Pudding Poop

[missmimz]

 
All fecal tests including the PCR came back negative. The vet simply stated that Ruby has severe IBD. We are continuing the probiotic and Prednisolone and starting Metronidazole and suggested the prescription diet.

Join this FB group ASAP and read as much info on their site as possible. I'd encourage you to avoid RX foods and read about all the success people with IBD cats have had with raw or homecooked. 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/RawFedIBD/

http://www.rawfeedingforibdcats.org/

http://www.foodfurlife.com/

 

[tobilei]

My little girl has what we suspect is IBD (haven't done the full fecal panel yet but she's been checked for giardia and 1 other kind of parasite). She is having some success on Royal Canin Hypoallergenic dry and Hills Z/D wet although I suspect soy could potentially be bothering her and plan to trial the full Z/D wet and dry soon. She definitely has food sensitivities although my vet said probably not full blown allergies. Certain foods have always been worse than others. Many have success simply feeding nothing but canned grain free, some kitties need prednisolone, some will improve on the flagyl you have but need it occasionally to manage flareups, some do benefit from the hypoallergenic diet despite the not so great ingredients. Some do well with high fibre food for hairballs, some do well with psyllium husk added to their wet food.

There is a fabulous website here: http://www.ibdkitties.net/ and she has a facebook group full of helpful people as well.

Good luck, I know how frustrating it is to deal with.

 

[crankydave]

 
Our 9 month old Ruby has had soft poop for a couple of months but otherwise seems fine.

She tested negative for parasites but was treated to be safe. She eats Fancy Feast Classic (based on reasonable cost at Wal-Mart). She had been eating one 3oz can of Fancy Feast and Iams kitten dry food and had drippy loose stools and gas. Her and her sister Abby now both get 4.5oz per day and no dry food. Now she has the pudding poop which is an improvement.  

My first cat, an 8 week old stray, had a bout of diarrhea that lasted at least three weeks soon after I got him, so I can relate. Shelled out for x-rays of his abdomen and everything. In his case, it seemed to be triggered by me having the genius idea of exposing him to multiple food types and flavors. He was on Science Diet dry kitten food at the time, with a can of wet once a day. One day, I gave him a can of salmon-flavored Science Diet wet, and hoo-boy, his innards didn't like that. Explosive diarrhea. The kicker was that after it began, *any* amount of dry food irritated his bowels even more. So for the next three weeks, I tried every kind of wet food I could - even canned pumpkin - but whatever went into him came out as soft-serve that smelled like pure evil. Gerber's chicken-flavor baby food and Science Diet prescription wet food seemed to give his bowels time to recover, and one fine morning, he deposited a pair of finger-length logs that held their shape. He looked as happy and relieved as I was. I kid you not, I took a picture of them.

Nearly a year later, his deposits still look good, although they're softer than the finger-joint sized nuggets that my other cat deposits - he's 90% dry food with a little wet, while poopy is the opposite. He's still very skittish with dry food after what happened, and obnoxiously fussy about what wet he'll eat. I *think* his gassiness was caused by grain products in his wet food. After I switched to meat-only, grain free wet and started tricking him into eating Nature's Variety Ultimate Protein grain-free dry food by pressing the kibble into his wet food, he's been gas free, and his poops are firmer. Great coat, too. At 16 months now, he's barely over 9lbs, so I've always wondered if that lack of nutrition for a while as a kitten stunted his growth.

 

[sassea]

Ruby is feeling better and playing more than she has in four months. Her poop is still soft but not drippy. She has not cried in about a week. She gets the Prednisolone every other day and the Metronidazole daily. To eliminate chicken as a possible sensitivity I bought what was available on a Sunday night without leaving town. Friskies wet Whitefish& Salmon and Friskies wet Turkey & Giblets. I also grabbed a bag of Hills dry for sensitive stomachs for her midnight snack.

 

[kirathecat]

 
Ruby is feeling better and playing more than she has in four months. Her poop is still soft but not drippy. She has not cried in about a week. She gets the Prednisolone every other day and the Metronidazole daily. To eliminate chicken as a possible sensitivity I bought what was available on a Sunday night without leaving town. Friskies wet Whitefish& Salmon and Friskies wet Turkey & Giblets. I also grabbed a bag of Hills dry for sensitive stomachs for her midnight snack.

Happy to hear Ruby is feeling better 

I'm afraid those foods are not gonna be sufficient in eliminating any possible allergy or sensitivity. Look at the ingredients, both Friskies varieties contain poultry by-products, which means chicken is most likely still there. And Hill's dry is just a whole bunch of grains and carbohydrates which I would steer clear of for any cat. Some cats are sensitive to fish too. I would however try using Turkey&Giblets because I had experienced the strangest thing with my cat: diarrhea on Sheba and Ok on Fancy Feast (both poultry flavors only with very similar ingredients...)

 

[tobilei]

The hills might be okay if you're looking to do an elimination diet, but the cans will need to also not contain chicken. Did you ever try Royal Canin Sensitive? My girl did pretty well on it and at least the first ingredient is a meat and not grains (although I think those have their place if they're the prescription diet).

I'm glad she's doing a bit better

 

[sassea]

I never imagined it would be so difficult to eliminate an ingredient and also try to stay within a budget. I stood at the farm store for almost 20 minutes reading labels. Even the Blue Duck recipe I thought I heard good things about has chicken listed. Sadly until my wife finds a job Ruby will not be trying the Royal Canin foods.

 

[tobilei]

 
I never imagined it would be so difficult to eliminate an ingredient and also try to stay within a budget. I stood at the farm store for almost 20 minutes reading labels. Even the Blue Duck recipe I thought I heard good things about has chicken listed. Sadly until my wife finds a job Ruby will not be trying the Royal Canin foods.

You have my sympathy with that one. I have 1 kitty who is intolerant to fish and both who may have issues with chicken. Trying to find a fish free chicken free food in Australia that wasn't prescription ended up proving impossible. And then I read that there is often cross allergies to deal with so a kitty who doesn't do well with chicken may also have problems with turkey and duck. For now, given you're on a budget (and trust me, I do understand! I nearly fell over when we first started buying the prescription food and it's hard to keep shelling out soooo much) maybe find a food that at least has a single protein source and just stick with it, even if that protein source is chicken (but don't buy one's that use multiple meats or meat meals). There should be some foods that are affordable that have a single protein source (that being said, the only one in all of Australia appears to be Applaws or the Royal Canin Range).

 

[sassea]

Just an update incase it helps anyone.
Ruby seems to be tolerating her current diet and medications. She does not cry. She has firmer poops and no drippy accidents. No dry food at all. The quickest way to give her diarrhea is to give dry food.
She still takes the Prednisolone every other day and a simply small Metronidazole tablet daily. She also gets a little fur ball goo and a probiotic each day. She still eats the canned Friskies in the fish variety and the Turkey and giblets. This might not be some peoples first choice but it is currently working for Ruby. She has lost a little weight. Her and her sister were both about 9.4 lbs. Ruby has been down to 8.2 lbs. She is currently 8.4 lbs. A month ago I was concerned about her maintaining her weight so she and her sister now share a raw egg yoke every other day on top of their supper.

 

[tobilei]

Glad Ruby is doing so much better! As for the Friskies, well, if it's working for her, why change it?

My little girls issues turned out to not be chicken at all. She does have issues with fish but I took her off all Royal Canin dry food and she hadn't had an episode of diarrhea in months. I wasn't super keen on the food she was eating (dry, wet I'm fine with) so I introduced the smallest amounts of Royal Canin dry back into her diet (1/16 cup on day one, 1/16 cup on day 2 and the same on day 3). Day 3 she had the most horrendous room clearing gas so I withdrew the Royal Canin dry but today she's having her first bout of diarrhea since I took her off the RC dry. Thought I would update as this thread is no doubt stumbled across by many and we were suspecting food allergies or IBD, it hadn't crossed my mind Royal Canin wet might be fine for her but the dry was not. I don't know whats in it. Chicken is also in all her other foods so it's not that.

Anyway, I am glad to hear that Ruby is well. Hopefully her weight goes back up or at least doesn't drop anymore Thanks for the update!

 

[sassea]

Ruby is doing well but this is no fun. She still gets Metronidazole and a probiotic daily. Prednisolone every other day though the last two doses were only half as I can't tell if her cramps are from the med or what she eats. I occasionally find a runny poop mess on the bed. Fed her Friskies for the past year. Mostly the seafood but occasionally the Turkey & Giblets. Last two weeks have been feeding the Little Friskies seafood and Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Stomach. The only thing I have learned is what will make things worse (chicken and dry foods). Each time she cries out I dread having to put her too sleep if I can't make things better for her.