Sudden gastroenteritis

[lisahe]

Yes, food could cause certainly cause digestive symptoms. Have you tracked when he has symptoms and what his last meals were before the symptoms? That can be very helpful in figuring out causes. What foods are you feeding him? Have there been changes to his diet recently? He's probably on something very low-carb because he's diabetic, is that right?

My thought on the Proviable would be to wait to give that to Marvin once his gut is a bit more stabilized. Some cats may have symptoms from probiotics if they don't start on very low doses. (I've made that mistake myself with one of our cats!)

I'd very strongly suggest speaking Marvin's vet. Maropitant is a great drug for our vomiter because it keeps her from vomiting. But it also has a tendency to reduce appetite in some cats. I've heard of Buprenorphine but have never used it in our cats.

I hope Marvin starts to feel better soon.

 

[jman_in_mn]

Yes, food could cause certainly cause digestive symptoms. Have you tracked when he has symptoms and what his last meals were before the symptoms? That can be very helpful in figuring out causes. What foods are you feeding him? Have there been changes to his diet recently? He's probably on something very low-carb because he's diabetic, is that right?

My thought on the Proviable would be to wait to give that to Marvin once his gut is a bit more stabilized. Some cats may have symptoms from probiotics if they don't start on very low doses. (I've made that mistake myself with one of our cats!)

I'd very strongly suggest speaking Marvin's vet. Maropitant is a great drug for our vomiter because it keeps her from vomiting. But it also has a tendency to reduce appetite in some cats. I've heard of Buprenorphine but have never used it in our cats.

I hope Marvin starts to feel better soon.

He is, in fact I just got him to eat and drink. I don’t know if his gut just feels better, if the pain meds helped, or both

he’s eating low carb, yes, but he’s got a prescription dry food he likes to snack on in the middle of the night, he’s been nibbling on that for years but I suppose one day his body may have just rejected it

 

[stephanietx]

I would suggest you start a new thread that's dedicated to your kitty and his issues. Gastro issues are not fun to deal with. I have a kitty who has has gastroenteritis twice and most recently, pancreatitis. He was also diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease (not tested, but has all the symptoms). We have had much success with twice-daily doses of antacid meds and a daily dose of prednisolone. His diarrhea and loose stools are under control now and he's eating well. Finally!

 

[jman_in_mn]

I would suggest you start a new thread that's dedicated to your kitty and his issues. Gastro issues are not fun to deal with. I have a kitty who has has gastroenteritis twice and most recently, pancreatitis. He was also diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease (not tested, but has all the symptoms). We have had much success with twice-daily doses of antacid meds and a daily dose of prednisolone. His diarrhea and loose stools are under control now and he's eating well. Finally!

my guy is doing ok now so probably don't need another thread, I was just hoping for some quick thoughts on the possible causes since the information that came from the vet is so vague on the topic

 

[lisahe]

my guy is doing ok now so probably don't need another thread, I was just hoping for some quick thoughts on the possible causes since the information that came from the vet is so vague on the topic

The vet is probably vague because it's often so difficult to sort out exactly what is causing digestive symptoms. What foods are you feeding him? Maybe there's an ingredient in something that's a known problem for cat, something like (in our cats' case) potato or green-lipped mussels... nearly anything can cause problems!

 

[jman_in_mn]

The vet is probably vague because it's often so difficult to sort out exactly what is causing digestive symptoms. What foods are you feeding him? Maybe there's an ingredient in something that's a known problem for cat, something like (in our cats' case) potato or green-lipped mussels... nearly anything can cause problems!

that's my trouble, pinpointing it to a specific food has been focus of discussion that last few days, his diet was pretty steady for 6-7 weeks and then all of a sudden he had this episode, it's frustrating!

 

[lisahe]

that's my trouble, pinpointing it to a specific food has been focus of discussion that last few days, his diet was pretty steady for 6-7 weeks and then all of a sudden he had this episode, it's frustrating!

Well, in our experience, the best way to try to figure it out is to keep a journal (I think you said you're already doing that). Try to track incidents and food together, to see if you can find a correlation between what your cat ate and what the symptoms are.

Given that you say that there was a change at that 6-7 week point, I'd look at that. What did you add? And what are the ingredients in that food/those foods? Keep in mind that a cat won't always/often show symptoms immediately. It took a month or two for our cats -- both of them! -- to start having reactions to agar-agar. Then they both started vomiting, sporadically. They stopped as soon as I took those foods out of their diet.

Also, if the "episode" doesn't repeat, maybe there's a chance that your cat ate something he shouldn't... we've certainly had that happen with our cats. (Slug, pine nuts, too much catnip, I could go on and on!) They can also get stressed and have trouble. (Other cat looked at her wrong, it's too windy, rainy, snowy, loud...) I guess what I'm saying is that cats are delicate creatures and it can take a lot of sorting to figure out what's bothering them!

 

[jman_in_mn]

Marvin is doing well again. We've seemingly traced back his issue to the use of Miralax (this was managing his constipation). We switched some of his food over to Hills Prescription m/d, and the fiber in that has helped his GI tract very much. Only trouble is now he's experiencing some blood sugar spikes so we're suspending that food for him now.

What's a good dry cat food out there that is low carb but also contains decent fiber? This would be the best of both worlds for him. He is on mostly wet food (90%) diet, but he's been a grazer for his 16+ yrs of life, so he still enjoys a little kibble. Problem is the kibble out there isn't meant for diabetics. Even the prescription food labeled 'glucose support' doesn't prevent BG spikes, go figure.

 

[lisahe]

Marvin is doing well again. We've seemingly traced back his issue to the use of Miralax (this was managing his constipation). We switched some of his food over to Hills Prescription m/d, and the fiber in that has helped his GI tract very much. Only trouble is now he's experiencing some blood sugar spikes so we're suspending that food for him now.

What's a good dry cat food out there that is low carb but also contains decent fiber? This would be the best of both worlds for him. He is on mostly wet food (90%) diet, but he's been a grazer for his 16+ yrs of life, so he still enjoys a little kibble. Problem is the kibble out there isn't meant for diabetics. Even the prescription food labeled 'glucose support' doesn't prevent BG spikes, go figure.

Dr. Elsey's Clean Protein chicken is very good dry food in terms of carbs (just under 3% dry matter, I think?) though I'm not sure about the fiber. It works well as a topper/snack/treat.

 

[jman_in_mn]

Dr. Elsey's Clean Protein chicken is very good dry food in terms of carbs (just under 3% dry matter, I think?) though I'm not sure about the fiber. It works well as a topper/snack/treat.

thanks for the Dr. Elsey's tip, I ordered some from Amazon and will give it a try!

 

[lisahe]

thanks for the Dr. Elsey's tip, I ordered some from Amazon and will give it a try!

I should have mentioned that the company will send samples, sorry! Start small with Dr. E's, it's very calorie- and protein-dense so could take some getting used to. (Neither of our cats eats only that food.) I hope it works for you!

 

[jman_in_mn]

Marvin is doing well again. We've seemingly traced back his issue to the use of Miralax (this was managing his constipation). We switched some of his food over to Hills Prescription m/d, and the fiber in that has helped his GI tract very much. Only trouble is now he's experiencing some blood sugar spikes so we're suspending that food for him now.

What's a good dry cat food out there that is low carb but also contains decent fiber? This would be the best of both worlds for him. He is on mostly wet food (90%) diet, but he's been a grazer for his 16+ yrs of life, so he still enjoys a little kibble. Problem is the kibble out there isn't meant for diabetics. Even the prescription food labeled 'glucose support' doesn't prevent BG spikes, go figure.

Gastroenteritis came back tonight, albeit in a milder form it seems like. Urgent care vet won’t prescribe Cerenia without an exam- where can one buy this med online? I’m thinking I need to get some of this on hand for moments like this. I may end up taking him into urgent care in the morning, or hopefully Marvin’s primary care vet, and obtain Cerenia this time around.

 

[lisahe]

Gastroenteritis came back tonight, albeit in a milder form it seems like. Urgent care vet won’t prescribe Cerenia without an exam- where can one buy this med online? I’m thinking I need to get some of this on hand for moments like this. I may end up taking him into urgent care in the morning, or hopefully Marvin’s primary care vet, and obtain Cerenia this time around.

How is your cat doing this morning? I hope he's doing better! Yes, Cerenia is prescription-only but maybe the primary care vet will give you some without an exam? Crossing fingers that the worst has passed.

 

[jman_in_mn]

How is your cat doing this morning? I hope he's doing better! Yes, Cerenia is prescription-only but maybe the primary care vet will give you some without an exam? Crossing fingers that the worst has passed.

He's doing well this morning; ended up giving him some buprenorphine (left over from last time) in the middle of the night and that seemed to have done the trick. I'm starting to think he gets these IBD flare ups from some of the supplements we give him (Glandex fiber supplement for his anal gland issues) He's eating and drinking this morning. No vet appt was needed. I think if I would have had some Cerenia left over from last time I could have stopped the vomiting sooner.

 

[lisahe]

He's doing well this morning; ended up giving him some buprenorphine (left over from last time) in the middle of the night and that seemed to have done the trick. I'm starting to think he gets these IBD flare ups from some of the supplements we give him (Glandex fiber supplement for his anal gland issues) He's eating and drinking this morning. No vet appt was needed. I think if I would have had some Cerenia left over from last time I could have stopped the vomiting sooner.

I'm glad to hear he's doing well and you didn't have to go in to the vet. So many things can cause flareup barfing! Supplements very often include inactive ingredients (things like 'flowing agents') that don't agree with cats so it might be worth taking a look to see if there's anything suspect in the Glandex list.

Fingers crossed he'll continue to feel better.