Hello! Seeking thoughts re: 2 y/o cat with chronic GI issues

[Tanyakins]

Hello! Thank you for having me. My name is Tanya - I initially joined FDMB several years ago when I had a diabetic cat, but I was most definitely a lurker rather than a contributor. Espresso passed away in 2019 at the ripe old age of 17, having achieved diabetic remission 2 years earlier.

My husband & I are now proud parents of two cats: 2 y/o Nico and 4 y/o Shiva, and we have had them in our care since Dec 2019. Shiva's medical history thus far has been uneventful, but Nico has some undiagnosed GI issues. When we first adopted the two of them, the rescue had been feeding them both the Science Diet 1-6 y/o chicken dry food. Having the experience of a diabetic cat, I had attempted early on to slowly switch them to Fancy Feast. However, it became evident very quickly that Nico had some intolerance of some kind, as he had awful diarrhea when I introduced the FF, even in small increments. I believe I also tried Dr. Elsey's dry food, and had the same issue. As such, I've kept them both on the Science Diet food.

Fast forward to a few months back, I happened to see Nico at the litter box one day and noticed that he had slightly bloody stool. I had a routine fecal parasite workup and it came back clear. I wondered if it had just been a one-off, but I noticed that it was somewhat consistent when I started observing his bowel movements more. His stools were pretty soft (maybe a 4 or 5 on the Purina Fecal Scale) and he would pass fresh blood towards the end of the bowel movement.

I had my vet take a look at him during his annual exam, and nothing was immediately out of the ordinary. He prescribed Nico some w/d Prescription Diet food as an initial supplement, and we agreed to monitor his progress for about a month or so. His stool consistency improved (went up to about a 3) but still passing blood. My vet then prescribed some FortiFlora to add to the w/d, which we've been using for about 2 weeks. There hasn't been any improvement, but I've also been having issues with both cats and their disagreements over food (tl;dr Shiva got jealous of Nico's 'new' wet food (w/d), I gave Shiva some FF to placate her, Nico stops eating his w/d as much, etc etc...) so I'm a little bit at my wit's end. I don't think the bleeding is getting any better at all.

I emailed my vet today to see if there was A) any food that I can feed to both of the cats, or B) diagnostic tests that we can perform at this point. He said that we can switch to the z/d food, as both cats can eat that. He also recommended a GI workup, but he quoted it at around $700. He said that it includes radiographs & a gastrointestinal/maldigestion blood profile. He also said that if that is too costly, he can prescribe 'a pill'. No word on what medicine that would be though, yet.

I plan on calling the office in the morning to at least fill the z/d food, as both of their diets have been terrible lately, and also have an itemized cost estimate for the GI workup emailed to me for review. And I guess get the name of ~the pill~, lol.

Just wondering what people's thoughts are, general advice or comments, anything really. I'm very appreciative of anyone who reads up to this point. I'm wildly unfamiliar with feline medical issues beyond diabetes, and I know you guys know your stuff. Is the GI workup appropriate at this point? Is the cost appropriate? Does anyone have any experience with similar symptoms? Or with the z/d food?

Thank you again. I hope you all have a pleasant evening!

Oh, and I have attached my offering of kitty pics (Shiva is the tabby, Nico is the black cat).

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

Bump

 

[tiffmaxee]

Sorry to read this. Were labs run? Was the stool tested for bacteria? Did your vetvrya around of metronadozole? Bloody stool needs to be addressed. You could try a novel protein, one you never fed before, or a raw diet, again a novel protein. It sounds like it might be time to see a vet boarded internist.

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Have you tried slippery elm bark powder?

 

[Wendy&Neko]

The z/d is nothing special. The novel proteins foods can be purchased commercially. You want a protein not eaten before, like lamb, venison, duck, kangaroo, rabbit.

If I were to have a GI workup done, an ultrasound would be a better option than radiographs. But not any cheaper. Fortiflora isn't a great probiotic either, it's just a single strain. Here is some reading on probiotics.

 

[Snickers and Chrissy]

Hi, I haven't posted in ages but on the off chance this can help you here goes. My cat Snickers had constant diarrhea for about 4 months after we got her. We tried antibiotic pills, steroids, vet prescribed foods including the ZD, fortiflora and proviable. Nothing worked. The steroids helped a bit but only till she came off of them. We also got an abdominal ultrasound and a bzillion blood tests.

Ultimately what helped was a novel protein. We use Instinct Rabbit Original (switched from their rabbit limited ingredient because it's lower carbs). It made a huge difference. Since then, we've learned she can also eat fish and switch between the Instinct rabbit and Tikki Cat tuna. No chicken, turkey, or duck. Anything with feathers makes her sick.

We also used this stuff called Luxolite from the company Vitality Science. It's a liquid you mix with their food. They also sell a probiotic that we tried. Not sure the probiotic made a difference but we do feel the Luxolite helped and still keep a bottle around just in case.

Hope this helps!

 

[THH & Snowcrash (GA)]

I'd first recommend a fecal PCR test be done. Your cat is younger than usual for IBD, so my first thought would be an infection of some kind. Giardia in particular is very easy to miss in routine fecals and can cause bloody diarrhea.