Abby and IBD

I mentioned in a previous post that my first cat, Abby, has IBD (Inflammatory Bowl Disease). When she was a kitten, I fed her dry Science Diet. She seemed all right on it, but as she became an adult, Abby began to gain too much weight. I switched her to Light SD so she would lose a couple pounds (which she did not). She began to have diarrhea several times a day and was miserable. It was about then I started researching cat nutrition. I thought SD was a good food, but now I know better. To start, there is too much corn (none is best). And as a dry food, it is dehydrating. Not good for a cat already losing too many fluids.

I switched all my cats to SD canned, then I looked for an affordable wet food that did not have by-products or grain. Natural Balance seemed to be my best option. Changing cat foods is a gradual process. It needs to be done over several days to several weeks to avoid gastro-intestinal upset. However, through all this time, Abby continued to have the trots. Time to go to the vet.

Over several months and several vet appointments, blood tests, stool cultures, antibiotics, and prednisolone Abby continued to have problems. Her poop firmed up a bit on the steroid, but soon after continued on its watery course. I put her completely on wet food to try to keep her hydrated. I researched the internet to see if I could find something that wouldn't involve steroids for the rest of her life.

I found the answer as I was looking at the cats for adoption on a local humane society's web page. A long-haired calico was given up because of uncontrolled IBD with symptoms similar to Abby's. The shelter changed her diet and she no longer had problems. Fortunately for me they mentioned the name of the food. It is a dehydrated raw food made by The Honest Kitchen called Prowl. I found it at a small family store. I know Petsmart and Petco do not carry it.

Abby is now almost 2 months diarrhea free! I mix in a very small amount of the wet Natural Balance so there is some variety in her diet. She feels so much better:


By the way, in my search for IBD treatments, I read that many people have had success feeding a raw diet. A good place to look for information is CatNutrition.org.

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