...another cat question...

[gleepish]

geez... the kitty questions are popping up a lot aren't they? Sorry to add to the list, but I've got a dillema... Here are the basics of the situation:

Male Cat (Spaz)
Neutered
15 years old
Healthy--per vet with the exception:
Develops an intolerance to ANY food after eating it for a few weeks.

We have noticed that food that contain chicken cause larger problems much sooner then say turkey based foods. We put him on a perscription food and he refused to eat it (lost 3lbs. in 2 months) so we went to Eukanuba's lamb and rice.

That went fine for about a bag and a half... then the runs started. So we went to a grocery bought brand that is turkey based, and that went for about a bag. Then we went to Science Diet--that didn't even last a bag...

The thing is I think he knows when a food is going to start bothering him because he will sit at his food dish and cry (even if the food is freshly put into the bowl). We can't change his food weekly because, well, that causes problems too!

HELP!

Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions?

[Ardie/WI]

Our 10-year-old cat, Tippy, started projectile throwing up after eating. It was miserable for him and for us. We took him to the vet and she suggested an allergy because her cat had done the same thing! She told us to go to the canned cat food aisle and start looking for a food that had no grains in it. it took ahilw but we found one. Tippy only threw up twice on this cat food and it's been a few months. Check for grains as a lot of cats and dogs are allergic to them.

[gleepish]

I'll give it a try...

I wish Spaz was throwing up... unfortunately it's the other end he has a problem with. He tries so hard to get to the box, but he just doesn't make it..

Thanks and you know, at this point, it can't hurt to try! What brand are you using?

[insocal]

How I would handle this sort of thing, and if you came to me and didn't want to spend your life savings right off the bat:

Evaluate diet - do not feed anything with any fish whatsoever!! Read the fine print in the ingredient list. Fish oil is ok in small amounts, but no fish meal or anything else that sounds like a type of fish. I also discourage canned food in all cats unless there is a compelling medical reason to feed it.

Get your cat dewormed for everything imaginable - I use Drontal as it gets roundworms, hookworms, and tapeworms. Fecal tests for these are not reliable so just deworm. Trust me on this. If the cat is having any diarrhea, get it tested for Giardia (easy accurate antigen test now available) and then treat with fenbendazole first choice, or metronidazole second choice.

Get a blood panel (CBC, Chemistry, FeLV, FIV, and do a T4 if he's over 7 yrs). Look for evidence of chronic inflammation or hypersensitivity (this is your vet's job actually). Get a urinalysis to rule out any complicating stuff like bladder infection, kidney disease, diabetes, etc. Cats and their diseases can be sneaky.

Seriously consider the possibility of Inflammatory Bowel Disease. It is common in cats but the only way to definitively diagnose it is with a biopsy of intestines, obtained either surgically or endoscopically. Most my clients don't want to spend the $600+ to do this so we treat empirically for IBD with a combination protocol of metronidazole and prednisolone. Works like a charm if that's what this is.

Hope this can point you in the right direction so you don't waste too much time or money.

[insocal]

There is also some obscure disease I haven't seen in years and am having a senior moment so I forget the name. Some lack of digestive enzymes, and there is a fecal test..........cobalamin??????? I am drawing a blank. ARRGGGGH
If I were at work I could look it up. Sorry.

[Becky H.]

Don't be sorry! hey I wish I knew half of what you forgot! I hope that sounded right, anyways, it's a compliment! Thanks for sharing your expertise, learning alot just by reading it.

[BamaSuzy]

Our vets told us to feed our older cats canned cat food so they would drink more water so that would help their urinary tracts....I'd always assumed that eating dry food would make them drink more water but they drink much more water since they eat a lot of canned foods now....

We have a female cat who is about 9 years old who has been spayed and she throws up a lot. I will try those things to see if they help in the earlier post here. thanks!

[Ardie/WI]

I am going to recommed that you listen to insocal. I was chatting last night with Roger about your cat's problem and he agreed that it sounds more like an internal problem than a food allergy. (BTW, neither of us are vets.)

We have had good luck with Tippy's throwing up giving him 9Lives chicken dinner. It comes in small cans in four-packs.

[gleepish]

INSOCAL:

Thank you so much! I have never fed my cats canned food before--except once or twice a year in small amounts as a treat. My vet says that Spaz has amazingly healthy teeth!

I will be taking him back into the vet in the upcoming weeks and will be having some more tests run. I do not have enough money to have all of the proceedures you spoke of run at this time, but maybe we can check them off one at a time--a little here and a little there.

It is amazing how deeply our animals dig into our hearts. I have a feeling all of my credit cards will be maxed out before this comes to an end!


Thanks everyone for your advise... hopefully this will have a happy ending!

[insocal]

Gleepish:

Good for you about the no canned food! I always discourage going down that road unless there is a medical need for it. Cats who eat canned food will have more dental disease, more vomiting/diarrhea problems, more bad behavior in the kitchen (begging/4AM pestering) than cats who just have their crunchies to nibble on when they want. Besides, canned food is mostly water and so is an extremely expensive way to feed a cat.

The catch here is to be sure you feed a top quality dry food, not some cheap junk. Cheaper dry cat foods have proportionately more plant protein and less animal protein, which leads to alkaline urine rather than the normal healthy acidic urine. Then they are prone to struvite crystals and all the trouble that entails. When I see a cat urine sample with alkaline pH I can almost predict which quality cat food is being fed.

My favorites are Science Diet, Max Cat, and I think ProPlan was ok last I checked label criteria. Iams is great but you have to remember that it all has a little fish in it........not ok if your cat has fish issues. Purina One Sensitive Systems is sort of ok also.