[shininglight]

One of my two 10 month old cats has always had problems with diarrhea and ocassional vomiting. We've been to the vets many times, got a test done and it turns out he has corona virus and clastidium prafingens. He has had several rounds of antibiotics but nothing seems to help, except a strict diet of Royal Canin sensitivity control.

The vet says that we need to control this with diet, and there isnt anything else we can do but wean them slowly off the RC and onto something else.

The royal canin works brilliantly. The only problem is I have to feed both of them the same as they love to swap bowls, and we are going through 6 pouches a day, a box every 2 days and it costs a FORTUNE!

I've tried lots of different foods, they all have the same result where I have a stinky kitten who needs his fur cleaning after he uses the litter tray. He is semi-longhaired, to add to the woes!

I guess Im just looking for any suggestions or advice you may have. I've tried most of the good quality and popular brands on zooplus. James Wellbeloved which the vet recommended, Grau grain free, carny, Trying to wean them onto Bozita sensitive diet at the moment, but its not going too well.

 

[nicolaa123]

I could not find any info on the second thing he has, only the corona virus, that looks like has no cure, but what I read did not say about them having runny tums..what was the secod thing your poor Kitten has??

 

[Ali82]

Hi,

I'm assuming with those results you will have had a full faecal PCR panel done. Whilst both the Clostridium Perifringens and Corona Virus do have the potential to cause problems under certain circumstances they are also both found in the gut of healthy cats.

If the Clostridium were the issue then it is likely the antibiotics would have sorted it out. The fact your cat is okay on RC sensitivity suggests it's more likely he may be intolerant to certain foodstuffs and requires management through a controlled diet as recommended by your vet. You say you have tried quite a few foods, are you chopping and changing quite a bit as this is a recipe for upsetting sensitive tums.

If you are keen to get them off the RC then it needs to be a very slow transition and will be trial and error to see what he can stomach. Personally I'd start by trying something with similar ingredients to the RC to start with, something like chicken Grau. Introduce it very slowly, 1 teaspoon mixed in with the RC for the first day then if he's okay with that 2 teaspoons the next day and so on until they have changed fully. Assuming you find something that can be tolerated in that way then you can start to try adding other flavours, again a little at a time. If something is found he can't handle make a note of the ingredients and avoid in the future. I know it sounds a lot of hassle but over time with a bit of trial and error you'll build up a picture of what he is okay with which will serve you well in the long run. I'd also consider using something like Protexin Enterogenic in the short term to help ease the symptoms.

I'm sure you probably already know this but just in case you weren't aware the RC sensitivity doesn't need to be bought from a vet, it can be bought online in bulk which helps make it a little more economical.

 

[Lilylass]

If something is found he can't handle make a note of the ingredients and avoid in the future. I know it sounds a lot of hassle but over time with a bit of trial and error you'll build up a picture of what he is okay with which will serve you well in the long run.

I've had to do this with a couple of the dogs in the past and it does take a long time and is incredibly frustrating - but you will find what suits him over time.

If something disagreed with them, I went to the manufacturers website and printed a page with the full list of ingredients on it and kept them in a ring-binder - it really just constantly checking to find common things that eventually led to working out what they could / couldn't have.

Best of luck ...... and would also 2nd Protextin as it's worked wonders for Maisie's tum (she has Colitis).

 

[shininglight]

Thanks for the protextin recommendation, I will order some of that today.

Yes they had a full fecal screen. When we first found them at 8 weeks I did try different types of food to see if I could get one to suit, but they have been on the RC for around 3 months now with only very slow changes being introduced. We have to keep backing away and going back to the RC when it doesnt work for him. The other boy seems to cope fine.

I do buy it online from Medic Animal, with a bag of the dry food a month its costing us about £150 to feed them. While I love my cats and I'd go without for them, it costs more than we feed ourselves with

Also the vet didnt recommend they stayed on it long term, but Im not sure why.

Im trying again with a teaspoon of Bozita senstive this week, to see if thats going to work.

Again thanks for the advice its much appreciated.

 

[Cazzer]

My Karlo has IBD and we fed him RC sensivity control wet initially. We have 7 cats and whilst it is ok feeling him separately when we are here the cat sitter won't do it. We would then get through two and a half boxes a day when we go away. All the cats go crazy for it but once we got into a routine of separate feeding it was ok.

Now he has grau chicken with rice and is absolutely fine on it. Means I can leave some food down for them whilst I go to work. He still has a pouch of the RC in the morning though whilst I feed the others something else

 

[shininglight]

My Karlo has IBD and we fed him RC sensivity control wet initially. We have 7 cats and whilst it is ok feeling him separately when we are here the cat sitter won't do it. We would then get through two and a half boxes a day when we go away. All the cats go crazy for it but once we got into a routine of separate feeding it was ok.

Now he has grau chicken with rice and is absolutely fine on it. Means I can leave some food down for them whilst I go to work. He still has a pouch of the RC in the morning though whilst I feed the others something else

Thanks Cazzer. If the Bozita doesnt work out I'll try the Grau chicken and rice next.

The problem with seperate feeding is mine tend to graze rather than eat it all at once. They eat side by side and swap over after a few bites!

They are very clingy with each other, Meg doesnt like being kept apart from his brother and he ignores the food and howls at the door to be let back in. Which of course distracts Opie and nothing gets eaten! We found them abandoned, zipped up in a suitcase at easter, so I think there is a touch of anxiety there too which seems to make his belly worse. Especially when they are seperated. But all things to think about, maybe in time they would get used to it if I was strict?

 

[Cazzer]

oh and if you carry on buying the RC go to medicanimal via Quidco as you get 5% paid back by doing it that way

 

[chillminx]

ShiningLight -- you could try feeding your cats at different levels -- one on the floor one on a low table or shelf. That way they will be together but less likely to steal each others food. If course this won't help if you have to leave food down for them when you are out, but might at least cut down on the overall consumption of RC Sensitivity.

 

[jill3]

My British Boy Archie had problems with the runs when he was a kitten. We too had to give him Royal Canin Gastro Intestinal. We have the same problem having two cats and yes it does cost a fortune.
I do buy it from my vet has after you buy six boxes you get one free so it works out just as cheap as on the internet.
Now Archie is older he is a lot better. Sometimes when they grow up the symptoms seem to ease.
We now only give him one pouch in the mornings.
You could also try him on some fresh cooked white fish.

 

[chillminx]

ShiningLight -- just wanted to say, I wonder if you have been overcharged by Medic Animal for your RC Sensitivity wet pouches?

I buy 8 boxes of RC Sensitivity pouches from Medic Animal at a cost of £32
= £4 for a box of 12 pouches, which I think is pretty cheap, as cat foods go. I am not sure it is possible to feed 2 cats for much less......

2 cats eating 3 pouches a day, means a box lasts 2 days. 8 boxes lasts 16 days, so for a month you'd need 16 boxes which would cost £64. i.e. less than half of the £150 you mentioned.

If they are eating 3 pouches each a day (3 x 100 gms) they don't need anything else, maybe a few dry kibble a day as a treat. VetUK sells bags of RC Sensitivity dry 3.5 kg for £25.50. A big bag like that should last for months and months. Or there is a 1.5 kg bag for £13.33, which would last about 3 mths.

I would check you invoice and see if you have been overcharged.