| Valuable Information |
This section is all about providing you with as much knowledge as possible so you can help to stabilize your cat's condition,
strengthen their immune system and hopefully prevent IBD from getting worse. We'll try to give you many different choices and
options so you can make the best decision for your family member and help them to live a long, healthy and happy life. This section
will cover all the different foods that are non-irritating, natural-based and most of all tasty to your pet. Supplements, herbal
remedies, vitamins, tips from other pet owners and links to other sources of reading and supportive information is also available
here. If there's anything in these sections that we haven't covered and you'd like to see us cover, or if you have any tips, food, or
something that's worked for your cat, please go to the contact us page and fill out the proper form.
One of the most important things in regard to treating IBD is changing your cat’s diet. Dry food isn't good for their digestive tract
because it’s already extremely irritated and they need all the moisture they can get out of canned food. Especially if your cat has
diarrhea with their IBD, they can easily get dehydrated. Also, dry food is notorious for the way it's over-processed leaving little left for
nutrients, which is something your cat will need every last bit of. Even if your cat doesn't currently have any digestive problems, staying
away from any and all of the following ingredients, if it can be helped, will benefit you and your cat in the long run.
Look for foods that are free of grains. Cats are natural carnivores and domestication hasn't changed that. Corn is one of the worst things
that can be added to cat food, as it's highly indigestible even for humans. I happen to love corn, but I don't eat it every day and neither
should your cat. In fact, they shouldn't eat it at all. When an outdoor or feral cat gets hungry, does it run for a corn or wheat field for
dinner? Absolutely not! It goes hunting for birds, rodents, frogs…MEAT.
Wheat, wheat germ, wheat gluten, barley, rye, oats or oatmeal for an IBD kitty, are ingredients that are known to irritate the GI tract.
Ideally, stay away from anything that could possibly cause further inflammation. You may get so frustrated with all of this, you'll just
give in and feed them whatever they want. That's usually a mistake as it will probably cause a backslide in their condition. But if they
are currently doing fine on a certain food (even dry food), and it has some of the ingredients listed, please don't stop feeding it to them.
The most important thing is keep them eating. Rice is probably the least one of these ingredients to affect an IBD kitty, although there’s
always a chance something will. Technically, rice is supposed to be very hard to digest but not too many kitties I know have a problem
with it. Keeping a diary or journal of what foods can and can’t be tolerated, along with the same information about medications,
supplements, etc. will help you a great deal in staying focused on what treatments work.
Gluten allergies in humans cause high increases of celiac disease every year. Celiac disease is an extreme allergic autoimmune response
to gluten and it can also be life threatening. Gluten is a protein that's commonly found in Rye, Wheat and Barley. People can easily
change their diet and lifestyle once diagnosed. Diet change with IBD is a must for their survival and is nothing short of a miracle with
cats. But it can be done and must be done slowly and methodically.
Just like a person with IBD, colitis, diverticulitus, etc., cats need to stop eating an entire can in one meal. Your cat will probably have to
eat several to many small meals per day. This is the best way to ensure that your cat doesn’t gorge itself in one sitting and then vomit
the half digested food shortly to several hours afterwards. It’s a common problem with IBD kitties and even though you must keep
them eating, many small meals is the best way to go. This gives your cat time to digest each small meal and hopefully not regurgitate it.
Each time an IBD kitty vomits it irritates the GI tract with acid reflux usually occurring as well. Vomit sometimes contains white foam
or bile that’s backing up from the liver and pancreas excretions. A person with a bleeding ulcer can tell you how much that hurts. So now
you know why you’re kitty stops eating. Because when they get nauseas and vomit, it hurts.
You'll want to feed a novel protein like rabbit, lamb, duck or venison; something that your cat isn’t usually exposed to in their diet.
These are specially processed to break down the structure of the protein into multiple, tiny particles that the immune system will not
recognize as an allergen. Food allergies are one source of inflammation and this is one way of “tricking” the immune response in your cat’
s body. Sometimes it’s a specific allergy they have to chicken, beef, egg, etc. It’s a process of elimination.
Stick with low fats and carbohydrates as these are converted into energy and the unused portion stored away for future use. But if the
cat’s GI tract is already compromised, the rest of the organs will have to work harder to break these down, including the liver. If too
much fat and carbohydrates gets stored in the liver things can quickly escalate to hepatic lipidosis, (fatty liver disease). Feeding a low
fat/carb diet will give the liver and the GI tract a chance to rest. Even healthy cats should only be allowed to ingest 3-5% of
carbohydrates per meal, because cats don't have the natural biological enzymes and enzyme pathways to process carbohydrates.
If your cat has diarrhea, sometimes a low residue, low fiber diet can greatly improve their stools. A low residue diet contains limited
amounts of undigested or only partially digested ingredients and limits the amount of food waste that has to move through the large
intestine. This diet may help control diarrhea and abdominal cramping. Adding a teaspoon a day of 100% pure, canned pumpkin to their
food also does wonders to help improve symptoms of diarrhea. Don’t get the pumpkin pie filling; get the 100% pure pumpkin. It looks
like squash when you open the can. The pie filling has a lot of sugar in it. If your kitty has severe diarrhea due to antibiotics you can add
a teaspoon per meal instead of one teaspoon a day. Both my cats were on antibiotics when they were kittens for upper respiratory
infections and the pumpkin took care of the diarrhea, but I had to put it in every meal.
Also, no more treats unless they’re free of any of the ingredients I’ve mentioned and are all natural and/or organic. Treats are just as
capable of making your kitty vomit or get diarrhea, it really doesn’t take much at all. Your cat can be doing so well and you may feel
guilty for not giving them out. But it's just not worth it if there's an IBD attack from one small treat. Just keep reminding yourself of that
and you’ll realize it’s better this way. Pet food companies are starting to become aware of the epidemic of feline GI problems and are
coming out with new and safer food products all the time, treats are no exceptions.
Think about elevating your cat’s food dish as well. When a cat eats as quickly as they tend to do with their heads facing in a downward
direction, they don’t usually pick their heads up to swallow, they just inhale. Keeping their heads slightly elevated or even with their
neck while eating helps to ensure the food goes in one direction, down.
Some people have asked me about water filters and I myself have a filter hooked up to my kitchen sink and only give filtered water to
my cats, no tap at all. I feel it’s best for my own health as well and this way none of us get the chemicals, contaminates and/or unhealthy
bacteria that are in city water.
IBD kitties are notorious for suddenly changing its preference of food. Their systems seem to become used to a protein very quickly. It’s
good to keep at least two or three difference foods in the house at all times for this reason. Even if your cat doesn’t have IBD,
veterinarians are now recommending you rotate their food choices very often. This will discourage their bodies from getting used to one
set of ingredients and developing an allergy to it. Would you want to eat the same thing for the rest of your life? I highly doubt it, and
they shouldn't either.
Please go to the food page for more information on specific foods for IBD kitties and for giving healthy cats better feeding options.
strengthen their immune system and hopefully prevent IBD from getting worse. We'll try to give you many different choices and
options so you can make the best decision for your family member and help them to live a long, healthy and happy life. This section
will cover all the different foods that are non-irritating, natural-based and most of all tasty to your pet. Supplements, herbal
remedies, vitamins, tips from other pet owners and links to other sources of reading and supportive information is also available
here. If there's anything in these sections that we haven't covered and you'd like to see us cover, or if you have any tips, food, or
something that's worked for your cat, please go to the contact us page and fill out the proper form.
One of the most important things in regard to treating IBD is changing your cat’s diet. Dry food isn't good for their digestive tract
because it’s already extremely irritated and they need all the moisture they can get out of canned food. Especially if your cat has
diarrhea with their IBD, they can easily get dehydrated. Also, dry food is notorious for the way it's over-processed leaving little left for
nutrients, which is something your cat will need every last bit of. Even if your cat doesn't currently have any digestive problems, staying
away from any and all of the following ingredients, if it can be helped, will benefit you and your cat in the long run.
Look for foods that are free of grains. Cats are natural carnivores and domestication hasn't changed that. Corn is one of the worst things
that can be added to cat food, as it's highly indigestible even for humans. I happen to love corn, but I don't eat it every day and neither
should your cat. In fact, they shouldn't eat it at all. When an outdoor or feral cat gets hungry, does it run for a corn or wheat field for
dinner? Absolutely not! It goes hunting for birds, rodents, frogs…MEAT.
Wheat, wheat germ, wheat gluten, barley, rye, oats or oatmeal for an IBD kitty, are ingredients that are known to irritate the GI tract.
Ideally, stay away from anything that could possibly cause further inflammation. You may get so frustrated with all of this, you'll just
give in and feed them whatever they want. That's usually a mistake as it will probably cause a backslide in their condition. But if they
are currently doing fine on a certain food (even dry food), and it has some of the ingredients listed, please don't stop feeding it to them.
The most important thing is keep them eating. Rice is probably the least one of these ingredients to affect an IBD kitty, although there’s
always a chance something will. Technically, rice is supposed to be very hard to digest but not too many kitties I know have a problem
with it. Keeping a diary or journal of what foods can and can’t be tolerated, along with the same information about medications,
supplements, etc. will help you a great deal in staying focused on what treatments work.
Gluten allergies in humans cause high increases of celiac disease every year. Celiac disease is an extreme allergic autoimmune response
to gluten and it can also be life threatening. Gluten is a protein that's commonly found in Rye, Wheat and Barley. People can easily
change their diet and lifestyle once diagnosed. Diet change with IBD is a must for their survival and is nothing short of a miracle with
cats. But it can be done and must be done slowly and methodically.
Just like a person with IBD, colitis, diverticulitus, etc., cats need to stop eating an entire can in one meal. Your cat will probably have to
eat several to many small meals per day. This is the best way to ensure that your cat doesn’t gorge itself in one sitting and then vomit
the half digested food shortly to several hours afterwards. It’s a common problem with IBD kitties and even though you must keep
them eating, many small meals is the best way to go. This gives your cat time to digest each small meal and hopefully not regurgitate it.
Each time an IBD kitty vomits it irritates the GI tract with acid reflux usually occurring as well. Vomit sometimes contains white foam
or bile that’s backing up from the liver and pancreas excretions. A person with a bleeding ulcer can tell you how much that hurts. So now
you know why you’re kitty stops eating. Because when they get nauseas and vomit, it hurts.
You'll want to feed a novel protein like rabbit, lamb, duck or venison; something that your cat isn’t usually exposed to in their diet.
These are specially processed to break down the structure of the protein into multiple, tiny particles that the immune system will not
recognize as an allergen. Food allergies are one source of inflammation and this is one way of “tricking” the immune response in your cat’
s body. Sometimes it’s a specific allergy they have to chicken, beef, egg, etc. It’s a process of elimination.
Stick with low fats and carbohydrates as these are converted into energy and the unused portion stored away for future use. But if the
cat’s GI tract is already compromised, the rest of the organs will have to work harder to break these down, including the liver. If too
much fat and carbohydrates gets stored in the liver things can quickly escalate to hepatic lipidosis, (fatty liver disease). Feeding a low
fat/carb diet will give the liver and the GI tract a chance to rest. Even healthy cats should only be allowed to ingest 3-5% of
carbohydrates per meal, because cats don't have the natural biological enzymes and enzyme pathways to process carbohydrates.
If your cat has diarrhea, sometimes a low residue, low fiber diet can greatly improve their stools. A low residue diet contains limited
amounts of undigested or only partially digested ingredients and limits the amount of food waste that has to move through the large
intestine. This diet may help control diarrhea and abdominal cramping. Adding a teaspoon a day of 100% pure, canned pumpkin to their
food also does wonders to help improve symptoms of diarrhea. Don’t get the pumpkin pie filling; get the 100% pure pumpkin. It looks
like squash when you open the can. The pie filling has a lot of sugar in it. If your kitty has severe diarrhea due to antibiotics you can add
a teaspoon per meal instead of one teaspoon a day. Both my cats were on antibiotics when they were kittens for upper respiratory
infections and the pumpkin took care of the diarrhea, but I had to put it in every meal.
Also, no more treats unless they’re free of any of the ingredients I’ve mentioned and are all natural and/or organic. Treats are just as
capable of making your kitty vomit or get diarrhea, it really doesn’t take much at all. Your cat can be doing so well and you may feel
guilty for not giving them out. But it's just not worth it if there's an IBD attack from one small treat. Just keep reminding yourself of that
and you’ll realize it’s better this way. Pet food companies are starting to become aware of the epidemic of feline GI problems and are
coming out with new and safer food products all the time, treats are no exceptions.
Think about elevating your cat’s food dish as well. When a cat eats as quickly as they tend to do with their heads facing in a downward
direction, they don’t usually pick their heads up to swallow, they just inhale. Keeping their heads slightly elevated or even with their
neck while eating helps to ensure the food goes in one direction, down.
Some people have asked me about water filters and I myself have a filter hooked up to my kitchen sink and only give filtered water to
my cats, no tap at all. I feel it’s best for my own health as well and this way none of us get the chemicals, contaminates and/or unhealthy
bacteria that are in city water.
IBD kitties are notorious for suddenly changing its preference of food. Their systems seem to become used to a protein very quickly. It’s
good to keep at least two or three difference foods in the house at all times for this reason. Even if your cat doesn’t have IBD,
veterinarians are now recommending you rotate their food choices very often. This will discourage their bodies from getting used to one
set of ingredients and developing an allergy to it. Would you want to eat the same thing for the rest of your life? I highly doubt it, and
they shouldn't either.
Please go to the food page for more information on specific foods for IBD kitties and for giving healthy cats better feeding options.
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