Pig 5/13 pmps+6 128 - Last Travel Day & Diet Questions

Yesterday's

Starting this thread a bit early in the interest of check out times for tomorrow. Our progress was not what we needed it to be yesterday, so we ended up waylaying in Colby, KS. This was just better for Pig. He is still doing amazingly well and is not overly stressed (no rapid breathing or hiding), but he is getting anxious and bored in the kennel. He is ready to be home.

As we approach home, I am becoming more focused on how to approach his new diet. I would like to pursue Bone Broth, but know there is caution needed. In the interest of this, I feel it might be the better idea to transition him back to a raw diet first. I strongly feel that with the better regulation and smaller meal regimen, I can forgo a lot of the constipating side effects of the raw. Furthermore, we did not have the amazing EZ Eggs on board the last time we made a go at it. I would like to make him solely raw, if I can manage the megacolon, but considering the recent US reports I feel this is possible as even the blended, can food was doing the same thing. The longer we are in low blues and higher greens the better this issue becomes. I feel confident that this will help. We will start off with the venison. However, if his symptoms do not abate after a bit, then I will take him to get his T4 and BW ran. If at that point his kidneys present normally (no elevation - meaning past numbers were owed to the non-regulation only) then we can pursue bone broth and a entirely new diet. He is not full blown IBD yet, but showing signs of an allergic reaction, which could transition to IBD. I would like to avoid this and I feel raw will be the thing to do that.

I do have a site I use for fully cooked meals and the recipe is attached below. While fully cooked is not ideal, I have also looked into partial and like that idea. I am limited owing to the fact I cannot find a raw quality meat anywhere near me.

However, all of this is purely conjecture and best guesses based on my research. I am open to any suggestions. I am very restrictive with his diet, I just do not know if I am restrictive enough... IBD is not something I have fully dealt with yet. Also, I need a good pro-biotic. I realize this is a constipating issue for him (Manx - megacolon thing), but if I cannot establish, at least a marginal healthy gut, then diet will do nothing... Sort of feel caught between digestive issues here and feel it will be a matter of finding that perfect balance, as with everything...

 

Unfortunately, I have no wisdom to impart regarding a raw diet. It's something my husband and I fully intended to get into (bought all the supplements and supplies), but we never took that next step (ugh!). Oh well. I'll be interested to know how Pig handles the new diet. Maybe we'll be inspired to make our own for Lou as well! A girl can dream, right?!

I am so excited to hear how well Pig is doing with the trip, despite the setbacks. I don't know about you, but I personally cannot stand Kansas. We drove through on our way to and back from my grandma's funeral a few years ago, and it was awful. Long, boring, dull. I'm sorry you had to stay longer! When do you expect to get home?

 

Have you looked at the Raw Feeding for IBD Cats website? They also have a very active Facebook page and would be a very good resource regarding some of the food issues you're struggling with. There are several very knowledgeable people who respond on the FB page.

The probiotic I use with Gizmo is ReNew Life Ultimate Flora. It's carried at Whole Foods or I've ordered through Amazon. Gizmo was diagnosed with IBD and I've found the information on the above noted website/FB page very helpful. He is on a raw food diet. I use FoodFurLife's pre-mix, EZComplete, that I add to ground food (novel proteins -- lamb and pork) that I buy at Whole Foods. (He probably eats better than I do!) He gets a very small amount of canned ZiwiPeak (lamb and rabbit, venison) since I can't find other raw novel proteins locally. Even if you don't use their product, there is a great deal of information on feline health, supplements, etc. on the FoodFurLife website.

Have you thought of adding something like Miralax to Pig's food if you are using a raw food diet? It might help wit some of the constipation. Likewise, do you add water to his food? That would be especially important if you use Miralax to help with constipation. I'm not sure if Miralax is appropriate with megacolon, though. A bit of extra fat in his diet may also help. If I'm recalling this correctly, sometimes, the source of calcium may contribute to constipation. Some foods use bone whereas others use eggshell.

 

Are you considering making your own raw or purchasing (Radcat)?

 

I actually do not make my own raw. I seriously looked into it, but when you make raw you need to ensure that your meat source is very clean and an extremely high quality. The meat that you get from the grocery store is fit for human consumption and while it is very good meat, the packing, shipping, and storage are less than ideal. They bank on the humans cooking it, so they can store it at warmer temps and are not as rigid about keeping it frozen. Raw meat is sanitary from the start, but it is the surface air that contaminates it. Meaning, that any meat needs to be flash frozen immediately after cleaning the animal. With human meat they do not do this. You can outsource it from a few suppliers in the country, but for me to get it shipped to my area was outrageous in price. I would have been paying more for shipping than for the meat. Instead, I found an amazing pet company that will ship RadCat Raw to my door for only a 15$ shipping charge, regardless of how big the order is. I just buy enough for a few months. Yes, the cost is a pretty decent chunk when you order like that, but you make up for that in the cost for shipping! I really like RadCat as well. Very high quality food.. If you want to do raw, then RadCat is the way to go in my opinion...

Thank you! I will agree with you entirely on the Kansas thing. I am not a fan. It was cold, wet, dreary, flat, and boring...

 

That’s exactly the reason I don’t make my own. People have suggested getting meat directly from farmers at co-ops or farmers markets, if I were to do it, I would pick that route, but I don’t know, maybe I’m paranoid, I relish the fact Radcat uses HPP. I feel like I’m having my cake and eating it too. I know it’s not foolproof, but it gives me some peace of mind at least. I also really, really like that Radcat sources all nutrients from animal parts instead of adding all these strange things. That’s the way the vitamins are best utilized by cats, in their natural, animal form.

 

Oh thank you! I will check these out asap!

I wish I could prepare my own raw, but I run into a similar problem. I cannot find a good quality meat in my area. Not one that I trust, anyways. The nearest whole foods store is about 2 hours away. I can have it shipped and I have thought about shipping in raw bison. He seemed to do very well on Venison (RadCat Raw) for a while. I do supplement MiraLax in his food along with about a 25-50% ratio of water. This has helped tremendously. His colon was of normal size on the US, but he still struggles a bit with pushing. He was not constipated at all when we were in WSU. I really feel a lot of that has to do with better numbers. He is also on Cisapride. A lot of his problems are compounded with decreased nerve functioning owing to his lack of spinal chord... I certainly like the ZiwiPeak foods and he does too.. I will need to scope them out again.

I believe RadCat uses eggshells for calcium.

 

To begin, most likely RadCat. I will make my own if I have too, but my isolated area makes it very hard to purchase good quality raw for his food...

 

My thoughts exactly. I have a friend who hand raises meat rabbits and even though the source seems clean enough, there is really no way to test for parasites or pathogens. I am super paranoid about that. Raw is the way to go, but I feel it requires a good level of responsibility... I think RadCat is the thing for now. If he does not do well with venison, I will check into the pork. I just wanted to avoid that because pork is such a salty meat.

 

I have a question and a bit of a concern... @Wendy&Neko @JeffJ @Bronx's dad ....
Okay. So this whole possible brain reaction/swelling... What, exactly, am I looking for with this? If this happens, will I know it for sure or will he give those subtle kitty clues we need to guess at? Dr. Fidel said his numbers would climb up, despite the insulin, but they would not climb up overly high. She also said he would seem to loose motor function and/or focus. I am probably being paranoid, but better safe than sorry. He seems fine if not a bit done with traveling and he did not have a very good poop last night at the hotel. However, he slept fine and was jumping from bed to bed rather than taking the floor route. Also, he was up to his Piggy tricks again with trying to bolt the door. He seems interested in getting out of the car, but just seems tired as well. His numbers have been slowing climbing up since last night's pm cycle. I just tested him at a 186 on a +5... He has not eaten since his amps. He did eat quite a bit last night. It could just be that he has not had a decent BM in the last 24... I would rather ask than guess, at this point. When do I decided that the prednisolone is needed, if it is needed at all...???

 

Fortunately it did not happen with my Leo, or with Wendy's Neko. If some neurological symptoms started showing, I would have gone to the vet asap. They would probably prescribe anti-swelling drugs like prednisolone. There could be a brain-specific one that I am unfamiliar with.

It is definitely scary. But if Acro is unchecked, the tumor can grow and impinge on the surrounding brain tissue causing similar symptoms.

Leo's biggest issue was just being tired from all the new activity (driving, sedation, procedures, strange places). He is not much of an explorer and it really wiped him out. Plus he would not regulate for me during that period. Really the SRT was a lifesaver for him. And no side-effects that we noticed except he honed his skills as an expert at leg lovin.

 

Leo the Leg Lover!! I love this!
I'd imagine if this were to happen I would notice it pretty quickly. I would hope at least. He seems to be just fine, just really wiped out and ready to be home... He is eating and sleeping and checking it all out...
You are entirely right, it is very worth it and I am sure a lifesaver for Pig as well. I regret nothing. I just do not want to miss the signs of any side effects if they were to happen..

 

Thank you, Jeff....

 

I was told the brain swelling might might manifest as a headache. Maybe hiding, big eyes, or meatloafing. I suspect Neko had it for a couple hours after her first day of SRT. I have seen one other kitty here seem off, about a week after SRT. Again it happens within the first week and didn't last long. I too had a prescription for prednisolone, just in case. I didn't use it.

I vote for constipation as a cause of the numbers rising. That plus just being done with all the travel. I don't know which of us was more done at the last day (3) of travel, me, DH, or Neko.

 

I have no idea of a possible brain swelling reaction to the SRT, vet never mentioned it as something to look for. Wendy did give me good advice that thyroid panels be done periodically due to the possible side effect of hypothyroidism.

 

Honestly I tend to agree with you, but I am overly paranoid. Especially about things that I have never dealt with. I might go ahead and fill the script so that I have it on hand

I think you are right... It will be interesting to see how he acts once we are home. I think I can better judge in his home environment... Thank you!

 

It was something that Dr. Fidel mentioned as a rare occurrence... Of course, now I will be overly paranoid about it...

 

Some of the people on the IBD pages have sources for novel proteins. Most are delivered frozen. If you're home for deliveries, it's fine. I can't rely on any of my neighbors being around if I'm not home for a delivery so it's an issue if I were to order a good amount of anything that's frozen. That's why I rely on Whole Foods. If there's another more organic friendly grocery store in your area, that may be a possibility.

 

That would be nice, if I could get it shipped at a reasonable cost and from a reputable source! I can always have it shipped to my Mother's house... I have one grocery store in my town and it is very small... Everything else is quite a bit away...

Thank you! This is wonderful advice!

 

I hope you are home now.

 

A little bit about Radcat and HPP'ing for those who may be following along and wonder what it is and which Radcat products are involved in HPP'ing:

About High Pressure Processing (HPP)

"We are not HPP-ing our finished product – only the poultry dark meat and organs that we use in our recipes, which is the greatest concern for our regulatory bodies."

- and -

"Here is a list of what IS HPP'd:

• Chicken thigh and leg
• Chicken hearts
• Chicken livers
• Turkey thigh and leg
• Turkey hearts
• Turkey livers

There is NO HPP applied to any of the ingredients in the:

• Pasture-Raised Lamb
• Grass-Fed Beef
• Pasture-Raised Venison"

Their pork product isn't on either list, so I *guess* it isn't HPP'd since it's not poultry, nor is it on the list of what is HPP'd, but who knows?

 

Yes... We are home! He is a happy kitty. It was a big fiasco when we got home and I will fill everyone in tomorrow... But, its 3 am and we just got to a stopping point... Lol... Thank you, Wendy, for checking in... It means a lot!!

 

WELCOME HOME

 

People were up in arms when Radcat started using HPP, hey got so much flack for it and some cats refused to eat the HPP varieties. They explained in a blog post why they did it and further explain the extra steps they take, and must take, to make sure their food is superior to raw meats for human consumption. They are held to a higher standard than the meat at the grocery store for people is (particularly so for processed meats like boneless/skinless and pre ground meats), and I’m thankful for that.

“Many people don’t realize that it is acceptable for pathogens to be present in meat and poultry intended for human consumption. Yep, it’s fine for that lovely chicken breast you take home to eat to have salmonella or E.coli. In fact, those parts are not even treated for pathogens at the poultry slaughterhouse. Nor are they tested. Whole birds are and maybe chopped fryers, but the boneless, skinless parts we love so much are not even monitored. But, if we use those parts in a wholesome, natural pet food, we – the manufacturer – are held accountable for pathogens in the food. If they’re found in our products, no matter how some of us have fought, we recall and our reputations suffer for ingredients that may come to us, the manufacturer, already tainted.”

http://www.radfood.com/blog/rad_cat_and_hpp.en

 

Welcome home. Let the healing begin!

 

Home sweet home . Kefir is a great option for adding probiotics to Pig's diet. Bronx eats it up no problem. http://www.foodfurlife.com/kefir-for-pets.html