4/20 Max ambg 71--Bazooka Day 2--pukus/food questions

Yesterday: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=12388

Lots of pukus yesterday. On the bed. Again. Ugh! :evil: Now that we've handled the diabetes, it looks like we're returning to the puking problem that landed us in diabetic territory to begin with. Prednisone stopped the puking--is there anything he can take that wouldn't put him back on insulin? I'm talking puking several times a week, if not several times a day. Yesterday there were at least 3 incidents of puking, and I'm sure all were form Max because NONE of them had hairballs. Once on my bed (with lots of food--so glad DH found that and not me!), once by the kitchen sink (all water), and again on the half wall (all water). This is where we were in January, that led to the prednisone. I'm still waiting on the Vetbasis I ordered last week for the hairball problem--maybe he's just having a hard time getting them out?

In other news, Max was quite playful and happy last night. I woke up this morning to him nibbling my ear--something he hasn't done since he was much younger. :smile: Of course, DH might get a little jealous, but it was still cute! He's also been following me around, and was pawing at my butt while I was standing at the sink last night because I didn't get the food out fast enough. :lol: Usually it's Truman doing the pawing.

And the boys are continuing to do well with free-feeding and not wolfing all the canned food down at once. :mrgreen:

 

Re: 4/20 Max ambg 71--Bazooka Day 2--pukus questions

I'm sorry to hear about all the pukies...ugh....hope someone will have an answer to your question....
Good AMBGs this Morning for Max....Happy Day 2!!!

 

Re: 4/20 Max ambg 71--Bazooka Day 2--pukus questions

What did the vet diagnosis this as previously?
Is it an upset stomach or something more?
Aside from puking, are there any other behavioral changes?

 

Re: 4/20 Max ambg 71--Bazooka Day 2--pukus questions

No behavioral changes at all. Max has always been a bit on the pukey side--he does have a sensitive stomach, but I don't know what he's sensitive to. The vet never found an official diagnosis for the puking. We were trying varying food changes (all involving dry food) from October through January. Some foods had less puking than others, but none of them fixed the problem. She put him on prednisone for possible IBD or some other sort of inflamatory issue to see if that helped. It did, but while he was on it (2 weeks daily, then 2 weeks every other day) he lost 4lbs and at the end of that month we did the blood work that gave us the diabetes diagnosis.

Could it be IBD? Is there a treatment for that that won't screw up is BG?

 

Re: 4/20 Max ambg 71--Bazooka Day 2--pukus questions

I had a kitty when I was a girl who used to suck on my earlobe (he also made biscuits in my hair and once gave me a knot that had to be cut out!) while I slept. I miss Stubby, he was a pretty awesome guy. Lived to be 18 or 19 or 20, I forget. He was olllllllllllllld though =) Twice in 24 hours I've thought about him, he must be looking down at us from the Bridge.

Max is looking great on Day 2!!! Keep chewing Max! Stop with the pukus, you're worrying your mombean!

 

Re: 4/20 Max ambg 71--Bazooka Day 2--pukus questions

Hi, Mindy & Max!! Happy Day 2!! Yuck.. pukus huh? Poor lil guy.. wish I knew what caused it.. I hope you do figure it out.. that cannot be fun for you or him!! Have a terrific Tuesday! :mrgreen:

 

Re: 4/20 Max ambg 71--Bazooka Day 2--pukus questions

It sounds like time to try limiting the can food selections and brands to see if there is a flavor he may be sensitive to.

For example, for one week feed only one flavor like chicken or turkey from brand x. The next week, try a different flavor. See what he's able to keep down and that may be the food option to use.

Also, have you considered a raw diet? That may help him too.

This is how I learned to control Maui's IBD and she now poos normally, with the occassional upset.

 

Re: 4/20 Max ambg 71--Bazooka Day 2--pukus questions

Hi Mindy,
congrats on trial.

just a thought on my experiences, both of my kitties were always pukers on dry food, when we switched to wet, for Luna, ta-da!
But I also learned and noticed, small snack meals for both... but also, serving food warmed up, I use warm to mildly hot water.
My civie - I consider to have "sensitive tummy", her food has to be warmed up or it comes up, as well, she doesn't get her food with too much water or else again, out it comes.
I do see also, sometimes it's the flavour - yes, I've sat through and watch them like a hawk. Some flavours will make them do a toss up. I check all cans before buying for expiry date so I know that is ruled out.

I hope it is nothing serious and hopefully it will pass soon. Feel better soon Max!

Nice AMBG for day 2!

Very happy for u and lots of good luck!

 

Re: 4/20 Max ambg 71--Bazooka Day 2--pukus questions

Thanks for the suggestions. I do plan to make the switch to raw, or at least partially raw if possible...just haven't gotten that far yet. Max was willing to eat raw chicken before we got the sugar controlled, but now he just looks at it, then looks at me like, "you expect me to eat that?!?" and walks away. Truman does the same thing.

I will try doing a flavor focus. Yesterday it was Friskies Mixed Grill, which they have been quite fond of in the last few weeks. They are not big fans of the Ocean White Fish and Tuna, but they will eat it eventually. They had that last night (and no pukus since then). I was wondering too about the water--and gave less water with the food this morning.

 

Re: 4/20 Max ambg 71--Bazooka Day 2--pukus questions

Hi Mindy-

Congrats on the trial. I missed this new yesterday.

I am going through the same thing as you are. Boomer has IBD, took FOREVER to diagnose - his symptom is puking too. Vet gave him pred, it worked, then he got diabetes. We switched to budesonide and that usually works to keep his sympotoms at bay. He's thrown up once a day for the last 7 out of 8 days. It's starting to get me upset. I decided to start a food trial yesterday with a food i know he likes and he got it all day yesterday execept in the morning. He's thrown up already this morning. :sad:

This morning I gave him a quarter tablet of pepsid in addition to his budesonide. Bude is a steroid too but it doesn't get absorbed the same way so it doesn't cause diabetes. I gave him a new food. If this continues I think I'll beed to bring him in.

Good luck. IBD is formally diagnosed by a biopsy.

 

Re: 4/20 Max ambg 71--Bazooka Day 2--pukus questions

Happy Day 2~~~ Doing a great Job Mindy!!--Hope you can stop the pukus--My cats always leav their pukus for DH :lol: :lol: :lol:
Go MAX!!

 

Thanks for that info Tracy! I sure hope we don't have to go through a biopsy to get an actual diagnosis. I'll be sure to mention budesonide if we need to go the steroid route again...but I'd at least like to get through his trial before we give that a shot. Why the pepcid? Max isn't throwing up bile--it's either food or it's clear and mucousy.

I just emailed Feline Futures for a product sample. I figure if that works, it'll cost about the same as what I'm spending on canned, maybe slightly more, but not much. If it stops the puking, then it's all worth it. Anyone have any other recipes/pre-mixes they like for raw? I know I saw one on the Feline Futures website. I'm also going to check with our local butcher (one bonus for living in a tiny town--he's not part of a chain) and see if he can grind some chickens with the bones in them for me. I'm fairly certain that making from scratch will cost much less than the pre-mixes...but I have no desire or the time to do the grinding myself.

I know cats aren't supposed to need fiber. BUT...if fiber helps hairballs process through, in theory, wouldn't that help food process through as well? Is there a fiber additive I can give that won't raise his carb level?

 

There are too many upset tummies in LL today. You should see the tangle of vines leaving my house! I hope Max gets to feeling better soon. He's doing great in spite of it though! Chew Max chew!

 

Hi guys, sorry about all the puking, hope you figure it all out, poor Max!! Happy Day 2 though, numbers look great!!!!!!!! Funny thing is since we switched to wet food only my kitties hardly ever puke anymore, hope you find out the problem!!!!

 

I use the Feline Futures pre-mix. I would check into whether you need to have food ground with bone since the pre-mix contains calcium. I buy boneless, skinless chicken and use a grinder attachment on my stand mixer to grind everything. I then make the food into packets that I can individually freeze.

I think Hillary's suggestion regarding how to investigate what may be triggering the puking is a good one. It was what I was thinking when I asked the questions in my previous post. I'd keep a record of the results of what you feed and how Max reacts and, unless he's completely refusing a particular food, give each variety and/or flavor at least a week. It may be that this is what amounts to an allergic reaction. Fish and beef are particularly prone to problems in cats.

 

Congrats on Day 2 Mindy.
I hope Max's tummy settles and you can figure things out for him.

 

Just to clarify - Feline Futures is a mixture that is added to raw food?

Could ground chicken breast be used and this added in?

 

Yes Tracy, Feline Futures is an additive to mix with ground chicken or turkey. They have a formula with the liver included if you want to buy pre-ground meat at the supermarket, or one without the liver if you want to grind your own. They also have a beef mix, but they advise trying the chicken first as some kitties won't eat beef (and some are allergic as mentioned). Google Feline Futures and you'll find their website.

In reference to the grinding chicken with the bones, they have a recipe to make cat food from scratch (without the premix) on the Feline Futures site that involves grinding the bones with the meat. The recipe seems easy enough to do if the grinding is already done--hence why I will ask my butcher if he can do it and save me the hassle/mess. I don't know if it would be less expensive than using the premix, but it would seem that it would have to be.

Sienne, do you know the calorie count on the Feline Futures? I'm just trying to gauge how much my cats would eat--I know they reference a 1/2 cup per day on the FF website, but I'm sure that has to be an average.