Cat Chat Feline Forum

I have a 9 month old Persian boy. He has had digestive problems pretty much since I bought him home. Finally I’ve got him on a diet of Hills ID digestive wet food (at advice of vet), royal canine Persian cat biscuits and cooked boiled chicken maybe once or twice a week. This seems to be the only diet that he doesn’t get bad diarrhoea with so I’m not constantly washing his bottom . However in the past couple of weeks he is barely touching the wet food. He was weighed at the vet last week when he was neutered and is a healthy 4kg. He has plenty of energy and bright eyes etc. Just at a loss of what to do as every other food I’ve tried has either given him diarrhoea (Lily’s kitchen, royal canine, applaws) or made him sick (raw food). Should I just consist and he will eat if he is hungry? Are there any other foods that are gentle on his digestion? Thank you. Xxx

Sorry to see your boy is poorly. My 11yo boy is currently poorly too and the vet has given me gastrointestinal food from royal canin, seems to be doing the trick but is expensive. Hoping once things settle I can find an alternative. Hoping someone can recommend a shop available gastro food?

I have found the Royal Canin sensitivity for dogs extremely helpful - if the cat one is as good it is certainly worth trying, and sticking with as long as necessary. It is cheaper by the case of 12 if you buy it online, and worth having to hand against future need.

Have either of these cats' vets talked about vitamin B or Cobalamin and potassium? All the time a cat has very loose bowels, some vital nutrients are passing straight through and not being absorbed, causing deficiencies. These two deficiencies in particular but others as well can cause loose stools, keeping up a constant worsening cycle.

Prescription diets (my cat is on Hills and Purina ones) can be bought online at much better prices than through the vet without a prescription, confusingly, but shops won't stock them because there just isn't enough demand for each one to justify keeping stock that will more than likely go off before anyone wants to buy it. I use Pet Drugs Online but there are plenty of others including Vet UK, Fetch, and others.

Hi molly,
My cat has had bloods done and an abdo scan, he has another next week. Thank you for the advice on getting the food, nearly £13 a box is a little hefty, I have two cats so to avoid confusion am keen for them to be on the same food, I will see what the vet says on Thursday when my boy has his follow up scan and hopefully things will be clearer the potential diagnosis for him are IBD, Triaditis and lymphoma so hoping for the first.

Ok so just a little word of warning about those conditions - they appear very similar and vets often need quite invasive tests to be sure of the difference, by which I mean usually a biopsy taken under anaesthetic. IBD sounds easier, doesn't it, it's just a little irritable bowel? And lymphoma well that sounds like cancer so it's really scary? In reality the first line of treatment is normally the same, symptomatic relief, then steroids. Triaditis just means inflammation of three related systems that vets have no idea which of the three is starting it all off. Unfortunately this is one of those sets of symptoms that can very quickly end up costing you a lot of money and your cat a great deal of distress and stress - which exacerbates the symptoms - only to end up with no firm diagnosis (and no firm poop either) and no real treatment programme, and feed them what works and hopefully keep on top of it.

A few of us have been through it all, there was one lady who sadly had her account deleted and all her posts with it, she was the most recent member to tear her hair out with a similar experience. I've been there, my boy was older though and he's gone now. On the other hand my girl who was squitty for 2 years after a sudden crash leading to her getting treated for hyperthyroidism, hers stopped as suddenly as it had started and other than the odd occasion that was the end of it. You can literally drive yourself ill through worry. Be sure to have a straight and brutally honest vet.