Good morning everyone! I'm new the forum; I'm Laura and I have 3 cats (Alfie 5, Daisy 3 and Leo 1), two tortoises (Harry and Elliot 4) and two gerbils (Heidi and Misty 1). I do love my animals, everyone thinks I'm nuts but there you go.

I've joined for some advice about Leo. He's now 16 months and since he was a kitten he gets these bouts of D&V which end up with a trip to the vet and him getting a couple of injections which work wonders. He sometimes has a temperature with it, not always, and sometimes has an enlarged stomach with it. He also has a heart murmur. I should also probably mention he's a Turkish Angora X Turkish Van although he's very much on the Angora side of that coin.

He's had another bout of the D&V yesterday, the worst it's been so far so I took him to the vets to get jabbed again. The vet suggested that he has IBS or an intolerance to certain foods (he used to steal cheese etc as a kitten which would upset his belly so we've been really careful since then). and the vet has suggested that we put him on a prescription diet from now on. He's given us Hill's Prescription Diet (D/D) and he ate it last night but has turned his nose up this morning. The vet has said if he sticks to this food for 6 weeks and doesn't get ill once then he'll be on it for life as it probably is the intolerance. If he does get ill then it's time for tests and biopsy's.

I just wondered if anyone has had a cat like this or knows anymore than I do? We love him to bits and we just want him better.

Also there is going to be a slight probably with feeding time with the other cats so we're going to shut them in the kitchen/dining room (there's a cat flap to get outside - should probably have mentioned that Leo is an indoor cat so he doesn't need the flap). We were thinking of getting a micro chip cat flap put in the kitchen door or next to it so it would allow Daisy and Alfie in and out without being restricted to just the kitchen/dining room which would be a shame for them. Obviously this is just an idea as we don't know that Leo is going to be on the prescription diet permanently at the moment. Does this sound feasible?

My other cats are two normal moggies although Alfie does get acne!

Laura xx

Hi Laura, Welcome to the forum, lovely to have you with us.

I'm afraid I'm unable to help with your problem but I didn't want to read and run as that would be rude.

Please feel free to pop up some pics of your animals - we love seeing pics around here - and hopefully someone with better cat health knowledge might be along soon who can answer your questions.

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Hi Laura,

I cannot offer much advice as I am new too but was wondering what do you normally feed him?

Also one very important thing, we need photographs

Hi Laura and welcome to PF!

Yes, I have a cat with IBD which your vet evidently suspects and his symptoms were very similar to Leo's including the bloating ( caused by gas build-up) and heart murmur. Incidentally in his case it is as a result of the condition itself as opposed to a heart defect. He too was on Hills D/D but now on normal food and probiotics and B12 injections.

Firstly, were the injections antibiotic or steroids? What foods have you been feeding him before? Which protein types ie chicken etc ? The Hills d/d is a novel protein source ( venison which the cat hasn't had before so the body doesn't 'recognize it so no inflammatory reactions ) used as part of an elimination diet and once the offending foods which trigger the 'allergic' response have been identified-you've already found one, dairy, and of course your former food- it's not always necessary to be on it for life. In my cat's case the trigger was chicken. It's quite dense and I found that adding hot water made it more appetising. My cat really liked it! The other thing is that it's really important to stick to it exclusively, absolutely no other treats or food! I realise this is difficult in a multi-cat household but I just fed mine separately in a different room! Very soon he got used to it.

Hi and welcome to the forum

I can't advise on the diet but Moriarty had acne and I changed his bowls from plastic to porcelain which got rid of it. I changed his water bowl to a metal one also.

Hope this helps,

Em xxxxx

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Hello, thanks for the replies. The injections he has are steroids and they give him antibiotics as well when he has a temperature with it. He's usually on felix food as he wont eat anything else (same with all my cats!), it can be anything from beef, chicken or the fish selection, sometimes we have good as it looks too not always. They're also on dry food - purina, chicken and rice. There doesn't seem to be a connection with the different flavours as such but that is definitely something to think about. He's a lot better today and as we speak he's eating a bit of the Hill's diet stuff! The injections work wonders. He's going back to the vets on Friday. Is there anything in particular I should ask?

I can't believe switching the bowls helped your cats acne! I use mostly plastic bowls for mine so I will change them and see if that helps.

I will go off and look for pictures now.

xx

Just my very quick thought, reading your reply FF, is that the foodstuffs you are feeding all contain grain as a filler.

Many cats are allergic to grain or react badly to it. This MIGHT be the problem with your boy. It might be worth looking at trying out some grain-free food and see how he goes.....

IF this was the main issue, you can easily feed your other cats the same food. You say that your cats won't touch any other foods but I am wondering if you have tried the better quality ones from Zooplus such as Smilla or Bozita? These are VERY, VERY meaty with no grain.

I'm no cat dietician but someone will be able to give you much better and contructive advice soon.

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This is Alfie when he was younger. We got him when he was about 6 months as he was a stray.





More recent one of Alfie:



Daisy as a kitten. Her owner couldn't keep her anymore so we took her in.



More recent one of Daisy:



Leo as a kitten.







That's my babies. xx

They are ALL absolutely gorgeous!!!!!!!

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I tend to agree with MB. Well done for spotting the common connection! Many many cats are allergic to grains-essentially they're carnivores and cannot digest them- and this is the first one I would rule out by switching to a grain-free food like the above. I'd give him a bit longer on the d/d though and then switch over very gradually. However, you may find he's also allergic to another food ingredient at a later stage but not necessarily. The recent steroid jab should also help to dampen down the inflammation. Once you've discovered the correct food though these should no longer be necessary!

I would just mention your suspicions about trigger foods to vet on Friday. Good luck with the visit.