My 10 yr old cat may have IBS. my holistic vet has recommended a dry soy food. ?

Question

has anyone had experience with soy in a cat's diet and or foods to help ibs?

Answer 1

Your holistic vet doesn't even realize what a cat is. I have nothing against holistic vets but that recommendation shows that she doesn't realize a cat is a carnivore obligate and needs meat to survive

  IBS Here you go

Hi

You have unfortunately probably been feeding dry foods

   You need to either switch to canned foods with no grains or as little as possible or a raw diet *best choice) where there are no grains at all.

  What you also want to do is cut down on the fats

A human grade quality canned food like Merrick or wellness with chicken breast added would be great.



Diet plays a huge part in most IBD cats, If a  no grain diet doesn't do the trick,

A novel protein like rabbit,vennison ect with no grains,

  For a raw diet which is the best choice, you can buy something like nature's variety or you can make your own

These sites shows you how

http://www.catinfo.org/makingcatfood.htm

http://www.catnutrition.org/pictorial.ph...

Here is a link about ibd

http://www.felineoutreach.org/EducationD...

http://www.catnutrition.org/ibd.php

My info comes from working with diabetic cats worldwide and many of them have other issues including ibd. I am giving you info that works

Answer 2

My senior kitty had terrible, chronic diarrhea for 2+ years.  We switched her to raw rabbit, and it's been a miracle.  Solid poops again, thank God.

Answer 3

Oh wow... this is so sad to hear. :o( This is how good holistic vets get a bad name.

Your holistic vet is harming cats if this is the food he's recommending. Cats are carnivores, there is no way around it. There are certain nutrients that cats bodies are only able to utilize if they come from meat. You can give the cat the same nutrient from a plant source and the cat will become deficient. You HAVE to geed cats meat based foods. This isn't an option. It's scientific fact. What this vet is proposing is a danger to your cat, not a help. Your next step should be either confronting your vet with this fact, or finding a new vet.

Now, as for the IBD. I had an IBD kitty to. And we cured him through diet. Your best resource is going to be this website devoted to IBD cats and their diets.

http://www.catnutrition.org/

Another fantastic website that can help you learn about proper feline nutrition is http://www.catinfo.org/ but start reading first at cat nutrition because I think it will lead you down the right path asap to help your kitty.

Good Luck... but whatever you choose, please do not listen to a vet that tries to turn an obligate carnivore into a vegetarian.  

Answer 4

Your holistic vet appaers unaware that cats are obligate carnivores.  They eat meat.  It is more than likely the cereal content in your existing food is leading to the IBS.  Feeding a vegetarian diet such as a soy diet will lead to taurine deficiency, blindness and death.  I recommend you start seeing a mainstream vet who understands the specific nutritional needs of cats and does not recommend a diet that is likely to cause harm rather good.

Feeding a raw diet may help if you are prepared to risk the problem of bacterial contamination from poor slaughterhouse practices.  Muscle meat alone is not sufficient and you'll need supplements.

My preferred food would be Whiskas selected proteins (for cats with food allergies) where the proteins are denatured and unlikely to cause a reaction.  Novel proteins i.e. where the cat is not normally fed that protein may also help.  What is novel depends on your locality.  Rabbit and lamb are unsuitable if they are a normal part of the diet (as they are in the UK).  Venison, pheasant, guinea fowl and goose (the latter may be too fatty) are novel proteins as they are not generally used in cat foods.  I've used the selected proteins diet successfully with shelter kitties.

Most commercial dried food are based on cereal and many canned foods use cereal fillers.  The preservatives can also cause problems for cats.  Read the labels carefully and choose foods that don't contain cereal, dairy or soy.  Most likely this will mean switching to a canned food.  make sure the label says it is a "complete" food.  Any other formulations will require you to give dietary supplements to meet the  specific nutritional needs of felines.

I have found a cat food called Purity (dry and canned) that is free of wheat and soy, both of which can contribute to bowel problems in susceptible cats.  This makes me doubly concerned that a holistic vet recommends soy when soy is a factor in *causing* bowel problems.

*unless the question hasn't given all the information, I am genuinely aghast that a holistic vet would recommend soy-based diets for cats.  I am amazed the vet has a licence to practice (or maybe holistic vets are not regulated?)

Answer 5

Really?  That's sad.  Holistic vets usually have a clue when it comes to proper nutrition.  Yours doesn't appear to.

Granted there might be details you haven't shared with us that would explain this, but this sounds very odd to me.

I would seriously consider finding another vet.  Or if you're happy with her otherwise, educate yourself about the condition and find the RIGHT diet for her, regardless of your vet's advice.

Many of us have perfectly good vets except when it comes to that area, and we just agree to disagree.  

Answer 6

linda,

I have a cat diagnosed with IBS and also have a holistic vet, so we are in the same boat!

My vet prescribed a highly nutritive diet for my cat, in addition to medication and an injectable vitamin suppliment which is now the gold standard for treatment for cats with IBS. I also joined the Yahoo IBS support group which was very helpful.

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Felin...

My cat is now being fed Natural Balance Venison and Peas, which is available at good pet stores and on the internet. It is 1/2 of the cost of Royal Canine Rx diet of the same mixture, by the way, and is 6 oz, rather than 5.5 oz. He is doing fantastically with no bouts of vomiting in the past two months.

Foods which are hypoallergenic are recommended, with no variety, just one type exclusively.

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?...

He was on a program of injectable vitamin B-12 for a month, twice a week, and also gets Pepsid AC 2.5 mg a day.

Sometimes endoscopy is needed to confirm a diagnosis, but it is prudent to do a food and medication trial first, to see if that alleviates the symptoms, which is what my vet recommended.

Good luck with your kitty and do try the support group. Their information is extremely valuable.

Troublesniffer

Owned by a cat with IBD

Cat servant for over 40 years and former breeder of Siamese and Oriental Shorthairs

Free lance author/blogger for http://www.petside.com