- Joined
- Jun 17, 2019
- Messages
- 3
- Purraise
- 1
Hello! I am new to this site I am in desperate need of advice for helping my 9 year old cat who has developed what the vet suspects is IBD. Here is our background story-
We have 2 cats, (litter mates, brother/sister). Adopted at 4 months of age with no "stated" health issues. Great temperaments, absolutely no issues with health, behavior or otherwise is what we were told by foster mom. Having very little experience with cats, we stuck to the instructions given by the foster mom with regard to their food and litter. Within a week of their arrival, Milo (sister kitty) started having softer stools and would deposit them on the bed of our then 3 year old lab. I called in the foster mom and we worked together to get Milo back on track with the litter box. Once resolved, no further issues arose.
Fast forward to about 3 years ago, Milo (at approx 6 years old) began occasionally pooping outside the box. Regular stools though, so I suspected behavior. She loved being in my son's room with him (she had claimed him as her human shortly after their arrival) and when he would boot her out at night to get some sleep, I assumed this was her reaction. Just an assumption. I also started noticing Milo and her brother (Simba) becoming "pissy" with each other and rarely hung out near each other. This was the complete opposite of their relationship. They always slept together, bathed each other, etc.
About a year later, we moved to a new house. The occasional pooping outside of the box continued. Their relationship with each other deteriorated. But they seemed to be adjusting to the new house. Milo's stool became quite loose, however and the "floor pooping" became more than occasional. When I started seeing signs of mucous and blood in her stool, I took her in for an exam and testing. All stool tests and bloodwork came back "normal" with no parasites. The vet said he suspected IBD and said maybe I could take her to a specialist. All we saw were dollar signs though, as we had just shelled about a couple hundred bucks for a "normal" diagnosis and no help. And I didn't want to add to her stress by getting poked and prodded some more, so I haven't gone this route.
Milo does tend to be a food gulper and eats like there is no tomorrow, so I thought maybe its the food? I was switching them over to a "gentle" version of their kibble when I ran across this site and learned about kitty IBD, raw food, and probiotics. Now my head is swimming! I feel like the junky food (recommended by the foster mom years ago) has only caused poor Milo some health issues, and both of them have really gained too much weight in recent years.
I feel like I really want to try the feline comfort plus to see if it will help, but also think maybe a raw diet is the way to go to help her. Do you think it would be a bad thing to try this without seeing a vet specialist first? I would rather spend the money on their food than a doctor bill.
If you've read this far, thank you! I have nobody to talk to about this stuff and I'm sorry about the length.
We have 2 cats, (litter mates, brother/sister). Adopted at 4 months of age with no "stated" health issues. Great temperaments, absolutely no issues with health, behavior or otherwise is what we were told by foster mom. Having very little experience with cats, we stuck to the instructions given by the foster mom with regard to their food and litter. Within a week of their arrival, Milo (sister kitty) started having softer stools and would deposit them on the bed of our then 3 year old lab. I called in the foster mom and we worked together to get Milo back on track with the litter box. Once resolved, no further issues arose.
Fast forward to about 3 years ago, Milo (at approx 6 years old) began occasionally pooping outside the box. Regular stools though, so I suspected behavior. She loved being in my son's room with him (she had claimed him as her human shortly after their arrival) and when he would boot her out at night to get some sleep, I assumed this was her reaction. Just an assumption. I also started noticing Milo and her brother (Simba) becoming "pissy" with each other and rarely hung out near each other. This was the complete opposite of their relationship. They always slept together, bathed each other, etc.
About a year later, we moved to a new house. The occasional pooping outside of the box continued. Their relationship with each other deteriorated. But they seemed to be adjusting to the new house. Milo's stool became quite loose, however and the "floor pooping" became more than occasional. When I started seeing signs of mucous and blood in her stool, I took her in for an exam and testing. All stool tests and bloodwork came back "normal" with no parasites. The vet said he suspected IBD and said maybe I could take her to a specialist. All we saw were dollar signs though, as we had just shelled about a couple hundred bucks for a "normal" diagnosis and no help. And I didn't want to add to her stress by getting poked and prodded some more, so I haven't gone this route.
Milo does tend to be a food gulper and eats like there is no tomorrow, so I thought maybe its the food? I was switching them over to a "gentle" version of their kibble when I ran across this site and learned about kitty IBD, raw food, and probiotics. Now my head is swimming! I feel like the junky food (recommended by the foster mom years ago) has only caused poor Milo some health issues, and both of them have really gained too much weight in recent years.
I feel like I really want to try the feline comfort plus to see if it will help, but also think maybe a raw diet is the way to go to help her. Do you think it would be a bad thing to try this without seeing a vet specialist first? I would rather spend the money on their food than a doctor bill.
If you've read this far, thank you! I have nobody to talk to about this stuff and I'm sorry about the length.