken, beef, turkey, and pumpkin) so I don’t know exactly what the problem was.

Thanks everyone!
 
The beef was trial and error and noticing that every time Minnie had any, she’d vomit soon after or that day. Her IM mentioned pumpkin not being good for IBD and again, I tested it and she vomited so he was right. I noticed the same pattern with Bobo and beef and having had the experience with Minnie I just removed it from both their diets.
 
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I started her on Koha Rabbit Au Jus last night and she liked it and had a successful litterbox trip (likely RC but still glad). But today her BG was back up to 326 so I made a rash decision and started her on the Rawz Rabbit. Koha was so gross looking and smelling, Rawz is WAY better. Going to try to stick with this one for at least a few days but will keep checking her BG a few times a day.
 
Jade & George said:
I started her on Koha Rabbit Au Jus last night and she liked it and had a successful litterbox trip (likely RC but still glad). But today her BG was back up to 326 so I made a rash decision and started her on the Rawz Rabbit. Koha was so gross looking and smelling, Rawz is WAY better. Going to try to stick with this one for at least a few days but will keep checking her BG a few times a day.
Click to expand...
Was the Koha HC?
 
I’m really struggling. Her blood sugar went back up to 326 around noon then down to 277 before her evening meal. I feed her 4x/day, 1/2 large can or a whole small can. The IBD was diagnosed due to constant diarrhea, but my vet also ran a panel on her stool and found a slight overgrowth of c diff, but once I told her the Royal Canin Rabbit had stopped the diarrhea, she didn’t think we needed to worry about the test result.

I’ve spent a couple hundred dollars on food over the past couple days and I just don’t know what I should be feeding her. The Royal Canin Rabbit stopped the diarrhea so I am trying to stick with that protein, but it’s hard to find without chicken mixed in and all over the map carb-wise.

I was going to try the Primal Frozen Raw Rabbit Nuggets but the directions about only feeding on steel and everything made me really anxious.

I tried rehydrating some Stella & Chewy freeze dried rabbit morsels but they still look like packing peanuts and George wasn’t interested.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
Have you tried a Boulardii probiotics?

also I’d suggest you change the thread title to something that indicates you’re looking for diarrhea related advice and maybe add the question mark option from the drop down menu
 
Well, im sorry to say but you need one of the 2 and even an ultra sound is borderline inconclusive. IBD is not diagnosed by diarrhea alone since there are a number of things that can cause it. Last question, did you ever do a pcr fecal? If not, I think you def need to.
 
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Not all probiotics are made equal. S Boulardii is directed at the GI tract and stool maintenance. Last thing, if you bought food that she didn’t like or didn’t work you can take it back to the pet store and get a refund of your money. Chewy offers the same
 
The vet mentioned an ultrasound but then said thickening if the intestines would mean either IBD or lymphoma and there was no way to know without a biopsy. George doesn’t do well at the vet so I’m trying my best to avoid that.

They did a diarrhea panel but I’m not sure if that’s different from a fecal PCR despite some googling.

I’ll look into the probiotic you recommended, thank you. It’s so frustrating following my vets advice and then feeling like I’ve done it all wrong. Everywhere I go I get a different answer.
 
You can treat the symptoms then. Your vet is right about the ultrasound that’s why a biopsy is the only definite test. Even then, the thickening of the intestine could go from IBD to lymphoma over time. Anyway, the fecal pcr is more specific and will reveal more than a regular fecal. It’s more expensive because of that. I had a foster with serious diarrhea and it was the only way to figure out what she had and treat it. If it’s not IBD, the pcr fecal will tell you what it is.
 
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One of my previous cats, Finnegan, was diagnosed with IBD back in 2021. He passed away recently of unrelated complications but once we got his diet and steroid dose figured out, he was stable and healthy up until then. Even with the steroid (2.5 mg of budesonide - best for diabetics), he still was only able to eat certain foods. What worked for us was Walkabout Kangaroo and Instinct Limited Ingredient Rabbit (specificially the limited ingredient version as the other one contains pork and still gave Finn diarrhea). I also gave a tiny bit of slippery elm in every bowl, a daily sprinkling of S. Boulardii and Proviable probiotics, plus a weekly cyano-B12 shot.

Walk About also has other lower cost novel proteins like duck, quail, boar, and rabbit but Finn couldn't do duck or quail and Mikey (one of my other cats) is allergic to the boar. I did use the rabbit on occasion but it wouldn't be eaten all the way before getting dried out, which is why I settled on the Instinct brand for rabbit, which they devour.

ETA: FYI, the ZiwiPeak is Rabbit and Lamb and did not work with Finn because the lamb still gave him diarrhea (also it's ridiculously expensive). YMMV as ECID
 
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I was just looking at the Instinct LID Rabbit! But I couldn’t figure out the carb content on it - was Finn on insulin? I’m also confused as to whether it’s raw - their website is confusing (for a sleep-deprived brain anyway!).

I tried feeding G the Primal Raw Rabbit Nuggets but she doesn’t want to eat it all at feeding time and I can’t leave it out for more than an hour (bc raw) so I don’t think it’s going to work for us.

Earlier this year (and much of last), I had been feeding her 1/4 small can every 90 minutes or risk vomiting. Around the clock. It was rough. I can’t go back.

I think I’m settling in on mixing the Koha Rabbit (very LC: 4) and the Rawz Rabbit (still LC but higher at 8). Hoping to stick with that for at least a few days and hope her BG continues to drop.

Also continuing to shop for other options. I don’t know what food bothers her so I feel like I’m shopping blind and with both hands tied behind my back.

Any recommendations on how to reintroduce certain foods to figure out what she’s allergic to? Her only symptom was diarrhea so the timing is hard to figure out.
 
Yes, I adopted Finn from DCiN already diabetic and he was on insulin for at least 7 years (doses ranged from .5u-1.5u of Levemir over his lifetime). The Instinct Limited is not raw but it is definitely low carb even if they won't tell you. After switching everyone over to it, Finn's insulin dose decreased as well as Mikey's (my other diabetic who has been on insulin since birth). It's expensive but for its effectiveness and compared to the price of other novel proteins, it's worth it. I actually created a spreadsheet of all the food options Finn was able to eat with price comparisons.
 
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Jade & George said:
Any recommendations on how to reintroduce certain foods to figure out what she’s allergic to? Her only symptom was diarrhea so the timing is hard to figure out.
Click to expand...

With Finn, it was a matter of trying anything and everything till I got solid poop for the first time in 2 months with the rabbit. It took me 3 vets and 44 days before I could get a steroid prescription because the vets up here are greedy and callous people who wanted more money for more and more drugs that didn't work and tests that continued to confirm it was IBD while Finn was wasting away so I had to solve the diet first on my own to keep him alive for that long :mad:

I used the rabbit as a jumping off point and began exploring other "novel" proteins to see if the diarrhea returned. First week, I tried rabbit and lamb. Every time he got lamb, he'd have diarrhea. Rinse and repeat with venison, duck, boar, etc. I also had to deal with Mikey's food allergies (he gets acne and loses his whiskers) so it was a bit more difficult and I was a lot more limited on what I could feed.
 
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Been mixing Koha and Rawz for a while, averaging 6% carbs on a dry matter basis. BG is still in the upper 200s so I’m trying Tiki After Dark Rabbit, Duck, and Chicken Liver (0% carbs on a dry matter basis). Hoping for solid stool and a lower BG but it was just 296 which is FRUSTRATING.
 
I’ve been putting it off but I know you’re right. I just started her on a zero carb food yesterday that I was nervous to start bc it has duck and chicken liver in it. If her BG isn’t down by tomorrow I plan to pick up a new bottle of insulin. Thank you so much.
 
Picked up new insulin today. Recorded all BGs in my spreadsheet. Almost none are fasting as I feed her 4x/day and she takes the whole six hours to finish a meal. Rereading the Prozinc Basics and now totally confused. It says not to give insulin if they’re below 250 and a cat is considered well regulated if they’re in the mid 200s. Now I’m second guessing giving her insulin.
Oh and I just found out the food I’ve been transitioning her to has been discontinued.
Any recommendations on how to figure out what she’s allergic to? Vet prescribed rabbit but they’re all pretty high in carbs or hard to get or CRAZY expensive (or all three!).
 
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