Hydrolyzed diet for IBD?

[Peggy & Oliver]

After Ollie's ultrasound yesterday (pancreatitis, IBD likely and can't rule out early stage lymphoma) both the testing vet and our vet suggested hydrolyzed diet (as in Hill's z/d). I don't like the things I hear about Hills and wonder what anyone with IBD kitties is feeding them. Ollie currently eats Wellness canned turkey and salmon. I feel committed to wet diet and that is what he is craving now that he is on appetite stimulant.

They fed him DRY Hills i/d while he was at the vet a few days ago for iv fluids. He came home with a runny eye and I'm not sure if it's related to that or if he caught a virus there or if it has nothing to do with any of that.

Thanks.

Peggy & Oliver ^~^

 

[Lillie]

My cat has IBD verified by biopsy. I think I tried just about every cat food, prescription and regular commercial and the only one I found that he does pretty good on is Hills Grain Free DD Duck limited ingredient canned. It is not ideal for a diabetic cat but it is the only thing he doesn't throw up on a regular basis so I'm stuck with this. It is extremely expensive. Any other Hills food did not agree with him at all and the Hills Science diet ID put an enormous amount of weight on him. He hated any of the hydrolyzed food and ended up with diarrhea from it. It is a very frustrating condition. His specialist recommended a limited ingredient single protein, and duck is the only one he will eat consistently. You're lucky that Ollie does well on the Wellness turkey. I had such a hard time finding something Leo could eat.

 

[Peggy & Oliver]

My cat has IBD verified by biopsy. I think I tried just about every cat food, prescription and regular commercial and the only one I found that he does pretty good on is Hills Grain Free DD Duck limited ingredient canned. It is not ideal for a diabetic cat but it is the only thing he doesn't throw up on a regular basis so I'm stuck with this. It is extremely expensive. Any other Hills food did not agree with him at all and the Hills Science diet ID put an enormous amount of weight on him. He hated any of the hydrolyzed food and ended up with diarrhea from it. It is a very frustrating condition. His specialist recommended a limited ingredient single protein, and duck is the only one he will eat consistently. You're lucky that Ollie does well on the Wellness turkey. I had such a hard time finding something Leo could eat.

My cat has IBD verified by biopsy. I think I tried just about every cat food, prescription and regular commercial and the only one I found that he does pretty good on is Hills Grain Free DD Duck limited ingredient canned. It is not ideal for a diabetic cat but it is the only thing he doesn't throw up on a regular basis so I'm stuck with this. It is extremely expensive. Any other Hills food did not agree with him at all and the Hills Science diet ID put an enormous amount of weight on him. He hated any of the hydrolyzed food and ended up with diarrhea from it. It is a very frustrating condition. His specialist recommended a limited ingredient single protein, and duck is the only one he will eat consistently. You're lucky that Ollie does well on the Wellness turkey. I had such a hard time finding something Leo could eat.

Thank you for replying, Lillie. I'm sorry you've been going through all that with the food. At least he can eat something canned. I can see it's going to be a rough road ahead for Ollie. I appreciate you sharing. Hope Leo continues to do well with his duck food.

 

[Lillie]

So far so good with the canned duck food but oh how I wish he did well on a cheaper food!

 

[Tracey&Jones (GA)]

I have gone through so much food with Jones. I have him on the Rawz chicken right now. It seems to keep the IBD and the poops pretty consistent. I have recently added the Tiki Mousse chicken and chicken and egg as a topping to his meals. That is going well too.

 

[vbc2000]

I am convinced Hills z/d contributed greatly to Tigger developing diabetes. He was on dry and then wet after the diagnosis but even the wet was like 32% carbs. He was on it for skin allergies for years and prednisolone and I believe they both made him diabetic.

We had A LOT of trouble regulating him. We cut down his prednisolone and switched him to Fancy Feast classic/low carb food and just hoped his allergies would be kept at bay. Thankfully they haven't come back and I am now left to wonder if the z/d was necessary all those years and I could have spared my boy all this if I had gotten him off it sooner. I have come to some peace about it...we can only do the best we can with the information we have at the time.

So z/d would not be my recommendation...perhaps some other hydrolyzed foods are lower in carbs? He is on 2.5 prenisolone every other day now and it's working. I suspect some steroid is recommended for your baby's IBD? Try to find the lowest possible dose that works. Good luck!
Stephanie

 

[Deb & Wink]

Had no luck with the Hill's Z/D food for my IBD kitty Libby. In fact, the Z/d food made her worse with constant explosive diarrhea. Metronidizole did not help with the diarrhea. The Z/D wet is a gluey consistency that my cat would not touch, but she would eat the dry.

Then tried the 'novel protein' foods like the Hill's duck and pea, venison and pea, and some of the limited ingredient diets like chicken LID, etc. Those were a bit better but expensive so tried some other options that didn't work well either until I tried the Acana dry foods. No grains like the rice in the Z/D from Hill's which made her diarrhea worse. Elimination of corn, soy, wheat, rice from her diet really helped with the IBD. But, Libby was not diabetic so did not have to watch the carbs too closely.

Not sure what your choices would be for a diabetic cat that also has IBD.

You may have to do a bit of experimenting to find what works best for your cat, as it can be a bit of a trial and error process to see what triggers the IBD for your cat.

 

[Peggy & Oliver]

I have gone through so much food with Jones. I have him on the Rawz chicken right now. It seems to keep the IBD and the poops pretty consistent. I have recently added the Tiki Mousse chicken and chicken and egg as a topping to his meals. That is going well too.

Thank you for your reply. Sorry I didn't see this sooner.

 

[Peggy & Oliver]

Had no luck with the Hill's Z/D food for my IBD kitty Libby. In fact, the Z/d food made her worse with constant explosive diarrhea. Metronidizole did not help with the diarrhea. The Z/D wet is a gluey consistency that my cat would not touch, but she would eat the dry.

Then tried the 'novel protein' foods like the Hill's duck and pea, venison and pea, and some of the limited ingredient diets like chicken LID, etc. Those were a bit better but expensive so tried some other options that didn't work well either until I tried the Acana dry foods. No grains like the rice in the Z/D from Hill's which made her diarrhea worse. Elimination of corn, soy, wheat, rice from her diet really helped with the IBD. But, Libby was not diabetic so did not have to watch the carbs too closely.

Not sure what your choices would be for a diabetic cat that also has IBD.

You may have to do a bit of experimenting to find what works best for your cat, as it can be a bit of a trial and error process to see what triggers the IBD for your cat.

Sorry I didn't see this post sooner. I appreciate your feedback. My instincts are telling me to steer away from Hill's. Right now I tried Nature's Variety Instinct Ultimate Protein rabbit and he loves it. I guess it's a matter of trial and error on the food. Thanks for your reply.

 

[Peggy & Oliver]

I am convinced Hills z/d contributed greatly to Tigger developing diabetes. He was on dry and then wet after the diagnosis but even the wet was like 32% carbs. He was on it for skin allergies for years and prednisolone and I believe they both made him diabetic.

We had A LOT of trouble regulating him. We cut down his prednisolone and switched him to Fancy Feast classic/low carb food and just hoped his allergies would be kept at bay. Thankfully they haven't come back and I am now left to wonder if the z/d was necessary all those years and I could have spared my boy all this if I had gotten him off it sooner. I have come to some peace about it...we can only do the best we can with the information we have at the time.

So z/d would not be my recommendation...perhaps some other hydrolyzed foods are lower in carbs? He is on 2.5 prenisolone every other day now and it's working. I suspect some steroid is recommended for your baby's IBD? Try to find the lowest possible dose that works. Good luck!
Stephanie

If the z/d wet has 32% carbs I'm not going to want to give it to Ollie. I guess when he wasn't eating anything I was at the point where I'd give him whatever he would eat but since I discovered he likes Instinct real rabbit I'll go with that and may alternate with his Wellness since some say the clay in it may cause more constipation. A real balancing act, all of this. Thanks so much for your reply, I don't know why I didn't see this before but it's very helpful. Sorry you had such a hard time with Tigger.

 

[Lillie]

The Basic Instinct looks like a good food. Limited ingredients and single protein is helpful for IBD cats. Unfortunately once Leo had the Hills Duck he didn't want to eat much of the Instinct. I wish I would have tried the Instinct Duck first.

 

[Becky & Baby Girl GA]

So far so good with the canned duck food but oh how I wish he did well on a cheaper food!

I’m pretty sure my Baby has IBD, after 3 bouts since her first dx of diabetes. Is this because of the diabetes do you think? She never had problems before?
The amount of $ we spend on our kits is astronomical!! I feel your pain as I’m on a fixed income. My budgeting never seems to work.
It sounds like you have a very blessed kitty & know that you are giving him the best! Bless you...I chimed in when I saw IBD...hmmmm thank you for all info

 

[JL33GIRL]

After Ollie's ultrasound yesterday (pancreatitis, IBD likely and can't rule out early stage lymphoma) both the testing vet and our vet suggested hydrolyzed diet (as in Hill's z/d). I don't like the things I hear about Hills and wonder what anyone with IBD kitties is feeding them. Ollie currently eats Wellness canned turkey and salmon. I feel committed to wet diet and that is what he is craving now that he is on appetite stimulant.

They fed him DRY Hills i/d while he was at the vet a few days ago for iv fluids. He came home with a runny eye and I'm not sure if it's related to that or if he caught a virus there or if it has nothing to do with any of that.

Thanks.

Peggy & Oliver ^~^

Hi Peggy My Cat Leo suffers from IBD as well... I also refuse to put my Leo on any prescription diet cat foods...whether it be by RC, Hills...etc. He developed all hes current problem from the very thing. My Leo currently suffers from CKD, pancreatitis, asthma and now diabetes. Depending on the severity, IBD is very hard to treat so unless your opting for steroids or holistic treatments is the best way but not without side effects. I have my cat on Budesonide .5 cc every other day but that's how he got diabetes. Based on he's PLI levels I might have to resort back to putting him on prednisolone... as far as feeding he gets Weruva grain free can twice daily and Fromm grain free duck/rabbit entree free feeding to nibble on throughout the day.
He does well on this diet and hardly vomits. Sometimes its the kind of protein from the food your pet might be allergic too that causes IBD so by eliminating it might just do the trick.... like if he's allergic to chicken just switch to a total different meat source like rabbit, venison, duck or lamb. That normally does the treat. That's if your cat will eat it. I tried so hard to switch Leo on a rabbit only formula quality can food but he refuse to eat is. He only eat the Weruva chicken/turkey entree.
Aso, Vet visits are extremely stressful to our feline cats, ever think about just giving sub Q fluids at home? I recently had to learn this and is quite easy. Hope Ollie gets better.

 

[Peggy & Oliver]

Hi Peggy My Cat Leo suffers from IBD as well... I also refuse to put my Leo on any prescription diet cat foods...whether it be by RC, Hills...etc. He developed all hes current problem from the very thing. My Leo currently suffers from CKD, pancreatitis, asthma and now diabetes. Depending on the severity, IBD is very hard to treat so unless your opting for steroids or holistic treatments is the best way but not without side effects. I have my cat on Budesonide .5 cc every other day but that's how he got diabetes. Based on he's PLI levels I might have to resort back to putting him on prednisolone... as far as feeding he gets Weruva grain free can twice daily and Fromm grain free duck/rabbit entree free feeding to nibble on throughout the day.
He does well on this diet and hardly vomits. Sometimes its the kind of protein from the food your pet might be allergic too that causes IBD so by eliminating it might just do the trick.... like if he's allergic to chicken just switch to a total different meat source like rabbit, venison, duck or lamb. That normally does the treat. That's if your cat will eat it. I tried so hard to switch Leo on a rabbit only formula quality can food but he refuse to eat is. He only eat the Weruva chicken/turkey entree.
Aso, Vet visits are extremely stressful to our feline cats, ever think about just giving sub Q fluids at home? I recently had to learn this and is quite easy. Hope Ollie gets better.

Hi JL

Sounds like you've been through a lot with Leo too. Ollie is also an asthma kitty. Right now I'm giving him just 1/8 tablet of mirtazipan (sp?) appetite stimulant which helps him eat but is a little less crazy than the 1/4 tab as prescribed. This morning was the first morning he seemed his old self, his meow is back (not clear why that went away with this latest flare up) and he was into mischief and eating. Of course then he vomited a hair ball and some more but he was fine immediately afterwards. At this point I'm taking it day by day or should I say minute by minute and monitoring his quality of life. As long as it's good, I'll do what I can. I have the bag of fluids here but I just have to get an appropriately sized needle. The vet tech gave me size 16 which is like a harpoon and I won't use it. If I have to do the fluids at home, I will learn. altho it makes me so nervous.

Ollie is eating Instinct real rabbit right now and is very happy with it. Thanks for the tip about Weruva, I will look into that, but prefer to buy a little at a pet store than to order a whole case until I know. Who knows how long he'll agree to eat the rabbit?

Anyway, thanks for your helpful reply and I hope Leo does ok.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

A good website for IBD http://www.ibdkitties.net/ including probiotics and food. Sometimes it's the additives to food, such as gums or grains, not the main proteins, that cause the sensitivities.

 

[JL33GIRL]

Hi JL

Sounds like you've been through a lot with Leo too. Ollie is also an asthma kitty. Right now I'm giving him just 1/8 tablet of mirtazipan (sp?) appetite stimulant which helps him eat but is a little less crazy than the 1/4 tab as prescribed. This morning was the first morning he seemed his old self, his meow is back (not clear why that went away with this latest flare up) and he was into mischief and eating. Of course then he vomited a hair ball and some more but he was fine immediately afterwards. At this point I'm taking it day by day or should I say minute by minute and monitoring his quality of life. As long as it's good, I'll do what I can. I have the bag of fluids here but I just have to get an appropriately sized needle. The vet tech gave me size 16 which is like a harpoon and I won't use it. If I have to do the fluids at home, I will learn. altho it makes me so nervous.

Ollie is eating Instinct real rabbit right now and is very happy with it. Thanks for the tip about Weruva, I will look into that, but prefer to buy a little at a pet store than to order a whole case until I know. Who knows how long he'll agree to eat the rabbit?

Anyway, thanks for your helpful reply and I hope Leo does ok.

Your Vet gave you 16G needles for Fluids?!! That's insane! Safe standard size is 20G which is what I use and my cat Leo doesn't even feel it. Some Vet will refer 18G but it's still too big. The only reason for that is faster fluid flow which defeats the purchase of trying to make it less painful for our feline cats. Just because it's sub Q doesn't mean they can't feel the needles. Anyways, don't be nervous to learn, I learned by just watching youTube... my Vet didn't even need to show me. Don't be nervous, it's quite easy once you get the hang of it. If you do, I highly recommend using size 20G by Nipro they are the best and this is what my Vet office uses. Just remember the bigger the number the smaller the needle size. As for Ollie's pancreatitis ever consider putting him on Prozymes "digestive enzymes" I use this also by my Vet but it's cheaper on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Prozyme-Proz...d=1510811789&sr=8-2&keywords=prozyme+for+cats
My Leo get's this with he's wet food 2x daily and he doesn't even notice it, gobbles it down and he's one where he won't eat if he detects anything different. He's recent PLI reading was 9 verses 19 prior so he's still on the high side but doing better. He no longer vomits so I'm not sure if it's the steroids, enzymes, probiotics or combination of all. I always keep Cerenia just in case when an episode occurs. My Vet advised the most important thing to remember when Cats suffering from pancreatitis and IBD is to find quality food that they will love so they eat it! All Leo needs now is to be regulated on he's diabetes. Otherwise, I'm glad Ollie's doing better. Keep up the good work!

 

[JanetNJ]

Your Vet gave you 16G needles for Fluids?!! That's insane! Safe standard size is 20G which is what I use and my cat Leo doesn't even feel it. Some Vet will refer 18G but it's still too big. The only reason for that is faster fluid flow which defeats the purchase of trying to make it less painful for our feline cats. Just because it's sub Q doesn't mean they can't feel the needles. Anyways, don't be nervous to learn, I learned by just watching youTube... my Vet didn't even need to show me. Don't be nervous, it's quite easy once you get the hang of it. If you do, I highly recommend using size 20G by Nipro they are the best and this is what my Vet office uses. Just remember the bigger the number the smaller the needle size. As for Ollie's pancreatitis ever consider putting him on Prozymes "digestive enzymes" I use this also by my Vet but it's cheaper on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Prozyme-Prozyme-200-g/dp/B003VKXMLA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1510811789&sr=8-2&keywords=prozyme for cats
My Leo get's this with he's wet food 2x daily and he doesn't even notice it, gobbles it down and he's one where he won't eat if he detects anything different. He's recent PLI reading was 9 verses 19 prior so he's still on the high side but doing better. He no longer vomits so I'm not sure if it's the steroids, enzymes, probiotics or combination of all. I always keep Cerenia just in case when an episode occurs. My Vet advised the most important thing to remember when Cats suffering from pancreatitis and IBD is to find quality food that they will love so they eat it! All Leo needs now is to be regulated on he's diabetes. Otherwise, I'm glad Ollie's doing better. Keep up the good work!

I may try that Prozyme for my cat Julie who is 5 lbs. I suspect she has IBS. Maybe it will help her put on a little weight.

 

[Jess and Marky Mark]

Our civvie, Sylvia, has IBD diagnosed by biopsy. Her main foods are Natural Instinct Grain-Free Rabbit (not the Limited Ingredient), Duck, and Venison. They are all low carb so our sugar kitty can have them also.
Thankfully, Sylvia isn't diabetic because she's on prednisolone every other day.

I hope you find something that works for Ollie and allows you one less thing to worry about.

 

[Peggy & Oliver]

Your Vet gave you 16G needles for Fluids?!! That's insane! Safe standard size is 20G which is what I use and my cat Leo doesn't even feel it. Some Vet will refer 18G but it's still too big. The only reason for that is faster fluid flow which defeats the purchase of trying to make it less painful for our feline cats. Just because it's sub Q doesn't mean they can't feel the needles. Anyways, don't be nervous to learn, I learned by just watching youTube... my Vet didn't even need to show me. Don't be nervous, it's quite easy once you get the hang of it. If you do, I highly recommend using size 20G by Nipro they are the best and this is what my Vet office uses. Just remember the bigger the number the smaller the needle size. As for Ollie's pancreatitis ever consider putting him on Prozymes "digestive enzymes" I use this also by my Vet but it's cheaper on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Prozyme-Prozyme-200-g/dp/B003VKXMLA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1510811789&sr=8-2&keywords=prozyme for cats
My Leo get's this with he's wet food 2x daily and he doesn't even notice it, gobbles it down and he's one where he won't eat if he detects anything different. He's recent PLI reading was 9 verses 19 prior so he's still on the high side but doing better. He no longer vomits so I'm not sure if it's the steroids, enzymes, probiotics or combination of all. I always keep Cerenia just in case when an episode occurs. My Vet advised the most important thing to remember when Cats suffering from pancreatitis and IBD is to find quality food that they will love so they eat it! All Leo needs now is to be regulated on he's diabetes. Otherwise, I'm glad Ollie's doing better. Keep up the good work!

Thank you so much for your reply. It sounds like you've got Leo into a good routine. I'm going to look into the digestive enzymes. Definitely going to get the smaller needles and won't ever put that harpoon into him again -- that is what the vet tech used and I couldn't believe it! Thanks again.

 

[Larry and Kitties]

Your Vet gave you 16G needles for Fluids?!! That's insane! Safe standard size is 20G which is what I use and my cat Leo doesn't even feel it

When I worked at at vet the "standard" needle diameter for fluids was 18 gauge. I was also sold that size from other vets.
I never heard of using 16 gauge needles form fluids although 16 are frequently used when giving human blood donations.

 

[JanetNJ]

Yikes yeah 20 gauge is better. Any smaller and it takes too long. Bigger and it’s uncomfortable.