Cats With IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)

[Dee]

I have 2 black female cats 1 ½ years old. No pedigree, they are sisters, Lucy and Ethel. I got them when they were 6 months old. I had an on going runny bowel problem with Ethel from day one. I have spent so much money in vet bills, medication, special food, actually cooking chicken and rice for her.

At one point it seemed that whatever was causing her bowel problem was being transferred to her sister, Lucy. So meds had to be given to both, using separate litter boxes. It had gotten totally ridiculous. I couldn’t go away from home more than a day. Had to be there to give meds twice a day when the situation flared up. I was at the end of my rope. The problem persisted off and on for a whole year.

I am unable to work due to health problems and their medical situation was draining me mentally, physically, but moreso financially.
I knew that I could not continue spending money the way I was. I knew that I had to either come up a solution that I, we, could live with or I had to put them up for adoption.

This posting is for those, who like me, love their cat(s) but who are either not in a financial status to spend money hand over fist, OR just have a cat with IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) and nothing has helped. Please note that there are different degrees of IBS. IF YOUR CATS’ IS SEVERE MY SUGGESTIONS WILL NOT HELP. It might be more than IBS and requires extensive testing, blood work etc.

I am not a veterinarian. I am not saying that you should not take your cat to a vet. I am saying if you have run out of resources and money perhaps trying what I did will help you and your cat.

It’s hard to feed two cats different food. They will eat from the others bowl. So I put both on Hill’s Science Diet For Sensitive Stomachs. It’s expensive, but the suggested daily feeding is less than regular cat food. I also give Ethel one ACIDOPHILUS tablet daily. Cut in quarter and put in food. It can be bought at most pet stores. By 21st Century Acidophilus For Cats. It helps the digestive tract. Is also good for humans. It is recommended for women who have ongoing bouts with yeast infections. However, the form for cats is liver flavored, and just for cats.

I remembered something their vet told me when I first got them, he said not to feed them for 24hrs to give their systems a chance to check itself. If something was irritating their stomach, intestine or bowels and they are eating again, it was not giving their systems a chance to regulate. Their systems were constantly processing.

For three months I have been on litter box watch :O) And I realize that as long as I have Ethel I will always have to be on guard. Lucy was fine from the beginning with the new food. Her stool was as it should have been. But then again she was not the one that started with or continuously had the problem. As soon as I saw that Ethel’s bowels were very soft (BEFORE the runny stage) I did not feed her for 24 hours. It has worked! For close to 3 months I have been able to nip the problem in the bud.

If you have more than one cat I would suggest that during feeding time place the one WITHOUT the problem in a confined area to eat. That way the one that is NOT being fed doesn’t take it as a punishment by either watching the other one eat or by having you block it.

I don’t know if one particular thing or the combo of all is what has helped (food, acidophilus, and not feeding for 24hrs when bowel softens). But I will continue this regimen for Ethel. And I hope that this information is useful to someone who loves their cat(s) as much as I love mine.

I AM NOT advertising any product. I am just hoping to help someone who is at their wits end like I was.

LuvPaws4U@aol.com

[Mona]

It certainly sounds like a good product and does work. I myself have given acidophilus to my cats and it does help their digestive tracts. I often mix in some powder into their cat food.

Mona, HOneybun and Chloe

[JessK]

Thanks for the very interesting post. I will look for the acidophilus for my little Neo who has had recurrent diarrhea since the very first day I've had him--though I am nervous about feeding him new things, because you never know if his little system won't like it for some reason. The vet has given him two different medications that I had to give for two-week periods, and that did clear it up while I was giving it to him, but when he'd go off the medicine the diarrhea would come back. He's eating only Hill's i/d, also prescribed by the vet. The vet has never mentioned IBS but just calls it "colitis" and doesn't know the cause.

Neo's litterbox is exceptionally stinky, I believe. At first I thought, Well it's a litter box, it's gonna stink, but I've decided it is abnormally stinky--also it's a weird smell, not exactly like normal cat poop smell I don't think. I don't want to take him to the vet every few weeks when his problem starts returning--I can certainly relate to the concerns over cost! If anyone else has suggestions for dealing with chronic kitty intestinal problems, I'd be most interested!