Author Topic: A little update on SK  (Read 6405 times)

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Offline Middle Child

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Re: A little update on SK
« Reply #15 on: April 30, 2013, 07:46:28 AM »
11 days ago I started the new regimen.  Slippery Elm Bark (SEB) twice a week, and half a large egg yolk four times a week. One regurgitation, 7 days after the start of this regimen, and it has now been 4 days since that regurgitation.

This past Sunday I took them out for the first time in 3 weeks.  I gave SK the SEB 45 minutes before we went outside. As usual she ate grass and did not bring it back up.  Since then, she has been okay, no regurgitaion or indication of upset tummy, but she hadn't passed the grass either.

Then this morning:

This morning, even before her pre-meal SK was telling me she wanted me to go with her to the litter box.  Usually she doesn't take me down to watch her pee until after she has had her pre-meal. How it went was: She actually came to me in bed after she heard me wake up.  Unless she is already sleeping with me, she doens't usually do that. I didn't get up right away, so she left, but then she came back while I was doing my exercises (I do sit ups and leg lifts in bed before getting up) which was unusual for her, usually she sits in the window watching the birds eat breakfast, in the morning before I get out of bed.

Then, when I got up she started urging me to follow her down to the litter boxes.

I dutifully followed her down, and she got up on the platform.  I watcher her and she didn't pee.  Instead she sat there for a moment, and I suddenly realized she had that look, like she was going to hurl. I was mystified because it had only been 7 hours since her last meal, surely she couldn't be feeling sick and full of bile already? I tilted a litter box toward her to catch it, thinking a lot of liquid was going to come up.

Instead, with what seemed like some effort, she brought up the wad of grass from Sunday, with a small mat of hair entwined in it!  I was relieved to see it, frankly, and, the best part was, there was NO liquid.   No bile indicating an over production of acid in her tummy, just the wad of grass with a little fur.

Then she proceeded to have a very big pee, and a normal poop.  A very productive morning for her! :)

It's odd about the grass coming up 2 days later. So it sat in her stomach for almost 48 hours, but she didn't puke or show any indication of wanting to, in all that time. In fact the only sign of discomfort I saw at all since they were outside on Sunday is late last night after her final meal (which contains her probiotic) she burped.  I did give her two pieces of freeze dried chicken breast after the burp to soak up any acid that might be lingering.

So, is this an improvement? I have no idea. But we'll keep on.  She is in the second week of her off cycle with the pepcid.  I am going to do another round of that, (2 weeks on, 2 weeks off) while continuing with the egg yolk and SEB.

Offline Middle Child

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Re: A little update on SK
« Reply #16 on: April 30, 2013, 11:31:42 AM »
By the way, since increasing the egg yolk...her coat is INCREDIBLE!

Offline DeeDee

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Re: A little update on SK
« Reply #17 on: April 30, 2013, 11:45:28 AM »
I was just trying to think of what caused the fats to clump in http://parenting-furkids.com/index.php?topic=2044.msg13314#msg13314

I just looked it up, and egg yolk allows for the detection of lipase somehow. I read several of the articles here to come to that conclusion:

http://www.bing.com/search?q=egg+yolks+and+lipase&go=&qs=n&form=QBLH&pq=egg+yolks+and+lipase&sc=0-16&sp=-1&sk=

And this list of enzymes also gives lipase as an ingredient in eggs: http://www.kenencoregroup.com/eggs.html

So not only do eggs contain lipase, but they also cause some kind of reaction that allows the body to use it better.  :-\


"In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him to be semihuman. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog." Edward Hoagland
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Offline Middle Child

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Re: A little update on SK
« Reply #18 on: April 30, 2013, 12:05:39 PM »
So the egg yolk also provides or activates an important digestive enzyme? Better and better!  SK is now getting .35 oz egg yolk four times a week, the other two split the difference, so they are each getting approximately .3 oz twice a week.  Hmm, seeing how much this is helping SK, I may add another half egg a week for the other two. One large egg varies in weight between .55 oz and .70 oz, so these amounts are averages only.

I'm going to keep on the with egg yolk lecithin too, though, because the lecithin is supposed to be the fat emulsifier.  People with gall bladder problems take lecithin.

Offline FurMonster Mom

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Re: A little update on SK
« Reply #19 on: April 30, 2013, 01:51:11 PM »
Question for ya.... do you feed the yolk with a meal, or in between meals (like a treat)?
meow meow meow meow meow meow? -woof!
Translation: "I can has my raw food? -please!"

Offline DeeDee

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Re: A little update on SK
« Reply #20 on: April 30, 2013, 01:56:49 PM »
So the egg yolk also provides or activates an important digestive enzyme? Better and better!  S

That's what I got from it. Egg Yolk Agar is used in clinical tests to see if there are lipases activity--and it's the lipase that breaks down fats so that they're used properly.

Eggs seem to be high in http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-966-LECITHIN.aspx?activeIngredientId=966&activeIngredientName=LECITHIN and it's the lipase that breaks it down for use by baby chickens as they develop. It's also necessary for nerve impulses--which in itself might be VERY important to bodies that aren't working properly.

But it seems soy lecithin is also used in some products--and that is a big red flag to me. I don't know of any soy now that isn't GMO:

http://blog.fooducate.com/2009/07/07/what-is-soy-lecithin-and-why-is-it-found-in-so-many-products/
« Last Edit: April 30, 2013, 02:16:39 PM by DeeDee »
"In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him to be semihuman. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog." Edward Hoagland
"Thorns may hurt you, men desert you, sunlight turn to fog; but you're never friendless ever, if you have a dog."

Offline Middle Child

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Re: A little update on SK
« Reply #21 on: April 30, 2013, 08:58:21 PM »
Yes, and when you see "lecithin" listed in a pet food ingredient, you can be pretty certain it IS soy, since it doesn't specify egg yolk lecithin. :( Soy is not good for cats.

I feed and count the egg yolk as a small meal serving.  Remember my cats are fed small meals multiple times a day.  I simply replace .35 oz of canned food with .35 oz of egg yolk, fed on it's own.

Offline Amber

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Re: A little update on SK
« Reply #22 on: May 01, 2013, 04:08:06 AM »
FYI, that was me with the egg yolks. I only use the yolks, Amber won't even eat them cooked. Just wanted to alleviate any concern :)

Hope SK is doing well.

Offline FurMonster Mom

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Re: A little update on SK
« Reply #23 on: May 01, 2013, 01:55:41 PM »
no love   :(
meow meow meow meow meow meow? -woof!
Translation: "I can has my raw food? -please!"

Offline Amber

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Re: A little update on SK
« Reply #24 on: May 02, 2013, 01:28:17 AM »
Personally, I add the yolks to her food before I freeze it, so I guess that would be "with a meal" She does get one of her meals replaced with just an egg yolk + fish oil once or twice a week. So I guess I do both?

Offline Middle Child

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Re: A little update on SK
« Reply #25 on: May 27, 2013, 04:11:34 PM »
The raw egg yolk is doing wonderful things, especially for SK. Something I didn't consider though, is that egg yolk, while a low calorie food for humans, packs quite a few calories toward a feline diet.

My two cats who don't need to gain kept getting fatter and fatter and I couldn't figure out why.Finally I thought of the egg yolk. While I was counting it as part of their total food intake in ounces, I wasn't taking into account that .35 ounces of egg yolk contains considerably more calories than .35 ounces of canned food. (I cut canned portions not raw portions to balance the yolk servings)

After doing a lot of math I figured I would have to cut the two big cats canned quantity by .7 ounces on the day they have egg yolk to balance the calories. That is a lot, especially for TC who already has food anxiety.

If I spread the cut out to every day in the week, even on the days they don't get yolk, they only have to have .4 oz less a day.

But first, I have to get them back down to their healthy weight. They've both each gained a half pound in one month. So for a while they are still going to have to be eating .5 oz less a day in canned food. Poor things.

I am not willing to give up the egg yolks, so it will have to be done. SK is really thriving with the addition of the yolks!

I am happy with the SEB too. She's getting it 2-3 times a week, sort of on an 'as needed' basis.

Offline FurMonster Mom

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Re: A little update on SK
« Reply #26 on: May 27, 2013, 11:06:20 PM »
That is awesome!
And good catch on the high calories.   thumbsup1

Now if only I could get mine to eat it. 
I keep trying, but so far they only like it flavored with tuna juice.  argh.   Doh1
meow meow meow meow meow meow? -woof!
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Offline Middle Child

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Re: A little update on SK
« Reply #27 on: May 28, 2013, 06:36:25 AM »
I have to dust the yolk with a little vets-best to get them started, but once they start lapping, it goes down quickly. bananamiddlechild

It took me a month to figure out what was going on, why they were steadily gaining weight.  Finally I looked up the caloric content of a raw egg yolk, LOL.

SK's whiskers have filled back out!  Almost as full as the way they were when she was on the digestive enzymes!

Offline Middle Child

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Re: A little update on SK
« Reply #28 on: May 29, 2013, 12:18:39 PM »
Darn, maybe I should have started a new thread on this. In another forum my egg yolk thread has taken off in interesting directions and as it went I realized that I have not been balancing calcium with the phosphurous in the egg yolk.  Got it all worked out now, thank goodness, but whew I was worried for a while that I had really messed SK up!

The combination of increased egg yolk (to improve digestive motility) and the SEB seem to be really helping SK.  Too soon really to be celebrating, but....I'm hopeful.

This Monday they got to go out in their yard.  I gave her the SEB a half hour before, like I have been doing.  She ate the grass, didn't bring it back up.  As is also the routine, after they came back in she got her half egg yolk, and I sprinkled it liberally with vet's-best hairball relief. A double whammy to go after the grass.

Tuesday morning she pooped out the grass. bananamiddlechild

 I remembered how last time, she did bring it up, two days later, with some fur in it and in the litter box, after telling me she was going to.

I've kind of lost count since the last meal regurgitation, I know it's been more than a week, but superstitious me, it seems like every time I flip back and check for the exact number of days, I jinx it, so this time I'm not going to look.  I'll wait...and wait some more, before I check back. Bumpurr1


Offline Pookie

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Re: A little update on SK
« Reply #29 on: May 29, 2013, 12:30:01 PM »
That's great news!  Good luck, and keep us posted!   thumbsup1 thumbsup1 thumbsup1
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