Inflammatory Bowel Disease - need new food suggestion

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The_Dude

The_Dude

Member Since 2016
Hi there -
It's been quite a while since I have been on the forum. Dude was diagnosed as diabetic summer of 2016 (at 14 years old). We struggled to get his treatment figured our for a few months and bounced around lots of different insulin amounts. In the end we got to a remission state when he was completely transitioned to wet food (Fancy Feast Classic). His numbers were/are very consistent, so I don't test regularly anymore.

He has always been a bit of a "pukey" cat, prone to hairballs and vomiting. Looking back now, I believe it got worse after switching food, at the time I thought it was because we took him off the hairball control dry food he was eating for most of his life. Last week however, he stopped eating completely and starting having very bad diarrhea both in the litter box and around the house. After a few days of not eating a single thing (I tempted him with everything under the sun) we force fed him a "Recuperation" liquid food we got from the vet. He continued to decline, and went to the vet for IV. He seems to have his appetite back now (it's been just shy of week since this started). X-rays taken show inflammed bowels, but no other obvious problems.

In addition to all this, we adopted a kitten 2.5 months ago. Unfortunately the kitten had ringworm and now, after I thought I had it all cleared at our house, Dude has developed ringworm too. The vet examined him and I followed the same treatment the vet prescribed for the kitten (betadine and monistat). This treatment started a day or two before this horrible bowel problems. I stopped using the monistat as soon as he stopped eating, too many factors to rule out at once. I just started using the betadine again tonight though. I'm sure the new kitten has caused extra stress in his life, he isn't in love with this new fur baby, he does seem to be warming up to her though.

Long story short. The vet thinks the Fancy Feast is causing the inflammatory bowel disease (or at least causing it to flare up) and wants us to change up his diet. I am worried it was a reaction to the Monistat, but the vet doesn't think that is it. I am not opposed to finding a higher quality wet food for Dude, but I was hoping someone had suggestions for sensitive stomachs or if anyone had had trouble with ringworm medication.

My main reason for feeding FF was that it was all I could find in my small town (plus his numbers were awesome), but we just got a Tractor Supply, which gives up much more food options without having to order online. The vet has a few types of prescription Hills (glucose/weight management (m/d), digestive care (i/d), and another one he doesn't have in stock (z/d)) and Royal Canin "Selected Protein" he wants us to try. I don't see any of them on the chart - probably because they are prescription based. The vet would also like us to get Dude on a twice a day eating schedule, he is more like 3-4 times a day now, just small bits at a time.

Thanks!!
 
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You've obviously done a lot of research already, could it be as simple as a bad batch or change in content of the Fancy Feast. I've been in a related business so I know they whack out a million cans of this flavor today, another million of another flavor tomorrow. Keep in touch, I want to know how this works out.
Hey The Dude, kitty high five! We missed you. :)
 
Hmm, good idea, I hadn't thought about it being a bad batch. I had my mind made up that it was the ringworm medication so I was very surprised the vet suspected the food. The vet and I have disagreed about food in the past. He kept insisting the diabetic dry food was fine, but we couldn't get his numbers under control until I followed the advice on this board and switched to wet food only. At least he is only suggesting a new type of canned food and not going back to dry! I have a hard time giving him food that I have no idea what the numbers are though....
 
Well that was a Hail Mary pass from me. I used to be a food snob and Fancy Feast always looked like pig slop. It's what Noah eats now.
Pet food standards in Canada are less than zero. I've seen what goes on at the moo-works, pretty sloppy work there boys!
 
The_Dude said:
Hi there -
It's been quite a while since I have been on the forum. Dude was diagnosed as diabetic summer of 2016 (at 14 years old). We struggled to get his treatment figured our for a few months and bounced around lots of different insulin amounts. In the end we got to a remission state when he was completely transitioned to wet food (Fancy Feast Classic). His numbers were/are very consistent, so I don't test regularly anymore.

He has always been a bit of a "pukey" cat, prone to hairballs and vomiting. Looking back now, I believe it got worse after switching food, at the time I thought it was because we took him off the hairball control dry food he was eating for most of his life. Last week however, he stopped eating completely and starting having very bad diarrhea both in the litter box and around the house. After a few days of not eating a single thing (I tempted him with everything under the sun) we force fed him a "Recuperation" liquid food we got from the vet. He continued to decline, and went to the vet for IV. He seems to have his appetite back now (it's been just shy of week since this started). X-rays taken show inflammed bowels,

It could be a reaction to something in his food. Most IBD cats develop sensitivities to carageen and guar gum. If he on any medication for ibd?

What ever caused it his bowel needs a simple protein to help it rest and heal. He should also get b12 by injection because even after 4 days of chronic diarrhea b12 is depleted and it takes weeks to recover. As I your vet. You can give this easily weekly at home sub q like insulin.

As far as diet I would recommend a simple protein such a chicken thighs or breasts or drumsticks cooked in broth (no garlic or onion). Or ground turkey or beef. Save the liquid and offer this on its own or syringe feed. Bone broth is nutritious and healing.
If you have to go canned look for simple ingredients without gums or carageen. This reduces any additives that could be causing irritation.

Slippery elm gel and s boulardii can really help stop diarrhea. There is an ER stop method of s boulardii you can try. Both are available from health food stores. Info about both can be found at IBD kitties web page.
Typically after removing irritants and allowing the bowel time to heal the diarrhea may ease off. No improvement you should try meds such as prednisolone, flagyl, tylosin and/or CBD oil to reduce inflammation in the bowel. These meds can affect bgl so you need to go carefully testing levels as you proceed.

Not eating is very dangerous for Any cat more so on insulin. You can offer chicken ham or beef with broth baby food. Warmed slightly many will eat this on their own or you can syringe feed.

I'm doubting monistat would cause IBD. If you see some improvement with a food change start applying again and see what happens. Was the new kitten dewormed? Giving them both a good dewormer med such as panacur will kill any parasites that could be causing irritation in his bowel.
Do you home test bgl? This would-be a big help as well especially if you are giving meds that effect bgl.
All cats are unique and treating them cam be frustrating because what helps one makes another worse. Hopefully a diet change will help. Home cooked is the way to start because you have control over what is in it.
It can take a few weeks before diarrhea can be stopped if the digestive system is inflamed. A blood work panel checking pancreatitis b12 electrolytes etc can also provide some answers. It's painful so affects appetite. Always ensure he's getting enough fluids by adding water to his food and offering broth.

Cats in insulin typically do better than just two meals a day before insulin but access to good food all the time. You can use an ice pack under the plate if needed. Access to food also ensures that he can eat if he feels bgl dropping and help protect himself from hypo. He also needs more calories to prevent loosing weight. All cats are unique and even if the 2 x a day worked for some of your vet's diabetic patients (doubtful) it may not be best for your cat.

My kitty had IBD first and diabetes was detected during tests for IBD.
Hoping your kitty feels better. You too. It's so hard on everyone when they are feeling poorly.
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Very helpful. Thank you. I'm going to answer quickly because I have to go to bed, just to clarify a few things.

He is eating now. The vet took away his food because he thought he was eating too much! He also had a solid bowel movement since he has been home. We syringe fed him this weekend, but he went in for IV etc Monday, came home Tuesday. he has been tested for pancreatitis in the past (this spring), but it was negative.

I do home test his bgl, just not very often because he is no longer on insulin.

The cats are both on Revolution, not specifically dewormed, I thought Revolution covered that? I should check.

Thanks!
 
Revolution can treat parasites but many parasites are resistant. If he's having solid poop them you are well on your way.
You can give sub q fluids at home quite easily and it is way less expensive.
Keep an eye on him and even journal what he eats and how he feels etc. Then if there is a trigger you will see it.
Hopefully it was a reaction to food and he's on the way to feeling better.
Good news!
 
I two cats that have digestive problems. My vet had me try giving food one brand/ flavor at time for several days at a time, Gizmo can eat anything that has no grains. Callie can eat only poultry. She seems to be able to eat any brand of poultry flavored cat food as long as it is low carb. Sincei came what thrs
 
My kitty also has IBD. Getting him on a probiotic made it a million times better. He has to get it every day, and it takes a few weeks to build up in their system to full effect so it's important to be consistent and stick with it, but it's lowered his flare ups from nearly constant to once every couple months. S. Boulardii is the best option for a probiotic. Slippery Elm Bark is helpful when he has a flare up as long as I catch it early. At this point I can usually tell by looking at him if he's starting to feel bad and get him started on it. If the flare gets bad, I give him metronidazole (prescription from the vet) and that takes care of it quickly.

This link will help you figure out which slippery elm bark products are okay for cats: http://www.felinecrf.org/holistic_treatments.htm
s. boulardii I believe Florastar or Renew Life are the preferred brands.

I tried elimination diets/novel proteins for awhile, but he had flares no matter what he ate, so he's back on a mix of canned food and homemade raw food.

As for your vet, I would say you should feel free to ignore his recommendations of the expensive prescription foods, and definitely ignore the twice/day feeding thing. My cat does much better with small meals/grazing rather than starving half the day and wolfing down a huge meal all at once. When the diarrhea is bad it is often recommended to fast them for a few hours, but I don't think that's necessary or even helpful in between flares, or when it's just mild.

If you're interested in making food at home (avoid the guar gum and other IBD triggers and save some money), www.foodfurlife.com has an easy supplement powder that you just mix in with raw meat and you're done. It's pretty simple and avoids a lot of the worry about what is in the food and if it's an appropriate diet for diabetics and IBD.
 
The_Dude said:
The vet has a few types of prescription Hills (glucose/weight management (m/d), digestive care (i/d), and another one he doesn't have in stock (z/d)) and Royal Canin "Selected Protein" he wants us to try. I don't see any of them on the chart - probably because they are prescription based.
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Hi. These are in the food database. Hill's m/d has 13% carbs, i/d 23% carbs and z/d 35% carbs.. yikes! The Royal Canin Select Protein ones range from 15 to 24% carbs. These are always the foods the vets push. These are heavily marketed to vets and usually sold out of the vets' offices. (Catinfo,org has info about the so-called 'prescription' foods that you may want to read.)

The_Dude said:
The vet would also like us to get Dude on a twice a day eating schedule, he is more like 3-4 times a day now, just small bits at a time.
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According to the AAHA diabetes management guidelines, it is ideal to feed them 4 times a day (using an auto feeder, if needed). Maybe you could share that with your vet.
 
As for food suggestions....I use Rawz canned for Jones. He has done very well IBD wise on that. Also the Tiki cat chicken mousse. The probiotics as mentioned before are also helpful.

The one thing with Jones is that I found out he was allergic to tuna. Taking that out of his diet also helped.
 
Djamila said:
Getting him on a probiotic made it a million times better.[/QUOTE]
Our civvie Daniel has an obsession with dairy products and one is probiotic yogurt. Our vet told us it was more than just okay to give it to him. I cannot remember anything past that, don't want to feed him a whole bowl obviously. But Daniel is also the only cat here that gets plugged up once a year with the little turd that is like a marble. Its passes quickly and we don't know if there's a connection.
Sometimes I vacuum/siphon my aquarium and gulp down some pretty disgusting stuff. :( The medical answer to that is probiotic yogurt. Maybe check with your vet and stick with a real bland non-flavored type.
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FurBabiesMama said:
Hi. These are in the food database. Hill's m/d has 13% carbs, i/d 23% carbs and z/d 35% carbs.. yikes! The Royal Canin Select Protein ones range from 15 to 24% carbs. These are always the foods the vets push. These are heavily marketed to vets and usually sold out of the vets' offices. (Catinfo,org has info about the so-called 'prescription' foods that you may want to read.)


According to the AAHA diabetes management guidelines, it is ideal to feed them 4 times a day (using an auto feeder, if needed). Maybe you could share that with your vet.
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Thank you so much for finding the vet prescribed food in that database for me. I was looking at the PDF list and didn't see it, maybe I missed it. Those all sound way to high in carbs for Dude. I forgot to mention the vet gave us some probiotics, I need to start those ASAP. Dude doesn't care for the fish based foods, so he normally gets the other flavored FF classics. I am going shopping this afternoon (with the food database in hand) and see what I can find for him. I can't do home cooked right now as we are planning to be out of town for vacation soon. Maybe when we get back I can start on that. I want to make it as easy as possible on our pet sitter since she has to treat his ringworm as well....sigh.

Thank you everyone for your input, it is so very helpful.
 
I emailed the vet my concern about the percent carbs in the food they gave me. She said the type of carbs is more important than the percentage and that if I don't use their food I will likely face continuing GI trouble. The Hills z/d is the one for sensitive stomachs, but it is 35% carbs! The vet and I have always disagreed about the food though, so I am not surprised by the response. I can get 4Health and Blue Wilderness in town (previously couldn't). The worst part is that we are leaving for vacation next week, so all of this diet change is going to happen with a pet sitter....
 
Will my cat used to vomit a hairball many times and it upset her stomach always, i am using a hairball remedy jell everyday and it works very well and relief her, she is not vomiting any more. For the food you can try to order Young Again zero dry food to be an addition to FF so you will not depend on FF alone.
 
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