Question - Sensitivity to Diet Change?

Hi Folks,

Last August, our 9 year old male DSH had a large bladder stone.
Fortunately we discovered it early enough. He was cathetherised for a
couple of days, and treated with drugs.

Once he was back at home, our veterinarian had us switch him from his
premium dry food to Science Diet s/d. In a couple of months the
crystals had dissolved. At this point, we began feeding him mostly
canned food, to provide more moisture.

As some may remember from my postings at the time, our tabby's health
went gradually downhill. He started eating less and losing weight. He
was diagnosed with pancreatitis and inflammatory bowel disease in
November. Despite treatment with various steroids and finally, stomach
tube feedings, he passed away in December.

One of my relatives who is very into cats claims that the abrupt change
of foods (premium dry to s/d) is probably responsible for his downturn
in health. She says that our veterinarian should have had us make the
transition very gradually over weeks, instead of all at once.

I have trouble accepting this as being the cause of pancreatitis and IB,
although it seems like good advice overall. We needed the food change
in order to dissolve his crystals without surgery, which our
veterinarian said could cause complications.

Even as his health declined, our veterinarian insisted that his
condition could be treated. I've often wondered if something else was
at fault, because he did not appear to respond to the steroids in any
way, oral or injected.

It seems to me that cats living in the wild eat a variety of different
foods and manage to survive - although I understand that they can live
significantly longer indoors. So my question is, can an abrupt change a
cat's diet cause serious health problems?

Could diseases like our cat's result?

Thanks.

-dreq

Derek Mark Edding wrote:
Hi Folks,

Last August, our 9 year old male DSH had a large bladder stone.
Fortunately we discovered it early enough. He was cathetherised for a
couple of days, and treated with drugs.

Once he was back at home, our veterinarian had us switch him from his
premium dry food to Science Diet s/d. In a couple of months the
crystals had dissolved. At this point, we began feeding him mostly
canned food, to provide more moisture.

As some may remember from my postings at the time, our tabby's health
went gradually downhill. He started eating less and losing weight. He
was diagnosed with pancreatitis and inflammatory bowel disease in
November. Despite treatment with various steroids and finally, stomach
tube feedings, he passed away in December.

One of my relatives who is very into cats claims that the abrupt change
of foods (premium dry to s/d) is probably responsible for his downturn
in health. She says that our veterinarian should have had us make the
transition very gradually over weeks, instead of all at once.

I have trouble accepting this as being the cause of pancreatitis and IB,
although it seems like good advice overall. We needed the food change
in order to dissolve his crystals without surgery, which our
veterinarian said could cause complications.

Even as his health declined, our veterinarian insisted that his
condition could be treated. I've often wondered if something else was
at fault, because he did not appear to respond to the steroids in any
way, oral or injected.

It seems to me that cats living in the wild eat a variety of different
foods and manage to survive - although I understand that they can live
significantly longer indoors. So my question is, can an abrupt change a
cat's diet cause serious health problems?

Could diseases like our cat's result?

Thanks.

-dreq

A quick change of diet may cause some short term digestive tract issues,
but certainly not disease.

Increased moisture ingestion is good for felines.

Derek Mark Edding wrote:
I have trouble accepting this as being the cause of pancreatitis and
IB,
although it seems like good advice overall. We needed the food change
in order to dissolve his crystals without surgery, which our
veterinarian said could cause complications.


Could diseases like our cat's result?

I do not believe that your cat's pancreatitis and IBD would be caused
by an abrubt food change. Yes, a slow change is best, but a quick
change would most likely only result in a stomach upset for a few days,
not these diseases. In fact, a canned food is better overall for the
health of a cat. It's quite possible your cat had these diseases
before switching foods, so I would not attribute them to the quick food
change, and especially to a canned food. Sorry to hear about your cat