ISO High Calorie Very Palatable/Smelly Pate Good for Digestion

[jagged37]

Our cat Lilly is a senior cat (about 13 yo) who has bouts of not eating. She has multiple health issues with one of them being IBS with constipation. She is on several medications (Plavix, benzapril, Metoclopramide, Lactolose, thyroid med, Prilosec). What seems to be a pattern is that she eats well for about 3 days and then she has an issue with her stool (hard, round or tries to go but can't), vomits and then won't eat. I am wondering if it's the food we've been giving her which is Fancy Feast Perfect Portions. The reason I give this to her is because it's the only food she will eat on a consistent basis. I've tried Blue Limited Ingredient (turkey as well as duck), Nulo mousee, Blue Tastefuls, Purina Pro Plan, Merick, just to name a few. She will eat them for a day maybe 2 and then decides she doesn't like them anymore. So, I open FF and she will eat. She will eat well for 2-3 days and then bad poop and the cycle continues. I am wondering if the FF is the contributing to her constipation/digestive issues. However, I do not know what to feed her that will be good for her digestion, very palatable (something she will eat consistently) and is in pate form oh and high calorie would also be good so she could eat less but still get enough calories. Oh also, preferably poultry as I've found seafood doesn't seem to agree with her. Thank you!

 

[maggie101]

Wow,that's a lot of medications to be on. Is that all the medication she's on now or through out the years? What does your vet suggest you feed her? Has she seen a specialist? Usually a novel protein is suggested like duck or rabbit. Something she has not had before and keep her on it. For allergins, fish first place, second is chicken. My cat likes ff and nutro but I no longer feed it to her

 

[jagged37]

Wow,that's a lot of medications to be on. Is that all the medication she's on now or through out the years? What does your vet suggest you feed her? Has she seen a specialist? Usually a novel protein is suggested like duck or rabbit. Something she has not had before and keep her on it. For allergins, fish first place, second is chicken. My cat likes ff and nutro but I no longer feed it to her

First of all, I was only adding her medications to show that she absolutely needs to eat something every day and to show she has several medical conditions. These conditions have shown up in the last few years.

My vet suggested feeding her a novel protein but she doesn't like them - tried turkey and duck but she simply won't eat them. Chicken is her favorite and the only protein she will eat consistently. So, I would love to keep her on a novel protein but she doesn't like them and she has to eat.

I was looking for suggestions on a palatable high calorie food for a senior cat with digestive issues among others. We have given her A/D which might be what we keep her on if the vet says it's ok but that is also something she stops eating after awhile. I would love to have suggestions on specific foods that fall into the above category that perhaps others have had luck with.

Thank you.

 

[lisahe]

Well, bone can cause constipation, so I'd probably try to avoid that. It could be in Fancy Feast, as part of "byproducts."

I understand the need to get calories into Lilly but sometimes feeding something less caloric that the cat likes (and will eat a lot of) will result in more calories than caloric foods that the cat isn't thrilled about. Our cats love Sheba pates, which aren't very caloric -- they were perfect after Edwina had surgery and I needed to get her eating again. (Iams perfect portions foods are almost identical.) Kitten foods are generally high-calorie.

There are also things that can be added to food to ease constipation -- plain pumpkin puree, egg yolk, psyllium husk --but given Lilly's list of medications, I'd check with the vet first about adding much of anything to her food. I also hope that none of her medications can cause constipation, either one on its own or in combination with another.

 

[cejhome]

Hello, our new kitty (approx 2 yr old male mixed breed - has Russian Blue in him) was in a home that fed him stuff that made him constipated, among other things - he has food allergies/intolerance that we are working through. Hopefully we have figured it out! He was fed cheap canned and dry. The people that had him fed him like this for a year. When the returned him to the rescue they just said "I don't know what the problem is". Didn't bother taking him to a vet or anything. We are hoping at this point it was fish and/or grain. He is on Miralax and it is working. Until we started having improvement with the constipation, he was very very picky about eating anything. Once he had a good poop, his interest and appetite have gone up. One of the foods we tried, although not his favorite is Wellness Core Digestive Health - the turkey and chicken flavors. I do know chicken is one of the top allergens, but Fish is generally number one. We have (unfortunately) lots of experience with kitty food issues. One was allergic to pea, one was allergic to grain, one was allergic to virtually everything - I raw fed her rabbit and pork, one was was allergic to fish. Of the now 6 kitties we have had (we usually adopt older ones), 5 have had food issues. I am hoping our current kitty, Buddy is allergic to either fish or grain. I have read that Russian Blue's are commonly allergic to grain and he is a mix - looks very Russian Blue and checks all the boxes except for his eyes that are a lighter green. One of the folks at work mentioned it when they saw his picture. Their rescue boy kitty looks like our boy. What he really loves and eats up is:

• Soulistic (Petco brand, made by Weruva) Chicken & Pumpkin dinner in gravy. Very juicy and easy to mix his Miralax in. No grain, no hidden Fish. He always drinks up all the broth, then eats the chicken and pumpkin pieces.
• Soulistic Pate "in a hydrating puree", Chicken & Turkey, or Chicken. READ the label. Some of their puree food cans that labelled "lamb and chicken" etc., look almost identical, but they have hidden fish in them. This stuff is very soupy. He loves them.
• Weruva Cats in the Kitchen Pumpkin Lickin Chicken. He likes this one, not as good as the first one on this list. Lots of broth in it. Again, be careful. This same brand has another chicken/pumpkin combo that has fish in it, even though the front label doesn't mention it. You have to read the ingredients.
• Soulistic Autumn Bounty - Chicken Dinner in Pumpkin Soup.
• Weruva Cats in the Kitchen Chicken Frick 'a Zee. He will eat this, but he's so so about it.

There were others we tried and other brands - there was one, may have been Merrick in a pouch - rabbit. He didn't like it.

We tried Weruva Chicken and Mackerel early on. He loved it but then felt really bad afterwards. That's why I eliminated the fish. He is doing so much better with all the liquid, Miralax and no fish or grain. (He also came to us with an ear infection in both ears and yeast in one ear.) A lot of canned cat foods that make "shapes" like fancy feast chunks use wheat gluten to make those "shapes". Even premium brands may do so. The non-pate foods we are feeding Buddy are real shreds, not man made "shapes" or shreds, they don't need a binder to create the little pieces.

My opinion, I wouldn't worry about senior/calories, etc. right now, just try to get your kitty eating.

 

[Astragal14]

I think Lilly's inappetence is likely caused by side of effects of her various medications and is unrelated to her specific foods. You may not have any success until you discuss with your vet how to manage these side effects.

Plavix, benzapril, Metoclopramide, Lactolose, thyroid med, Prilosec

Thyroid meds and Plavix can both cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and inappetence. Prilosec has the potential for the same side effects if taken long-term. Metoclopramide can cause constipation.

Blue Limited Ingredient (turkey as well as duck), Nulo mousee, Blue Tastefuls, Purina Pro Plan, Merick, just to name a few. She will eat them for a day maybe 2 and then decides she doesn't like them anymore.

Most of these brands are very palatable, and the fact they follow the same pattern makes me think the food isn't the cause. But more palatable options may be different textures from Nulo and Blue Buffalo. Other brands that are generally very palatable include Tiki Cat and Weruva. Be cautious with Weruva because they hide fish in many of the foods, and they also use a lot of gums that can be bad for IBS/IBD.

 

[jagged37]

We are thinking about giving her Hills A/D (Recovery food) for 1 week to see if she still has issues after a few days. It is supposed to be very easy on the stomach as it is given to cats and dogs recovering from surgery. But, we can't get this 'til the vet opens Monday morning.

I just bought 1 can of Royal Canin Mama and baby cat and 1 can of Royal Canin 12+ as well as 1 package of Tiki Cat Special-Fussy. She threw up today and so she's been kind of wanting to be left alone for much of the day but finally she got up and looked like she might want to eat, so I opened the Mama and baby cat. She ate some of it, so I'm happy with that for now.

She has a vet appointment on Friday. Unfortunately, I don't have much hope he will have any different advice for us. Her constipation issues have been going on for a long time but haven gotten worse the last year or so. We found out this year she has HCM on top of the IBS. I didn't mention she also gets benefiber and a probiotic every day as well. Anyway, I agree with getting her to eat something even if it's not high calorie but given she eats on and off I am thinking high calorie would be the best option for her IF I can find an option she likes.

Also, I've tried adding pumpkin to her food and the bottom line is that if I add ANYTHING to her food, she won't eat it. You have no idea of how tired I am of hearing about pumpkin . Every vet, every advice online, every blog, says oh add pumpkin and your cat's digestion issues will be solved. I can tell you that is not the case with Lilly and if it was, I wouldn't be posting here.

The next step for Lilly if our vet can do no more for her, is to try to see a holistic veterinarian. But that is not the subject of this post. So, I thank you all for reading/listening, giving suggestions and welcome any further suggestions on food for her.

 

[Furballsmom]

First of all, as was mentioned by maggie101 , that is a lot of meds.

Second, trying the RC food hopefully helps her to eat, and not just in support of her taking the medications. If she doesn't like it, try Forza 10.

Third, suggest to your vet that PEG 3350 is a better choice than lactulose because it doesn't draw hydration from the rest of the body but retains it in the colon.

Tips To Increase Your Cat’s Water Intake – TheCatSite Articles

Also talk to your vet about B12.

Additionally, I'm seriously beginning to think with my Poppycat that the probiotic is causing more problems with his poop/constipation than it's helping anything else, so that might be something else to consider. At the least, a probiotic needs to be from certain, multiple fermentation products, should also have a prebiotic to properly do it's "job", and if too much/too many cfus are provided initially it can literally cause issues.

Probiotics – IBDKitties

 

[maggie101]

First of all, as was mentioned by maggie101 , that is a lot of meds.

Second, trying the RC food hopefully helps her to eat, and not just in support of her taking the medications.

Third, suggest to your vet that PG3350 is a better choice than lactulose.

Additionally, I'm seriously beginning to think with my Poppycat that the probiotic is causing more problems with his poop/constipation than it's helping anything else, so that might be something else to consider. At the least, a probiotic needs to be from certain fermentation products, should also have a prebiotic to properly do it's "job", and if it has too many cfus it can literally cause issues.

I stopped giving proviable dc in hopes that was one reason for her diaheria. I now give her a prebiotic called Optagist that daftcat75 suggested

 

[Astragal14]

If she is avoiding foods after 2-3 days in a row then don't give her the same foods for 2-3 days in a row. Try giving a different food each day and see if that helps; the six foods you mentioned should offer enough variety if rotated. Aversion to specific foods can happen very quickly when a cat is feeling ill.

Our feline friends can develop a food aversion after just once smelling or tasting a food while they are nauseous

Cat won’t eat? Check this out… | Corvallis Cat Care

Also talk to your vet about B12

I second this, B12 injections can greatly help with nausea and have little to no side effects. It's the very first recommendation in this comprehensive guide to helping your cat eat (this guide offers many different options, including types of foods, temperature of foods, specific food brands and much more):
Tanya's Comprehensive Guide to Feline Chronic Kidney Disease - Persuading Your Cat to Eat

Some of the medications and supplements Lilly is taking have a negative effect on each other, in addition to their side effects. You may want to ask your vet about using Pepcid instead of Prilosec (which may also remove the need for metoclopramide) and using Miralax (PEG 3350) instead of lactulose.

• Prilosec can reduce the effectiveness of blood thinners like Plavix
• Prilosec can also delay gastric emptying; this can lead to slow transit constipation, which can also cause an upset stomach when extra fiber is added to the diet
• Benefiber should not be given two hours before or after other medications or supplements because the Benefiber will interfere with their absorption

 

[jagged37]

I appreciate all the advice on meds, however, she was taking Pepcid and it nothing for her which is why she was switched to Prilosec. She was taking Miralax for a long time and did nothing for her and so Benefiber + probiotic was suggested. These were all suggested by an internist who my vet consulted with after reviewing her history and ultrasound. She recently was put on the Lactulose because she was still having hard poops on and off despite the other things she was taking. Again, pumpkin didn't work, Miralax didn't work, Benefiber +probiotic doesn't seem to be working so Lactulose was prescribed in hopes it would. Well, it's not. This is why I was asking about food. Food is an issue though because she strains trying to poop and then her stomach gets upset and she vomits and then doesn't want to eat. She will have normal poops for like 3 days in a row and then she either has no poop or hard poop. Lilly has a very complicated medical history that cannot be solved over a forum. I wish it could, but, I appreciate the advice.

I didn't think of the B12 and will ask the vet about this Friday.

 

[Furballsmom]

This may help to find a cat only vet;
Find a Veterinarian and Practice | The Cat Community

All the commercial foods, even something like Smalls, are using various ingredients/recipes to fit aafco guidelines, so other than trying to accommodate her tastebuds you aren't changing anything for her digestive system, not really.

Same with the products you're trying for softening the poop.

What about homecooked?

 

[Astragal14]

The next step for Lilly if our vet can do no more for her, is to try to see a holistic veterinarian

This is a great idea independent of how things go with her regular vet. A holistic vet will use therapies that compliment, not compete with, what your regular vet is already doing.

 

[daftcat75]

My Betty has IBD and the one food she will eat enough of consistently is Hills I/D in the stew cans. She doesn’t like the I/D pate. The stew is a lower calorie food. But she enjoys it. And somehow she still gets enough calories when I weigh her on Sundays. For awhile, though, she wasn’t eating enough of the I/D alone. I used to mix the I/D stew with Hills A/D. I found one part A/D to two parts I/D was a good mix for her.

Betty’s experience with A/D is that she will always eat it but only just a little bit of it. That’s one reason I mixed it with I/D. The other reason is that if it’s kitty crack to her, I save the pure stuff for when she stops eating altogether. If she always got the pure stuff, there’s no where to go when she gets fussy and won’t eat it. But also she never ate enough of the pure A/D. Probably too rich for her. That said, I use pure A/D to coat her pills and get her to take her own meds twice a day.

So for your cat, I recommend trying the Hills I/D either in stew or pate form and mixing in Hills A/D to up its calorie content and appeal. Stay away from giving the A/D alone except for coating pills or emergencies when she won’t eat anything else. Return to an A/D mix as soon as she’ll eat it as she probably won’t eat enough A/D on its own.

You may also want to look into Rawz in a novel protein like turkey, duck, or rabbit. The chicken may very well be causing the inflammation that is causing all the other gut and butt issues.

Incredible Pets sells Rawz by the can so you can run it past your cat before you buy a case.
RAWZ 96% Rabbit Cat Can

Finally, you need to do slow food transitions with new foods. Start with 10% new food to 90% old food. Wait a poop to see how to proceed. Good poop, add 10% more new food. Soft poop, stay at the ratio you are at. Loose poop/diarrhea: this food will probably not work. My other recommendations with food transitions is if she won’t eat the new food/old food mix, try what I call a naked transition. Plate the new food is small amounts like the old food was still there. If she eats a 50 gram meal, start her with a 5 gram new food only snack and increase that by 5 grams a day as long as she tolerates it well. I also recommend to either create a new meal in her schedule for a food transition or to transition only one meal at a time. That way if the transition doesn’t work out, it’s much easier to remove the guest meal or unwind that one transition meal back to old. If you aren’t already, I also recommend breaking her feeding into many smaller meals per day instead of a couple big ones. My Betty takes five: breakfast, lunch, two dinners and an overnight. When I’m ready to try her next food transition, I may only change a lunch or overnight until I’m sure the food will work for her. Then I’ll pick another meal to transition. If it doesn’t work out, I can rapidly unwind the transition as it was only one meal and she was still eating all old food meals for the other meals.

 

[lisahe]

I understand your frustration, jagged37 , constipation can be really puzzling. I should have mentioned this earlier... Our constipated cat's problem resolved itself when, by chance, I started giving her Vet's Best Hairball Relief Digestive Aid tablets. I'm not even sure why I even started giving them to her (maybe because she liked the smell?) since I bought them for her sister, who's the one with hair issues. Ireland has always had mild-to-moderate constipation, which lowered affected her appetite for a long time, but now she's very regular and an eager eater. She gets 1.5 tablets a day, spread out over four meals. (The standard dose is 2 tablets a day, one per dose, but they're like a treat for Ireland so I put them on her meals.) I've seen other mentions (on Chewy and on a Facebook group for IBD cats) that the tablets have helped other constipated cats.

 

[jagged37]

Thank you all for the advice. Just got back from the vet and after looking at an x-ray, her diagnosed her with megacolon I came across the diet for megacolon forum, so I will continue to read through that. Again, I appreciate everyone taking the time to respond to my post about Lilly.

 

[Furballsmom]

Let us know how things progress for her