Musiaka's journey with IBD and liver issues

[Musiaka]

I would strongly recommend against leaving dry food out. Eating constantly is a disaster for any stomach, let alone for a cat who has digestive problems. Put him on a scheduled feeding, it might even be the case that on scheduled feeding he will enjoy wet food as well.

2nd thing to also pay attention to is if he eats too fast. Wanting greens means he is trying to heal himself as he senses his stomach being upset.

3rd thing is to try raw food diet, if nothing else works. Usually cats have less digestive issues on that. But either way keeping feeding sessions to 3x a day is the foundation for a healthy long lasting digestive system.

Ok, I was thinking that maybe it is better to have something to snack on during the night, to not leave the stomach empty. But yes, when the dry food is available, he will go and eat non-stop and often without chewing. I saw that he basically just swallows kibble super quickly. Very little chewing. So you are right, having food available at any time hasnt done him good, I wont leave it out anymore.
He has been less interested in plants lately, so probably a good sign!
Wish I could get him to eat raw cat food. Last time we tried, he just sniffed, shaked his paw and scurried away.

 

[Musiaka]

There was a retching sound early in the morning, but I only found a penny sized yellow dot on the carpet. Again beastly appetite in the morning

 

[Musiaka]

Taste of the Wild came in, but I will wait with giving it to him until a decent amount of time passed on Solo's monoprotein rabbit food.
There has been an increase in urinating, since he's been put on wet food only. Now in the span of around 12 hours he has peed 4 times, which is more than he used to, even though he hasn't been drinking water at all - enough moisture from the wet food I guess.
Also, besides the head scratching, he has been weird with going to the litter box (this started happening before the food switch), once a day, he will miaow on the toilet and be somewhat indecisive about using the little box. Go in and out. And then pee as normal (the amount is good, no blood). But the miaowing is a thing of the recent month or so. He would often miaow and run around before pooping but never before peeing.

 

[Musiaka]

Around 2 am in the night, Musiaka threw up a hairball and some of his stomach contents (in liquid form). He started shedding his thick winter undercoat recently - brushed out quite a lot of it yesterday, so probably it's not related to food. The hairball he threw up was quite big, need to start giving him the anti-hairball paste and brush out several times a day.

 

[Musiaka]

It is not getting better
Musiaka has now puked three mornings in a row, even though I wake up and feed him early in the morning. Two times it was just a clear foamy liquid and today some orange bile. Last week there has also been some morning vomiting.
I don't know what to do. I want to give up on this diet. Nothing helps. There are no rooms to rent in my city right now due to lockdown so that I could quarantine after going to the vet. My mom gives me hell if I even mention taking him to the vet and coming back home after that, saying things like "would you kill your own mother for your cat's sake?" thinking that me taking a cab and going to the vet means getting covid for certain, which isn't necessarily true.
Musiaka is acting normal, plays, eats, grooms, interacts. But the vomiting is horrible and I can barely sleep in the mornings waiting for the retching sound to come. I am truly lost with him.

 

[Rowen]

I'm still wondering if he has food allergies if he's just throwing up- had a large hairball so maybe he's over grooming which can be caused by food allergies or stress, stress from illness- what about his teeth?
I read articles by two vets on nutrition you might want to check into. Lisa Pierson DVM- and
Dr. Marty Goldstein. They both got into nutrition after their own pets got sick. Like us pets get sick because of- genetics, their teeth- what they're
eating, environmental issues, or like my own cat Gem who went downhill after a convenia shot when she had teeth pulled, the toxic affect of drugs - it affected her immune system. On Lisa Piersons site she has an article on changing you cats food. I know you said he did not like the raw food-the Stella and Chewys someone else mentioned is good- and comes in Turkey, Duck and Goose, among others, which I've tried. You can start by putting a little under the food he's eating to start the change. Or you could try crumbling some on top of the wet food he likes. Sometimes the fillers in the food don't agree with your cat. I went through so many wet foods before I found one she would eat.

 

[Musiaka]

We've been doing quite good lately - Musiaka's vomiting got down to once every 2-3 weeks as opposed to every second day or twice a week. He seems to be doing better on all-dry diet and eats RC Diabetic kibble his vet prescribed. But recently we started having issues with hairballs - Musiaka is shedding like crazy (he's shorthaired, but has a very thick fur) and he's always been an overgroomer.
I brush him once or twice a day (always brush out a big clump of his thick underfur), give him some anti-hairball paste once a day - one of the best ones in the market, also some coconut oil or butter. I cannot find any canned pumpkin here, unfortunately. He throws up at random lately and there's always a big hairball in the vomit, today there were two! It looks like he immediately feels better after getting it out and wants some food. Appetite is good otherwise, regular poops (although there's hair in it as well), playful mood - running around, scratching the carpets, attacking the tv screen. Musiaka has always had poor digestion, so I am not surprised he can't pass hairballs, but since he has been doing better than ever lately, I want to eliminate the hairball issue too.
Any ideas? What else to try? Maybe discourage grooming? He grooms everytime he goes for a nap, so many times a day, and has always been so. I'm wondering if all his digestive issues are because of it.

 

[Maurey]

I'm guessing the hairball issue came on because of the reduced moisture of the dry diet -- would you be able to add water to his dry food, or otherwise encourage moisture consumption? For pumpkin, pumpkin baby food is perfect. Or you can buy pumpkin in season, when it's cheap (a large one), boil it without any salt, make puree, and freeze the majority of it -- should be enough to last you at least half the year. Pumpkin should help a bit with hydration, as well. Try pinching the skin on his back -- does it snap back? If it doesn't chances are he's dehydrated. This can cause issues with both hairballs and the kidneys.

His grooming habits could affect his stomach, but I'm doubtful, in his case, considering he didn't have issues prior to switching to an all-dry diet. If his vomiting is tied to diet, it could be worth trialling limited ingredient high protein, low carb diet (assuming you haven't, that is!) -- that way you can rule out which ingredients trigger his sensitive stomach. Make sure you go for novel proteins in grain-free formulations, as grains, soy, and, in some animals, vegetables or legumes cause gastric upset. It's also important to avoid gums and carrageenan. Common protein allergies are to poultry. Just keep in mind that it takes at least a month to assess if a diet is really helping. The return of moisture in his system should prevent the hairballs, as well.

 

[Musiaka]

I'm guessing the hairball issue came on because of the reduced moisture of the dry diet -- would you be able to add water to his dry food, or otherwise encourage moisture consumption? For pumpkin, pumpkin baby food is perfect. Or you can buy pumpkin in season, when it's cheap (a large one), boil it without any salt, make puree, and freeze the majority of it -- should be enough to last you at least half the year. Pumpkin should help a bit with hydration, as well. Try pinching the skin on his back -- does it snap back? If it doesn't chances are he's dehydrated. This can cause issues with both hairballs and the kidneys.

His grooming habits could affect his stomach, but I'm doubtful, in his case, considering he didn't have issues prior to switching to an all-dry diet. If his vomiting is tied to diet, it could be worth trialling limited ingredient high protein, low carb diet (assuming you haven't, that is!) -- that way you can rule out which ingredients trigger his sensitive stomach. Make sure you go for novel proteins in grain-free formulations, as grains, soy, and, in some animals, vegetables or legumes cause gastric upset. It's also important to avoid gums and carrageenan. Common protein allergies are to poultry. Just keep in mind that it takes at least a month to assess if a diet is really helping. The return of moisture in his system should prevent the hairballs, as well.

He did have issues prior to going on all-dry diet, but then he used to vomit all the time, hairballs or not. Now it's only if he has a hairball.

Ah, ok maybe I could find baby food with pumpkin, that's a good idea!

I don't think his vomiting is diet related, it must be something else, maybe high glucose or liver, because he used to vomit even on a novele protein diet - we tried out 100% rabbit paté for a 1,5 months. Actually, he's the best he has ever been on all-dry. He has high glucose, so it's important for him to eat glucose lowering food.

Otherwise he drinks lots of water, especially in the morning

 

[Maurey]

He did have issues prior to going on all-dry diet, but then he used to vomit all the time, hairballs or not. Now it's only if he has a hairball.

I see! Does he only groom before he naps? Or does he groom out of boredom, or as a stress response?

I don't think his vomiting is diet related, it must be something else, maybe high glucose or liver, because he used to vomit even on a novele protein diet - we tried out 100% rabbit paté for a 1,5 months. Actually, he's the best he has ever been on all-dry. He has high glucose, so it's important for him to eat glucose lowering food.

Which brand did you try? Did you try proteins other than rabbit? It could be that he doesn't tolerate rabbit, or one of the additives in the food. Does he specifically vomit, or does he regurgitate undigested food?

Otherwise he drinks lots of water, especially in the morning

That's good to hear! Have you tried small amounts of unsalted butter, or offering cat grass to help the fur move through his digestive tract as it should?

 

[Musiaka]

I see! Does he only groom before he naps? Or does he groom out of boredom, or as a stress response?



Which brand did you try? Did you try proteins other than rabbit? It could be that he doesn't tolerate rabbit, or one of the additives in the food. Does he specifically vomit, or does he regurgitate undigested food?



That's good to hear! Have you tried small amounts of unsalted butter, or offering cat grass to help the fur move through his digestive tract as it should?

I tried DRN Solo, they make food especially for elimination diet. And some time ago I tried to feed him turkey wet food only, but that was a few years ago.
If he gets a hairball during the day, he will throw up a bunch up undigested food together with it, but during the night it's only a hairball and a little bit of yellow bile.

He grooms a looot, sometimes he is just walking around the house and suddenly gets an impulse to groom. He might even groom after being petted, as if we got him dirty (although he is very affectionate).

I was thinking about cat grass. Before, when he was an outside cat, he ate quite a lot of grass and vomited daily. So I'm not sure if its a good thing or a bad thing. Maybe he was able to get the hairballs out easier? At the same time daily vomiting seemed scary.

I am giving him a little bit of butter daily, but only for 3 days so far. Before I was switching between Remotion and Bezo-pet pastes

 

[di and bob]

Maybe he just can't pass hairballs and this is normal for him. I know it helps my cats to have a 1/2 Tablespoon of real butter a day.

 

[Musiaka]

Maybe he just can't pass hairballs and this is normal for him. I know it helps my cats to have a 1/2 Tablespoon of real butter a day.

I am trying out butter, so far it hasn't helped, but maybe it's more effective than anti-hairball paste in a long run

 

[cataholic07]

How old is he? Vomiting and frequent hairballs a month is not normal. I would get an ultrasound done to see if it could be IBD or GI lymphoma. Is he stressed and thats why he is overgrooming? Do you have feliway plugged in? Have you tried an aafco balanced raw? On raw cats can shed less and its easy too digest. You can add a quail egg yolk a few times a week that can help to.

 

[Tagrendy]

Could it be that he is overshedding becuade of an allergy? I would do elimination diet to try and see what makes him lose less hair. Usually poultry is problematic, so I'd start there. Dry food helps with hairballs by scraping it from upper stomach parts to below, so on wet food he would immediately vomit, while on dry food it would collect for a bit. He could also have a stomach issue, I would get it checked.

 

[Musiaka]

How old is he? Vomiting and frequent hairballs a month is not normal. I would get an ultrasound done to see if it could be IBD or GI lymphoma. Is he stressed and thats why he is overgrooming? Do you have feliway plugged in? Have you tried an aafco balanced raw? On raw cats can shed less and its easy too digest. You can add a quail egg yolk a few times a week that can help to.

We had an ultrasound done and the vet couldn't see any abnormalities. Maybe IBD, he's been on prednisolone for 6 months. His curent vet is however against prednisolone and says it damages the liver. We recently finished a supplement for the liver, he's been on it for 30 days.

I don't know if he's stressed, he is playful and interactive. Certainly doesn't look like a stressed cat. He thrills a lot to us. No more cats or foxes to fight with (he used to be an outdoor cat). The vet said he needs to be on RC diabetic and to stick to it until his blood glucose get lower, so I can't start experimenting with food again. She also thinks that wet food might aggrevate the hairball issue, as it forms a hard to pass sticky clump in his stomach

 

[Musiaka]

It is unclear how old he is, as he's a rescue cat. I took him from his temporary home

 

[Musiaka]

He's been with me for 5 years and the vomiting issue was always there. In the beginning I was more ignorant about it and thought that its normal for cats to vomit, so for two years nothing was done about it. When I found out that its not, I started taking him to the vet, experimenting with food to find the one he doesnt vomit from. These last two months were the least vomiting ever (except the time on prednisolone, because he didnt vomit while on it either), but now he started again with the hairballs

 

[Musiaka]

It got so bad again... He vomited 3 times in 24 hours two of those were without any hairballs. He isn't lethargic or anything, eats and drinks, but it's the first time ever he has vomited so much in 24 hours, all the food goes unabsorbed

 

[Musiaka]

My cat has started pooping more frequently - is it a sign for concern? He used to go once every 24h and now it 2-3 times. No diarrhea, no constipation - the stools seems of good quality, lol
He's getting a supplement that's called DermaDual, it's basically against hairballs and to improve the quality of his skin/fur, includes lots of vitamins and salmon oil. The hairball problem has completely dissapeared! He hasn't thrown up a hairball since day 4 on the supplement (we are on day 24) and has only had a little bit of acid reflux a couple of times in the early morning, which is very good for him as he's used to throwing up way more often. I'm thinking maybe the frequent pooping is a good indicator? Like an increased bowel motility, which also results in less hairballs? Or do you think it's always a bad sign, if the pooping pattern changes in any way?