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Discussion in 'Feline Health - (Welcome & Main Forum)' started by Buddy101, Mar 30, 2010.

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  1. Buddy101

    Buddy101 New Member

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  2. JJ & Gwyn

    JJ & Gwyn Member

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    Dec 28, 2009
    Re: A good catfood for IBD (irritable bowel disease)

    I know nothing about irritable bowel sydrome (IBS), but I do know something about inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Could you please re-confirm which one your cat has? And, if inflammatory bowel disease, does s/he have the diarrheal or constipating form?
     
  3. JJ & Gwyn

    JJ & Gwyn Member

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    Dec 28, 2009
    Re: A good catfood for IBD (irritable bowel disease)

    Found an earlier post which implied constipation.

    I noticed in your other thread that someone recommended Miralax. It's a good product, but you *must* remember to add extra water to the food when adding the Miralax. And actually, as this is an ongoing problem, I'd prefer to have an actual diagnosis to work from as opposed to just throwing medicine at it in the hopes that it'll work. This is particularly true as the treatment for some causes of constipation can actually make things worse if the constipation is caused by something else entirely. (I'm a big fan of proper diagnosis.)

    That said, various thoughts, in addition to what's been mentioned in your other thread:

    Besides the tests the others have recommended, I also get a kidney panel run on your cat. Many older cats have kidney problems; lower kidney function can easily lead to varying degrees of dehydration; and any degree of dehydration can contribute to constipation. Average age of diagnosis is 9 (half are diagnosed before / half after age 9).

    If it are kidney problems, there are different things you can do to help support the kidneys; with proper care, your cat could have many more years to look forward to. But first you need the diagnosis.

    One of the more important things you can do is to get more water into your cat. Add water to his food, change the water in the bowls regularly, wash the bowls thoroughly, add a pet fountain. If already using a pet fountain, clean it thoroughly, including the motor, and change the filters. Put down extra bowls of water at both ends of each floor, and change the water at least once a day. Try adding ice cubes to the water.

    Are you using Pepcid A/C? If so, you might consider switching to Zantac; that has an effect on intestinal motility that Pepcid doesn't, and is the primary reason that our household uses Zantac instead of the more-popular-here Pepcid.

    You may want to email your vet this article on the managment of constipated cats http://www.theveterinarian.com.au/clinicalreview/article757.asp. It's been on my bookmarks for a couple of years now because there's a lovely table at the bottom listing different types of drugs that can help with constipation in different ways. The precise drug(s) to use will differ, depending on what's causing the constipation, but it's a wonderful place to start and also gives you options for replacing or supplementing current drugs when they start to become less effective.

    How recently was bloodwork done? A lot of cats with digestive issues have low B-12; and low B-12 can inhibit digestion (vicious circle). If your cat's B-12 tested low, you can give him injections that should help. Most folks start with the TAMU protocol here http://www.cvm.tamu.edu/gilab/research/cobalamin.shtml and adjust it to their needs.

    I'm still not sure whether your cat has IBS or IBD. If it's IBD and you do research on it, you may find a lot of posts from feline IBD owners highly recommending switching to a raw food diet. While it's true that a raw food diet has helped a lot of cats with feline IBD, you need to know that the majority of cats with IBD have the diarrheal form; the constipating form is comparatively rare. Normal cats can usually tolerate a raw food diet quite well; diarrheal cats usually do very well on them; but use of a raw food diet in a cat prone to constipation should be approached with caution and the cat should be carefully monitored. Some constipating cats will do well on raw food, while for others it may be the worst thing you can do for them. For my Gwyn, it was the worst thing we could've tried; in the short period that we tried raw food, her megacolon progressed the most that it ever has, in 16 years of constipation issues. (Megacolon is a potential side effect of chronic constipation issues.)
     
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