Author Topic: Jennie developing an intolerance to beef?  (Read 29748 times)

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Offline Lola

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Re: Jennie developing an intolerance to beef?
« Reply #90 on: July 21, 2018, 03:53:34 PM »
Well, besides, I want to know this vet's views on raw feeding.  I NEED a pro raw vet, if I can find one, for at least Jennie and Queen Eva.  I don't think I can switch Mazy cat, she has such a hard time at the vet as it is.

It took me YEARS to find a pro-raw vet.  In fact, I didn't find her.  Someone mentioned her name in a Co-op Food group, and DeeDee passed the info on to me. 
I did mention to the vet, that if she just gave a HINT (on her website) that she was pro-raw... my furkids would have been clients much sooner! 
Still no hints on her website.  She has recently started a Facebook page and a Twitter account, so she must want her name "out there." 

My point of all that rambling, a vet that isn't anti-raw might not advertise his/herself as such.  :(
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Offline Middle Child

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Re: Jennie developing an intolerance to beef?
« Reply #91 on: July 21, 2018, 05:15:13 PM »
There isn't a lot of choice here.  Two local clinics, each with multiple vets. (used to be 4 clinics, but now we only have two) One is a kitty toe chop shop, I wont step foot in the place.

I wish vets would advertise if they are proraw, but maybe there aren't any here!

Other vet clinics involve travel. The next two nearest are 40 minutes away. One I have been to on an emergency basis several times with both Tolly and Mazy cat, many years ago. Haven't had any emergencies in the last few years, thankfully.

Of the other vets aside from the one I use, and the one I am seeing with Jennie on the 30th, one, male, specializes mostly with dogs, one, male, is fresh out of vet school, well, a year or so ago, and when Jennie and I saw him when she had that vestibular episode he said he wasn't against home cooked diets but "didn't know a lot about raw". I just nodded and said "you should look into it".  The third male vet I saw once many years ago when Tolly was still alive, Tolly had what turned out to be his first episode with FORL. Wow, THAT was a LONG time ago.

Since my cats are more used to women than men in their lives I do tend to want to use women, though Jennie doens't seem to care either way.

Jennie had some diarrhea overnight, some time between 2-4 a.m. some out of the box and it (the part out of the box) had some fresh blood in it.  Nothing so far today.  I've decided no Rad Cat for today either, because I don't know, IF chicken is the problem, if egg is going to be a problem for her too.

I never, EVER expected I would expected have a health problem with Jennie. Canned fed since she came here at between 1-2 years old, raw fed by the time she was 7.....

I keep thinking back to her last anal gland expression and wondering if they damaged something in there.  But you know..she's always been a scooter.  Always.

She shows no tenderness or sensitivity at all no matter where I touch her, including her bottom.

Offline Lola

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Re: Jennie developing an intolerance to beef?
« Reply #92 on: July 21, 2018, 06:44:33 PM »
Always being a scooter.... do you know why?  Maybe the years of scooting did something, and it is just now showing up.   ?

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Offline Middle Child

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Re: Jennie developing an intolerance to beef?
« Reply #93 on: July 21, 2018, 07:57:18 PM »
Always being a scooter.... do you know why?  Maybe the years of scooting did something, and it is just now showing up.   ?



I have wondered about that too.  yes, she has always been a scooter and I always assumed it was because of her anal gland trouble, and that, even when they weren't bothering her (such as just after they'd been expressed) it had become an ingrained habit.  But yes I do wonder if this is something to do with her anal glands.

It's also possible she's had a mild chicken (or even poultry) intolerance all along and it's just now developed to a major problem and now that she's off it, she needs time to heal.

Of course I suppose it seems dumb to "wonder" instead of just getting her in sooner, but I want to see this other vet.  Like I said, if the situation becomes urgent, if she starts pouring blood from her bottom or anything, I'll bring her right in and see whoever they give me on an emergency basis.

She hasn't lost any weight.

Tonight just before supper she had a poop.  It was soft but not loose. Light in color, which is probably from the pork.  Furry, as they all are.  And that bit of blood at the end, but not a lot, I really had to press the piece to see it on the paper towel.

I took a chance and gave her an s.boulardii this morning.  Sometimes it seems it doesn't seem to help her, but after that liquid poop over night I thought I'd better try.  I've stopped the Rad Cat, too, as that has egg yolk in it.  Now it's just pork and beef, with egg shell calcium and the pancreas, and tomorrow I'll start introducing the beef liver.

Oh, I've also started cutting it into smaller pieces instead of one big chunk.  Maybe she needs smaller bites to digest it better.

If she really can't have egg yolk either, I am going to have to learn to make my own supplement for her.  The IBD group has recipes.

It's possible there is more than one thing going on, the anal gland thing, and an issue with chicken.

Something else.....Jennie's always been a... frequent groomer, always licking at herself and washing.  Not in any one place, just all over. it's just been....who she is.

never any bare spots or thinning fur at all, just always licking at herself.

Except for the time, you may or may not remember she used to lick her abdomen bare (I called it her pink triangle) when she was on canned, but all that stopped, first it got quite a bit better, the fur grew back but she kept it very short, when I dropped carrageenan containing foods, then it stopped all together when I went raw.

Anyway since stopping the chicken, she is no longer constantly washing. She lies quietly. 

Offline Pookie

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Re: Jennie developing an intolerance to beef?
« Reply #94 on: July 21, 2018, 10:02:27 PM »
Nothing to add, just listening and sending support and hugs.   Hug1 Hug1 Hug1 Hug1 Hug1 Hug1
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Offline Middle Child

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Re: Jennie developing an intolerance to beef?
« Reply #95 on: July 22, 2018, 09:44:35 AM »
Keeping things updated...Jennie had a tiny poop this morning, two very small skinny pieces of stool.  Firm, little odor, no discernible blood, mostly fur.

It looks like, if this is a chicken/egg intolerance I am going to have to build her diet from scratch.  I will have to find a source of some other kind of egg, and pray she can eat them. It does seem her intolerance is poultry wide rather than just chicken, remember I took her off turkey a while back, and the duck was a disaster, so I wonder if I will be able to get egg into her at all.  Egg contains many essential nutrients including, and especially choline.

I'll be looking for quail eggs I guess.

Edit - darn it even as I was writing that she'd gone down and had a little more.  Exact same size as the one earlier this morning..but this time the end bit had a little blood on it. And it was a bit softer. Still not that foul odor of before, that seems to be gone now thank heavens.

Offline Lola

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Re: Jennie developing an intolerance to beef?
« Reply #96 on: July 23, 2018, 12:48:15 AM »
Nothing to add, just listening and sending support and hugs.   Hug1 Hug1 Hug1 Hug1 Hug1 Hug1

Same here.  :)
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Offline Middle Child

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Re: Jennie developing an intolerance to beef?
« Reply #97 on: July 23, 2018, 05:01:28 AM »
Jennie stole Queen Eva's Rad Cat venison last night.  I was so frustrated, because I really need to get her off all things poultry to know if this is the problem. Rad Cat contains egg yolk.

  She had a formed but soft and bloody poop this morning.

If she can't have egg yolk I really don't know what I am going to do.  I'm starting to think about canned foods for her, if I can find any that don't contain chicken or other poultry.  That's one thing the UK has that we don't.  More novel protein food options.

I'm looking into Ziwi Peak.  Outrageously expensive, but fed in rotation with, say, one raw meal a day, I might be able to manage it.

They finally got their single protein line going

https://www.ziwipets.com/catalog/ziwi-peak-cat-nutrition/ziwi-peak-moist-cat-food

Offline Pookie

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Re: Jennie developing an intolerance to beef?
« Reply #98 on: July 23, 2018, 08:01:23 AM »
Jennie stole Queen Eva's Rad Cat venison last night.  I was so frustrated, because I really need to get her off all things poultry to know if this is the problem. Rad Cat contains egg yolk.

  She had a formed but soft and bloody poop this morning.

 :(  I hate to say it, but she may need a colonoscopy when she's at the vet, so they can get a better look at what's going on from the inside.
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Offline Lola

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Re: Jennie developing an intolerance to beef?
« Reply #99 on: July 23, 2018, 11:21:28 AM »
:(  I hate to say it, but she may need a colonoscopy when she's at the vet, so they can get a better look at what's going on from the inside.

I was wondering if that was an option, but was afraid to ask. 
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Offline Middle Child

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Re: Jennie developing an intolerance to beef?
« Reply #100 on: July 23, 2018, 01:11:17 PM »
Thanks Pookie.  I never heard of a colonoscopy for a cat, ( I'll look up later) but I am prepared that Jennie is going to need diagnostics of some sort or another.  they won't be done locally (except x rays), there isn't anywhere around here for that kind of thing.  I'll either have to go to Cornell or Latham. I'll choose Latham because it is closer and I know the area (the specialty place is right down the road from where my sister lives)

Jennie..I will do diagnostics on.  She can handle it.  As you know, I will not put Mazy cat through much, if anything like that, but I am not worried about Jennie dealing with it, she can.

Offline Pookie

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Re: Jennie developing an intolerance to beef?
« Reply #101 on: July 23, 2018, 01:31:15 PM »
FWIW, my Sweetie Girl had an endoscopy (like a colonoscopy but going in the mouth to see the esophagus and stomach), and a colonoscopy might determine colitis.  I'm glad there's place that's closer in an area you know, if it should come to that.

I'm starting to think about canned foods for her, if I can find any that don't contain chicken or other poultry.  That's one thing the UK has that we don't.  More novel protein food options.

Just tossing this out there as something to think about, IF it turns out she is having an intolerance and you need to go the canned route:  there may be canned dog foods that are novel protein that might be an option.  You'd have to add taurine to the food to make sure she's getting enough, but it's an idea that I stumbled on when I a quick search for cats and colonoscopies, which led to some info. on colitis.
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Offline Middle Child

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Re: Jennie developing an intolerance to beef?
« Reply #102 on: July 23, 2018, 03:54:45 PM »
So you found that they do colonoscopy on cats?

I've already ordered the Ziwi Peak in venison and lamb.  I need it for emergencies anyway. Since she can't have the Organix now.

I appreciate you checking into things but I would never feed a dog formulation to a cat.  There are many many things different between the nutritional needs of dogs and cats besides taurine.  Whoever is giving that advice should not be!   Hug1 Hug1 Hug1

I am still thinking about the last time she had her anal glads expressed and if they did some damage in some way.  The potential intolerance has been going on for a while, but the blood is new.  I'm wondering how new.  Perhaps it's been since her last anal gland expression but I didn't realize it until she went outside the box with it.

Oh well it's all conjecture.  She's only been off the chicken completely less than a week, and then she had the RC with yolk in it last night which, if the problem is chicken, is just more set back.

As long as she is well in herself, and she is, I am going to stick to the appointment I have. If she needs diagnostics I am going to have to take time off, and so I have to take her out of work hours when ever possible. That's one of the reasons I went with this vet, because she has the later hours at the clinic.

Offline Pookie

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Re: Jennie developing an intolerance to beef?
« Reply #103 on: July 23, 2018, 05:06:08 PM »
Quote
So you found that they do colonoscopy on cats?

Yes.  The thread I found was from 2006, so it's been done for a while.
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Offline Lola

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Re: Jennie developing an intolerance to beef?
« Reply #104 on: July 27, 2018, 10:56:40 PM »
JUST tossing this info out to ya...

NutriScan tests for:

Quote
Antigens/Foods being tested are beef, corn, duck, lentil, wheat, soy, cow's milk, lamb, venison, chicken, turkey, and white fish, hen's egg, barley, millet, rice, oatmeal, salmon, rabbit, quinoa, potato, peanut, pork, and sweet potato

NutriScan.org
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