But his digestive system needs some reprogramming.
We tried steroids, but it made things worse. We had some luck with Flagyl (metronidazole,) which is an antibiotic used to stop uncontrollable diarrhea. But it is toxic long-term. We recently intervened when RJ had an aggressive incident with Tristan.
This can be a sign he is having focal seizures, which is a known side effect of this medication. It can trigger aggression even in a cat as mild-mannered and mellow as our big Pudding. So we have stopped the antibiotic (reserving it for emergencies) and are trying these three strategies:
probiotics
We’ve tried different kinds of probiotics for a couple of years now. We are trying a new one recommended by Friend of the Blog sea.language, from a company called Nusentia.
This is a high quality item, I am hoping, since it recommends refrigeration after opening. This has implications beyond good food digestion, since more and more research indicates our intestines are actually our “second brain” when it comes to overall health, especially the immune system.
We have varied RJ’s food as much as we can, but the illness is working against us. He will associate a formerly liked food with his tummyaches, and then will not touch it. We are constantly juggling new brands and flavors, including the expensive food the veterinarian recommended, the fish we poached for him, and even attempts at raw that he won’t touch.
It is easy to give it a try, though, because it mixes in the canned food and seems odorless and tasteless. Giving it to him is easy.
digestive enzymes
We also, from the same company, got him some digestive enzymes. Likewise, it is mixed, tastelessly and smell-lessly, into his food, and so far, is not a problem.
This seems made for his troubles digesting protein. If part of his problem is missing enzymes, maybe this will provide some help.
We were hoping the probiotic and the enzymes would let us give RJ the antibiotic less often, but that was not the case. He would have episodes as soon as we tried to cut back, even though he’s been on the enzymes for a month and a half now.
Still, we had decided that if RJ showed side effects from the Flagyl we would stop it, as there is no point in keeping his gut in check and messing with his brain.
Fortunately, there is something else to try.
pumpkin
Pumpkin is a popular treatment for digestive woes. In the summer, I had tried adding it to his food, which — as usual with RJ — he happily complied with for a few days and then refused to eat it. So we shelved that idea.
Still, it stayed in my mind, since pumpkin is a good source of vitamins and the right kinds of fiber to foster gut health. RJ used to enjoy the kitty grass as a source of fiber, but he’s stopped eating that, too.
I have brought it back with a twist; instead of giving him his antibiotic, we are giving him his dose of pumpkin. He is taking his pumpkin dose with a lot more grace than he did the Flagyl, which is notoriously bitter.
I use a small rubber spatula to get it into his mouth, and then he licks it down. Perhaps he didn’t like it mixed with fish, but while he runs off like he did with the medicine, it’s only ten feet… not the next room like with the medicine.
So far, so good. This is keeping his troubles in check at least as well as the Flagyl. With no side effects so far.
Best of all, RJ is bouncy and happy. So that means he’s not in pain, either.
While the medicine did help him, it didn’t really maintain him in a way that let us taper off, as we and the vet had hoped. Taking him off the medicine brought a return of his symptoms before. But now, with the pumpking substituting for the medicine, we are seeing a cessation of his symptoms. Which is worth the daily wrestle with the canned pumpkin (not pumpkin filling, which has added ingredients like sugar) more than worth it.
I am also giving one tablespoon, which is a large amount for a 15 pound cat, but smaller amounts did not help as much.
Perhaps the nutritional supplements can start working better without the medicine, since antibiotics obviously are counter-productive with probiotics.
RJ also made up with Tristan.
That is important too.
For more, see Cats with chronic conditions.
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