Hi,

I've recently found out my 16 yr old Bengal has possible IBD due to her commercial cat food. So for some back story,

For years she has been a fussy eater and would only eat awful brands like whiskas etc no matter what we tried. In the past 6 months most nights she had been crying in the bathroom for around an hour and we weren't sure what the issue was. She then started being sick around once a week which then turned into not being able to keep any food down this also happened when I left her with my parents as I was away for 2 weeks.

I came back to her being skin and bones and pretty much on deaths door, I rushed her to the vet and I was told they could PTS or try a steroid to see if it would make her eat. I opted for the steroid as even though she's elderly I didn't wanna lose her yet. The vet said to try coaxing her to eat with fresh meat and suggested chicken or fish, both of which she hates but she does love red meat from the Sunday joint. I asked if it was ok to try her on beef, as she's currently anemic, the vet said it was worth a try so for the past week I've been feeding her rare (seared) steak mince and lamb mince and she loves it. She's already gained so much weight that I can't see her bones anymore and she hasn't been sick or cried since the change, the vet thinks it's a miracle. They are now convinced she has IBD instead of something worse like cancer or kidney disease.

So I'm now feeding her fresh meat every 4 hours to get her weight back on but I was wondering does anyone know of any supliments I can use? I do want to make sure she gets all her vitamins and fibre. I know she would be more than happy to eat raw but I would rather she gained her strength back first due to her age before I try that.

Any shop links would be great (I'm in the UK)

Also does anyone else have an elderly Bengal?

Thanks

I'm sure you have pet stores in the UK and they probably sell supplements that you can give Mina. I don't know in your other post you mentioned you were gone for two weeks from her (if so, I missed reading it). Separation anxiety may have played a huge role in this as bengals bond so strongly with their owner. At least you have her back on track. She's a beautiful, senior gal. I hope you have many more years with her.

Talk with your vet, but we've been giving Kitty Bloom with the transition to raw and mine love it.

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My previous bengal had IBD, he was only 5 when it turned to cancer and I lost him.

My vet said he was probably born with it as he always had an upset stomach from day one, he was fed on Felix as he was an extremely fussy eater.

He was treated with steroids and chemotherapy from the age of 3 and responded well, as like yours he was a bag of bones, the weight soon went back on.

I have 2 more bengals now but try as I might they will not eat better quality cat food, so they have Felix wet and Iams dry, I cooked fresh turkey for them and they have some every day.

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Clare
Magic (brown spotted boy born 31 March 2012)
Pearl (seal Lynx Point girl born 1 October 2015)
Bristol, UK