Hello,
I have a 15 year old male cat whom has had digestive issues for several years. He had been on wet food for urinary issues for a few years (Royal Canin Urinary SO) and was switched over to Royal Canin mature consult (with an s/o index) about 2 years ago.
His appetite has never really been affected but we started noticing he was vomiting frequently on an empty stomach in the early morning hours. This was somewhat helped by feeding him late at night or waking extra early in the morning per our vet's suggestion. If he didn't eat it was almost certain he would vomit clear liquid (like >75% chance).
I also started to notice he was getting a little thinner and a first figured just his muscle density breaking down a bit as he is senior, but then I started noticing his stools were regularly diarrhea or very soft. I never noticed any blood and he never spends any time forcing, but sometimes he would also make a second trip for a small extra "deposit" 2-3 hours after the first. He even vomited immediately after the diarrhea once or twice. That's when I brought him back to the vet.
I brought a stool sample and they did blood tests. Everything came back ok. The only tests we didn't do were an endoscopy (at his age we didn't want to risk). The vet diagnosed as best as possible as either IBD or potentially intestinal lymphoma (which can't be ruled out without a endoscopy). The one negative was that our cat lost about 2.5 pounds since his last check up 14 months before. He was down to about 9.8lbs from just over 12 previously.
In the end the vet recommended a switch to Royal Canin Gastrointestinal moderate calorie as it still has the s/o index and to add pumpkin or metamucil for additional fiber. He also suggested we try a probiotic for cats (Purina Fortiflora).
With the combination of 1tsp pumpkin per day and the new food divided into 4 smaller meals things improved dramatically almost over night. He went nearly 40 days without diarrhea and the occasional semi-soft and no vomiting at all. Bowel movement passed with ease and smelled MUCH better every 24-48 hours. He even gained back about 0.4-0.6lbs.
Then the set backs started...
In mid January the diarrhea started up for a few days and he had furballs (not the normal morning clear vomit). I bumped pumpkin up to 1tsp 2 times daily (morning/night) and things seemed to get back on track after about a week. For about 3 weeks everything seemed ok again with just a single furball and a partially soft stool once. Then late last week the diarrhea started again. As usual he is not going a bunch of times a day just 1-2 times every 24 hours. I've tried bumping him to 3tsp (vet said 1tbsp is max for pumpkin daily) to see if that helps...but other than that am at a loss what to do.
I want to consider trying novel protein or grain free but I am worried that his urinary issues will return without the s/o index food (as they did 3 times i tried to take him off in the past). While he's not perfect he's doing much better that he was for the most part (50 days out of the last 2 months diarrhea/vomiting free) and slowly gaining back some weight.
I guess I'm looking for opinions such as is it worth the risk to switch off the s/o food? Does the s/o food even have much benefit? Is the pattern I am seeing normal for an IBD cat in "management mode". The other option is a trip back to the vet where they could start prednisone, but as these setbacks are cyclical with pretty good health in between again I am wondering if the risks outweigh the benefits (diabetes/cushings with steroids).
Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated!
I have a 15 year old male cat whom has had digestive issues for several years. He had been on wet food for urinary issues for a few years (Royal Canin Urinary SO) and was switched over to Royal Canin mature consult (with an s/o index) about 2 years ago.
His appetite has never really been affected but we started noticing he was vomiting frequently on an empty stomach in the early morning hours. This was somewhat helped by feeding him late at night or waking extra early in the morning per our vet's suggestion. If he didn't eat it was almost certain he would vomit clear liquid (like >75% chance).
I also started to notice he was getting a little thinner and a first figured just his muscle density breaking down a bit as he is senior, but then I started noticing his stools were regularly diarrhea or very soft. I never noticed any blood and he never spends any time forcing, but sometimes he would also make a second trip for a small extra "deposit" 2-3 hours after the first. He even vomited immediately after the diarrhea once or twice. That's when I brought him back to the vet.
I brought a stool sample and they did blood tests. Everything came back ok. The only tests we didn't do were an endoscopy (at his age we didn't want to risk). The vet diagnosed as best as possible as either IBD or potentially intestinal lymphoma (which can't be ruled out without a endoscopy). The one negative was that our cat lost about 2.5 pounds since his last check up 14 months before. He was down to about 9.8lbs from just over 12 previously.
In the end the vet recommended a switch to Royal Canin Gastrointestinal moderate calorie as it still has the s/o index and to add pumpkin or metamucil for additional fiber. He also suggested we try a probiotic for cats (Purina Fortiflora).
With the combination of 1tsp pumpkin per day and the new food divided into 4 smaller meals things improved dramatically almost over night. He went nearly 40 days without diarrhea and the occasional semi-soft and no vomiting at all. Bowel movement passed with ease and smelled MUCH better every 24-48 hours. He even gained back about 0.4-0.6lbs.
Then the set backs started...
In mid January the diarrhea started up for a few days and he had furballs (not the normal morning clear vomit). I bumped pumpkin up to 1tsp 2 times daily (morning/night) and things seemed to get back on track after about a week. For about 3 weeks everything seemed ok again with just a single furball and a partially soft stool once. Then late last week the diarrhea started again. As usual he is not going a bunch of times a day just 1-2 times every 24 hours. I've tried bumping him to 3tsp (vet said 1tbsp is max for pumpkin daily) to see if that helps...but other than that am at a loss what to do.
I want to consider trying novel protein or grain free but I am worried that his urinary issues will return without the s/o index food (as they did 3 times i tried to take him off in the past). While he's not perfect he's doing much better that he was for the most part (50 days out of the last 2 months diarrhea/vomiting free) and slowly gaining back some weight.
I guess I'm looking for opinions such as is it worth the risk to switch off the s/o food? Does the s/o food even have much benefit? Is the pattern I am seeing normal for an IBD cat in "management mode". The other option is a trip back to the vet where they could start prednisone, but as these setbacks are cyclical with pretty good health in between again I am wondering if the risks outweigh the benefits (diabetes/cushings with steroids).
Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated!