? IBD food suggestions

[BeeboTheBeanMachine]

Hi friends!
Good news #1: Beebo is officially in remission! Yay! It’s been over a month since her last dose and her numbers have stayed 100% green and low blue ever since. We think ditching the dry food did most of the regulation work.

Bad news: her diarrhea just keeps getting worse. You may recall from previous posts that the vet assumed all her stomach issues were symptoms of diabetes, but they really never improved at all over the entire (short) time she was on insulin. We’ve made a few food swaps and she hasn’t had a bite of dry food in over a month, but her poops just keep getting softer. Right now, they’re straight liquid.

Good news #2: we ran more blood work and her thyroid, pancreas, liver, and kidneys all are doing fine. With all these ruled out, the vet is thinking it’s probably IBD or a mystery allergy. He’s prescribing metronidazole to try and help with her tummy for now, but I also want to try another food swap. Which leads me to my question...

What foods do y’all recommend for IBD? Right now she’s getting a mix of Merrick Grain Free Beef (chunks in a pouch with some gravy) and Merrick Purrfect Bistro Grain Free Cowboy Cookout (beef). I picked these cause they were the first beef-only, chicken-free varieties I could find and I wanted to try to rule out a chicken allergy. Since her symptoms did not improve, I’m guessing it’s not an allergy (unless she’s allergic to chicken and beef and lamb and rabbit, which would really suck) so I’m open to trying any protein again. I’m now suspecting the gravy in these varieties might be hurting, so I want to go back to a pate variety. Does anyone have suggestions for ingredients to stay away from or to encourage? I’m open to any brands. I can shop at Chewy, Petsmart, or Petco so I’m honestly overwhelmed with the hundreds of options and would just like some recommendations to start.

 

[Tomlin]

Hi friends!
Good news #1: Beebo is officially in remission! Yay! It’s been over a month since her last dose and her numbers have stayed 100% green and low blue ever since. We think ditching the dry food did most of the regulation work.

Bad news: her diarrhea just keeps getting worse. You may recall from previous posts that the vet assumed all her stomach issues were symptoms of diabetes, but they really never improved at all over the entire (short) time she was on insulin. We’ve made a few food swaps and she hasn’t had a bite of dry food in over a month, but her poops just keep getting softer. Right now, they’re straight liquid.

Good news #2: we ran more blood work and her thyroid, pancreas, liver, and kidneys all are doing fine. With all these ruled out, the vet is thinking it’s probably IBD or a mystery allergy. He’s prescribing metronidazole to try and help with her tummy for now, but I also want to try another food swap. Which leads me to my question...

What foods do y’all recommend for IBD? Right now she’s getting a mix of Merrick Grain Free Beef (chunks in a pouch with some gravy) and Merrick Purrfect Bistro Grain Free Cowboy Cookout (beef). I picked these cause they were the first beef-only, chicken-free varieties I could find and I wanted to try to rule out a chicken allergy. Since her symptoms did not improve, I’m guessing it’s not an allergy (unless she’s allergic to chicken and beef and lamb and rabbit, which would really suck) so I’m open to trying any protein again. I’m now suspecting the gravy in these varieties might be hurting, so I want to go back to a pate variety. Does anyone have suggestions for ingredients to stay away from or to encourage? I’m open to any brands. I can shop at Chewy, Petsmart, or Petco so I’m honestly overwhelmed with the hundreds of options and would just like some recommendations to start.

Hi,

It is challenging to find out if a cat truly has a food sensitivity or allergy. The only way to really know is to do an elimination diet. That involves getting a novel protein limited diet which means it is 1 novel protein and 1 carbohydrate & then trying it for a minimum of 2 weeks to see if symptoms improve. Many vets do not make you then reintroduce the food you think may have caused the symptoms if they clear. Be aware that many of the off the shelf “limited” diets actually have more than one protein &/or some have been found to have been cantaminated by being run on machines that are also used for other proteins. For example, one will say limited venison but have mussel juice in it or it is rabbit but was run off a machine used to process chicken. For this reason, many vets recommend using one of the Rx diets. There is also a reputable company out there called Rayne Nutritionals that sells these diets in order to rule out food sensitivities or allergies. When you are feeding a food with multiple sources of protein & carbs is tricky to know which one(s) may be the issue .

I would also recommend taking a look at IBD Kitties on Facebook. There are a lot of great people with experience on there. You will find that some have success with novel proteins (rabbit or venison etc) while some use raw & others don’t do well with it. Homemade foods are sometimes helpful but sometimes a cat won’t eat it. Again, it is going to be specific to your cat but you may get some great ideas from that group !

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

My civvie has IBD. To be honest, I didn't go through with an elimination diet. Gizmo had been on an exclusively poultry diet his entire life. I switched him to novel proteins (either ZiwiPeak venison or lamb also rabbit but they discontinued the rabbit). ZiwiPeal also doesn't contain any gums or carrageenan. I ultimately moved him to a raw diet of either pork or lamb and use a pre-mix to supplement the necessary nutrients.

You may also want to try a probiotic to help with the diarrhea. S. boulardii was my go to for diarrhea -- I use probiotics from ReNew. The brand is available on Amazon. Raw Feeding for IBD Cats is the place where I found a great deal of information about supplements, etc. They also have a Facebook page where you an post questions.