Finding Foods That Work For Ibd

[NMT75]

I was wondering how you have found the food/foods that work best for your IBD kitties. My cat was diagnosed with IBD and EPI about 2 months ago and I have been having the hardest time with her diet. She is currently on Royal Canin Hydrolyzed kibble, which she loves, but the ingredients are horrible. I would really like to figure out a wet food that she can eat so that I can either get her off of the prescription food or at the very least, limit the amount she is getting of it.

I had read that to do a food elimination test, you have to try the exact same novel protein food with them for a minimum of 10 days straight in order to see if it causes any issues. One of the biggest problems I'm having with that is when I do find a food that she likes, she doesn't want to eat it for more than a day or two before she turns her nose up at it. Before this, I used to rotate her foods so she never ate the same wet food twice in a row. I don't know if that's the issue or if the issue is that she doesn't really like the duck, rabbit, turkey, or venison that I have been trying to give her. Before her diagnosis, she was a fish and chicken girl. She ate Orijen 6 fish for her kibble and a rotation of Weruva, BFF, Cats in the Kitchen, and Fussie Cat for her wet foods.

I just don't know if I can't get her to eat the same food more than a few meals in a row, how I am supposed to figure out which ones she can have? I'm afraid if I start mixing them up, I won't know which food is the culprit if she gets sick. This whole IBD thing has been so frustrating Any advise you all can give would be much appreciated!

 

[KarenKat]

I’m sure others will be by with more advice, our tabby Trin has IBD and we are on the elimination diet. I had read 8 weeks of eating the same protein - we are feeding Nature’s Variety Instinct LID Rabbit. Trin has been a kibble cat his whole life and we are eventually trying to go to canned food.

I have learned that chicken can cause a flare up and should be avoided. Also, carrageenan, agar-agar and any gums can be bad for IBD because they are expected to cause inflammation in the intestines.

I have heard people here say the best diet for IBD is raw, if they eat it. Kibble tends to be the most irritating.

If you want to feed canned food, can you try picking one protein from different brands? If you are doing rabbit, there are a few you can feed that may taste different but not have other proteins. Royal Canin and Nature’s Variety Instinct have Rabbit, Pride by instinct has a rabbit, and I’m sure there are other brands. Then you can rotate that in?

Or can you use different toppers on the food to entice eating but not impact the elimination test?

 

[lisahe]

KarenKat already offered lots of good suggestions. It can be really hard to figure out what's causing a cat's digestive symptoms and sometimes it's dumb luck that resolves things. We figured out by chance potato was causing one of our cats to vomit!

I'll build on what KarenKat wrote by adding a few tips on adding in new foods:

-the simpler the recipe the better
-corollary to above: simplest recipes are often for raw foods, second place goes to canned, third to dry
-keeping a food diary makes it easier to track trends and figure out if the problem is a protein or other ingredient
-introduce any new food very slowly
-nearly any ingredient can cause a problem so be sure to track thickeners, vegetables, and proteins
-raw food does, indeed, seem to help a lot of IBD cats
-low carb seems to work best for many cats with digestive issues (I say that based on our vet's advice, our experience with two cat that have sensitive stomachs, other Cat Site members' observations, and other reading)

Do you have any idea at all, NMT75 , what might have been causing your cat's problem? You said she was eating lots of fish and chicken, both of which are common irritants, plus some of those brands you mentioned include thickeners like potato that can cause issues. And the Orijen includes a load of legumes so just getting rid of that might do a lot on its own. What were your cat's IBD symptoms? And what is your cat's name!?

Also: Are there dietary implications for your cat's EPI diagnosis? I'm completely unfamiliar with that!

 

[LTS3]

These web sites are helpful:

IBDKitties – Helping Save Lives…One Paw at a Time (link to their FB group at bottom of main page)
Raw Feeding for IBD Cats

A food trial has to be done for much longer than 10 days. Give it at least a couple of weeks. Sometimes you need to go a couple of months to see if that helps.

Try a novel protein LID canned food to start. Here are some:

Single Novel Protein Grain Free Wet (not Raw) Food? Help!
Your favorite brands of "novel protein" canned cat food

BLUE Basics® Limited Ingredient Cat Food | Blue Buffalo
Limited Ingredient Diet - Grain Free Cat | Merrick Pet Care
Cat Food - Limited Ingredient Diet - Kohapet
Limited Ingredients | Natural Balance Pet Foods
Instinct Limited Ingredient Diet | Instinct Pet Food

Rawz is also an option since it's pretty "bland" with no extra junk, er fillers: RAWZ | 100% Rendered Free Cat Food

My IBD eats Nature's Variety Instinct raw rabbit medallions with a a little novel protein raw/premix mixture added in. He's been eating the brand of raw food since he was a kitten. Chicken gives him a flare up so I don't feed him that anymore.

 

[NMT75]

I’m sure others will be by with more advice, our tabby Trin has IBD and we are on the elimination diet. I had read 8 weeks of eating the same protein - we are feeding Nature’s Variety Instinct LID Rabbit. Trin has been a kibble cat his whole life and we are eventually trying to go to canned food.

I have learned that chicken can cause a flare up and should be avoided. Also, carrageenan, agar-agar and any gums can be bad for IBD because they are expected to cause inflammation in the intestines.

I have heard people here say the best diet for IBD is raw, if they eat it. Kibble tends to be the most irritating.

If you want to feed canned food, can you try picking one protein from different brands? If you are doing rabbit, there are a few you can feed that may taste different but not have other proteins. Royal Canin and Nature’s Variety Instinct have Rabbit, Pride by instinct has a rabbit, and I’m sure there are other brands. Then you can rotate that in?

Or can you use different toppers on the food to entice eating but not impact the elimination test?

Thank you so much for your reply!! Right now, her favorite seems to be Instinct LID Turkey and I use a small amount of Stella and Chewy sprinkled on top to entice her. I wish I could get her to eat Rabbit but it seems to be her least favorite of everything I've tried.

Ella has always liked Kibble also so I have been continuing to give her the RCHP while trying to work in wet foods. I think she would be perfectly happy if I went to a few different foods with the same protein. She gets bored of food easily and giving her the same thing over and over just isn't working for her. I haven't tried that because I thought I had to do the exact same food to best be able to narrow down what ingredients she can't handle but it's just not working so I may have to try and introduce one more to see if that helps

 

[duckpond]

If she is doing good on the food she is eating that is a blessing, no matter the ingredients may not seem the best!

My son has an IBD cat, they spent a few years at the vet, on medications, prescription diets, you name it they tried it, nothing worked for more than a few days or weeks.

someone told them to try fancy feast classics, so they stoped everything else and gave her the turkey, lo and behold, she got much better. then they added the chicken, then the beef. She has been on only these 3 foods for a few years now, and no problems! They have tried to give her other foods occasionally, but she always gets sick again after just one or two meals. Something in the FF classics works for her.

I think its just finding the right food for your cat, and what works for one may not another. Unfortunately maybe a lot of trial and error. I hope you find foods that make her happy and healthy!

 

[NMT75]

KarenKat already offered lots of good suggestions. It can be really hard to figure out what's causing a cat's digestive symptoms and sometimes it's dumb luck that resolves things. We figured out by chance potato was causing one of our cats to vomit!

I'll build on what KarenKat wrote by adding a few tips on adding in new foods:

-the simpler the recipe the better
-corollary to above: simplest recipes are often for raw foods, second place goes to canned, third to dry
-keeping a food diary makes it easier to track trends and figure out if the problem is a protein or other ingredient
-introduce any new food very slowly
-nearly any ingredient can cause a problem so be sure to track thickeners, vegetables, and proteins
-raw food does, indeed, seem to help a lot of IBD cats
-low carb seems to work best for many cats with digestive issues (I say that based on our vet's advice, our experience with two cat that have sensitive stomachs, other Cat Site members' observations, and other reading)

Do you have any idea at all, NMT75 , what might have been causing your cat's problem? You said she was eating lots of fish and chicken, both of which are common irritants, plus some of those brands you mentioned include thickeners like potato that can cause issues. And the Orijen includes a load of legumes so just getting rid of that might do a lot on its own. What were your cat's IBD symptoms? And what is your cat's name!?

Also: Are there dietary implications for your cat's EPI diagnosis? I'm completely unfamiliar with that!

Thank you so much for all of your suggestions! Her name is Ella Her symptoms were rapid weight loss, nausea, and vomiting. I'm not really sure at this point what all was causing the problem but I do think that chicken is an irritant for her. I tried giving her some about a week ago and she threw it up. I've been too afraid to try fish with her so I can't say if it causes issues, but since it's what she ate the most of before her diagnosis, I'm assuming it might be.

About her EPI. I'm still trying to learn more about it. I hadn't even heard of it before she was diagnosed with it. Her Internal Medicine Specialist put her on Viokase for it but we had to take her off of that because after a while, she wouldn't eat her food with it on there. Her Doctor said that as long as we can control the IBD, the EPI should be fine. She is alos on B-12 shots and that is suppose to help with both the IBD and the EPI.

 

[NMT75]

These web sites are helpful:

IBDKitties – Helping Save Lives…One Paw at a Time (link to their FB group at bottom of main page)
Raw Feeding for IBD Cats

A food trial has to be done for much longer than 10 days. Give it at least a couple of weeks. Sometimes you need to go a couple of months to see if that helps.

Try a novel protein LID canned food to start. Here are some:

Single Novel Protein Grain Free Wet (not Raw) Food? Help!
Your favorite brands of "novel protein" canned cat food

BLUE Basics® Limited Ingredient Cat Food | Blue Buffalo
Limited Ingredient Diet - Grain Free Cat | Merrick Pet Care
Cat Food - Limited Ingredient Diet - Kohapet
Limited Ingredients | Natural Balance Pet Foods
Instinct Limited Ingredient Diet | Instinct Pet Food

Rawz is also an option since it's pretty "bland" with no extra junk, er fillers: RAWZ | 100% Rendered Free Cat Food

My IBD eats Nature's Variety Instinct raw rabbit medallions with a a little novel protein raw/premix mixture added in. He's been eating the brand of raw food since he was a kitten. Chicken gives him a flare up so I don't feed him that anymore.

Thank you so much LTS3 !! I just picked up some RAWS today and plan to try a bit of that tonight to see if she will eat it

 

[NMT75]

If she is doing good on the food she is eating that is a blessing, no matter the ingredients may not seem the best!

My son has an IBD cat, they spent a few years at the vet, on medications, prescription diets, you name it they tried it, nothing worked for more than a few days or weeks.

someone told them to try fancy feast classics, so they stoped everything else and gave her the turkey, lo and behold, she got much better. then they added the chicken, then the beef. She has been on only these 3 foods for a few years now, and no problems! They have tried to give her other foods occasionally, but she always gets sick again after just one or two meals. Something in the FF classics works for her.

I think its just finding the right food for your cat, and what works for one may not another. Unfortunately maybe a lot of trial and error. I hope you find foods that make her happy and healthy!

Thank you so much duckpond !! I'm finding the trial and error thing to be very true! This IBD thing is complicated to say the least! Ella is doing ok on the prescription food so I plan to continue with it at least for now but would love if I could find a wet food to mix into the mix. I'm glad to hear that your son's kitty found something that she is doing well on Thanks again!!

 

[lisahe]

Thank you so much LTS3 !! I just picked up some RAWS today and plan to try a bit of that tonight to see if she will eat it

Rawz is very good food. I think I saw on your other thread that you got duck, right? If duck's an option, another duck food that's pretty good is Koha duck stew. Our cats love it and it also doesn't have any thickeners that can cause problems. Another plus: it's cheaper (at least where I live!) than Rawz food. (I think the Koha is about $1.79 or $1.89, depending on the store.)

 

[NMT75]

I will have to try the Koha duck with her! Thank you for the suggestion I tried the Koha Turkey and she liked it but I haven't tried the duck. She has had Instinct duck, and Stella and Chewy duck, duck, goose with no issues so I feel safe right now trying new duck foods!

 

[LTS3]

Try this brand as well: Canned - Pure Vita - Natural Holistic Pet Foods They're single protein and no extra junk. Turkey and beef might be suitable if your cat can't tolerate chicken. Seafood is ok but as with healthy cats, limit it to once in awhile meals.

The turkey variety of this brand might be suitable, too: Chicken & Turkey Dinner | Natural Planet Pet Foods

And there's a few possible varieties here: NutriSource Pet Foods High Plains (beef and lamb), Pork and Pork Liver, Lamb and Lamb Liver.Country Select (duck and turkey)

 

[NMT75]

LTS3 Thank you for the suggestion! I have never tried this brand so I truly appreciate it

 

[KarenKat]

Is agar-agar a concern? Is it true that it is similar to carageenan and may cause intestinal inflammation?

 

[lisahe]

Is agar-agar a concern? Is it true that it is similar to carageenan and may cause intestinal inflammation?

I don't feed either agar-agar or carrageenan because of the possibility of intestinal inflammation, though I'm really not sure how concerned I should be. (Our cats tend to have quirky digestive tracts so I don't take chances with them!)

 

[duckpond]

Sometimes i feed a little food with agar-agar or carrageenan, but i try not too. I think there is too much unknown about how it affects cats. I dont know as i would panic about it if in a rotation of foods without, but for an IBD cat i would be concerned.

 

[lisamarie12]

About her EPI. I'm still trying to learn more about it. I hadn't even heard of it before she was diagnosed with it. Her Internal Medicine Specialist put her on Viokase for it but we had to take her off of that because after a while, she wouldn't eat her food with it on there. Her Doctor said that as long as we can control the IBD, the EPI should be fine. She is alos on B-12 shots and that is suppose to help with both the IBD and the EPI.

I have had an EPI cat for two years now (misdiagnosed by two vets as IBD). Those enzymes your vet prescribed, Viokase, are specifically for pancreatic malabsorption--the weight loss is due to EPI cats not being able to absorb the nutrients from their food, they end up losing weight and wasting away (my Molly went from 12 lbs to 7 lbs in less than one year).

The Rx enzymes are either porcine or bovine based and EPI cats have to be on them for life (I use Thomas Labs Biocase Plus, which my vet approves of, it is OTC and includes B12 and is comparable to the Rx enzymes).

If Ella isn't eating the food with the enzymes as you're preparing it, you may want to try this: in her empty food bowl, dilute the enzymes in a little water and add her food on top, or at least enough food for her to lap up the enzymes. I've done it this way since I first started the enzymes (although the enzymes I use may not have the taste Viokase has).

If not, you may have to syringe the enzymes before or after each meal.

I would strongly encourage you to discuss with your vet his recommendation to discontinue the pancreatic enzymes. I would also suggest you join Facebook's Raw Feeding for IBD Kitties, as LTS suggested, that group saved my Molly's life two years ago when the vets misdiagnosed her, there are a few members with EPI cats and remedies on how to administer the enzymes if kitty won't eat them in the food.

My cat was on B12 shots and steroids for 5 months before she was started on the enzymes and the B12/steroids made zero difference -EPI cats need the pancreatic enzymes.

Good luck.