Charlie: The Food Trial Diaries (ibd / Food Allergy (sensitivity) Or Stress)

Furballsmom

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Never a stupid question :thumbsup:, it depends on what works, mostly, and depends on the topper. Bonito flakes can be a forever item, for sure.

For example until I got my boy's new tastes figured out after a favorite brand made a big change that he didn't like, I'd use toppers and enticements every time all the time. We're in a relatively happy place lately so I'm not using any now and am back to normal treats and normal times. I don't know if this really answers the question :)
 
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FeralHearts

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That could be, gosh, I'm sorry that happened, but hopefully he and you both recovered quickly! :vibes::heartshape:

You're right to be cautious with the CBD, --in order to find a true viable product as opposed to just hemp oil being sold as cbd, that sort of thing.

:hangin: :goldstar: :bouquet:
It made me so sad and worried so I think more timeouts from the girls are in order to reduce his stress as he's such a bully.

Exactly. Everyone can offer me hemp and I'm like "No thank you." With several of us looking we are hoping to find one soon. One guy was promising but he's very flakey and open weird hours.

I think the CBD oil will help keep the inflammation under control too. I'll keep looking.

Thank you - we're hanging in there. by a thread lol but it is a strong thread.

Oh, I missed this, --can you put some chamomile tea on that back leg?

WOOHOO reddiwhip!!!
I did :-) you trained this aspiring kitty Jedi well Yoda! :-)

I know right! :-D Twice in a row it worked. I imagine it will stop as that's one of his MO's but I can rotate it.

Oh no I'm sorry to hear he freaked out :( that's awful. But that's amazing step he ate some of the duck with the reddiwhip! Good news.

Gosh maybe I should try the Reddiwhip! And goldfish crackers to sprinkle on...?

We boiled Amber some chicken last night which she ate most of without any coaxing. So maybe she just wants the real thing!

Probably a stupid question, but - Is the idea with toppers to coax them into eating it until they will eat the food on its own without the toppers?
I found your thread and posted something too it - I hope my long post helps you. I'm beginning to put some weird pieces of this picky eater / IBD puzzle together. Maybe. :-\ I am seeing common threads.

XOXO Thank you. Charlie is kinda a jerk lol but I love him. I'm used to a certain degree od assaults from him sadly.

My plan with the toppers is to use less and less slowly until he on the LID completely. At that stage, I'll start counting the 13 weeks.

Try everything on the list until Amber gives in! Something is bound to make her go - yum.

I've begun with just one different meal a day so I don't mess his tummy up and so he doesn't go into one of his starvation diets.

The last several times I've done this I mixed tiny bits of the new food in with his regular as you suppose to- it failed every single time - even with toppers. So I'm trying this new method and it seems to be okay so far. It's only been a few days though but it's the longest ever and he's actually eating some of the new food.



Never a stupid question :thumbsup:, it depends on what works, mostly, and depends on the topper. Bonito flakes can be a forever item, for sure.

For example until I got my boy's new tastes figured out after a favorite brand made a big change that he didn't like, I'd use toppers and enticements every time all the time. We're in a relatively happy place lately so I'm not using any now and am back to normal treats and normal times. I don't know if this really answers the question :)
I agree. No such things as a stupid question. The more we know - the better we can help our furbabies.

XOXOXOXO
 
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FeralHearts

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Day 5: :yess::yess::yess::yess::yess::yess::yess::yess::yess::yess::yess:

I'm in shock.
Shock.
Shock.
Pinch me.

Dry food - nearly gone from last night with the FortiFlora.

Wet food - Simply Nourish - LID - Duck and Pea. Put it out. Internally sighed and waited for the inevitable rejection to follow.

Charlie waltzed in. Sniff, sniff, sniff. Bite.
hmmmm.
Gooble.

What just happened? Did he really eat it? On this own? No prompting? No tricks?

OMG he did. That just happened. *pinch pinch*

3 years off and on I've been trying. 3 years!!!!!

I know I shouldn't get excited as he'll probably make me regret it. I can't help it though.

:hyper::hyper::hyper::hyper::hyper::hyper::hyper::hyper::hyper::hyper::hyper::hyper::hyper::hyper::hyper::hyper::hyper::hyper::hyper::hyper::hyper:

I'm really, really seriously beginning to think that this inflammation and bladder/kidney issue played a major role in his unwillingness to try new food and that now that his system has been stabilized he's less stubborn as he feels better.

Although the vet said it's unlikely he had this infection for this long - I'm not convinced now.

His appetite was always okay. Nothing to write home about - but now that this infection is cleared - it's very strong.

I'm also thinking that the Royal Canin gastrointestinal fiber response dry food was a trigger. They put him on it after me complaining a while about his hard stools.

His behavior last night was great. He slept by my head :-) purred and even came downstairs and slept in one of the beds beside the computer. I think he's forgiven me.


XOXOX I think you got in backwards lol
 
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FeralHearts

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You have one contented cat with one contented mama.
Yes :-) Phew.

And one very thrilled mama. I am overjoyed.

It could still all go pear-shaped but the fact that it happened once - gives me hope.

When I knew it was time for the food trials again. I was filled with dread. Every time I've done it with him in the past it's lead to a very stressful road of Charlie starving himself. Horrible, horrible.

It's taken me this long to understand some aspects of Charlie that are not - I don't want to say normal - just - different - or - not text book kitty. Now that I know that I think we're on a better road for him.

For example - many people were shocked with the level of blood and infection Charlie had that he was still peeing normally with zero indications there was a problem. Most cats would pee outside the litter, strain - something - not him.

I can't believe it. I should have videotaped it. Dang nab it!

XOXOXOX
 
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daftcat75

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Cats are neophobes. They are very conservative about new things. My rule with Krista is that if she takes more than one bite of a new food, that new food will keep showing up on her plate until she comes around or flat rejects it. Usually I’m the one who portion-controls a new food introduction. But I believe Krista does some of this herself. “Let’s try a few bites and see how it sits.”
 

Furballsmom

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Cats are neophobes.
LOL I had to look this up!

Dry food - nearly gone from last night with the FortiFlora.

Wet food - Simply Nourish - LID - Duck and Pea. Put it out. Internally sighed and waited for the inevitable rejection to follow.

Charlie waltzed in. Sniff, sniff, sniff. Bite.
hmmmm.
Gooble.
:bunnydance: :dance: :dazzler: :cheerleader: :sunshine::gift:
 
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FeralHearts

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Cats are neophobes. They are very conservative about new things.
Isn't that the truth! :-)


My rule with Krista is that if she takes more than one bite of a new food, that new food will keep showing up on her plate until she comes around or flat rejects it. Usually I’m the one who portion-controls a new food introduction. But I believe Krista does some of this herself. “Let’s try a few bites and see how it sits.”
I love that attitude. I'm going to do the same with Charlie. Although - most often it's the stamp of "REJECTED" without so much as a nibble. *sigh*
 
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FeralHearts

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LOL I had to look this up!



:bunnydance: :dance: :dazzler: :cheerleader: :sunshine::gift:
:D I know right!

Someone whispered something into his ear. I'm still pretty stunned.

I'll be picking up hydrolyzed yuckies next week *sobs* But I have to remember it's temporary. I can work on adding good food after we sort out what he can't have.

Long term goal is what I have to remember.
 

daftcat75

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Look for Butcher's brand bone broth either in the pet food store, probably in the freezer with the raw, or at the grocery store in the meat department. What I like about this brand, besides that it's appropriate for cats and dogs (no added salt or seasonings), is that it comes in chicken, beef, and turkey varieties. My girl can't have chicken and she won't eat beef but turkey is her favorite. Bone broth will help with the healing while you're doing the elimination diet.
 
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FeralHearts

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Look for Butcher's brand bone broth either in the pet food store, probably in the freezer with the raw, or at the grocery store in the meat department. What I like about this brand, besides that it's appropriate for cats and dogs (no added salt or seasonings), is that it comes in chicken, beef, and turkey varieties. My girl can't have chicken and she won't eat beef but turkey is her favorite. Bone broth will help with the healing while you're doing the elimination diet.
I'm going to go look for this. Thank you! XOXOXOX

The idea of having him on soy really bugs me. I know it's a really good protein and such and I should be happy as long as he's getting the nutrients he needs but... kitty = meat.

I'll have to go with beef as turkey and chicken are on the no-no list. Which sucks because he loves them. I've read up on bone broth since you first spoke to sidneykitty sidneykitty and in her thread about it. It has some pretty amazing benefits! (And I will feel better about him getting something other than soy.)

Win-win.
 

daftcat75

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You'll still need to feed him something. We're talking a very small amount of bone broth; either let him drink it from the plate or mix it with food. But you should be able to shorten the elimination period with bone broth. The elimination diet is basically "remove every trigger...hopefully...and let the gut heal itself when it's not constantly being insulted and injured." The bone broth adds collagen and gelatin and other nutrients that provide the building blocks and promote recovery. Passive vs active healing.

https://feline-nutrition.org/health/feline-inflammatory-bowel-disease-nature-and-treatment

This is a really meaty article but you can skip ahead to the Treating IBD – Using an Introduction Diet section to see how bone broth and meat or fish stocks can actively heal the gut and shorten the time you need to do an elimination diet.
 

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Oh that's soo good! I'm so happy Charlie ate so much food on his own!!! yay!!!! Amber actually ate well last night, too. Maybe its something in the air? The moon? Who knows...

Hoping it sticks for you and Charlie!
 

daftcat75

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Took my own dang advice and gave Krista some duck bone broth. She loves duck and I was able to find that at the "local" (1 hour+) raw feeders co-op. Because Krista is a notorious neophobe, I powdered up a duck liver treat and sprinkled that into a small amount of the duck bone broth. Do I know if she liked the bone broth or just the treat? I do not. Do I care? Nope. She thought she was getting a treat and I gave her some gut medicine.
 
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FeralHearts

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You'll still need to feed him something. We're talking a very small amount of bone broth; either let him drink it from the plate or mix it with food. But you should be able to shorten the elimination period with bone broth. The elimination diet is basically "remove every trigger...hopefully...and let the gut heal itself when it's not constantly being insulted and injured." The bone broth adds collagen and gelatin and other nutrients that provide the building blocks and promote recovery. Passive vs active healing.

https://feline-nutrition.org/health/feline-inflammatory-bowel-disease-nature-and-treatment

This is a really meaty article but you can skip ahead to the Treating IBD – Using an Introduction Diet section to see how bone broth and meat or fish stocks can actively heal the gut and shorten the time you need to do an elimination diet.
No worries. I plan on feeding him a lot and adding the bone broth for some extra goodness. :-)

The Vet had said 8 weeks for the elimination but everything I've read here said 12 -13 weeks. So I admit I was going longer than told by the doctor. Maybe with this, I can bring it to 8 weeks or less.

Thank you. XOXOXO I'm going to read that and learn.

Do you think it's possible that all this time Charlie wouldn't even taste new food was because he was so inflamed and not feeling great that it was too much for him? (Don't worry I know you aren't a vet - it's a running theory I'm having.)

BTW I'm reading Krista's thread - holy cow a lot has gone on there. XOXOXO to you both.

Oh that's soo good! I'm so happy Charlie ate so much food on his own!!! yay!!!! Amber actually ate well last night, too. Maybe its something in the air? The moon? Who knows...

Hoping it sticks for you and Charlie!
:biggrin: I'm so proud of him and Amber. I hope it sticks for both of them and we can heal them and make them the happy kitties they should be!
 
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FeralHearts

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Took my own dang advice and gave Krista some duck bone broth. She loves duck and I was able to find that at the "local" (1 hour+) raw feeders co-op. Because Krista is a notorious neophobe, I powdered up a duck liver treat and sprinkled that into a small amount of the duck bone broth. Do I know if she liked the bone broth or just the treat? I do not. Do I care? Nope. She thought she was getting a treat and I gave her some gut medicine.
:flail::flail:

That is epic awesome.

That's right - what Krista doesn't know is good for you and her!!! :devilish:

:redtongue: <-- Silently to Krista. (but really :heartshape:)
 

daftcat75

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Do you think it's possible that all this time Charlie wouldn't even taste new food was because he was so inflamed and not feeling great that it was too much for him? (Don't worry I know you aren't a vet - it's a running theory I'm having.)
It's possible. Think about when you were vomiting or had diarrhea. How was your appetite at those times?
 
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FeralHearts

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It's possible. Think about when you were vomiting or had diarrhea. How was your appetite at those times?
*Nods.* Not great at all. Even if he was only nauseated - the results would be the same with an appetite. Makes sense.
 
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