Bone broth for cat with IBD

[njg55]

One of my cats has inflammatory bowel disease. She's on a special protein diet (what we've been using since this disease was diagnosed nearly a year ago is Royal Canin rabbit protein, both wet and dried). The vet has also been trying prednisolone for several months, and we're still trying to find the right dose. We're currently tapering, down two steps from the initial dose after an unsuccessful attempt in which the reduction between the first and subsequent dose may have been too much and we had to revert back to the higher dose with a more gradual taper. She seems to be much less interested in the canned food lately, which probably means she's nauseous. I'm going to wait a bit longer to see if she adjusts better before going back to the vet. Reading some info about what I could do on my own, I thought I might try bone broth. Here's my question: if she's on a special proteins diet, is it safe to make broth from beef or chicken bones? I can't imagine how I could get bones from a rabbit or anything else from which novel proteins food are made. Are there any commercial varieties made from something other than been or poultry, or are those OK in broth but not in food?

 

[iPappy]

One of my cats has inflammatory bowel disease. She's on a special protein diet (what we've been using since this disease was diagnosed nearly a year ago is Royal Canin rabbit protein, both wet and dried). The vet has also been trying prednisolone for several months, and we're still trying to find the right dose. We're currently tapering, down two steps from the initial dose after an unsuccessful attempt in which the reduction between the first and subsequent dose may have been too much and we had to revert back to the higher dose with a more gradual taper. She seems to be much less interested in the canned food lately, which probably means she's nauseous. I'm going to wait a bit longer to see if she adjusts better before going back to the vet. Reading some info about what I could do on my own, I thought I might try bone broth. Here's my question: if she's on a special proteins diet, is it safe to make broth from beef or chicken bones? I can't imagine how I could get bones from a rabbit or anything else from which novel proteins food are made. Are there any commercial varieties made from something other than been or poultry, or are those OK in broth but not in food?

I would be hesitant to try bone broth from a different protein.
16oz Rabbit Bone Broth
I did a search and this came up. It's pricey, but it looks promising if rabbit is the protein she does best on. If in doubt, ask your vet.
Bone broth can be very rich, and very nourishing, so with her sensitive tummy I would definitely try giving just a tiny bit at first to see how she handles it.

 

[daftcat75]

I would not use bone broth from another protein because you will get some protein in the broth. When I was feeding Krista rabbit, I would buy a pair of fryer rabbits at about $30/rabbit, keeping the legs and the organs and trading the remainder of the carcass to a bartender buddy to drink free on those nights. The other rabbit cuts were too rich for her. I made food out of the leg meat and broth out of the leg bones. As you can imagine, it was very expensive. But that's the lengths I went to keep her on a diet that was good for her. When I look at 16 oz of rabbit bone broth for under $20, that's quite reasonable. It looks like it will last you about 8 to 16 servings.

If you suspect nausea, you can always ask your vet for ondansetron. It's well-received by most animals--and people too, often to combat the nausea from chemotherapy--and it doesn't seem to depress a cat's appetite like Cerenia often does.