Amy&TrixieCat
Very Active Member
I know I should post this over in health, but I also know my LL peeps just know everything "cat" so well that I can't help but stick in familiar territory. I hope that's OK...
I know some of you guys have used slippery elm to help your kitties with the puddin' poo. My civvie Zen has had digestive sensitivities all of his life (his littermate brothers, Noah and Petey, also have issues, but not nearly as badly as Zen does). In a nutshell, I think he needs a diet change - but, of course, he's a bit picky about what he eats, so that makes things all the more challenging. He'll only eat a tiny amount of wet food...not enough to "sustain life" :roll: - so that eliminates a lot of options for us - plus I can't sneak pumpkin in to his diet. I've tried the dry versions of limited/novelty ingredient diets, and he'll stick with them long enough to prove that they work for him, but then he decided he won't touch them anymore, which sends me back to square one. Right now he eats grain-free Orijen dry, and for a few years, removing the grain from his diet DID help, but he's back to having flairs of puddin' poo. I've tried spiking his food with FortiFlora and psyllium husk (both individually and at the same time), with no real luck. He's obviously sensitive to one of the "traditional" proteins, but I can't seem to get him on anything else. Oh, and fish-based foods do make him barf.
From the vetty perspective, we've had countless fecal tests done over the years and he's negative for parasites (and, he is indoor-only). Despite having the runs, he's a happy healthy cat...he eats very well, could actually use to lose a pound or two, doesn't barf, doesn't "meatloaf", doesn't act as if he's in any sort of discomfort, and is generally very VERY energetic and spunky. It's just this poo problem that I want to help him with. He's also had a few courses of metranidazole with no change, and at the same time that stuff traumatizes him - he gives us the dramatic foaming at the mouth reaction (the first time I gave it to him, I thought for sure we just poisoned him!!). For obvious reasons, I'd like to avoid prednisone like the plague, especially since he's not sickly from this issue. And, I'd like to take the most natural approach possible anyway.
I know some of you use slippery elm for runny poos...what's the story behind that? Does anyone have any other ideas? I swear, I'm almost ready to try some crappy supermarket brand of food, just to see if that helps. I actually have a customer at my store who says Purina is the only food that prevents her cat from having the runs....I'm not sure which would be worse - the runs, or a diet of Purina!
I appreciate an thoughts, ideas, insights....
Amy
I know some of you guys have used slippery elm to help your kitties with the puddin' poo. My civvie Zen has had digestive sensitivities all of his life (his littermate brothers, Noah and Petey, also have issues, but not nearly as badly as Zen does). In a nutshell, I think he needs a diet change - but, of course, he's a bit picky about what he eats, so that makes things all the more challenging. He'll only eat a tiny amount of wet food...not enough to "sustain life" :roll: - so that eliminates a lot of options for us - plus I can't sneak pumpkin in to his diet. I've tried the dry versions of limited/novelty ingredient diets, and he'll stick with them long enough to prove that they work for him, but then he decided he won't touch them anymore, which sends me back to square one. Right now he eats grain-free Orijen dry, and for a few years, removing the grain from his diet DID help, but he's back to having flairs of puddin' poo. I've tried spiking his food with FortiFlora and psyllium husk (both individually and at the same time), with no real luck. He's obviously sensitive to one of the "traditional" proteins, but I can't seem to get him on anything else. Oh, and fish-based foods do make him barf.
From the vetty perspective, we've had countless fecal tests done over the years and he's negative for parasites (and, he is indoor-only). Despite having the runs, he's a happy healthy cat...he eats very well, could actually use to lose a pound or two, doesn't barf, doesn't "meatloaf", doesn't act as if he's in any sort of discomfort, and is generally very VERY energetic and spunky. It's just this poo problem that I want to help him with. He's also had a few courses of metranidazole with no change, and at the same time that stuff traumatizes him - he gives us the dramatic foaming at the mouth reaction (the first time I gave it to him, I thought for sure we just poisoned him!!). For obvious reasons, I'd like to avoid prednisone like the plague, especially since he's not sickly from this issue. And, I'd like to take the most natural approach possible anyway.
I know some of you use slippery elm for runny poos...what's the story behind that? Does anyone have any other ideas? I swear, I'm almost ready to try some crappy supermarket brand of food, just to see if that helps. I actually have a customer at my store who says Purina is the only food that prevents her cat from having the runs....I'm not sure which would be worse - the runs, or a diet of Purina!
I appreciate an thoughts, ideas, insights....
Amy
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