Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My 11 year old cat has right kidney failure and what the vet thinks is IBD - due to diarrhea on and off for about 6 months. He has been on Royal Canin Sensitivity VR for about two months and was eating it fine while also receiving depo shots and Metrodizanale - which seemed to stop the diarrhea. It came back a little over a week ago and the vet gave him another depo shot. This did not clear up the diarrhea and he stopped eating entirely, although was clearly hungry and thirsty from the shot as he drank plenty of water and ate up treats very quickly. The vet then gave him more metrodiazanale and suggested we give him baby food. After 4 days of doing this, he is eating about half a jar of baby food a day and still has diarrhea. We are trying a different steroid today hoping that will help, but does anyone have suggestions for alternate foods to give him? I think he is still very hungry, but not interested in anything we give him except for treats.

Hi There,

Depending the severity of your cat's kidney failure, it might be worth trying him on a high protein diet to see if it makes a difference. Sometimes a diet such as DM (Purina's diabetic diet) will help a cat with diarrhea.

Whatever you feed, I would give the canned version if your kitty will eat it. Canned food is best for any cat, since it's more natural, but the extra water in the food is beneficial to a cat with kidney failure. Also, there is a possibility that dry food contributes to IBD.

I had a cat with IBD and she did very well on prednisilone tablets, 5mg every other day. Steroids given in pill form are less likely to cause complications, such as diabetes. Giving it every other day, if it controls the problem, is also best for the cat long-term.

Now, there is a possibility that this diarrhea is caused by an underlying problem, such as hyperthyroidism, which often goes hand in hand with kidney failure in cats. I also recommend that you have your baby's blood pressure checked.

Metronidazole is an excellent drug, but it is known to affect appetite in some cats. If it isn't helping the diarrhea, it might be a good idea to switch to something else. If by any chance your kitty has been on antibiotics lately, the diarrhea MAY be caused by the positive bacteria being destroyed, and a dose of probiotic may be a good idea.

Hills makes a diet just for cats with diarrhea, known as I/D. Have you tried this to see if it helps?

Please keep us updated.

PHKitkat

Our vet has done numerous blood tests and everything else is normal in him except the kidneys and the ongoing IBD/diarrhea problems. The vet also said that she thinks he could be in the early stages of lymphoma although he doesnt really have any other symptoms.

Since I posted earlier today, I did pick up some different types of canned food to try to get him to eat anything. Over lunch, he ate half a can of Avoderm - more than he has eaten in several days....my only concern is that this will still cause diarrhea.

Does anyone have experience with holistic vets and the raw food diet?

I will try to pick up some of the Hill's I/D. Thanks for the help!