In desperate need of an IBD diet.

[Vanhorne86]

Hi,

I live in the UK.

My elderly Siamese cat (he's 14 and a half) has been vaguely diagnosed with IBD, I say vaguely because after £4,000 worth of tests and having him be overnight at the pet hospital for 3 nights, they still couldn't give me a definite answer. They told me that his comstant vomiting and diarrhoea are 90% likely to be IBD so I'm following their advice. He's currently taking Omeprazole for his vomiting which does help but the diarrhoea is still really bad.

I have tried dried hypoallergenic food, it didn't change anything. I've tried fresh food from a very expensive company, that also didn't work. He's also been on steroids which did nothing. This has been going on for at least 4 years now. I've read so much conflicting information everywhere about this issue (some pages say he can't eat dry food and some people swear by it!). He's currently back on regular brand cat food and has gone from 3.5kg (which wasn't a good weight in the first place) to 3.2kg which is very skinny, I can literally see his bones.

He wants to eat, he's always demolishing bowls of food but it just won't stay down.

I'm absolutely tearing my hair out here and I've done an insane amount of Googling and people are saying 'give them digestable carbs but not too much' 'give them healthy fats but not too much' 'give them chelated vitamins and certain supplements' - I cannot honestly understand this stuff, I also don't have endless money, I just want to help my cat and in tears here writing this. I just need some help. Please.

 

[Furballsmom]

IHello! I'm personally not familiar with this but LTS3 has provided the following information to other members, maybe there is something that will help you

Probiotics may help IBD cats with tummy and diarrhea issues. Give this a read: Prebiotics & Probiotics for Cats: Healing Inflammation and gut dysbiosis

IBDKitties – Helping Save Lives…One Paw at a Time

Feline IBD

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

If you have not already done so, I would definitely read the 2nd attachment above. It has really good information in it. I do know that they say dry food is NOT good, and carbs are NOT good. They actually prefer raw. Don't know what that's what you meant by "fresh food", but it might be. When you change foods, it takes awhile to notice changes though. AND, you don't have to spend an arm and a leg for raw food. You can even make it yourself. WE have a raw forum here Raw & Home-Cooked Cat Food

If nothing else, perhaps it's NOT IBD?

 

[LTS3]

V verna davies may have some UK suggestions for you. Canned / tinned novel protein foods seem to work best for many IBD / sensitive tummy cats. Raw and home cooked diets are also options.

Chicken tends to be an irritant to many IBD / sensitive tummy cats. Try not feeding any chicken or chicken product for a good 13 weeks or so. Chicken is what gave my IBD cat diarrhea.

IBD cats often have low levels of B12 which affects nutrient absorption. A cat with low B12 levels often has weight loss. The vet can do a blood test to determine B12 levels. If levels are low, B12 injections can be given.

 

[verna davies]

If you have a Pets at Home store near you, I would contact them. They have good knowledge of the products they sell and are really helpful even though they are not vets.
I agree with LTS3 about chicken having a cat that is allergic to it and having gone through all sorts of tests because the vet suspecting IBS. Also the B12 test is worth having done, should cost approx £150.
For the diarrhoea, try s boulardii, it's had good results. This is the one I use.
Jarrow Saccharomyces Boulardii + MOS (5 Billion per Capsule, 90 Vegan Capsules): Amazon.co.uk: Health & Personal Care

 

[MissClouseau]

I will name Acana Wild Prairie. It is not as "bland" as ideal for an IBD cat but since Acana (and Orijen) has high % of animal products in the ingredients, it's worth to try. My own cat has sensitive digestion and she does fine on Acana Wild Prairie although she mostly eats wet food. (She did eat mostly Acana dry though for over 6 months at one time.)

If your kitty doesn't react badly to chicken, like say boiled chicken breast, in my opinion the chances are the problem isn't the chicken in cat food inherently. With that said, it could be something else related to chicken. Like my Hima doesn't handle high fat amount and some chicken parts are too greasy for her.

 

[rubysmama]

My Ruby has digestive issues (vomiting and/or diarrhea) and though never diagnosed, my vet also suspected IBD. What worked for Ruby, literally overnight, was changing her food to a hypoallergenic duck canned food. Literally, the next time she pooped it was normal.

Like many cats, Ruby seems to have a sensitivity to chicken, and even though duck is poultry, it didn't bother her. I've given her the same hypoallergenic duck canned food only for almost 7 years, but recently had to find a new food when it was discontinued. I'm now giving her Merrick Limited Ingredient Duck canned, and it agrees with her. So I think it's the ingredients, particularly the protein, not the hypoallergenic that made the difference.

Even on the duck food, Ruby still has issues from time to time. But things are so much better than when I first adopted her and she was throwing up pretty much every other day, and never, ever had normal poop.

So I would suggest trying to find a food with a novel protein, one your boy has never had before, such as duck, rabbit, etc. and see if that makes a difference. And I would avoid anything that has chicken listed as an ingredient, just in case he has a sensitivity to it. Unfortunately, it's hard to find food without chicken, though it is possible.

Good luck. I hope you find something that will agree with him. Meanwhile, since he's losing weight, I wonder if he'd drink goat's milk. That is safe for kitties, and would give him some extra calories.

 

[Vanhorne86]

Thank you everyone who replied, I'm currently reading through the linked items. I appreciate it.

If you have a Pets at Home store near you, I would contact them. They have good knowledge of the products they sell and are really helpful even though they are not vets.
I agree with LTS3 about chicken having a cat that is allergic to it and having gone through all sorts of tests because the vet suspecting IBS. Also the B12 test is worth having done, should cost approx £150.
For the diarrhoea, try s boulardii, it's had good results. This is the one I use.
Jarrow Saccharomyces Boulardii + MOS (5 Billion per Capsule, 90 Vegan Capsules): Amazon.co.uk: Health & Personal Care

Thank you, I’ve ordered the S Boulardii tablets. Do you know how much of one capsule I should give him per day? As I assume the instructions of 2 are for humans and not cats.

 

[daftcat75]

Thank you everyone who replied, I'm currently reading through the linked items. I appreciate it.


Thank you, I’ve ordered the S Boulardii tablets. Do you know how much of one capsule I should give him per day? As I assume the instructions of 2 are for humans and not cats.

Start with a 1/2 capsule once a day. If that doesn't make matters worse, you can increase it to twice a day. There isn't really an upper limit. When Krista had a really nasty clostridium infection, she was getting half a capsule 4 times a day.

IBD is a huge subject and every one knows at least half a dozen tips to offer. Here are mine:

1. More wet food or all wet food. Dry food is not good for any cat (too many carbs and not enough moisture) but even less so for IBD cats.
2. Smaller meals, more often. If you're feeding twice a day, try four times a day with half the portion sizes.
3. B-12. This has been going on long enough that he's almost certainly deficient. B-12 is safe to give even if he doesn't need it. The excess will be harmlessly peed out. B-12 is also cheap and easy to give at home once you've been shown how. Heck, you can even learn how to give the injections off YouTube. But you're going to need a prescription for the B-12 itself and the syringes and needles. So you might as well have a vet tech show you how to do it.
4. If you can find an internal medicine specialist, you'll be better served by a specialist than a general vet. IBD is a complex condition. You want expert and experienced hands on the case.

Okay. That's enough for now. You're going to get much more information from the IBDKitties – Helping Save Lives…One Paw at a Time website.

 

[cataholic07]

For wet food you want carrageenan/gum free only. That is very important as carrageenan can cause stomach inflammation and when you are dealing with an already angry stomach and intestines it can make it worse. Dry food is also a no no, too much fillers and carb thats hard to digest. Rawz, Hounds and gatos, Weruva, Tiki cats are all good brands. I always recommend having 3-6 different brands/flavors on hand (fish should be fed only a few times a week). I find if they are sick they wont eat the same thing twice. Did you do an ultrasound?

 

[daftcat75]

Not all gums are created equal.

Here's my cheat sheet based on my experience with Krista (and in some cases, myself as well because these gums can be in human food too):

Definitely Avoid
Carrageenan
Agar agar (this one doubled Krista over in pain--the pained meatloaf--the few times we tried a food with it)

Probably Should Avoid
Xanthan gum: This one makes smooth foods smooth. Like mousses. It also makes poops smooth. Mousse in, mousse out. This one also affects me in much the same way. It's in a lot of cream cheeses, some ice creams, and other smooth foods.

Seems To Be Safe
Guar gum

Inconclusive
Locust Bean Gum: I don't know how this one affected Krista because it's often included with other gums

 

[LTS3]

Rawz, Hounds and gatos, Weruva, Tiki cats are all good brands.

These brands may not be available in the UK where the OP lives. The OP should check out the store verna davies posted above as well as ZooPlus. Reading the ingredient list is a must for any gums and potential triggers for IBD flare ups.

Thank you, I’ve ordered the S Boulardii tablets. Do you know how much of one capsule I should give him per day? As I assume the instructions of 2 are for humans and not cats.

Yes, the product is meant for people so the dosage instructions are for people. For cats, I'd start at a low dose of 1/4 of one capsule up to twice a day. Better to start too low and not have any effect than to start too high and risk an upset tummy. The capsule halves can be pulled apart and put back together. Just keep the in use capsule separate from the rest of the bottle so you know which one to use.

There's more info here on using probiotics and S. boulardii: Prebiotics & Probiotics for Cats: Healing Inflammation and gut dysbiosis

 

[verna davies]

As LTS3 suggested, I use 1/4 capsule twice a day and keep the bottle in the fridge. Zooplus are very good for variety but usually you have to buy quite a few tins and your cat might not eat it. Try some independent pet shops for single tin purchase.