Lethargy After Eating, Intestinal Inflammation

[Furballsmom]

20 mins later he used the box and thank god, peed a large amount.

That's awesome!!

You could put him back on the Instinct, maybe transition him with a 50:50 ratio for one meal or so, then the Instinct at 75 to 25 for the other, see how that goes for him.
Then you can gently transition him to other foods, and as you're thinking, keep some of the Tiki Cat chicken in the rotation, maybe just not as frequently.

 

[Selarah]

That's awesome!!

You could put him back on the Instinct, maybe transition him with a 50:50 ratio for one meal or so, then the Instinct at 75 to 25 for the other, see how that goes for him.
Then you can gently transition him to other foods, and as you're thinking, keep some of the Tiki Cat chicken in the rotation, maybe just not as frequently.

ty for your help. Furballsmom

I came across this website (Cat Urinary Tract Diseases: Cystitis, Urethral Obstruction, Urinary Tract Infection) and this chart (https://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf)
If I go according to this info and the chart, the salmon is even better than the Instinct food, which completely surprises me. I guess they mention if bones are ground in with the fish, then it’s a problem. I guess the Tiki Cat salmon has no bones, it’s all salmon meat flake/chunks.

I did pick up some of the Tiki Cat chicken with no fish varieties, so I will test that with him in a bit. I’m not 100% certain if he actually has an allergy to it since I found out the neighbors were feeding him horrible food around that time as well.

He’s on all wet food and I add a lot of extra water to his food, he doesn’t mind the fish like a soup. So maybe I don’t have to worry about it. I’ll just watch him the next couple of days.

 

[Furballsmom]

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[Selarah]

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So yesturday I gave him the tiniest bit of chicken and I noticed last night him kind of not feeling so well. Pretty significant difference in how he was the last week and half compared to one night of a little bit of chicken. Today he is doing pretty terrible. No vomiting, but he had hiccups a bit off and on I think, and has been sneezing some. He is also quite lethargic. Acting the way he did the night we took him to animal ER= GI inflammation. I guess I know my answer. He is for sure not good with chicken.

What can I do to make him comfortable? Less food and only water for 12 hours?

Btw, he is peeing just perfectly. I think it was just hard to see his pee in the tall grass. Hes going in the litter box at night now, producing large/normal amounts

 

[Furballsmom]

What can I do to make him comfortable? Less food and only water for 12 hours?

Have you had a chance to talk to your vet and tell them what's going on with him? It's possible that this could be something other than a reaction to the chicken.

 

[Selarah]

Hello. Yes, I have talked to him. He says he’s quite certain its IBS or possible lymphoma because of the lowered B12. He said to try and find a good diet for him first and see how he does and to do the B12 shots. He has been doing very well until the chicken. In my own research Ive read that chicken is a big trigger/allgern for cats with IBS. The night we took him to ER he was also eating a lot of chicken foods back then too (and was being fed by the neighbors, not sure what flavor though)

I suppose it’s possible, but if it’s a chicken allergy, wouldn’t that cause some sneezing indigestion and inflammation?

They did do a complete feline blood work, which was all normal. I guess next week when he goes for a B12 I could ask again?

 

[Furballsmom]

He is also quite lethargic.

Is he better now, hopefully? This part is a little scary, actually. I couldn't begin to know what to suggest to help him feel better, other than to see what the vet says, poor baby.

 

[daftcat75]

Hello. Yes, I have talked to him. He says he’s quite certain its IBS or possible lymphoma because of the lowered B12. He said to try and find a good diet for him first and see how he does and to do the B12 shots. He has been doing very well until the chicken. In my own research Ive read that chicken is a big trigger/allgern for cats with IBS. The night we took him to ER he was also eating a lot of chicken foods back then too (and was being fed by the neighbors, not sure what flavor though)

I suppose it’s possible, but if it’s a chicken allergy, wouldn’t that cause some sneezing indigestion and inflammation?

They did do a complete feline blood work, which was all normal. I guess next week when he goes for a B12 I could ask again?

An allergy can manifest as itching. But I suppose if his immune system has identified chicken protein as a foreign invader as what happens with IBD, then yeah, you get inflammation. Great feedback! No chicken!

 

[Selarah]

Is he better now, hopefully? This part is a little scary, actually. I couldn't begin to know what to suggest to help him feel better, other than to see what the vet says, poor baby.

He is not as lethargic now, but I can tell he isn’t 100%. Maybe lethargic isn’t quite what I mean.. just not acting 100% because he still has his playful moments.

He also did go to the vet for B12 shot and got microchipped today. Maybe stress?
I do feel bad for him. The poor thing. At least he’s not homeless outside anymore, especially now that it’s cold out.

An allergy can manifest as itching. But I suppose if his immune system has identified chicken protein as a foreign invader as what happens with IBD, then yeah, you get inflammation. Great feedback! No chicken!

I notice he does scratch his ears & neck and shakes his head after scratching somewhat often, is this not normal? Also little ear twitches occasionally *mostly when he’s relaxed though*
I have been noticing little things lately, like the sneezing, licking his lips, swallowing, hiccups? Almost like he has a reverse sneeze, without the actual reverse sneeze attack, just the excessive swallowing. And I’ve seen wetness around the fur around his nose and mouth sometimes.
Maybe I will bring this up with the vet, I kind of think allergies? I was also wondering hairball? He doesn’t have the dry heaving gagging episode that happens when trying to bring one up though.

 

[daftcat75]

Krista rarely brings up a hairball. Instead, she’ll have one that won’t pass. It makes her nauseated (lip licking and not wanting to even sniff food), inappetant, and constipated. It’s a very stressful two or three days for me and likely for her as I keep putting pumpkin or hairball gel in front of her and pleading and bribing her until she’s unstuck. Digestive enzymes was helping with these until she went off her nutritional gel and Tiki Cat. Now I give her a little bit of egg yolk since my newly raw-fed cat no longer wants her gel-soaked supplements.

 

[daftcat75]

He is not as lethargic now, but I can tell he isn’t 100%. Maybe lethargic isn’t quite what I mean.. just not acting 100% because he still has his playful moments.

He also did go to the vet for B12 shot and got microchipped today. Maybe stress?
I do feel bad for him. The poor thing. At least he’s not homeless outside anymore, especially now that it’s cold out.



I notice he does scratch his ears & neck and shakes his head after scratching somewhat often, is this not normal? Also little ear twitches occasionally *mostly when he’s relaxed though*
I have been noticing little things lately, like the sneezing, licking his lips, swallowing, hiccups? Almost like he has a reverse sneeze, without the actual reverse sneeze attack, just the excessive swallowing. And I’ve seen wetness around the fur around his nose and mouth sometimes.
Maybe I will bring this up with the vet, I kind of think allergies? I was also wondering hairball? He doesn’t have the dry heaving gagging episode that happens when trying to bring one up though.

So many of those symptoms could be multiple things. Like lip licking could mean, “good meal!” Or it could be nausea. Or it could be dental pain. Or it could be excessive thirst of diabetes. Or....

In other words, the vet would know better than me. Expensive and stressful as those visits can get, there are tests that work better than guesswork.

 

[Selarah]

Krista rarely brings up a hairball. Instead, she’ll have one that won’t pass. It makes her nauseated (lip licking and not wanting to even sniff food), inappetant, and constipated. It’s a very stressful two or three days for me and likely for her as I keep putting pumpkin or hairball gel in front of her and pleading and bribing her until she’s unstuck. Digestive enzymes was helping with these until she went off her nutritional gel and Tiki Cat. Now I give her a little bit of egg yolk since my newly raw-fed cat no longer wants her gel-soaked supplements.

Ohhh, she’s not going with the regular routine you had her on? Shes accepting raw food? Aww Krista baby. Good to know about the hairball symptoms. I always assumed the dry coughing/heaving was the main symptom for all kitties (I haven’t had a cat since I was a kid, so I don’t really know all that much.)

So many of those symptoms could be multiple things. Like lip licking could mean, “good meal!” Or it could be nausea. Or it could be dental pain. Or it could be excessive thirst of diabetes. Or....

In other words, the vet would know better than me. Expensive and stressful as those visits can get, there are tests that work better than guesswork.

Yeah, you’re right. I did bring some of these things up, but he seemed to want to focus on the IBS treatment first. I’ll just have to bring it up again.

 

[daftcat75]

You know, it was always a bit of a struggle to get her to take her supplements even with the well-crafted “med tray” I had for her. And to get her to finish her Tiki was taking an ever-growing proportion of fish flakes to get her “close enough” to a clean plate.

She took to Rawz with no convincing. It took her a little bit of convincing to get her to try the RadCat. But now she finishes both readily and leaves a clean plate every time. I feel kind of bad for her because she’s hungry like a kitten now and we’re taking this ramp-up much too slowly for her tastes.

Your vet is probably right to focus on the IBD. Hopefully he has plenty of blood and urine work to rule in or rule out other conditions. If he’s already got IBD, inflammation in one organ can lead to stress in the others. So you’ll want to keep an eye on kidney, liver, and pancreas function which hopefully you’ve already tested for.

 

[Selarah]

That’s awesome you found a food she eagerly eats and finishes!

I haven’t heard of RAWZ and it looks like another good one to try. I was thinking how I wish Tiki Cat had more than chicken and fish options, and I’ve been trying to find other brands, but a lot of them have gums veggies and fruits etc. I might have to look into that too. Chicken and fish seem like common allergens for cats.
Sadly I can’t get Rad Cat here where I am. I was looking at primal but it has fruits and veggies, which is great for dogs, but unnecessary for cats.
Did you start Krista right away on the new stuff since she stopped with the Tiki?

They just did a complete feline blood panel, not sure how much that tells them. I think that includes the kidney and liver functions too. We did the GI panel as well which came back all normal (that included the SpecFLC, whatever it’s called)
They didn’t do any urine tests though. They almost did in today’s appointment because I was worried about a UTI for a day lol.

 

[daftcat75]

I know you’re supposed to stage in a diet change but she wasn’t having any of her Tiki anymore. For a meal or two, she got slop. Whatever I had, I put it on a plate and let her choose. I finally made it out to the independent pet store and returned with Rawz and RadCat and a few others (BFF and another Tiki flavor she hadn’t had before.). And goats milk. Thankfully raw and goats milk were a hit. I started her at a fraction what she would eat otherwise as if I was staging the diet in even though she wasn’t taking the old food. So if she was getting 40 g of Tiki, and a staged in diet would be 10 g new to 30 g old, I just gave her 10 g new and left it at that. I watched her reaction and went from there. The last three days she was missing calorie targets. Today she more than met it. She should turn in some legit weight gain at next weigh-in (Monday morn) if she continues like this.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi!

notice he does scratch his ears & neck and shakes his head after scratching somewhat often, is this not normal? Also little ear twitches occasionally *mostly when he’s relaxed though*
I have been noticing little things lately, like the sneezing, licking his lips, swallowing, hiccups? Almost like he has a reverse sneeze, without the actual reverse sneeze attack, just the excessive swallowing. And I’ve seen wetness around the fur around his nose and mouth sometimes.

These things aren't stress related. If you can get your vet to be really "in the moment" with you about this, if it were me I'd even give him/her your exact list that I'm quoting here.

 

[daftcat75]

Hi!


These things aren't stress related. If you can get your vet to be really "in the moment" with you about this, if it were me I'd even give him/her your exact list that I'm quoting here.

Take a video too. That would help a lot I’m sure.

 

[Furballsmom]

Take a video too. That would help a lot I’m sure.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi!
Just to check, this kitty is all indoors now, correct?
Did you have a chance to talk to your vet about the things you mentioned in your post #49?

I've been wondering, what do you mean when you're commenting that he seems pained?

Sunday you posted in a new thread where you were wondering if he as a UTI? Is he peeing better/more easily now?

Take a look at my post #19 again, hopefully there's something there that's ok'd by your vet and by your cat.... You mentioned that he's not eating the Rawz very well now, --if you have some of the kibble he was eating previously try giving him that, because you're right, he needs to eat. You're in Canada so I don't know if you can obtain ham flavored pureed human baby food that doesn't have any onion or garlic in it?

I'm posting things from a couple of very knowledgeable TCS members that might help you to determine what exactly is going on with your furbaby.

Give cat pepcid effect on other medications

Also, take a look at this;
IBDKitties – Helping Save Lives…One Paw at a Time

"liver Shake" Recipe For Inappetant Cats

 

[Selarah]

Thanks for replying Furballsmom
Sorry for the late response.

He is doing a lot better now that I got him off of the Tiki Cat food. Something wasn’t agreeing with him, I think the fish was causing him to have reflux.

He still goes outside now since he is pretty much back to normal.

He is peeing normally luckily, no straining, it must have been stress related that one day.

At one point last week, the vet mentioned he must have been running a really high fever, or ate a bad mouse. He had this for three days. After three days he recovered.

He isn’t exhibiting any of these symptoms mentioned before anymore, (minus the occasional breathing noise from his nose after a large meal/when very relaxed off and on) the only problem I have with him now is that he has turned into a picky eater. He had a bad hairball earlier this week and since then has been turning his nose up, eating less of the food I have been feeding him. Fancy Feast Turkey and Giblets. He ate this for a good 2 weeks with gusto and seemed normal. I am trying to introduce a different flavor for him now. He is more keen on eating, but honestly too early to tell how this will go, as this has all happened today. I am just hoping it doesn’t backfire on me and hope I don’t introduce too much too soon. I am able to get him to eat almost 1.5oz portions if I have it topped with temptation cat treats. (Mix of both old and new food offered side by side) He eats the new flavor first and especially if its a fresh can without the topper. Refrigerated portions need toppers for him now. (Wasn’t the case before) I am hoping to be able to find foods he will eat that I can have on a rotation before he grows bored or if something like this happens again. I’m at a fragile spot right now since I was trying to keep him stable on the one. I am hoping he will reset with the turkey and come back around to it. The only thing I can think of is that he associated the food with feeling yucky about the hairball.

My feeding schedule hasn’t been stable either though the last couple of days. he could be unimpressed with me about that too. I’m trying various portion sizes each day to see how he reacts. I’m trying to figure out what works best for him. 1/2 3oz can seems ideal for him so far, I just have to be consistent with the times now.