Thyroid? Diabetes? IBD?

[kelann162]

First, this is going to be long so thank you to anyone who read this thru.
I can't find my previous posts but they were from over 10 years ago so maybe they are gone now but this message board saved a cat I had years ago. He had diabetes and we managed it through testing and food changes I found here. Had I not been testing him, I would have likely od his insulin. I will forever be grateful for everyone here and this message board.

Our current kitty is 5 years old. She's always had a bit of a sensitive tummy as far as diarrhea. We put her on Hills ID dry in the am, we in the evening. For the most part, that solved the problem for 4 years with a bout of loose stool every 6 mo or so. Last spring we went on vacation for 3 weeks. (we travel a lot so she's used to us going away). We have a wonderful pet sitter that comes everyday and when we are gone for long stretches, she stays at my Moms. for the first 5 days, the pet sitter came and then my mom returned from her trip to pick her up. When she got to our house, she had thrown up... a LOT. I checked with the sitter and she confirmed there were NO throw ups when she came so she had done this between day 5 and 6.

She threw up a few more times at my Moms and then settled down. she had one more bout of throwing up and then was fine. When we returned, she threw up as soon as we got home.

Keep in mind, she had never thrown up prior to this. We've been to our regular vet as well as a 2nd opinion vet over the last almost year now.

Blood work = 3 times and a sonogram.

Conclusion at this point is that she had a bout of pancreatitis and has IBD however her thyroid numbers are in the high normal range. I looked up hypothyroidism and that is ALL her symptoms.

Currently, she is on Pro Plan DM dry in the morning and wet at night. Along with Cerena pill every 3rd day. She also get a probiotic w/her wet food.
She's doing great! No more throwing up. However over the past 2 weeks, she has suddenly decided she doesn't care for the DM. It's NOT that she's not hungry because she's bugging me for food and when I give her treats, she gobbles them up like she's starving. Eventually she eats the food because she's hungry but I can tell she doesn't like it.

My thoughts: I think her thyroid is out of whack but not out of whack enough for treatment. We are planning recheck in 3 months. I thought for sure she was diabetic but so far, her glucose numbers have been good.

My question is, based all this information above, I'd like to change her food. I'm going to contact my vet but I'm wondering if there is anyone here who has been in a similar situation and what food works for them? It makes me sad that she doesn't "like" her food.

Thanks to anyone who read all of this and any information or advice. I'm ever so grateful for this message board. Thanks again.

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

Welcome back!! The Board has changed servers at least twice since you were last here and the old posts are no longer accessible.

I have an IBD kitty. IBD functions like an allergy. You will likely need to switch your kitty over to a novel protein diet. If you want to stick with a canned food diet, Hounds & Gatos and ZwiiPeak both have flavors that are novel proteins (e.g., rabbit, venison). Since. you're using a kibble, ZiwiPeak has a freeze dried raw variety that is very much like a jerky/dry food and is low carb, too. Neither of these brands have gums or cargeenan in their ingredients since both can contribute to IBD.

I'm surprised your vet hasn't suggested a steroid for the IBD. Many vets prescribe prednisolone or budesonide to control the inflammation in your cat's gut.

One place that I found very helpful with Gizmo's IBD was a website, Raw Feeding for IBD Cats. Even if you do not opt for a raw food diet, their information on supplements and medications, how to control vomiting or diarrhea, etc. is excellent. They also have a Facebook page. Another useful resource is the IBDKitties site, although it's not one I've used much.

 

[kelann162]

First... Thank you so much for reading and taking the time to respond. Thank for for the recs for the other message boards. I'm checking them out. I'm looking at the Hounds & Gatos wet for her dinner. I also have a message into my vet. We gave her the DM tonight and she wouldn't eat it so I put a little ID on top and she gobbled it up so it's def the food.
I wish I could get samples of the food before investing in it to see if she likes it since she's suddenly become so picky! lol Thank you again for all the great info and resources.
oh also, we did talk about steroids but since her IBD is mild, she wants to try to address it with food, the cerena and b12 shots for now. It's working she just has suddenly decided she doesn't like the DM.

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

Check at some of the "specialty" pet food stores in your area or contact the manufacturer. I would let them know you have a special needs cat and don't want to buy a case of food the cat won't eat. However, one little known fact is that Chewy's has an incredible "return" policy. If you order a food your cat won't eat, they will refund your purchase and ask you to donate the food to a shelter.

As for the DM, look at the ingredients. You have a smart cat. It's largely by-products and not muscle meat. It's really not a high grade food despite the price.

You might want to add a probiotic to your cat's food. If there are flares with diarrhea, S. boulardii is incredible at getting this back under control. I also give Gizmo a daily probiotic. I order my probiotics on Amazon from ReNew -- both the S. boulardii and ReNew Ultimate for daily supplementation. It may help to keep your cat's gut flora in good shape.

 

[kelann162]

Thank you so much. She has been on a probiotic but it's the proviable. I will look into the ones you mention. I love cheweys return/refund policy. before we went to the dm, we had to try some different foods and they were great so I didn't want to abuse the refund policy. We do have 2 boutique type stores so I will check those out to see if I can get a few cans of something rather than a full case. Thanks for the suggestion! Smooches to Gizmo!