2/10 Joe - AMPS 319 , +10 315, PMPS 299, +2 297

Yesterday - http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=5707

I was right about Joe not feeling well. He has diahrea. He's still eating well, mood is fine, but he's making frequent trips to the litter box and he and it are a mess. It seems to correspond very closely with switching to wet food. Is it normal to see intestinal issues with a food change or should I be looking at something else? Anything I can do to help him get through it? I'm scheduled to check in with the vet today so I'll be bringing it up with her as well.

Also I've read the dosing protocol and I'm considering increasing the dose by .5 on Saturday. Is there anything showing up in his numbers that would indicate this isn't the right move? Or any information missing that we should try to get between now and then?

I have to go searching for strips at lunch time (this will be my 3rd wal-mart in 3 days, highly annoying) so I won't be home to check him again until +10.

 

Re: 2/10 Joe - AMPS 319 - diahrea and dosing question

Hi, I haven't visited you before so would like to say hi and welcome!

I can sympathize with you about the diarrhea...my Morris has had it for over a month and he had been on wet food for almost a year. A lot of times a change in food will cause a bout of soft stools or diarrhea, but the dry food has to go, no doubt about it.

A few suggestions might be to try putting a probiotic in the food...Fortiflora seems to be a favorite here although I got mine from my vet, it was called probiocin. I bought the puppy pee pads at Walmart and lined the bottom of the litterbox with that and then just put a small amount of litter of it so that it was easy to just lift the whole works out immediately after he goes so that he's not stepping in it and tracking through the house....that's a real mess. If Joe will eat it, a raw food diet will usually stop the diarrhea too...see http://www.catinfo.org/ for a ton of info about feeding as well as transitioning.

As for the dose increase, we usually increase in .25u increments. I'm not comfortable with giving you dosing advice since I haven't been following you and don't know your full history, but that is usually a safe enough increase.

 

Re: 2/10 Joe - AMPS 319 - diahrea and dosing question

I can do .25. Just need to add syringes to my shopping list . I'd rather go slow than risk overdosing him.

Thanks for the reply and the suggestions. The puppy pads are a great idea for making the clean up easier.

 

Re: 2/10 Joe - AMPS 319 - diahrea and dosing question

Hi Mel.. yep food change does often bring about digestive issues as the body gets used to less bulk and more protein. Shouldn't last more than a couple weeks total and it should be intermittent after the first week or few days.. check out http://www.catinfo.org for more transitional explanations

Regarding your dosecrease, you're going to be cutting dry food entirely correct? If so, let's stick to a .25u increase initially. Even though the protocol calls for 1/2u, he's still got carbs on board and his numbers may drop suddenly.

Hope the vet visit goes well!

 

Re: 2/10 Joe - AMPS 319 - diahrea and dosing question +10 315

good luck with the litter box situation.

I agree with the 0.25 increase. Joe has had a good bit of yellow on this dose, so it's best to not go too fast, especially with a food change. Great job with the food switch!

 

Re: 2/10 Joe - AMPS 319 - diahrea and dosing question +10 315

Hi! Can't help with your dosing question, since I am a newbie. But you might be interested to learn that Walmart sells testing strips on its website. They arrive in good time (about 3 business days). Good luck with your litterbox issue!!!

Ella & Stu

 

Re: 2/10 Joe - AMPS 319 , +10 315, PMPS 299

Gabby had liquipoo problems when I switched her over to a consistent diet of canned food. In addition to FortiFlora, there are other protiobics that are very good, as well. When Gabby was going through her bout of diarrhea, Cassandra recommended ReNew Ultimate. I found it at Whole Foods in the refrigerated supplement section. (You use about 1/3 of a capsule twice a day.)