GERD?

[Jennifer & Splunk]

Hi all,

Well, Splunk has been OTJ for close to a month now. Hooray! But he's started displaying symptoms of what I think might be GERD. Wondering if anyone has any experience with this, so I can (a) identify the problem properly, and (b) treat it appropriately. (And yes, we've seen the vet about this, but let's just say I'm looking for outside input.)

Splunk's symptoms are as follows:
- stomach rumbling noisily
- vomiting sometimes after eating or drinking on an empty stomach
- licking and swallowing when not eating (nausea?)
- "snuffling" sometimes (sort of a cough/sneeze noise... thought it might be herpes, but not sure now)
- sometimes a bit "down" -- like he's not feeling great

So, if it is GERD, here's what I'm planning to do:
- smaller meals more frequently, so he doesn't have an empty stomach for long
- feed him homemade food (not raw, looking for recipes!)
- consider antacid -- Famotidine, maybe

All the online advice for treating GERD says to go to a lower protein food. Obviously I don't want to stress his poor little pancreas, so I'm not willing to do that. But I'd happily feed him something like ground beef and kefir (that's one recipe I read) if that's good for him. I suspect the recent increase in the amount of Fancy Feast he's eating may have something to do with this.

Anyway, if anyone has any experience with GERD, I'd really love to hear whether you think this might be what we're dealing with, and what you think I can do about it.

Thanks,

Jenn & Splunk

 

[Jan Radar (GA)]

Good morning Splunk and Jenn, I have some experience dealing with the symptoms you describe. Radar has had many of these same types of troubles and I've learned a few things while trying to help him feel better. Of course, these are only my experiences with my one cat so they may or may not be helpful to you.

The vet suspects that Radar may have IBD and he wants to do expensive ultrasound exams to investigate his theory. I just don't have the funds to support the repeated exams he wants to do. So I've adopted a cheaper, although clearly much less precise, approach.

The first thing I did was add a probiotic to Radar's meals every day. I use the Renew Life Ultimate Flora Probiotic with 15 Billion live cultures. I put half a capsule on his breakfast and the other half on his dinner. When I've depleted my supply accidentally and he didn't get it for a few days, he didn't feel as well so I know that it's part of the formula that helps him significantly.

We also have noted that if Radar goes too long without eating that his tummy is upset and then he doesn't want to eat. He is extremely sensitive in this area so we make sure that he never goes more than 4 hours without putting some food into him.

We give Radar a weekly injection of B12 which helps him eat more consistently and helps him just feel better overall. The vet says that this is a common treatment for IBD cats because the thickening of the intestinal wall interferes with the absorption of B12.

I suspect that Radar has some allergies and when I started being very cautious about the ingredients in his food he made more progress in terms of the frequency of tummy troubles.

We resisted having raw cat food in our kitchen for a long time, but then we decided that we just had to try it to see if Radar would feel better. Last fall when we finally started feeding Radar raw food from RadCat we noted a significant improvement in his overall health. The vet was insistent with us about the importance of feeding a complete diet with all the added nutrients and vitamins. He said that a raw diet is the most natural way to feed a cat because it has the smallest amount of stress on the digestive system.

There was a period of time when we were giving Radar an antacid to help his tummy. I have since switched to giving him Slippery Elm Bark in a bit of plain chicken baby food when he displays symptoms of an upset tummy. I made this decision thanks to @Marje and Gracie who sent me information that helped me understand how meat is broken down in the stomach for digestion. The Slippery Elm Bark is a much more gentle way to calm the whole digestive system which helps the cat feel better overall. I have found this to be absolutely true for Radar.

Perhaps the most important thing I've learned is that helping the kitty feel better begins with the food he is eating and the cat is the one who is actually the boss in this area and not me.

I hope some of my experience can be helpful to you as you work to help Splunk feel better and stay OTJ!

 

[Jennifer & Splunk]

Good morning Splunk and Jenn, I have some experience dealing with the symptoms you describe. Radar has had many of these same types of troubles and I've learned a few things while trying to help him feel better. Of course, these are only my experiences with my one cat so they may or may not be helpful to you.

The vet suspects that Radar may have IBD and he wants to do expensive ultrasound exams to investigate his theory. I just don't have the funds to support the repeated exams he wants to do. So I've adopted a cheaper, although clearly much less precise, approach.

The first thing I did was add a probiotic to Radar's meals every day. I use the Renew Life Ultimate Flora Probiotic with 15 Billion live cultures. I put half a capsule on his breakfast and the other half on his dinner. When I've depleted my supply accidentally and he didn't get it for a few days, he didn't feel as well so I know that it's part of the formula that helps him significantly.

We also have noted that if Radar goes too long without eating that his tummy is upset and then he doesn't want to eat. He is extremely sensitive in this area so we make sure that he never goes more than 4 hours without putting some food into him.

We give Radar a weekly injection of B12 which helps him eat more consistently and helps him just feel better overall. The vet says that this is a common treatment for IBD cats because the thickening of the intestinal wall interferes with the absorption of B12.

I suspect that Radar has some allergies and when I started being very cautious about the ingredients in his food he made more progress in terms of the frequency of tummy troubles.

We resisted having raw cat food in our kitchen for a long time, but then we decided that we just had to try it to see if Radar would feel better. Last fall when we finally started feeding Radar raw food from RadCat we noted a significant improvement in his overall health. The vet was insistent with us about the importance of feeding a complete diet with all the added nutrients and vitamins. He said that a raw diet is the most natural way to feed a cat because it has the smallest amount of stress on the digestive system.

There was a period of time when we were giving Radar an antacid to help his tummy. I have since switched to giving him Slippery Elm Bark in a bit of plain chicken baby food when he displays symptoms of an upset tummy. I made this decision thanks to @Marje and Gracie who sent me information that helped me understand how meat is broken down in the stomach for digestion. The Slippery Elm Bark is a much more gentle way to calm the whole digestive system which helps the cat feel better overall. I have found this to be absolutely true for Radar.

Perhaps the most important thing I've learned is that helping the kitty feel better begins with the food he is eating and the cat is the one who is actually the boss in this area and not me.

I hope some of my experience can be helpful to you as you work to help Splunk feel better and stay OTJ!

Hi Jan & Radar,
Oh my goodness, thank you SO much for all the time you took to write this. This is amazing. I am really, really grateful to you -- what a lot of wonderful information. I am going to take some time to digest everything you've written, and then go to the pet store and the health food store armed with your advice. I feel there's a good chance Splunk will feel better after implementing some or all of these plans!
THANK YOU, and love to Radar!

 

[Yong & Maury GA]

Hope Splunk feels better from this now

 

[Jennifer & Splunk]

Hope Splunk feels better from this now

Thank you! His big sister Suki died a few days ago, so that could definitely be part of the reason he's a bit out of sorts. She was 23, and he had lived with her since he was a kitten. So it's a big adjustment... for all of us.

 

[Marje and Gracie]

Hi Jennifer

I am so very sorry for your loss. When my precious Gracie crossed, it took Tobey about three weeks to realize she wasn't coming back and then he wouldn't eat, developed diarrhea, was very lethargic and sad. Of course, I took him in for a full check up and there was nothing. He grieved very heavily for a very long time.

Jan has given you excellent advice. I stay away from antiacids for my cats (and I wouldn't take them either) because used habitually, they stop all stomach acid production... not just the excess....and we need stomach acid.

My darling girl also had IBD, confirmed by biopsy, and so I got her off canned foods because they tend to have carrageenan, a lot of gums, or other undesirable ingredients. I started slow by home cooking for her using raw meat I bought from Whole Foods and adding liver and the balanced supplement alnutrin with the goal of slowly getting her to raw.

She also had someod the symptoms as your baby so I, too, fed many small meals; I used an auto feeder to give her a snack of freeze dried chicken treats during the night to absorb any acid that built up overnight and it worked like a charm. I also used slippery elm bark powder (buy the bulk, certified from a health food store but you only need to buy 1/8 c to start). I used a little different formula than Jan because every cat is different (ECID).

I would put 1/4 tsp SEB powder with 1/2 tsp George's aloe vera (you can't use just any aloe vera in cats...it must be fractionally distilled, like George's), and 1 tsp water (bottled or filtered). Make a slurry and give twice a day but separate from any other meds/supplements by two hours. Aloe Vera is GREAT for the digestive system and I always keep it handy here for guests who sometimes get upset tummies.

I'm also an advocate of a raw diet as I've seen the healing it can do. Tobey has eaten raw since kittenhood and as soon as got my kitten, Livia, I slowly transitioned her to raw. I make it at home (it's fast and easy) with EZ Complete balanced supplement. It only requires: meat + supplement + water. They also have resources that teach you how to cook the raw and use the supplement if you want to start out slow.

I hope this helps your sweet boy!!!

PS. And I use the same probiotic as Jan. My cats get it every day (it's the same one I take) and I startd my kitten on a low dose from day one and built up slowly. Current information indicates human probiotics are better for cats than animal probiotics because of the much higher number of CFUs. Animal probiotics, inc Dr. Mercola's (and I am a Mercola fan...love Dr. Becker), do not have high enough CFUs to make it through the low pH (very acidic) Feline stomach acid.

 

[Lillie]

I have an IBD kitty who has (had) similar symptoms. Mild IBD was diagnosed through endoscopy. I give Leo Pepcid AC (cat dosage) at night along with setting the petsmart feeder for 2:00AM so he has something in his stomach over night along with leaving some food out for him before I go to bed. He needs to eat some food every 4 hours and can only eat duck canned food. He throws up dry food (any dry food-doesn't matter what brand). He gets Dr. Mercola's pet probiotics along with pureed pumpkin mixed in his daytime food. Keeps his poop normal. He has done incredibly well with this (keeping my fingers crossed) and no longer has the early morning foaming, liquid pukes. He's playing and chasing lizards and backyard birds again. I also give him the Zobalin vitamin b-12 in his food. So far so good. He's been OTJ for a good while now.