Alice 11/3 AMPS 154, IBD research today and adorable cat naps

Yesterday

Continuing from yesterday, trying to suss our our next steps in figuring out what’s wrong with Alice’s belly. Reading this makes me wonder if Alice’s weakened immune system combined with exposure to Jakey (the other excessive groomer who has some weird bowel movements too) somehow has led to part of what is happening with Alice right now:

“Further, researchers found that the altered microbial environment was transmissible to genetically unaltered mice that were bred or housed together with the defective mice, causing severe IBD in these mice as well. According to lead author Richard A. Flavell, professor and chair of the Department of Immunology at Yale School of Medicine and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, “The finding could have profound implications in our understanding on how IBD is initiated and the involvement of the microflora in its pathogenesis, and may direct novel therapies for the prevention and treatment of IBD.” Source (article dated from 2011, accessed today, linked from IBD raw website)

 

She was cuddly this morning and so as I was feeling sick as I have been lately again, we stayed in bed and she napped next to me after s couple of feedings. I got a good pic of her belly finally.



But also this one because she is adorable:

 

I just adore Alice's white fur. How sweet.

Very interesting about the potential transferrability of IBD... if only there were definitive research on these things. Best of luck as you are researching, I'm sure there is a huge amount to consider.

Also just wanted to say, because I was following your vaca post although I haven't been posting.. Please take care of yourself at this time When close relationships end I know it can be so hard, even when we know it's the right thing to do. Cats are the most amazing companions in such times. Alice, take care of your mom please

 

She's so adorable. I hope Alice surfs safely today. I hope you feel better soon. Sending prayers.

 

Interesting research about mice and IBD.

 

Alice is so cuuuuteeee!!!!!!!

I was kinda irked about cutting raw hearts but if you get a grinder, you probably don't even have to touch any of the meat. Just dump it all in lol! And if you get the premix, you don't even have to get hearts or whatever. Just muscle meat.

 

So a premix means you don’t have to have anything but the muscle.... that is simpler sounding. But would you still need to add anything else, like egg shell or...?

I really do have some in and out bad cognitive moments some days and the stress makes it worse so part of the day I follow what I am reading and can get a few things done, and part of the day I struggle to do anything but lay in bed. I worry about something being a big task. At the same time in order for things to be more affordable I’m sure that means more work!

 

No....the Alnutrin premix with eggshell calcium is cheapest per pound of finished product, but you have to add liver.. you can get enough to make 40lbs for $19.95


EZComplete just requires water and meat but it's more expensive. You get enough to make 24.2lbs of food for $54.75
https://www.foodfurlife.com/store/c1/Featured_Products.html#/

 

@Marje and Gracie did a good deal of research on raw diets. She was using Alnutrin and switched to EZComplete.

 

It depends on which premix you use. If you use Alnutrin, you have to add raw liver. There is a choice on how the calcium is supplied so you can pick which you wish to do. If you use EZ Complete from FoodFurLife, you just add the muscle meat, the powder, and water. It has digestive enzymes (excellent), egg shell calcium (also excellent because some cats have issue with other methods of supplying calcium), and a host of other great things.

I used the Alnutrin but, honestly, the liver was a real hassle. When I got my kitten, EZC was just coming out and I switched both cats to it because Alnutrin is not a balanced diet for kittens for EZC is.

What is really important is that you transition very slowly. My older cat, Tobey, was already eating pre made raw from Primal and the raw I made him from Alnutrin but I moved him very slowly to EZC; it took about two weeks before he liked it but I would just put a tiny 1/8 tsp on his plate next to his other raw so he could keep smelling it and he eventually started eating it and loves it.

There are two great FB groups if you are on FB: IBDKitties and Raw Feeding for IBD Kitties. The latter is more active and was started and administered by the ladies that make EZC. It’s very helpful.

Let me know if you have other questions.

EDITED TO ADD: Although EZC has green lipped mussel in it, I also supplement with additional green lipped mussel from Moxxor as an Omega 3. My cats have a sensitivity to white fish and salmon and, really, I have concerns for the mercury in wild caught and the practices in farmed fish.

The proteins I use are lamb, turkey, chicken, bison, venison, pork, elk although Tobey has a sensitivity to chicken so he doesn’t get it. I source my lamb, venison, elk, and bison through Sprouts and always buy frozen ground. I get my turkey through Diestel Ranch from a local natural grocer to stocks the organic muscle meat. And my organic pork and organic chicken come from Whole Foods. I have them fresh grind it for me. A note: you want to be sure that any fresh ground or other chicken that you buy pre-packaged will likely have the preservative of rosemary extract. That is why I have Whole Foods grind mine straight from the chicken breasts/thighs and the pork shoulder so there are no preservatives.

It’s not necessary to shop at Whole Foods. The makers of EZC buy all their meats from the regular grocery store.

 

Glad your home safe and I’m sure Alice is thrilled to have Mama home! Sorry it was so stressful while you were gone. I hope you feel better soon and can figure out why Alice is licking so much. She’s beautiful and very cuddly looking! I want to rub her tummy!

 

Thanks Chris for the pricing info!

So... how many pounds of cat can you feed per pound of raw food? I realize this would vary based on meat choices and actual calories to some degree but I guess, in general... how long would it last? I have 45 lbs total of cats.

@Marje and Gracie , Sprouts is actually the closest grocery to me... I look at the meats on occasion thinking I would look for something for the cats but... I never see lamb, and that’s what I would want to try I think because they used to eat lamb-based dry... maybe your store is larger or maybe I’m looking in the wrong spot..? If they had it ground already and I just mixed a powder and water that would actually be something I could probably manage.

If I were switching from friskies over to raw how long would it take? Also, I’ve noticed none of them seem to love the food being cold, so if you are freezing it... and then thawing it... it’s raw, so you can’t really leave it out to become room temp can you? I truly don’t know how to handle meat unless it’s for sandwiches or something.

Alice really is grooming excessively in the same areas as Jakey always does so I feel like changing their diet to something less likely to cause problems for anyone at all would be... nice. I don’t like thinking that they are so uncomfortable physically so much.

I’ll try to take a look at the Facebook group. Facebook is exhausting to me and I frequently ignore it these days.

Thank you everyone. I appreciate you.

Alice was 284 at PMPS tonight. I paid the roomie to set alarms and do feeds through the night so I can try and medicate myself to a better physical state and possibly also sleep. (It’s the worst feeling so exhausted and also having trouble sleeping!) I’ll get a +2 and then probably let it go. Tomorrow I am moving her shot up 15-30 more minutes then I should decide if it is time to bump her dose to back to the pre-vacation 1.5u I had just started to get some action on.

 

With EZC, two pounds of ground meat, I make about 42-1 oz cubes. So it depends on how much your cats eat. My little one is tiny and she eats 2 oz a day. My 12 lb boy eats 4 oz a day.

I make 2 lbs of each meat at a time and put them into 1 oz portions in ice cube trays, freeze them, and then take them out the night before I serve. I store the frozen 1-oz cubes in glass freezer containers, I rotate meats each meal so they don’t get the same meat twice.

The meats I buy at Sprouts are in the frozen meat section. The elk and venison is Durham Ranch, the bison is Bear Mountain. Here’s the ground, frozen lamb I buy:


As I said, I take the next day’s portion out the night before to thaw in the frig. My cats eat it at frig temp. I don’t bring it to room temp. It shouldn’t stay out more than 15 minutes.

There are tips on transitioning on the FFL website but you want to go slow. Start by replacing about 1/8 of their old food with the raw. Put it on the plate next to the canned. Once they eat that, then slowly increase to 1/4 replacement, then 1/2 and so on. At each step, give them a few days. Once they are eating all lamb, for example, if you decide to add another raw meat, you start the process over.