IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME

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mickeyminnie424

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Hi Everyone!

One of my kitties, Max, who is 12 years old had a cyst and bladder stones removed. He has been eating the Hill's ID dry food without problems for years and now, well actually since May, has started throwing up when he eats. We were told he had a cyst, it was drained and he ate fine. It began to fill up again, so again it was drained, but decided we didn't want him to go through this again, so we had it removed. If it has burst that would not have been good. He had surgery to remove the cyst and bladder stones, we were okay with the food and then BOOM he threw up 13 - 15 times right in a row the other night. Rushed him to the vet, gave him an anti-nausea shot he got up the next morning threw up water and now he's back at the vet again. In the month of September Max has been in the hospital 17 times! What is wrong with my cat? None of the vets seem to know. They say it could be the food. If that is it, well then we need to change that. If it's not, then what is it? What would cats be most allergic to in dry food? Purina has an HA formula-hypo allergenic. I'm so afraid to try him on different foods because of the fact that he might throw up again. Any advice on this would be extremely helpful? The vets think he might has irritable bowl syndrome? Does anyone else have this problem?

My other kitty, Roscoe, who has been OTJ since March is still OTJ and doing very well. Thank God for that. I love my babies so much and would do anything for them.

My very first baby, Bubbles has GA on August 27, 2011. I have been so consumed with grief, but haven't had the chance to grieve because Max has been sick and I need to take care of him. She was 18, and I love her so much as miss her terribly.

Thanks for listening and any advice on Max's food would be great.
 
Re: CATS AND VOMITING

I'm brainstorming here.

Check for formula changes in the dry ID (call the company).
Check for contamination with foreign material (ex rodent feces).
Check for mold in the food (funny smell, obvious signs of spoilage).

Consider a canned version of the food - it may go down more easily because it is mushy, & it won't have mold spores that can germinate. Maybe blenderize it with a bit of water, in case the particle size is a problem. If that is successful, it is a clue about what may be happening.

What was the timeline for the surgery (how long ago)?
Where was the cyst? Is it possible that the surgery to remove it resulted in a stricture that is difficult for food to pass?
Is it possible there is another cyst?

Has a fecal specimen been tested for blood, etc? Both IBD and cancer may result in blood in the bowel.
 
Re: CATS AND VOMITING

Surgery was on 09/13/11....this should not still be happening. The cyst was between the liver and stomach I believe is where it was. No, there is not another cyst. How do you recommend the dry food be stored? I keep it in a metal can with the lid closed very tightly. It is hot in our apartment during the summer. I've been reading a lot about the IBS and am really wondering if it's the wheat and rice. Maybe we should change him to the glutten-free food to see what happens. I'm on the phone with the vet and he ate the regular food but not the i/d food that he has been eating. Maybe there is mold on it that we can't see. i'll return the food to the vets office. I'll also start keeping it in the fridge and see what happens with that. If it works then we'll know that maybe that could have been a problem.

Thanks for listening and giving advice.
 
Re: CATS AND VOMITING

If the apartment was hot, and he doesn't go through it very fast, the fats in the kibble may have gone rancid - that'd certainly upset my stomach!

Although it may be less expensive per serving to buy the biggest bag you can afford at one time, if you don't go through it fast enough, it may spoil. Refrigerating or freezing it it small batches may help keep any fats from going rancid, and if it is in a sealed container (baggies, perhaps), reduce moisture infiltration which could germinate mold spores.

Surgery may leave behind scar tissue which may reduce the flexibility of surrounding tissues and cause a stricture - an area where the tissues are prevented from moving smoothly. If this ocurred near the esophagus or intestinal tract, it may have narrowed either, reducing the ability for food to move through. Is it possible the gall bladder has become obstructed in some way?

Edit your topic heading to include "IBD?" to get input from those with more experience than I have in IBD. Some folks have found IBD improvement by avoiding gluten, all grains, or going to raw food diets.
 
I took back to the vet all the food that had glutten in it. That's seems to be the only commond denominator in the foods. I got a sample of Purina HA food and Max just looked at me and said, "No way I'm eating that Mom!" It had absolutely no smell whatsoever. They also gave me a couple sample cans of Venison and Rabbit. He didn't want the Venison, found it had expired anyway, so good he didn't want to eat it, and the Rabbit he did eat. Don't know if it was from sheer hunger or if he liked it.

What other types of food can we feed Max? Are there any foods at the Petco or Petsmart that we can feed him or will it be trial and error with prescription food? Also, we have to deal with bladder stones and finding foods that will not cause him to get those now.

Any advice from anyone will be extremely helpful. Thank you already for the responses. I hope changing the topic to IBS will get more responses.
 
When I adopted Tucker he was already a senior little man, whether his first people knew he had gluten allergies, I assume not since the police found him taped up inside a box with an unopened bag of dry food.

I learned through trial and error, biopsies, ultrasounds, many enemas for being blocked and countless cigar length and inch thick fur balls was that Tucker did have allergies to wheat and corn gluten. The problem was he was a dry food addict.

I had to start him on canned Fancy Feast Savory Salmon, for weeks that was all he'd eat. It took a while to get chicken feast introduced to his diet and finally he ate all the gluten free varieties of Fancy Feast. He did not do well on Wellness, he did okay on EVO canned but didn't care for it much.

There are several gluten free types of food at Petco/Petsmart, towards the end for Tucker his favorite was again fish, Petco's Soulistic brand of tuna in gravy that is gluten free. I don't know about bladder stones and whether any of the foods mentioned would cause bladder stones, this is simply what Tucker would eat that helped his IBS.
 
There is a canned food product that I just found and have tried on my cats. It's called Holistic Select (I got it at petfooddirect.com) and may be worth checking out. The ingredients seemed ok to me and while my girls don't chow down on it, they will eat it if presented.
 
Unfortunately most commercial diets are still not species appropriate diets for cats. Even if they are grain free - the food is processed regardless.

There are testimonials from owners with IBD cats about how raw food helped their cat on http://www.felinespride.com. I am not trying to sell their product, but I have used it and firmly believe that raw food can help cats with IBD or any type of gastro-intestinal problems. My 19 year old civvie has always puked up foods, canned or dry. She does not puke up the raw food. Don't let anyone try to tell you raw has harmful bacteria in it - so can commercial pet foods. There are far too many pet food recalls for anyone to claim a raw, well prepared food is dangerous!

I also second finding an internist or going to a university animal hospital for help. And that gluten can be an allergen.

I hope you get some answers for sweet Max.
 
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