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Poop Woes and An Update on Molly

MollysMom

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We were watching tv tonight and I hear Leo getting into trouble in the other room. I go in and he is trying to have a pooter lick, but falls over. Then I see it - a nugget of poop dangling by a thread from his bum. I pin him down and call for back up from Ben. He comes in and is searching for scissors as I am trying to explain that you can't pull on the thread. We snip it and now I am on patrol tomorrow to see what is coming out next time.

Then Molly runs in later with litter stuck to her tail... POOP TAIL! Yuck. Someone had diarrhea. So I wipe her down and inspect the box, sure enough it looks like she has had some issues.

We started her on the prednisone (steroids) for her suspected IBD last Monday. I was mixing half BiTR venison with half cooked chicken thighs for the first week and she did great. Just switched her over yesterday to the new elimination diet premix and cooked chicken thighs. So I will give it a week and see how this goes. The frustrating thing is, that I know adding pumpkin will probably fix her right up and make things firm, but she isn't supposed to have anything except novel protein, vitamins and calcium carbonate essentially.

Diet trials suck big time. All y'all who have had to do this at some point have my utmost sympathies.
 

Xandria

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Hugs, @MollysMom . So many hugs. Poop patrol is a pain... especially when you have to watch for two!

I'm sending you well wishes and positive vibes for Molly's intestines to start producing nice poop.

Hugs and scoops.
 

MollysMom

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So angry. I found an IBD support group on facebook, and within 5 minutes of joining and asking a question, had some crazy lady who shat all over me for what I feed. Arguing and posting links about what cats can and can't have. Sigh. This really IS the nicest place on the internet.
 

Catzzzmeow

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@MollysMom sorry you had a bad experience in another group. One thing @admin has always strived for in this community is providing a place to come for help and support and not a place to bash people, It is up to all of us to keep it a positive place even if we might not all agree at times. The Lair is full of crazy cat people, but the nice kind...lol.

Patti
 

Hairless Blessing

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Correct me if I'm wrong, I didn't think you were support to give
cooked bones to animals. Or do you take the bones out?
Anyway I hope your babies get straightened out.
 

Yoda mom

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@MollysMom , ((Healing hugs))) to your babies- I can't offer a whole lot with raw feeding and IBD except I had to put Omar da cat off raw and kept him on dry kibble for 16 yrs.. Raw just didn't work for him

I pray Leo and Molly are doing better this morning-

** Ps- I can't believe I use a dollar store LED mini flashlight now for pee /poo patrol :)
Much easier to scoop check for coloring, if any mucus or bright or dark red intermingled or what other stuff

Keep us updated ...
 

MollysMom

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Correct me if I'm wrong, I didn't think you were support to give
cooked bones to animals. Or do you take the bones out?
Anyway I hope your babies get straightened out.
No no, she is eating boneless skinless thighs... with a premix that has no additional animal proteins.
 

Xandria

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I'm so sorry you had such a crappy experience in that other group. The Internet turns people nasty so easily. The lair is the nicest place I've ever frequented.

This place is growing in members, so more input, which helps. But for very specifics sometimes, trawling through other sites, without interacting, may be your only recourse.

Wish I could help you. Truly do. You've helped me so much.

Hugs, love, and healing your way.
 

MollysMom

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We are on a new path now... I found a wonderful Raw IBD support group on Facebook, and a very nice lady has shared some great information with me. Looks like the xanthan gum in the TC Feline Pure formula premix is the culprit of our diarrhea. We will be discontinuing and getting her on a plain cooked pork diet here with a new probiotic that I have never heard of before. It is called s. boulardii. So I am off to do an afternoon of reading and research here (again!) and then shopping for our new stuff.

LOL, she is lucky that she is my favourite of the two!
 

Xandria

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Thanks for the update. I am sending continuing well wishes.

This is very timely as I'm working on a spreadsheet of data regarding various mix ins. The xanthan gum added is for texture only, if you can believe it -- it's not an essential ingredient in the TC Feline. Humans often don't do well on xanthan gum either.

Hugs.
 

MollysMom

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Thanks for the update. I am sending continuing well wishes.

This is very timely as I'm working on a spreadsheet of data regarding various mix ins. The xanthan gum added is for texture only, if you can believe it -- it's not an essential ingredient in the TC Feline. Humans often don't do well on xanthan gum either.

Hugs.
I actually sent the owner an email today and got a reply defending the use of xanthan gum in their products. So I guess they stand by it. I managed to pick up a huge package of 2 kg pork tenderloins for $17. I can't get over how cheap pork is right now. I will be cooking those up for her and getting started on this new plan tmrw. Plus I might sneak one in the crock pot for pulled pork tmrw night.
 

Xandria

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I was just going to say... man, ship that pulled pork! ha ha. Make some for you!

I'm sure she was defensive -- I still find it odd she uses xanthan gum for texture (sigh). I've been analyzing the heck out of BitR, Alnutrin, TC Feline and Feline Instincts. There are other brands too, but their ingredient list sent immediate red flags so I figured they really weren't worth discussing.

Thanks for keeping us updated.
 

Calicocious

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Sorry to hear of your poop troubles. I've been there recently so I feel for you. I've heard of xanthum gum and carrageenan being the culprits of irritation. I hope your able to narrow it down.
 

Condo commando

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There are so many food additives and I don't have time to read up on all of them but as far as I'm concerned they have no place in a natural diet.

Here is a little blurb on xantham gum from Chris Kresser:
...xanthan gum is produced by bacterial fermentation of a sugar-containing medium. Unfortunately, that ‘medium’ is often a potentially allergenic substance such as corn, soy, dairy, or wheat."
 

Xandria

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There are so many food additives and I don't have time to read up on all of them but as far as I'm concerned they have no place in a natural diet.

Here is a little blurb on xantham gum from Chris Kresser:
...xanthan gum is produced by bacterial fermentation of a sugar-containing medium. Unfortunately, that ‘medium’ is often a potentially allergenic substance such as corn, soy, dairy, or wheat."

And this is why I'm doing an analysis of all the cat food Mix Ins. I may be going overboard, but I can't do any less for Max than I do for myself (I cook from scratch), and I'm delighted if I can share what I learn with others.

I'm a little steamed at the don't care attitude given to @MollysMom by the TC Feline producer. *shakes fist*
 

MollysMom

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And this is why I'm doing an analysis of all the cat food Mix Ins. I may be going overboard, but I can't do any less for Max than I do for myself (I cook from scratch), and I'm delighted if I can share what I learn with others.

I'm a little steamed at the don't care attitude given to @MollysMom by the TC Feline producer. *shakes fist*
I will pm you the email she sent me.
 

Calicocious

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I'm starting to lean in the direction of adding my own vitamins ect instead of buying a mix. Each time I read cases like what @MollysMom is going through and what I have with Phiona I'd rather do it myself and know what is going in their food. I've always wondered why they feel the need to add extra. Just keep it to the basics people! One would think it'd be cheaper for them too?
Hope Molly is doing better.
 

MollysMom

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I'm starting to lean in the direction of adding my own vitamins ect instead of buying a mix. Each time I read cases like what @MollysMom is going through and what I have with Phiona I'd rather do it myself and know what is going in their food. I've always wondered why they feel the need to add extra. Just keep it to the basics people! One would think it'd be cheaper for them too?
Hope Molly is doing better.
Thanks, we have still been vomit-free for 3 weeks now. The diarrhea stopped after I took her off the TC Feline premix. She is on plain cooked pork for now, and we will start to try and add some other stuff slowly for her to get her calcium, etc.

For what it is worth, the experts on the IBD raw forum that I am on consider Alnutrin to be the best premix. I am going to review the ingredients and possibly get her going on that.
 

Sam lewis

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So angry. I found an IBD support group on facebook, and within 5 minutes of joining and asking a question, had some crazy lady who shat all over me for what I feed. Arguing and posting links about what cats can and can't have. Sigh. This really IS the nicest place on the internet.

That is awful, just what you DON'T need! I had some BIG issues with Mo and IBS when he was a kitten until he was around 3 or 4. He had so many tests, steroids, different diets and nothing seemed to help. I found a diet that really worked for him and now he is older and I found the right diet things are very good. But some people might not think the food I give is the best I am happy and so is he!

I believe it's about finding what is best for your cat. What is right for one, may not be right for another. You just do what is right for your cat and ignore what that crazy lady said :LOL::LOL::LOL:
 

Condo commando

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LOL just so you guys know I don't own stock in Alnutrin or anything, but I'm very happy with it. I use the Alnutrin for meat with bone (they have several versions). It probably is cheaper to buy all the separate vitamins but the difference can't be much and the simplicity of having an "all in one" powder is awesome. That said, if anyone thinks one of the ingredients is problematic please tell me because I want to know.

Just a quick note, Alnutrin doesn't have vitamin A so the assumption is that you're going to include liver for vitamin A. Also it doesn't have fish oil so you would need to buy the fish oil capsules. I keep it in the fridge to make sure it stays fresh.
 

Xandria

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Yes, the Alnutrin is quite good. I'd agree it's a #1 mix in, with BitR as a close followup. The Alnutrin is probably the closest to the main from scratch recipes you'll find on catinfo.org et al. I don't see anything in the Alnutrin that should be problematic (but I'm still doing research which has been stymied due to other things requiring my attention at the moment).
 
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