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Raw Food Recipes for IBD Cats

These recipes are adapted from the recipes at catnutrition.org, catinfo.org, and holisticat.com. I have eliminated the egg yolks, to which my cat is allergic, but you may add them in if your cat can tolerate them. Egg yolk is a good source of vitamins and complete protein, and contains lecithin which helps prevent hairballs. If you feed quality whole ground prey most of the time, the eggs are not essential. I also use psyllium husks for fiber because my cats do not do well with even tiny amounts of vegetables, but you may try plain canned pumpkin as a fiber source and see what works best for your cat.

Please note: if there are bone pieces in the ground meat you purchase larger than a few millimeters, re-grind the meat. I buy the "extra fine double ground". Sharp bone pieces could irritate or injure your cat's mouth, throat and stomach. Cats can chew and eat raw bones safely, but grinding produces small sharp pieces and cats tend to gulp ground meat without chewing as they would whole bones.

I am not affilitated with any of the suppliers or manufacturers linked on this website. The links are provided soley for your convenience and to illustrate the brands and products I use for my own cats.

Put the water in a bowl, prick salmon oil capsules and squeeze into water, pull apart powder-containing capsules and add to the water. Whisk thoroughly. Put the thawed meat mixture in a large bowl and pour the supplements over top. Mix with a large spoon or spatula until uniform. Spoon into freezable containers such as can-or-freeze jars, zip freezer bags, or tupperware type containers and place in freezer.

Thawing the food usually takes about 12-24 hours depending on container size, fridge temperature etc so make sure you take out the next day's food to thaw in fridge well in advance. Do not microwave or cook food with bones. Thaw or warm in a baggie under lukewarm running water if necessary before serving.

Other helpful supplements for IBD cats:

• L-glutamine helps reduce intestinal inflammation. Pull apart a capsule and add the tasteless powder to your food recipe or mix directly on top of food each day. Give 100 mg/day (for example a 500mg capsule would last your cat 5 days) for an average sized cat. It is best to build up to the full dose slowly and not to give the supplement for more than 2-3 months.
  
  
• Slippery Elm Bark coats the digestive tract helping reduce over-active stomach acids, inflammation, and helps relieve hairballs. Most effective when given as a paste about 1 hour before a meal - mix 1 teaspoon of powder with enough water to make a syrup, syringe into the mouth. It can be added to food but many cats won't eat it and it seems less effective when eaten with the meal. Also excellent to give at bedtime if your cat is adapting to meals from free-feeding and tends to vomit bile in the early morning due to too much stomach acid. Slippery elm bark is safe to give indefinitely.
  
  
• Vitamin B12 - many IBD cats are B12 deficient due to chronic inflammation. Deficiency can result in loss of appetite and neurological problems. B12 injections are recommended, but I also had success with giving a sublingual "No Shot" B12 tablet daily orally. Choose a B12 tablet with NO colors or flavorings, the one I used had only B12, lactose and acacia gum. Be careful - some B12 supplements contain xylitol which is toxic to cats. I gave a 1000mcg tablet/day for 2 months, then 2 tablets a week for 6 more months. Since there is no reported toxicity for B12 - a water soluble vitamin - you can give megadoses to ensure its absorption. You may also dissolve the B12 tablets in the supplement mixture when making the raw food to boost the B12 content.
  
  
• Probiotics can help improve digestion and re-condition the digestive tract, and recent research has shown that they can also help reduce the load on the kidneys by assisting in detoxification. As with all diet changes it is a good idea to introduce one thing at a time and to introduce slowly. You may use a probiotic designed for human use, simply feed about 1/10 to 1/5 the amount recommended for humans, pull capsules apart to mix powder in with food. Brands I have personally used for my cats and can recommend:
  • Jarrow Pet-Dophilus (powder, 4 strains, 4 billion cells per dose. Contains whey protein)
  • Vitamin Shoppe Ultimate 10 (powder-filled capsule, 10 strains, cell count not provided)
  • ReNew Life Ultimate Flora 50 (powder-filled capsules, 10 strains, 50 billion cells per dose)
    
    
• Digestive enzymes can be helpful in aiding digestion, since many IBD cats have decreased secretion of diegstive enzymes. While your cat's digestive system is healing and adapting to the new diet, supplementing with digestive enzymes can be very helpful. I recommend Dr. Goodpet brand, which also contains acidophilus (probiotic).