Transitioning A Picky 6 Yo Cat With Lazy Bowels And Allergies To Cooked Diet

[adrianne259]

Hello lovely cat lovers! I posted in this forum many times and you have always been more than helpful I have a very special kitty, with s very special set of problems and I have exhausted all the commercial options I have. First of all, I'm in Serbia (central Europe) and I have a limited number of options when it comes to high-quality cat food (ordering online is also not an option for various reasons). Anyway, I'll try to simplify things:
We have been battling food allergies for a long time - chicken, potatoes, fish - and most foods I have available contain at least one of these ingredients. Fish is OK if it's not the main ingredient and river fish is fine. Last summer, I introduced Acana Ranchlands to her diet and it didn't sit right with her. She had smellier, more frequent poops and after about a month and a half, she became constipated, had gastritis and was passing undigested kibble in her stool. This is why I'm reluctant to try any other kind of Acana (the one with turkey, duck, quail, for example), as I'm not sure if the ingredients bothered her, or if it's something in the food itself.
Anyway, since that time, she has issues with passing stool, especially since she had her anal glands removed and now the very end of the bowel is becoming weak and stool gets stuck in her bum very often.
Purely wet food doesn't work (also because of the price), she benefits from some fiber in her diet, but if there is too much of it, the stool becomes too bulky and it can't get out (pumpkin, for example, isn't the right choice here). The same thing happens with smaller stools (from wet food).

Since she is extremely picky, she refuses to eat many things and I was never successful in feeding her cooked or raw meat - she refuses to eat meat that was frozen and meat that isn't absolutely fresh. Ever since the stomach issues started, she has been losing weight and trying to convince her to eat something she doesn't want usually results in her losing more weight (she will eat a bit, but not enough). This is where I need your help Should I try to transition her to cooked food, given the stomach issues and the stubbornness? I feel that ultimately, she would benefit from eating cooked food, as I can design it to her specific needs, but I don't want to make things worse, as I'm already going crazy.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Have you asked your Vet what they think about whether or not a cooked diet will help things transition better thru her system? Have you tried other forms of fiber, other than pumpkin? Or even different amounts of pumpkin? Was it that she didn't LIKE the pumpkin or it bulked up her stool too much? If the latter, did you try using less? I'm just not sure it's worth the hassle of trying to transition her to yet another food if she may still have the same issues. Sounds to me like you just need to try to find the right amount of fiber for her, which may just be a trail and error thing until you get it right . But there are different types of fiber...you could try squash, or phyllium.

Of course, if you want to try homecooked, nothing at all wrong with that. There is really no way though, that we can know how it will go through her system differently than what you are currently feeding her, especially since we don't really know what that is. (NOT Acana, I'm guessing)

 

[pushylady]

I think at this point you trying a homecooked food is a good idea. That way you can control the ingredients yourself and know what she's getting, but if she's so fussy this could be a very frustrating experience. I wonder if there is a particularly smelly topping that would help, if she responds to that? Like dried tripe which one of my cats loves but the other turns his nose up at.
As for fibre the experience I have is using psyllium fibre. It helped both my cats for both diarrhea and constipation. You just need a tiny amount though.

 

[adrianne259]

mrsgreenjeens Oh, this has been a struggle, so I'm trying to remember what was it exactly that I tried. First of all, she truly hates pumpkin and hiding it in the food was a pain. But I did manage for a while, and I tried multiple amounts, but I never quite managed to get the right amount - there was either no change or the stool was too bulky. I added it to canned food only contained meat. I tried psyllium as well and I believe this is a good choice for her - she is currently eating different N&D foods with quinoa and they also contain psyllium - but again, I couldn't get the dose right and I gave up as it seemed too traumatic for her.
The weird thing is, she is currently on dry kibble and stools are pretty much regular and "passable". We are currently battling dental plaque as well - I'm reluctant to put her through yet another procedure of getting it removed at the vets - and I think this bothers her as well. Her gums are not red or inflamed, but she seems to have difficulty eating anything that is not completely mashed. I'm also not happy with her eating only dry kibble, but at the moment, that is all she'll have
for all of these reasons, I thought of homecooked food yet again.
pushylady I started with 1/4 teaspoon of psyllium and it didn't work. Also, she somehow smells it in her food and walks in the other room.
I'm basically thinking out loud here, looking into my options, but getting her to eat cooked food only will be hell.


Thank you so much for reading my post, I appreciate any help more than I can say!

 

[pushylady]

Hmmm, 1/4 tsp is the amount I'd be trying. If she detects it in her food and won't eat it though there's no point. My one cat won't eat his wet if it has too much psyllium in it either. He is a very fussy little boy whereas the other guy will eat it. I knew of someone who got prescribed little gel capsules of psyllium for their cat. This may be an option if you're OK with pilling her?

 

[adrianne259]

Hmmm, taht was the amount I tried, but no luck. She felt great while eating N&D food with quinoa (and also psyllium), so I'm now looking into recipes with those ingredients and also with meat that is not chicken. She definitely needs a little fiber in her diet and I think this is a good combination. Another issue I'm trying to reslove is her not wanting to eat liver or hearts as for pilling her, that could be an option, but she has been getting lactulose every day on a syringe, she is frightened of me (also since I have to clean her bum from time to time) and she is generally a nervous little thing. She has had health issues for years now and I'm really trying to avoid any additional stress. I will consider that, though. Thanks so much for the idea!

 

[adrianne259]

Also, could you tell me how much cooked food does she needs per day? I will most probably use turkey to start. She has about 9 pounds (4,5 kg, I'm not sure about converting the amount)