Biopsy/endoscopy

[FeebysOwner]

Yes,I ment elura. I had trouble giving Maggie liquid because my hands shake

Although it is intended to be given in advance of food, I am sure if Maggie would eat it in a lickable treat, or a bite of food - maybe even some tuna 'juice' - you could do that instead of syringing it into her mouth. You might ask the vet about this.

 

[daftcat75]

I just noticed that her prescription,unlike blue Buffalo prescription, has inulin,a prebiotic though I am also giving her optagist, so maybe she doesn't need optagist. My old cat,josie, was on prednisolone for 5 years.her weight drastically reduced and hair losJosie, had triiditis and more. I should have taken her to a different vet then. Vets have learned more now. My vet now gave me a liquid med to gain wait which has only been around 2 years.. wish I could remember the name. Starts with an e

It's not just inulin in Optagest. If the prescription food is high in carbs (as many are), the additional amylase in Optagest can help with their digestion. And because her gut biome is likely imbalanced as many IBD cats' guts are, a little additional help in digesting protein and fat is not such a bad idea either. I found that Betty's hairballs return worse without Optagest. But they don't disappear entirely with it either. It's a helper, but not the whole solution. On the downside, I have found that if your cat isn't eating food with optagest in it right away, the longer it sits, the soggier it gets. This doesn't sit well with Betty. I have found that she is more likely to leave a soggy remainder on her plate if it was soaking in Optagest. With Betty, I decided that as much as I like the thought of keeping Optagest in her food, the practicality is that she's taking AnimalBiome's FMT pills, their s. boulardii pills, and steroids. She's got some big guns already helping her. If she doesn't want to eat Optagest food anymore, I won't bust her chops over a water pistol.

As for too much inulin? It sounds like it has a high safety profile with the most common side effects in humans as gas, bloating, diarrhea, constipation, and cramps. That's some contradicting side effects that many IBD cats have. But this article also indicated that most of these side effects only come with much larger doses than your average supplement or food ingredient includes.

If you're concerned, try giving her a two week holiday from the stuff. Although it's possible that there's too much other stuff going on to notice a difference. I thought Betty was doing great on an Optagest holiday until she had a hairball turn herself out for a night and half a day. I'm nervous that I put the Optagest away again. But presumably, the steroids will be a much more powerful tool attacking the inflammation itself that puts everything else so out of whack. Now if I can just get her off this carb heavy food she loves so much (Hills I/D stew.)

 

[maggie101]

It's not just inulin in Optagest. If the prescription food is high in carbs (as many are), the additional amylase in Optagest can help with their digestion. And because her gut biome is likely imbalanced as many IBD cats' guts are, a little additional help in digesting protein and fat is not such a bad idea either. I found that Betty's hairballs return worse without Optagest. But they don't disappear entirely with it either. It's a helper, but not the whole solution. On the downside, I have found that if your cat isn't eating food with optagest in it right away, the longer it sits, the soggier it gets. This doesn't sit well with Betty. I have found that she is more likely to leave a soggy remainder on her plate if it was soaking in Optagest. With Betty, I decided that as much as I like the thought of keeping Optagest in her food, the practicality is that she's taking AnimalBiome's FMT pills, their s. boulardii pills, and steroids. She's got some big guns already helping her. If she doesn't want to eat Optagest food anymore, I won't bust her chops over a water pistol.

As for too much inulin? It sounds like it has a high safety profile with the most common side effects in humans as gas, bloating, diarrhea, constipation, and cramps. That's some contradicting side effects that many IBD cats have. But this article also indicated that most of these side effects only come with much larger doses than your average supplement or food ingredient includes.

If you're concerned, try giving her a two week holiday from the stuff. Although it's possible that there's too much other stuff going on to notice a difference. I thought Betty was doing great on an Optagest holiday until she had a hairball turn herself out for a night and half a day. I'm nervous that I put the Optagest away again. But presumably, the steroids will be a much more powerful tool attacking the inflammation itself that puts everything else so out of whack. Now if I can just get her off this carb heavy food she loves so much (Hills I/D stew.)

I have actually asked Inclover about it sitting out. They suggest a smaller dose like 1/8 t. It does have some flavor in it. I am going to ask the specialist if I can give her a novel protein plus optagist instead of prescription

 

[artiemom]

FYI: I will tell you, in my personal experience-- I cannot have any products with Inulin. I get severe gas pains, cramps from the gas, and diarrhea. I have some GI issues also.

Because of this, I kept all inulin substances away from both my cats.

 

[daftcat75]

FYI: I will tell you, in my personal experience-- I cannot have any products with Inulin. I get severe gas pains, cramps from the gas, and diarrhea. I have some GI issues also.

Because of this, I kept all inulin substances away from both my cats.

Me and Krista are/were both sensitive to xanthan gum. Seeing what it did to her helped me put two and two together with my own experience. Xanthan gum makes smooth foods smooth. And for those sensitive to it, it makes their poop smooth too. Mousse in, mousse out.

Betty does alright with things that would wreck Krista. If it came down to it, if I had no better alternative, I would be willing to let her try something with xanthan gum. I mean I know what to look for if it's not going to work, right?

 

[maggie101]

Maggie was eating weruva steak frites mostly for a long time because I thought she was allergic to chicken. Could also be green mussels and agar gumq She had no trouble with it for months until now.

 

[iPappy]

My appointment is Thurs. It may be just be an evaluation or keep her over night. Today she did a very normal poo. I almost wanted to take a pic! Though she also got small diaheria. Couldn't see it til I scooped. I have tried duck,rabbit,lamb,venison for a long time nothing works so just 7 more days of prescription food. If what I've tried doesn't work but prescription does, it will have to be that. How is geoffrey?

I have poop pictures on my phone camera If I even think it might come in handy for the vet over the course of a long problem we're trying to treat, I snap a picture, so if she has another I'd take a pic. I also do the same with things like vomit (if it happened a week ago and I cleaned it up before my coffee, I won't remember if it was foam, food, bile, if there was green in there, etc.) Very gross but there are definitely worse things

 

[maggie101]

I have poop pictures on my phone camera If I even think it might come in handy for the vet over the course of a long problem we're trying to treat, I snap a picture, so if she has another I'd take a pic. I also do the same with things like vomit (if it happened a week ago and I cleaned it up before my coffee, I won't remember if it was foam, food, bile, if there was green in there, etc.) Very gross but there are definitely worse things

Diddo! Get real close,hold my breath,take a quick pic

 

[daftcat75]

I have poop pics and barf pics and I’m not afraid of internet shaming either cat. Though the last time I shared a Krista poop pic, I censored it in the best way.

But yeah. When it comes to my cat, I’d rather share too much information than not enough.

 

[maggie101]

I was playing Simon's cat crunch and noticed 2 cats staring at poop! Can't take a pic!

 

[iPappy]

I have poop pics and barf pics and I’m not afraid of internet shaming either cat. Though the last time I shared a Krista poop pic, I censored it in the best way.

But yeah. When it comes to my cat, I’d rather share too much information than not enough.

Me too. And in the case of something like IBD which can be difficult to monitor and tough to resolve, it's really good to be able to have a picture "diary" because you scoop the box daily. You don't notice little differences or things changing over time. You can look back a month or so ago and be surprised at how much better things are looking when memory might fail.
My cancer dogs skin waxes and wanes and some days I think he looks so terrible. Then I look at how he looked a month or two ago and am shocked because I can't really remember the stages and progression and am very happy because he looks so much better than he did. A picture is worth a thousand words. I have pictures of gums, ears, eyes, you name it.

 

[maggie101]

 

[maggie101]

Purina emailed me back about my question about insulin

"The levels of inulin used in our formulas is proprietary knowledge as it is derived from internal studies used to support product claims."
I guess it's a secret. I wanted to compare it to optagist. I fed her weruva yesterday because I was out so she went diaheria

 

[FeebysOwner]

Purina emailed me back about my question about insulin - "The levels of inulin used in our formulas is proprietary knowledge as it is derived from internal studies used to support product claims."

Just one more reason to not support these stupid prescription foods.

 

[iPappy]

Purina emailed me back about my question about insulin

"The levels of inulin used in our formulas is proprietary knowledge as it is derived from internal studies used to support product claims."
I guess it's a secret. I wanted to compare it to optagist. I fed her weruva yesterday because I was out so she went diaheria

That response is not impressive when you have a pet with strict dietary needs

 

[maggie101]

That response is not impressive when you have a pet with strict dietary needs

Agree! Makes you wonder....

 

[maggie101]

My new internal medacine doctor Casey Dropkin is also ACVIM,American college of vetenary internal medacine. Just graduated from acvim last year. She is young! I knew purina was partners with someone but did not know it was acvim

Our Partnerships: ACVIM

The Purina Institute and ACVIM partnership promotes scientific research and education for the thought leaders of tomorrow. Learn about our support here.

www.purinainstitute.com

She said I can feed Maggie anything she will eat as long as it's a novel protein. I have prednisolone pills to give her once she comes out of hiding. Maggie has IBD

 

[Kflowers]

I'm so sorry, I was hoping she simply had an allergy you could work around.

 

[maggie101]

Just like me,she has 3 cats and I can feed her what she likes

 

[Margot Lane]

Well, the good news is there are lots of novel proteins! Farmina’s quail and pumpkin seems to keep Zorro regular. I say, once you’ve found something that works, stick to it and don’t mess around w/ diet too much or it can trigger something in their digestive systems and you are back to square one w/ diarrhea. (But that is just my experience—- every cat is different). I am still personally stymied as to why there is so much IBD…this is the first cat I’ve ever had w/ it, and now I seem to be reading about it everywhere, maybe it’s my imagination. Anyway, good luck, and Daftcat is a good port of call for advice on this.