Colitis Kitty Saga - Support and opinions welcomed

[dinaxcheng]

Hi there! My best boy Tommy is a 11 year old ginger with CKD and colitis issues that started last year due after a terrible reaction to anesthesia. Its generally decently managed with fiber, but something about his poop was never "right". It was formed but it was like a squishy log that was being held together by psyllium husk if you will lol...

Recently we started to introduce a beef-formulated diet to his dinner that has added fiber into it and we started to introduce it during dinner-time. We were doing SUPER well the first 15~% change. Things started to go awry during the 20% - he would have great poops for 2-3 days and then mucusy loose stools. We added SB and that seemed to have helped somewhat.

Then we decided to remove the psyllium we were supplementing, thinking maybe now its too much? This was a HUGE game changer in his poop texture. They still had loose parts, but when it was formed it was formed and firm (it also wasn't 10 inches long!).

I thought we were going in the right direction, but now he still has some loose stools. The best way I would describe it is, its starts formed, gets loose, and ends formed again... I will also note this all happened in a span of 2~ weeks so maybe we're changing things too fast?

This is where we're at now:

30% of new beef in his dinner
2 caps of SB a day
Felix's Flora (he's been taking this for a while, its the only probiotic that doesn't upset his tummy)

Any thoughts and advice? Maybe I'm the drama..? haha

 

[stephanietx]

I know with IBD kitties, sometimes probiotics can make things worse. Chicken and fish are both known to cause digestive issues with many cats. They don't tolerate either one very well, so trying a different protein is a good thing. Have you tried Metronidazole to help firm up poops>

 

[dinaxcheng]

I know with IBD kitties, sometimes probiotics can make things worse. Chicken and fish are both known to cause digestive issues with many cats. They don't tolerate either one very well, so trying a different protein is a good thing. Have you tried Metronidazole to help firm up poops>

I haven't tried metro.. everytime I've brought it up to my vet they don't seem too concerned to go to metro as the stool still has shape and its not "liquid". It's like he doesn't have an issue long enough to warrant my vet or internist to feel like its a larger issue if that makes sense? Maybe I should push for it just in case

Also didn't know about that about probiotics! I always assumed I should have one onboard

 

[dinaxcheng]

I know with IBD kitties, sometimes probiotics can make things worse. Chicken and fish are both known to cause digestive issues with many cats. They don't tolerate either one very well, so trying a different protein is a good thing. Have you tried Metronidazole to help firm up poops>

Also do you think beef can also cause digestive issues? I knew about chicken so I avoid that as much as possible

 

[stephanietx]

I don't have experience with beef. We feed my IBD kitty duck, venison, and turkey. I have another kitty who eats rabbit with pumpkin. Plain canned pumpkin puree is something else you can try to firm up his poops. Some kitties like it and some don't. Slippery Elm Bark syrup also works well. Bring 1/2 cup of water to a boil. Remove from heat and add 1 teaspoon of SEB powder. Whisk for a couple of minutes until it's the consistency of raw egg yolk. Add 1/4 teaspoon to wet food and mix. You can try it twice a day to see if that works. Many people have success with once a day.