My cat with IBD eats chicken/fish. Does he need supplements?

IBS is called IBD in animals and it must be diagnosed by a vet, not by your before treatment is started. there are several prescription diets for this condition but you will need to discuss that with your vet.

Usually we do end up giving some sort of supplementation to cats with severe IBD. However if their intestines are not absorbing things normally often we have to get the supplementation as injections. This is something your veterinarian could do or even teach you how to do. I recommend contacting them to set this up.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. With IBD, I would also recommend using B12 supplementation such as Cobalequin. Cobalequin is available online and is easy to get. This is basically a B12 supplement and is extremely bioavailable even in the presence of GI disease such as IBD. A different diet such as a hydrolyzed protein diet (a prescription diet) may also be helpful. You will need a prescription for a hydrolyzed diet and your veterinarian can provide this for you. I would try these things and see if they help at all with the soft stool / diarrhea / poor appetite. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be happy to help you further.

Knowing the necessary supplements needed to ensure he gets adequate nutrition requires some specific calculations and will depend on the product used, your cat's life stage and his current diet. In order to get this information, you will have to consult with a veterinary nutritionist. I recommend visiting the following link for more help with the diet. https://www.petdiets.com/Ask-the-Nutritionist The easiest way to ensure he gets adequate nutrition is to get him to eat a formulated food. It is definitely possible for this to happen and I recommend reading the article at the link below for some good tips about how to do this. https://www.petful.com/pet-health/getting-a-finicky-cat-to-eat/ I hope that helps and all is well with Mochi.

Many times cats will respond to a prescription diet using hydrolyzed protein. Both Hill's and Royal Canin carry these types, which you can discuss with your vet. If you are looking for a cat food that isn't a prescription food, you will have to do a food trial to attempt to find a diet that Junior's colon will respond to: "Another approach is the use of the novel protein diets. The idea here is that the patient cannot have an immunological reaction to a protein source it has never experienced. (It takes long-term exposure to a protein before the immune system will respond against it, so a new protein should be safe.) This means using an unusual protein such as rabbit, venison, fish (for dogs) or duck, so long as the patient has not been fed these foods before. Again, it takes about a month to see a good response." There are many great brands of cat food that you can find with these types of ingredients at the pet store. A homecooked diet is also an option, but it needs to be formulated by a veterinary nutritionist to make sure it is completely balanced with everything that Junior needs. Also, don't forget to talk to your vet about supplementing B12, if needed in Junior's case. Here is info on IBD: http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=598 And here is information on a food trial (it says dogs but the same concept applies for cats!): http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=2499

If he has IBD then you should talk to your vet about trying a prescription hypoallergenic diet like d/d or z/d or possible an OTC diet like Science diet sensitive stomach. These diets are easier to digest and may help with his IBD and the smell of his stool.

Home prepared diets can be successfully fed to cats but it is important to fully research in order to provide all of the necessary nutrients in appropriate amounts to prevent over or undersupply of nutritional needs. IT is important to consult a trained nutritionist such as the Tufts University clinic which provide a range of well balanced recipes for home prepared food. A complete and balanced prepared diet should be fed with occasional treats otherwise