IBD and Constipation

Question:

Dear Dr. Smith,

I have a 17 y/o male kitty.  He has a history of IBD (3 or 4 bouts in a couple of years).  He is very sensitive to foods so he no longer gets anything soft because it flares up his IBD.  So he only gets his dry cat food (Eukanuba Renal failure) and some hypoallergenic cat treats.  He is also on Prednisolone every other day for the rest of his life. He goes on it everyday when he gets an IBD flare-up.

Now for my question, He is constipated on a regular basis (unless he is having a bout of IBD and then he has diarrhea and vomiting).  I've been using CatLax for about 8 months now (every day) but I was hoping to find something else less messy.  I ran across the Natural Moves by Pet Alive and was wondering if this would be a worth while investment for long term use?  He is small (7.8-8lbs) and extremely sensitive to anything.  I also don't want anything that may interfere with his Pred or flare up his IBD.

Any thoughts would be great!
Thank you for your consideration,
Maurine H.

Response:

Hello Maurine,
Thank you for your inquiry to Holitic Pet Info. The primary issue of concern here is nutrition. Many cases of IBD with cats and dogs respond much better on a balanced home cooked diet. Commercial diets contain too many carbohydrates for felines, which are true carnivores. They also contain preservatives, food dyes, meat by-products and high starch foods that are low in fiber. I’m also concerned that your cat is not well hydrated which manifests with the constipation.

Natural Moves by Pet Alive is an excellent supplement, as well as possibly adding pumpkin or fiber as Benefiber to the food. It’s very debilitating to the rest of your cat’s body being on Prednisolone for the rest of his life. I have had very good success with animals on a natural diet with high fiber to decrease or even eliminate the bouts of IBD.

I recommend speaking with a holistic veterinarian as a referral just to get more information on naturally treating your cat. An exceptional reference for diets is Home-prepared Dog and Cat Diets: The healthful alternative by Donald Strombeck, DVM, PhD. Best of luck.

Sincerely,
Colleen Smith DVM, CVA