? Digestive Enzymes, Pepcid, Nutrition Questions

Hi Kitty Committee- Ozzy Pawzbourne’s mama here checking in. We are not on the board much anymore. Ozzy has been diabetic for over 5 years now and he has stabilized well on his insulin regime. We def have the whole routine down now for quite a few years now and are proud of where he is today, and mostly happy he’s still here to provide his sweet loving companionship! For those out there that are new to having a feline diabetic, know that it will get easier but it takes a tremendous amount of dedication and commitment but you can do it and your kitties are worth it!

Update on Ozzy: so Ozzy for the most part is doing really well. He has had 2 boughts of pancreatitis over the last few years and last September he had a cancerous growth removed from his back, but he recovered well in all those instances and just keeps proving he still wants to be here to love us. The one thing that has been a constant struggle though has been his vomiting issues. For those who may remember us from years past, Ozzy was a chronic vomiter and our vet had us convinced it was just because Of the diabetes. But our kitty committee folks here knew better and convinced me that chronic vomiting is not normal and that it could likely be food allergies. So we eliminated all poultry proteins and he improved tremendously! We even tested back in some chicken to see and he blew chunks everywhere so we are certain he is allergic to poultry. So then we tried some novel proteins like venison and pork. Those were going ok for awhile and then he started vomiting one or both of those. I can’t remember. We decided to just keep him on beef, rabbit, and fish and he’s been eating that well for quite sometime. For some reason, he didn’t seem to do as well with a purely raw diet which we fed him for years. So he now is on primal nuggets (freeze dried raw) as well as some high quality canned food supplemented in (open farm). Quite a science experiment this cat has been!!!!
So now recently, he started throwing up again. I went away on a weeklong vacation with my son (this was the real first vacation I’ve ever taken since Ozzy became diabetic) and my husband was quite neglectful to our cat’s feeding situation. I found out he gave the freeze dried food for a week straight and failed to rehydrate it. He also didn’t give our cat water. I came home to a bone dry water bowl and found my cat trying to drink water from the toilet. He seemed a little dehydrated too. I flushed all his food with extra liquids to get his hydration back up (that seemed to work), but that’s when the vomiting started. Not sure if he was about to get into another run with pancreatitis.

So I’m trying to get ahead of it. I started adding back in probiotics, some George’s aloe Vera, and I just got digestive enzymes yesterday. He also does the vomit protest sometimes in the morning before being fed so suspect he has a bit of an acid problem. We had been recommended Pepcid in the past but never tried it. My questions are: how long can we give digestive enzymes? Forever? Same for the Pepcid? How long can we give it? Forever? And what is the recommended dosing? 1/4 or 1/2 10mg tablet? Ozzy is 14 pounds. I wrote my vet for dosing instructions but she hasn’t responded yet.

Also- any advice on the food situation? Have recommendations on favorite brands? We tried to do home made raw food but it was too time consuming to make in our busy home and I feel as always afraid I was not using the supplements correctly. I honestly also got soooo tired of trying to clean up raw food vomit. It’s the worst. Absolute worst!

Thanks if you read this far! Hope our kitty friends are all well. ❤️

 

Hi Joanna - good to hear from you. Scritches to Ozzy. Wonderful to hear your son is big enough now that you could take a vacation with him.

What does Ozzy's vomit look like? Foamy? Food? Coloured yellow or green? How long after eating? This from one who keeps a vomit log for me and the vet. I log the date, type of vomit, how close to eating and what food. It's helped me eliminate food that doesn't work.

Which probiotic are you using? I find Visbiome is a very good one for IBD kitties - it's make especially for IBD.

I wouldn't try Pepcid unless you know he has an acid tummy. A cat's tummy is naturally acidic to process their food. An antacid may not be a good idea for a kitty with just GI issues. How late in the cycle are you feeding him? Acid can be from too long a time between meals. A small snack late in the cycle may help. Has he had lab work recently? What are his kidney values like?

Which premix did you use for home made raw? I found EZComplete very fast to make. I have a kitchen scale that helps. Add meat, water and premix to a bowl and use the scale to make sure I'm putting in the right amounts. Stir. Put freezer containers on scale and added mixed meat until amount needed for 1 day. Toss in freezer. Back when I had 2 cats, it took about 20 minutes once every couple weeks. Longer if I was using more than one type of meat. Have you tried lamb? Beef and fish are also common allergens.

Has Ozzy ever had an ultrasound of his GI system? I have a kitty who originally had IBD, but either it progressed or she later added small cell lymphoma and no food was working for her without vomiting. 4 years in remission, don't let the SCL words scare you. But it does mean a different treatment and a proper diagnosis that starts with an ultrasound. Is Ozzy maintaining his weight well?

 

Hey Wendy! Thanks for coming to answer my questions. I appreciate it. Hope you and your fur family are doing well.

Ozzy’s vomiting is all over the place. It can be with food, other times it’s foamy or just a liquid brown/yellow like bile, or even just a hair ball with all the above variations. He will throw up before meals, after meals, in between meals, and very often before meals when he wants one and knows we are awake. He is fed 4xs a day. Once around 530-630 am, around noon, dinner around 530-630pm, and last snack between 9-midnight depending on how late my husband goes to bed. The vomit protests are always early in the morning. He will see me wrestle in bed or want me to wake up and if I don’t get to him early enough, he vomits. Our vet had said in the past this is likely due to an acid issue wheee he thinks we are going to get up and feed him and he’s craving food and so his stomach turns it’s acid machine on, and when food doesn’t come quick enough, he throws up. Usually liquid. This will also happen around lunch if I’m working and don’t notice the time and get him a late lunch.


Ozzy’s weight has fluctuated over the years. He’s like a middle aged woman. Lol. When he’s had boughts of pancreatitis , he loses weight. Last time around 18 months ago he was down to just above 12 lbs which is a little too thin for his frame. Vet doesn’t want him much more than 14 lbs. he’s a big cat. Right now he’s a little chunky but he’s that’s mostly due to my husband over feeding him. He gives too much and I’m constantly reminding him to keep to the right portions. Ozzy is also a fat cat at heart so be begs for food constantly so my husband gives in and gives him more.

He had labs done last September before his cancer surgery and his kidney values were normal. I just recently noticed another lump in his fur. This time it’s under his front limb on the chest. Hoping it not cancer again

Interesting comments on the SCL. I have suspected ozzy has IBD for some time now. But he’s never had an ultrasound. Your comments about how your kitty didn’t tolerate almost any food kinda rings a little with me. I have been saying I don’t know what I can feed this cat sometimes because he seems to throw up on so many things. He does seem to tolerate the beef, fish, and rabbit the best but he still vomits here and there.

As for the raw- I just don’t think I can scrub and shampoo it out of my carpets anymore. I think I am traumatized. We will stick with freeze dried raw I guess until that one gives us some problems. He does the best on it really.

do you know about the digestive enzymes and how long can they be used?

This cat has cost me a fortune. He’s lucky he’s so fluffy and sweet! ❤️

 

Would he eat from an autofeeder if you had one set up for midnight or a little later? Just wondering if there's a correlation between him getting his last feed at 9 vs. midnight and vomiting. Vomiting so regularly is not normal. Neko's signs of SCL were also vomiting with no clear pattern on which food caused it. She had the hairball vomit, some acid (but also had CKD) and some bile. Keep an eye on his weight. If he starts losing, you should get an ultrasound done, if not before.

I have not used digestive enzymes.

 

Thanks. We have some auto feeders stuffed in the cupboard and yes he would eat from it because he’s a fat cat who loves food and will eat anything and everything. Lol.

I do monitor his weight and weigh him pretty regularly. Benefits of having a baby scale left over from my son.

Thanks again for the advice.