Self Regulation?

[Brigitte Cowell]

Paige,

I'll give the Proviable KP, Proviable DC, or Probios a "shot". Was going to go buy it today, but will wait for more feedback.

it seems the DC is just the probiotic bacteria capsules... the KP is the paste that also contains Kaolin and Pectin to firm the stools and soothe the digestive tract. It's a good choice to start if your cat/kitten has loose stools...but if you are only looking for probiotic bacteria then just the capsules (the DC formula) is the one to choose. Probios is good if (a) you want it in paste form, or (b) you want the tub which is more economically packaged in bulk... so depends on what you want which one you choose

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

I reckon that I'll give the bland diet a go.
Sheeken and rice has been suggested.
I'd be beholden to ye iffen ya give me the recipe.

I'm not sure I have a good firm recipe to give... at times when I need to calm stomachs I will boil up about a lb of ground chicken with as much water as I think I can get away with... then at the end, mix in ~1/2 cup cooked white rice. It's more about the chicken and the moisture from the water than anything at those times. I have sometimes used chicken chopped into little chunks too... hope that helps...sorry I've been very distracted with my kittens (premature litter, very fragile little ones) so missed this thread yesterday...

 

[John Popp]

For the bland diet I have used boiled chicken, no skin or fat and plain yogurt. As they are seemingly feeling better I start blending back in their regular food. Haven't had to go here with an SV, but have on several occasions had to do this with our other cats to nurse them back to health.

 

[Louie'sDad]

Chongo didn't have stomach issues when he first came home, it was a week after and when I ran out of the raw and began to replace the raw with the canned provided. Just the same, I would think that a cat being sent home from a breeder would be able to tolerate the food provided and recommended. In Chongo's case, that didn't happen.

Also just got off the phone with my sister (she had knee surgery today) as I just had to find out if this was all created today or if she left everything for me to see. She said it was the same every morning and evening and she did her best to put things where they belong each visit. He is just a total nut job and has definitely been performing since I came home. I think he just wants to make sure he gets to go to the beach with us this summer.

John,

I hope that this issue passes for you. It sounds like he's a bit spoiled. I'll bet that you play/exercise him a lot, and he misses it, and you, when you're not there. Maybe less play for awhile to see if he lapses into this behavior in your presence...................and then a long time out might help him understand. I'm very lucky in that I'm home a lot. Whenever I'm out of the house, he sleeps or becomes inactive. When I open the door and whisper "where's that Louie?", I hear a thump as he jumps off the bed and runs downstairs to greet me with a big puffy tail and a loooooong chirp/meow.

I hope all turns out well for your sister. I heard, although can't understand why knee surgery is supposed to be more difficult recovery than hip surgery. Don't know if this is universally true, although you would think it should be the other way around.

Joe

PS: Although you don't know me well, you might be beginning to realize that I use sarcasm from time-to-time. Helps keep it interesting for me, and I hope, some others as well. As far as lighting farts is concerned, I need a new butane lighter.

 

[John Popp]

Thanks Joe! My sister is a saint to get up and take care of our cats on the day she had surgery. She'll do fine with it as she understands that what's surgically repaired is only as good as the muscles around it.

As for Chongo, when we are not in control of the play, bad things happen. He doesn't need me to entertain him, he just needs someone observing him so he doesn't find something new to destroy. We are home with him a ton as my wife and I have somewhat different schedules. Lots of travel for both of us, but rarely are we both gone at the same time.

He knows the sound of either of our vehicles and rushes to the door with a toy in mouth when we come home. It's just non-stop and then hits a wall and passes out. Great fun, but very needy in a lot of ways and as mentioned before, he was home for two weeks before we ever saw him with his eyes closed.

Definitely keep me posted on the diet thing as it's good that we compare notes, as well as Rascal. Certainly doesn't need to be a carbon copy diet, but what works for one of us will likely be a good benchmark. Wish I had it totally nailed down, but for the time being variety seems to be best and too much of any one type of food and I run into issues.

 

[Louie'sDad]

it seems the DC is just the probiotic bacteria capsules... the KP is the paste that also contains Kaolin and Pectin to firm the stools and soothe the digestive tract. It's a good choice to start if your cat/kitten has loose stools...but if you are only looking for probiotic bacteria then just the capsules (the DC formula) is the one to choose. Probios is good if (a) you want it in paste form, or (b) you want the tub which is more economically packaged in bulk... so depends on what you want which one you choose

Thanks B. I ordered the Probios Equine (see earlier post) on Tuesday. I reasoned that I didn't need the pectin-kaolin paste as there's no emergency or need for a stat ending of fluid loss. The Probios and ProViable have essentially the same ingredients, and although the ProViable has an additional two bactirium, I opted for the Probios because the gel will be MUCH easier for me to administer.

In all honesty, I'm NOT expecting this to work...................especially after reading all of the very informative feedback here. If and when the "flora" fails, then the plan will be as follows:

1. Start a bland raw diet and then S L O W L Y transition back to the EVO Turkey and Chicken Formula. Gradually increase kibble portion until stool is no longer firm. Use this proportion as a baseline.

2. If 100% kibble is not tolerated, then start with baseline and substitute other less nutritionally "rich" kibble for the EVO until a kibble product is found that will be 100% tolerated.

I do not have a food processor. I'd prefer not to feed any rice or vegetable filler. Please let me know if this will be OK. My initial thought is to buy chicken gizzards/livers/hearts as well as white/thigh meat. I'd like to chop all into more or less bite size pieces (except the livers) and quickly blanch all of it. Then mix in the diced liver meat and refrigerate for later use. I thought I'd prepare a week's supply at a time. Th doc mentioned blanching, above. Is this necessary, or not?



...........................Oh, I just read your post above about your not having a firm recipe. That's OK as I can find plenty online. The main thing I need to know is whether or not sterilization, ie: blanching is necessary. Also, remember that I do not intend this to be a long term solution, simply a transitioning and reset process.


I SURE WISH THAT THE EDIT FUNCTION HERE, WOULD ALLOW MORE THAN 5 MINUTES BEFORE IT "TIMES OUT".

 

[Per Lausund]

What do you consider "proper" food, and is a high percentage serval F1 Savannah's required diet any different from that of any other domestic cat?

The probiotics in Probios are almost all "lactobacillus" variants. All derived from milk products:

Lactic Acid Bacteria - not less than 10 MillionCFU/g

INGREDIENTS: Dried Enterococcus faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus casei Fermentation Product, and Dried Lactobacillus plantarum Fermentation Product.

My cat will lap up the whole tub of butter, if I let him. He loves milk and ice cream as well. Although I never indulge him with any dairy, I expect that he will love the Probios gel as well, since it has a dairy base.

"proper" food as in food that has not been processed into dry kibble, and thus is more easily digested. Kibble is good, and solves more problems than it causes, but may be a tad harder to digest due to it being dry.

P

 

[John Popp]

I would stay away from the gizzards as that has been a non-mover for us. Also might want to try the Evo Duck as we have had issues with the consumption of Turkey.

 

[Louie'sDad]

For the bland diet I have used boiled chicken, no skin or fat and plain yogurt. As they are seemingly feeling better I start blending back in their regular food. Haven't had to go here with an SV, but have on several occasions had to do this with our other cats to nurse them back to health.

Good idea with the probiotic content of yougurt!

I have a LOT of information to digest in this thread.

You, Brigitte, Rascaldad and others have scattered morsels throughout this thread. Once I embark on my plan, I'll be scouring it to compile a recipe to feed Louie.

One more thing I didn't know, is that you and Rascaldad have kittens from SE with sensitive stomachs. Coincidence? Dunno, but I was told that they give ALL kittens a probiotic at weaning, to anchor their flora during that stressful time. Maybe the stress of his flight home to me in NJ was another stressor, which upset his balance once more. Maybe same for you and RascalDad. In that case, maybe the probiotic that I ordered WILL work. In any case, I'll report back. I'm determined to get to the bottom of this.

 

[Per Lausund]

Louie's Dad .... In Per's statement above, he says he does not consider kibble proper food.

I must say that this thread is the most unique combo of subjects we've had to date -- poop & cars. So can we say that car aficionados are also poopheads?

Calling something else "proper" does not imply impropriety for the other, so:

RETRACT, YOU, RETRACT! UNQUOTE ME!

Seriously though, kibble is mixed and dried and can be harder to digest, normally not a problem. But if a kittie eats a lot, the digestive system may not manage to process all of the nutrients in kibble. Wet food usually is easier to digest, but is much more difficult to balance nutritionally than kibble, so it one or the other or both. I have NOT said kibble is not proper food, though personally I prefer a beef to biscuits.

AND THE CORRECT EXPRESSION IS, I BELIEVE, PETROLHEAD