Musiaka's journey with IBD and liver issues

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Do you have to only add a small amount...like a teaspoon...of the new food...to the older food? :idea:
Or...do you just put down a plate of the new food?
I wonder if it would make a difference...for Musiaka...if only a bit of new food was introduced ever so slowly?
Maybe that would not cause him so much gas.
Oh, I just realized that this is a terrible idea...because it might then...make Musiaka NOT like the old food either.
He might associate the old food with...having gas...and making him sick.

Wow. It is so hard ...when you have to try to find a suitable food.
 
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Oh, I just realized that this is a terrible idea...because it might then...make Musiaka NOT like the old food either.
He might associate the old food with...having gas...and making him sick.

Wow. It is so hard ...when you have to try to find a suitable food.
Oh! I think this is exactly what happened! I gave Musiaka a small portion of a different food, just a teaspoon or two, surrounded by his old food. He ate it, got gassy and then refused eating his old food the next day as well, not even wanting to come near it. When his stomach calmed down, he tried a little bit of his old food, didn't have a bad reaction and then started eating it again.

He is doing quite ok on this one, it's Specific's Digestive support paté... But as it's a recovery food, I always thought of it as a temporary one. But maybe we should just stay on it indefinitely...
 
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That is so difficult, then, in trying out different foods...or even different flavours...in the same food brand.
(I think that many cats have problems with switching foods...but it must be especially hard for you...to find ibd friendly foods.) :frown:
Do you have to only add a small amount...like a teaspoon...of the new food...to the older food? :idea:
Or...do you just put down a plate of the new food?
I wonder if it would make a difference...for Musiaka...if only a bit of new food was introduced ever so slowly?
Maybe that would not cause him so much gas.

In your country...are there any antacid meds...for cats...transdermal?
Famotidine Transdermal Gel
That would be so helpful for you...in giving him...his meds.

(Here, in canada, it is a small pill...but for my own cat...I had to give her one quarter of the tablet...and the pill cutter...would split the pill not evenly...so I was left with small crumbs...or small pieces. I had to find a way to hide them in a treat...and my female cat...also didn't like taking it. I think our cats do this...because they want us to think more...and probably it does taste strange.)

I sure hope your country gets the pill form, soon. I think it might help.
But then knowing what you wrote about your Musiaka...it may be better to try and find it in 'treat form' ...or 'transdermal'.

If you do have to give 'crushed up pills'...or 'powered pills'...then like other members have mentioned...getting the smallest gel caps...and filling those...(without touching the sides of the outside of the gel caps with the medication powder)...might work.

I guess the finding the 'ibd friendly food'...would be the most challenging, right now.
It's like you only know...after you've tried the foods.
Or if you see something in the foods...that might cause Musiaka problems...allergies, or flare ups.
I try my best to introduce new foods slowly, so I only gave him a teaspoon or two, never a full plate at once...

I've been also thinking about Musiaka's past. I don't know much about it, but the person I took him from mentioned, that Musiaka used to partially homeless, living near some kind of car workshop where he was fed by it's workers. So I assume he was only fed on weekdays, as I doubt they would come and feed him on the weekends. It's fully possible be that he didn't have enough nutrition for 2 days each week, for an indefinite amount of time. No wonder his digestion is ruined.

Yes, I think we discussed Nexium with another vet. His regular vet never mentioned any anti-acid medicine for some reason. I know what you mean, I also had issues with a pill cutter. Some pills are also impossible to cut without them crumbling, so crushing and then measuring a quarter is sometimes the only option... I have some empty capsules, haven't used them yet, but they might come in handy if we get an anti-acid pill which crumbles and has to be crushed.
 

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Oh! I think this is exactly what happened! I gave Musiaka a small portion of a different food, just a teaspoon or two, surrounded by his old food. He ate it, got gassy and then refused eating his old food the next day as well, not even wanting to come near it. When his stomach calmed down, he tried a little bit of his old food, didn't have a bad reaction and then started eating it again.
That does make a lot of sense.
Especially if he got gassy right away...from the new food.
Just glad that he went back to eating his old food...after his stomach calmed down. :bluepaw:

(I kind of tried both ways, with my own 6 year old cats, when introducing new foods....when putting a full plate down, sometimes they outright take a sniff...and walk away. Won't even touch it. I guess the different smell is terrible to them.
But I have not tried any 'toppers' yet.
Then I tried the 'one teaspoon or two'...next to their old food: ..They would sometimes only eat their old food...and not the new.)

*(I think I might try your way...by putting a teaspoon or two down,..and surrounding it..with their old food.
That might work for my cats. thanks.)
He is doing quite ok on this one, it's Specific's Digestive support paté... But as it's a recovery food, I always thought of it as a temporary one. But maybe we should just stay on it indefinitely...
Because I never had to deal with ibd in cats...I really wouldn't know what to say.
Not sure how "recovery food"...is different from usual food...or why it has to be 'temporary'?
Is it a bad food ...long term?

Are these the ingredients: from this website: Digestive Support for Cats - SPECIFIC™
" Pork, fish, rice, egg powder, sunflower oil, minerals (including zeolite), vitamins and trace elements (including chelated trace elements), psyllium, fructo-oligo-saccharides, dextrose, xylose, taurine, yeast (source of β-1,3/1,6-glucans and mannan-oligo-saccharides), methionine, Yucca powder. Contains no added artificial colours or flavourings."

If you can find similar ingredient foods...then it might be worthwhile to try,...in the future,...when Musiaka is fully stable...and eating well. Except that it might cause another case of stomach upset...so I guess that is a risk.

But yeah, as long as you have Musiaka eating, ..and not gassy...and it does not interfere with his 'liver', kidney, other organs ...seeing his electrolyte numbers are good...then it might be okay...to remain on this present food he is eating.

(I think it would always be good for any of our cats...to have more than one brand of food ..that they are okay with eating...just in case the companies that make the food...ever decide to change the ingredients...or update their formulas.)
But yes, this would be so difficult to try and find...in a cat who has digestive sensitivities...and ibd.
I try my best to introduce new foods slowly, so I only gave him a teaspoon or two, never a full plate at once...

I've been also thinking about Musiaka's past. I don't know much about it, but the person I took him from mentioned, that Musiaka used to partially homeless, living near some kind of car workshop where he was fed by it's workers. So I assume he was only fed on weekdays, as I doubt they would come and feed him on the weekends. It's fully possible be that he didn't have enough nutrition for 2 days each week, for an indefinite amount of time. No wonder his digestion is ruined.

Yes, I think we discussed Nexium with another vet.
His regular vet never mentioned any anti-acid medicine for some reason. I know what you mean, I also had issues with a pill cutter. Some pills are also impossible to cut without them crumbling, so crushing and then measuring a quarter is sometimes the only option... I have some empty capsules, haven't used them yet, but they might come in handy if we get an anti-acid pill which crumbles and has to be crushed.
You are way better at introducing foods...more slowly than I am. :blush:

Yes, the not eating regularly....when he was younger...could be affecting him now.
That makes sense, too.
It could also be his age, and ...how ibd develops...heredity, genetics,...allergies to only certain ingredients,...hence the trial of 'Limited ingredient Diets'.

(I'm so glad you told me that you too, had issues with a pill cutter. I thought it was just me...and that I was doing something wrong...at first. Sometimes it gets a bit frustrating...when things don't work out...like youtube videos easily show. Live and learn, I guess.)

You're an amazing cat guardian, Musiaka Musiaka . :)
I think that your Musiaka was very lucky to find you,...or you him...because of all the help...you are giving him with these stomach/digestive issues.
 
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On the other note... How do you guys deal with having a
That does make a lot of sense.
Especially if he got gassy right away...from the new food.
Just glad that he went back to eating his old food...after his stomach calmed down. :bluepaw:

(I kind of tried both ways, with my own 6 year old cats, when introducing new foods....when putting a full plate down, sometimes they outright take a sniff...and walk away. Won't even touch it. I guess the different smell is terrible to them.
But I have not tried any 'toppers' yet.
Then I tried the 'one teaspoon or two'...next to their old food: ..They would sometimes only eat their old food...and not the new.)

*(I think I might try your way...by putting a teaspoon or two down,..and surrounding it..with their old food.
That might work for my cats. thanks.)

Because I never had to deal with ibd in cats...I really wouldn't know what to say.
Not sure how "recovery food"...is different from usual food...or why it has to be 'temporary'?
Is it a bad food ...long term?

Are these the ingredients: from this website: Digestive Support for Cats - SPECIFIC™
" Pork, fish, rice, egg powder, sunflower oil, minerals (including zeolite), vitamins and trace elements (including chelated trace elements), psyllium, fructo-oligo-saccharides, dextrose, xylose, taurine, yeast (source of β-1,3/1,6-glucans and mannan-oligo-saccharides), methionine, Yucca powder. Contains no added artificial colours or flavourings."

If you can find similar ingredient foods...then it might be worthwhile to try,...in the future,...when Musiaka is fully stable...and eating well. Except that it might cause another case of stomach upset...so I guess that is a risk.

But yeah, as long as you have Musiaka eating, ..and not gassy...and it does not interfere with his 'liver', kidney, other organs ...seeing his electrolyte numbers are good...then it might be okay...to remain on this present food he is eating.

(I think it would always be good for any of our cats...to have more than one brand of food ..that they are okay with eating...just in case the companies that make the food...ever decide to change the ingredients...or update their formulas.)
But yes, this would be so difficult to try and find...in a cat who has digestive sensitivities...and ibd.

You are way better at introducing foods...more slowly than I am. :blush:

Yes, the not eating regularly....when he was younger...could be affecting him now.
That makes sense, too.
It could also be his age, and ...how ibd develops...heredity, genetics,...allergies to only certain ingredients,...hence the trial of 'Limited ingredient Diets'.

(I'm so glad you told me that you too, had issues with a pill cutter. I thought it was just me...and that I was doing something wrong...at first. Sometimes it gets a bit frustrating...when things don't work out...like youtube videos easily show. Live and learn, I guess.)

You're an amazing cat guardian, Musiaka Musiaka . :)
I think that your Musiaka was very lucky to find you,...or you him...because of all the help...you are giving him with these stomach/digestive issues.

Thanks cat nap cat nap , I don't really feel like I'm an amazing cat guardian, it always feels like I should be doing more and trying harder... but at the same time there are also things that are out of my control, like Musiaka's past and yes, his age and genetics. I am having a hard time coping with the fact that Musiaka isn't a healthy cat and that I might have made it worse with not feeding him the right things right from the beginning. Although he already came to me with stomach (and some other) issues - he was gassy even back then and experiencied occasional vomiting and hairball caughing. It's hard for me to watch him getting worse each year and he's not as happy as he used to be, when he had free access to the outdoors in general.

A recovery food is easy to digest and has an increased amount of vitamins, minerals and electrolytes. I might be wrong, but I think the protein in it is processed in a way that it's not recognized by the body as any specific protein, to avoid allergies. The one from Specific has a very light and porous texture, if you add any water to it, it liquifies immediately. I assume it should be good for his liver as well, but I don't know for sure (to me digestive issues seem related to liver issues... like frequent vomiting due to hairballs or acid reflux causing malabsorbtion and therefore damaging the liver). I have yet to find a good feline nutritionalist to discuss this with...

I also find that most pill cuters are just too dull to do a decent job. I think that if they were sharp enough and allowed cutting with a very abrupt motion, then they would succeed in splitting even a crumbly pill into parts.
 
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Another weird thing - Musiaka often refuses to eat his wet food from a clean bowl! I don't get it! I don't use any soaps or detergents, just some boiling water to sterilise his bowls. He will rather eat from a filthy bowl than a clean one. Like now, I put some wet food into a fresh bowl and he doesn't even want to sniff at it. But eating it from a bowl that has some dried up wet food on the edges - no problem. I guess a clean bowl smells too weak and he doesn't trust it
 
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Poor appetite today too :( I don't know what's happening. It just doesn't get better, or it does, but for a short while. Musiaka eats a tiny bite every few hours and then runs away from his bowl. If I try to gently push him that way, he resists as if I'm forcing him to something he really hates. He used to be such a food driven cat, it's so sad. I'm exhausted of crying everyday.
Starting to think he has cancer or something. Have booked an ultrasound next weekend at another vet, especially because I can feel a little "hill" on his lower stomach, which doesn't hurt him, but anyway. They said it should be possible to do it without sedating.
 

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Poor appetite today too :( I don't know what's happening. It just doesn't get better, or it does, but for a short while. Musiaka eats a tiny bite every few hours and then runs away from his bowl. If I try to gently push him that way, he resists as if I'm forcing him to something he really hates. He used to be such a food driven cat, it's so sad. I'm exhausted of crying everyday.
Starting to think he has cancer or something. Have booked an ultrasound next weekend at another vet, especially because I can feel a little "hill" on his lower stomach, which doesn't hurt him, but anyway. They said it should be possible to do it without sedating.
It could still be his teeth. Have they re-tested his liver yet? I'd love for him to be cleared for sedation so they can check his teeth. Even if his teeth look good, it can still be his teeth. (Or his lips or gums.) You said he has some missing teeth. If some of his missing teeth are the canines (fangs), those serve a structural role in his bite. Missing teeth and especially missing fangs can lead to irritation in the gums and lips from where a matched tooth would have prevented biting or abrasion. This may be enough to cause discomfort and pain. Chronic pain when eating can result in an aversion to eating. He could be both hungry and afraid of the pain that eating brings. If they still won't clear him for a dental, ask them if they intend to starve him back to health. Because clearly the current plan isn't working. At some point, you need to make them realize that sedating him with his liver numbers is less risk than waiting them out.

It could also still be IBD/pancreatitis. I'm glad you've got the ultrasound booked. Hopefully a fresh vet on the case might provide some additional insight too.
 
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It could still be his teeth. Have they re-tested his liver yet? I'd love for him to be cleared for sedation so they can check his teeth. Even if his teeth look good, it can still be his teeth. (Or his lips or gums.) You said he has some missing teeth. If some of his missing teeth are the canines (fangs), those serve a structural role in his bite. Missing teeth and especially missing fangs can lead to irritation in the gums and lips from where a matched tooth would have prevented biting or abrasion. This may be enough to cause discomfort and pain. Chronic pain when eating can result in an aversion to eating. He could be both hungry and afraid of the pain that eating brings. If they still won't clear him for a dental, ask them if they intend to starve him back to health. Because clearly the current plan isn't working. At some point, you need to make them realize that sedating him with his liver numbers is less risk than waiting them out.

It could also still be IBD/pancreatitis. I'm glad you've got the ultrasound booked. Hopefully a fresh vet on the case might provide some additional insight too.
While it could still be his teeth, the weird thing is that these recent days, when he refuses any new wet food, even if introduced slowly and has seemingly random episodes of not eating his old wet food either, kibble is the only thing he'll eat. And he chews it.

I've been gradually reducing kibble for the past month to have just a few grams as a snack during the night and planning to only have wet when the new automatic feeder arrives, but yesterday I left him a full bowl for the night. Better he eats that than nothing. This morning almost the entire kibble bowl was empty. Heard him chew during the night. Wet food slightly was just slightly touched. Tried feeding him wet this morning again, but again he runs away.
 
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He randomly acts like he thinks I try to poison him
 

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...Better he eats that than nothing. This morning almost the entire kibble bowl was empty. Heard him chew during the night. Wet food slightly was just slightly touched. Tried feeding him wet this morning again, but again he runs away.
I totally agree, here, ...better he eats the dry kibble than nothing.
The good thing is that Musiaka IS still eating...and if the dry...is maintaining his nutrition...and weight...then it might be okay.

How is Musiaka's weight?
Has he been losing a lot of weight in the past few months?

Also, like Daftcat75 asked above,...did you get a chance to retest Musiaka's bloodwork again...to see if the liver numbers have improved?
...It could also still be IBD/pancreatitis. I'm glad you've got the ultrasound booked. Hopefully a fresh vet on the case might provide some additional insight too.
I'm also glad that you've got the ultrasound booked, too.

When Musiaka was last taking prednisolone...did you have to have an ultrasound done, then, too? in the past?
So that you can compare...if his intestines are thickening...or if other inflammation is being seen in other organs, too.
 
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I totally agree, here, ...better he eats the dry kibble than nothing.
The good thing is that Musiaka IS still eating...and if the dry...is maintaining his nutrition...and weight...then it might be okay.

How is Musiaka's weight?
Has he been losing a lot of weight in the past few months?

Also, like Daftcat75 asked above,...did you get a chance to retest Musiaka's bloodwork again...to see if the liver numbers have improved?

I'm also glad that you've got the ultrasound booked, too.

When Musiaka was last taking prednisolone...did you have to have an ultrasound done, then, too? in the past?
So that you can compare...if his intestines are thickening...or if other inflammation is being seen in other organs, too.
His eating is so weird... Before, it was super straight forward - always hungry, never enough. Now there are these weird hack ups. Last night he ate a lot of kibble at nighttime. Now finally took a few bites of his wet food when I wasn't looking.

He hasn't been losing weight at all, it's been quite stable - 4.9 kg in January, the same 4.9 in the middle of April and now he as gained 200 gr and weigh 5.2 kg. I remember him weighing exactly 5 kg two years ago.

We haven't repeated his bloodwork yet. I am discouraged by the fact that a 12 h fasting is required for it. How can I make him fast when he isn't eating enough during the day? Nightime seems to be the only time he eats at the moment...

We had an ultrasound sound done before he was prescribed pred. It looked good back then.

Before, he used to vomit frequently, have acid reflux, eat grass, but he always always had an appetite.
 
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I have noticed that Musiaka eats more enthusiastically if I feed him with a spoon! :)
 
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Still having weird issues with eating.
At night, Musiaka will only eat kibble and won't touch wet food, neither in an automatic feeder or in a bowl. A lot of food goes to waste.
In the morning he starts his miaowing routine, pacing around the apartment, screaming, leading us to the outside door. We made a huge mistake taking him out on a leash, he can't seem to forget it. Half of the day he either sleeps or miaows, runs away from wet food, will only eat some kibble. Doesn't seem to care about anything else except getting us to take him outside. Which we can't, it doesn't work - the more we take him, the more he screams and also, he tries eating grass.

Around 3-4 pm he starts eating wet food as if nothing happened. As if he didn't just ignore it and ran away from it for the first half of the day. I spoon feed him and he gets in quite a lot. Right now it's 9.30 am, he is walking around screaming, if we follow him, he will take us to the door. Or sometimes to his bowl, but won't eat anything except some pieces of kibble. When he isn't screaming, he's scratching stuff or doing something he knows annoys us.
 
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Ook, so the miaowing calmed down, Musiaka is doing a quite ok job at eating his meals up, even though I sometimes have to spoonfeed him. Tried to weigh him and it seems like he gained a little bit of weight, 5.4 right now. Threw up a hairball two days ago, so it's a second time this month, which isn't too bad by his measures. The shedding is slowing down, so hoping that hairballs will decrease even more. We are done with Epato (liver supplement) after taking it for 30 days.
 
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Another hairball today. But to be honest I haven't been the best at brushing him lately and stopped giving him eggyolk. But the E Z powdered eggyolk has arrived yesterday and I'll be giving it to Musiaka daily! I mixed it in with some probiotic, the pills are easy to take apart. Musiaka loved the taste. I also have this:
Hepatic&Digest what do you guys think of it?

Also, kibble at night is definitely not an optimal sollution... But I just don't know what to do with his nightly feedings. He won't eat wet food at night, be it in a bowl or from the feeder. Actually he isn't keen on eating from the feeder at all. The only thing he eats at night is kibble!
 

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At this stage, good food is what he’ll eat. Give him the most appropriate food he’ll consume in any given situation. Will he eat kibble if you put some water in it for extra hydration, or does he need it to be crunchy?
 
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At this stage, good food is what he’ll eat. Give him the most appropriate food he’ll consume in any given situation. Will he eat kibble if you put some water in it for extra hydration, or does he need it to be crunchy?
What do you mean by "at this stage"? After the bad appetite episode?
He likes it crunchy. Might even eat it soaked, but that's not guaranteed... He has good appetite these days, ate a lot of wet food yesterday and today.
 
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Another hairball tonight. Seems like we're back to frequent vomitings, as always when some time passes after the last cerenia injections. The egg yolk doesn't seem to work yet. Musiaka is eating well these days and is in good mood, have gained a little bit of weight. But the hairball issue seems to be impossible for us to resolve :(
 
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