Digestive Issues From Increased Fat Consumption?

kittymama18

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Are there any digestive issues that cause temporary (a few hours) discomfort when the cat eats a meal with more fat in it?
 

fionasmom

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I am not entirely sure what you are asking. Cats can tolerate moderate fat in their normal diet, don't have cholesterol problems like people, and may not gain weight if the calories are controlled even with fat included in the diet. If your cat got into some human food and consumed a huge amount of fat, as in ate a cube of butter, there could be digestive upset. If the cat consumed fat in a dairy product, like ice cream, there could be an issue with lactose. If you suspect that your cat is in distress from having eaten something that he should not have, call the vet.
 
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kittymama18

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No, I'm just trying to figure out what's causing my cat's GI distress. Vet thought IBD - but in trying different foods (baseline being plain boiled chicken breast in its own water) it seems to be less about the kind of food and more about the fat content of the food. For example, plain boiled chicken breast is fine, but she gets uncomfortable and lethargic if she gets breast + rich rendered broth from the same chicken. (No seasonings on it, I cooked the chicken just for her) She is fine with anything lean boiled in a little water, (fish, pork, chicken, duck) but seems to react to anything rich, including canned cat food. :dunno: I am trying to figure out if there's anything that could cause this.
Thanks very much :)
 

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I can't explain the broth rendered from the chicken you cook, if you aren't putting anything extra in the liquid to make it 'rich (as you called it). Do you include the skin when making your broth? That might be where the 'excess fat' comes from?

Aside from that, there is a possibility that the 'solidifiers' in canned cat food could be an issue as well. Ingredients like careegenan, cassia gum, xanthum gum, guar gum, potatoes, tapioca, peas, and a few others that are not even coming to my mind right now. There are cats whose digestive systems don't 'like' some of these ingredients that help to make the foods more solid. You could consider looking at these types of ingredients in your cat's food, and see what are in them, and how you might go about getting some other foods with the least amount of this stuff. For example, in the Fancy Feast pates that I give Feeby, the only ingredient mentioned above is guar gum.

EDIT: I do know that if 'meat by products' are listed in the canned food, they can contain 'partially defatted low temperature fatty tissue' if you think that would make any difference.
 
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kittymama18

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I can't explain the broth rendered from the chicken you cook, if you aren't putting anything extra in the liquid to make it 'rich (as you called it). Do you include the skin when making your broth? That might be where the 'excess fat' comes from?

Aside from that, there is a possibility that the 'solidifiers' in canned cat food could be an issue as well. Ingredients like careegenan, cassia gum, xanthum gum, guar gum, potatoes, tapioca, peas, and a few others that are not even coming to my mind right now. There are cats whose digestive systems don't 'like' some of these ingredients that help to make the foods more solid. You could consider looking at these types of ingredients in your cat's food, and see what are in them, and how you might go about getting some other foods with the least amount of this stuff. For example, in the Fancy Feast pates that I give Feeby, the only ingredient mentioned above is guar gum.

EDIT: I do know that if 'meat by products' are listed in the canned food, they can contain 'partially defatted low temperature fatty tissue' if you think that would make any difference.
When I just give her plain chicken breast with some clear broth she is fine, but if it's the super cooked-down broth made from skin and so on that's all thick, she doesn't feel good. When I cook her a chicken, I first cook the chicken in my pressure cooker and pull off the meat - then I cook the bones & rejected bits like skin or cartilage etc in the broth again (pressure cooker), that's the bone broth I give her with the chicken and she likes it. This time, I cooked the bones AGAIN one more broth cycle in my pressure cooker, and everything but the middles of the bones essentially dissolved. I scooped off the thick layer of fat on top after I chilled it, but the liquid remaining is very thick, gelatinous, and has shreds of chicken floating in it. I'm not giving her a gallon, just some with her chicken, and when she has that vs the regular broth she has a different reaction.
I've tried her on Triumph, 2 flavors, and tiki cat duck/chicken, and one other I can't remember - I was looking for super high-quality foods without a bunch of additives in hopes she'd be OK with them. When all this started I just gave her the normal wet food I keep around - blue buffalo turkey, -but it made her super sick so I started just giving her the bland boiled chicken diet until I could figure out what was causing it, and then trying something different here or there.
It maybe sounds like I'm overthinking this, lol, but I really want to be giving her the best possible things..
 

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Are there any digestive issues that cause temporary (a few hours) discomfort when the cat eats a meal with more fat in it?
I have wondered the same thing. My cat peaches has had lots of blood work and is very healthy. I have caught her gobbling up my cats kidney food with no problem. Low protein,moderate fat. She also eats tiki after dark. High protein low fat. So maybe she can't have too much fat? She throws up the cooked ground pork high fat but no problem with bison low fat. But then a cat does need fat to survive. Not sure how much
 
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maggie101

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She just threw up her tiki. Maybe I fed her too much. It's also been 10 hrs since her last meal. I have started used a timer for wet but forgot
 
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kittymama18

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Vomiting Versus Regurgitation In Cats – Badger Veterinary Hospital
So I guess your cat and mine regurgitates,not vomits so many small meals. Her being without food so long made things worse
I'm sorry your kitty is having that issue, poor thing! Mine only regurgitated once, after that it was straight vomit and then the emergency vet! Now, she just acts like she doesn't feel well after eating anything rich - and just for a few hours, and then she's fine again. It's puzzling!
 
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kittymama18

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If you are feeding chicken or anything that isn’t cat food, please add something like Mazuri as a supplement. The calcium phosphorus ratio is important in cats as well as taurine and other vitamins and minerals.
Yes, I have alnutrin to supplement.
 
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kittymama18

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She just threw up her tiki. Maybe I fed her too much. It's also been 10 hrs since her last meal. I have started used a timer for wet but forgot
If it's been a long time since she ate, and you gave her a lot, she may have bolted it and then thrown up because she ate so fast. Can you try feeding her more frequently, in smaller amounts?
 

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Maybe rather than IBD your cat has pancreatitis or issues with the pancreas. I had a cat who had that and got very sick from time to time so I had to put her on a lower fat diet. I did not cook her food for her or anything like that. But actually what happened was I had a cat who was always throwing up hairballs so I started feeding them the "hairball remedy" and that's when it started with her getting sick. The vet said those are high in fat. But I digress. I think as long as the cat does well with just the cooked chicken and a light broth/water, I would go with that and maybe keep that rich stock for yourself so it doesn't get wasted.
 

maggie101

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If it's been a long time since she ate, and you gave her a lot, she may have bolted it and then thrown up because she ate so fast. Can you try feeding her more frequently, in smaller amounts?
Already do. Just don't always remember
 
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kittymama18

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Maybe rather than IBD your cat has pancreatitis or issues with the pancreas. I had a cat who had that and got very sick from time to time so I had to put her on a lower fat diet. I did not cook her food for her or anything like that. But actually what happened was I had a cat who was always throwing up hairballs so I started feeding them the "hairball remedy" and that's when it started with her getting sick. The vet said those are high in fat. But I digress. I think as long as the cat does well with just the cooked chicken and a light broth/water, I would go with that and maybe keep that rich stock for yourself so it doesn't get wasted.
Thank you - they did a blood test at the emergency vet, and said she doesn't have pancreatitis, but maybe the test was off or something. I'll check the symptoms and see if they match her. :) Good idea - she really does love the boiled chicken + broth! :)
 

maggie101

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I just remembered that I have cerenia I was using on my other cat for a different reason l have not needed to give it to her,though peaches will be difficult. Getting my gloves out!
 
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