Hello Dr. Smith!
Marmalade is 13 yr. old neutered domestic short hair cat. He vomits and has runny, unformed stool. I find no evidence of hairballs. He is not on any meds. Has a good appetite. He is eating XXXXX (sensitive stomach) and Blue Spa Select (for indoor cats).
My vet is conventional. Marmalade has had a shot to calm his stomach, but there must be something that I can do to avoid this. My vet is guessing that he may have IBS. He weighs 12-13 lbs.
Any suggestions or solutions would be appreciated by both of us!
Thank you,
Charlotte
Hello Charlotte,
Any time there is a GI issue we must first start with diet, diet, diet! XXXXX is not a good quality diet, it contains preservatives and poor quality carbohydrates, and protein; the first 3 ingredients are brewers rice, corn gluten meal and animal fat. None of which truely nutritionally benefit a cat. Blue Spa is a much better diet and I recommend switching to the canned formula if Marmalade will eat wet food. Cats are true carnivores therefore the protein in the diet is crucial for healthy digestive tract. Blue Spa contains deboned chicken, chicken meal and fish meal.
You may want to offer your cat a probiotic such as Gastriplex by Thorne to support the immune system in the intestines, decrease inflammation and restore healthy bacteria. Also RuniPoo Relief by PetAlive works well to decrease the occurrence of diarrhea. You may also try canned pumpkin, if Marmalade will eat it, a teaspoon or 2 a day will help firm up the stool.
I’m guessing the “shot” is a steroid shot, which is very damaging to the rest of the body, heart, joints, liver and many more. It primarily is used to suppress the immune system which leaves the animal with no immune protection. Hopefully, he will respond to the diet change so he will no longer need the shot. Best of luck.
Regards,
Colleen Smith DVM, CVA