Hi everyone,
I am new here and posted under Introductions. I am looking forward to getting to know all of you!
My Bengal cat Max is 11 years old. Two years ago we left him at a reputable kennel while we went away on vacation for 10 days. When we got Max home, we noticed he had developed a case of diarrhea, which he had never had before. The vet said it was just stress, which sounded right, and after about a week it went away. A few months later the diarrhea came back again, and again went away in about a week. That would repeat over and over.
Max has never been a good eater. He came to us at age 4 after a Craigslist adoption eating dry Friskies cat food. We was extremely finicky and we could never get him off that stuff until he developed urinary crystals and we had no choice but to put him on canned RX urinary food, which made him vomit. It was awful. We switched brands a few times until we found something he could tolerate. He would yowl terribly after eating as if it hurt him- acid reflux or something?
As soon as the diarrhea started we switched to a gluten free food, and he did very well on it for a while. Then his diarrhea started to come in cycles, sometimes as much as a bout every 2 weeks. We used BM Gold by Pets Well Being, and it was like a miracle. He seemed to grow used to it over time and it no longer works for him. At my wits end in December I got Vitality Science's treatment resistant program. It's a lot of meds to get in him, and he resists! It might work if I could get it in him, but it's nearly futile. We decided to switch his food again, and put him on all dry food Simply Nourish Chicken & Rabbit. Worked miracles! We thought he was completely healed until 2 weeks ago when his diarrhea returned! We cannot seem to get rid of this. Last week with switched to the Duck & Oatmeal flavor of the same brand. Seeing a tiny bit of improvement, but I don't think it will work. Max absolutely 100% refuses to eat raw. He is the type of cat will who literally starve rather than eat something he hates, and he's barely 8 lbs and I can feel his bones when I pet him, so there is no room for that kind of experiment. He has a healthy appetite nontheless. Max drinks a lot of water, but I think it is because he is dehydrated from the diarrhea. When he feels better, he drinks less water, so I don't suspect kidney disease. Urine tests are OK. We've tried canned pumpkin, Benefiber too.
What causes diarrhea to come in cycles like this? I have heard with food sensitivies if you change out their food their system will usually bounce back to normal, and it has up until now. Max is an indoor cat with no other pets. He doesn't seem stressed, and is still very affectionate and happy. His belly gurgles when he lays on my lap, and I know he doesn't feel well. It is Tritrichomonas foetus? Blood, urine and fecal tests (not including TF) have all come back normal. Does TF go in cycles like this?
Please help, I would appreciate any advice. Thank You!
Lisa & Maxcat
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