Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
jonereb

Irritable Bowel Syndrome in Cats

jonereb
12 years ago

One of my two cats (Sebastian, a 7 month old Siamese) has been diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome. The vet suggested I change his diet to Lamb and Rice dry cat food - no wet food. In addition, he prescribed Prednisolone Syrup.

I've found only two Lamb & Rice products on the market: Eukanuba and Iams. I'm trying Eukanuba Lamb & Rice for cats which also contains chicken & corn.

I've read on-line that I should avoid gluten and products containing wheat, oats, rye and barley. (Eukanuba Lamb & Rice doesn't contain these.)

Does anyone have a cat with Irritable Bowel Syndrome? Any advice?

Comments (11)

  • annzgw
    12 years ago

    I don't have a cat with IBD but my previous dog had it for years. Since your cat is so young my advice would be to research cat IBD and try to manage it with a diet change vs diet and steriods. Re: the Eukanuba, I would avoid it due to the corn.

    Why does your vet suggest dry over wet food? My vet (cat-only clinic) always prefers wet over dry food.
    Here's a quote from one article: IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease)
    Dr. Lisa Pierson, DVM, states, "Too often these cats are treated with a high level of steroids and a so-called 'prescription' DRY diet. I feel very strongly that this common therapeutic regimen needs to be re-evaluated. There are an impressive number of anecdotal reports of cats that were terribly ill with IBD exhibiting dramatic improvement when ALL dry food was removed from their diet."
    http://www.catinfo.org/

    There are many articles online that discuss cat nutrition and IBD, and if you're interested in making your own cat food the link below has a lot of info.

    Here's one canned Lamb and Rice food that actually lists lamb as the first ingredient! http://www.amazon.com/Natural-Life-Lamaderm-Platter-5-5-Ounce/dp/B000VK2YJ4

    Here is a link that might be useful: IBD

  • jonereb
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    The vet didn't say why he recommended dry. He specifically recommended lamb and rice with as little other ingredients as possible. Problem is, I've found only the two I mentioned in my original post. Chicken appears to be the main ingredient in both "Lamb & Rice" formulas. Go figure.

  • 3katz4me
    12 years ago

    My cat has IBD and has had it for many years. He's done very well on Natural Balance limited ingredient diet - he eats canned and dry.

    Initially he took a lot more prednisolone when I was trying other foods that he wasn't particularly fond of. He now has 1/2 pill 2x a week. I have tried eliminating that altogether but one time I had to reinstate it to resolve another skin allergy problem that arose. Other times it seems like he does start vomiting if I get down to none so I have stuck with this now for quite a while along with this food.

    I do worry about the side effects of the pred but food alone was not working for him.

  • kittens
    12 years ago

    Take a look at Nature's Variety Lamb ingredients. My cat didn't get rx'd with IBD but this was about the only thing she could eat. I tried grain free but that was a no-go. The oatmeal didn't bother her at all - maybe it firmed her up? The 1st ingredient is lamb meal, 4th is brown rice. This might not be limited enough in ingredients for you but thought it might be worth a post.

    Did the vet run a tri-trich test? Is the other kitten completely better now?

    Here is a link that might be useful: Pet Food direct lists ingredients in their foods

  • nhardy
    12 years ago

    Here is one more web site for you. There are a lot of choices including canned food. Cats need wet food too. I wonder why your vet said no wet food? Print the list and take it to the store.

    Here is a link that might be useful: IBD Kitties

  • jonereb
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Kittens, I was just looking over the list provided in nhardy's post. I didn't see your post until now. Believe it or not, I was investigating Nature's Variety Lamb Instinct Raw Frozen Diet, then came to make this post when I saw your post. I can get Nature's Variety, but only the frozen variety at a store 2 miles from my house. However, I have no idea if some of the ingredients will agree with Sebastian. Here's a list of the ingredients:

    Lamb, Lamb Liver, Raw Ground Lamb Bone, Lamb Heart, Lamb Kidney, Apples, Carrots, Butternut Squash, Ground Flaxseeds, Montmorillonite Clay, Chicken Eggs, Broccoli, Lettuce, Spinach, Dried Kelp, Apple Cider Vinegar, Parsley, Honey, Salmon Oil, Olive Oil, Blueberries, Alfalfa Sprouts, Persimmons, Duck Eggs, Pheasant Eggs, Quail Eggs, Inulin, Rosemary, Sage, Clove.

    Any red flags in that long list?

    The other kitty, Hibachi, probably has IBS also. I didn't take Hibachi to the vet because he is much healthier. I'll take him in the near future. Hopefully, whatever helps Sebastian will also help Hibachi.

    I don't think the vet did a tri-trich test. But since I don't know what that is, who knows.

  • nhardy
    12 years ago

    Sorry! Here is the link for the raw foods on that same web site. Lots of choices there too.

    Did you print the coupon for Nature's Variety website?? Most of those stores have frequent buyer's card.

    Here is a link that might be useful: IBD Kitties - raw products

  • jonereb
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    I haven't tried Nature's Variety yet. I'm still giving Eukanuba Lamb & Rice its due diligence; about one more week. I must say, Hibachi's stool was firm last Friday, a little looser over the weekend. Of course, it's Sebastian that I'm worried about. Even his stool is better, yet still loose, but I'm encouraged because it is improved. I'll report back here when I know more.

  • jonereb
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    I promised to report on Sebastian's IBS. We've given him Prednisolone Syrup for over two weeks. We also switched to Natural Balance Green Pea and Duck (dry) because it has no grains. This seems to be helping. After 5 days of transitioning to the new food and one week of feeding it exclusively, his stool is firmer - not perfect, but improving. I'm now skipping two days between Prednisolone treatments. We also used Zymox Otic to treat a yeast infection in his ears. After two weeks they are about normal. I'm finally getting this shelter Siamese straightened out. Again - not perfect, but much, much better. He is also using the liter box without accidents - sharing one liter box with his brother.

  • nhardy
    12 years ago

    That is really good news!!

  • MomofRani
    10 years ago

    My 4 and 1/2 year old Bengal cat, Rani had diarrhea about a month ago. I took her to the vet and she gave me a steroid medicine and told me to feed her only Canin gastro intestinal food. Rani has been on this food for over a year because of hard stool. It did work and her stool was normal until a month ago. Her stool seems to be a little firmer and all of a sudden it turns watery again.

    My vet retired this year and I am going to a new vet. I don't know if I trust this vet yet. Is it a good idea to get a second opinion or just keep trying what the new vet recommends?