GreyPoopon

Congratulations!

So what are you feeding? She's on Techni-Cal Lamb & Rice, which is produced by a Canadian subsidiary of Royal Canin. Another good clean lamb & rice is California Natural's. She also did very well on Wellness Simple Food Solutions Venison and Rice until they reformulated it slightly and she would no longer eat it. Just by-the-by, her food allergies/sensitivities are apparently chicken, turkey, milk, fish mix, barley, wheat, and (in a separate test) peanut butter.

Minnie has two types of IBD, diagnosed by scoping: eosinophilic gastroenteritis and ulcerative colitis. The lab report indicated that it was related--at least in part--to food allergies. Since she was extremely sick, she was put on the maximum amount of pred, tylocine, flagyl, and misoprostal. I don't recall exactly when we took her off the various things, but I think we dropped the flagyl first, then the misoprostal, then the tylocine. It took about 9 months to wean her off the pred. We also started her on a limited ingredient diet (one (novel) protein, one carb): IVD's Venison and Potato. She did not have another bout of HGE during the time she was on pred. However, it took many weeks for her to finally start regaining some of the weight she'd lost and a few months before her poop was firm. For the first few years, she tended to have one relapse per year, but she has been fairly stable for several years now, and is controlled via diet. We no longer use IVD--it isn't sold here any more--and have had to switch foods a few times for various reasons. A few years ago, we ran allergy blood tests. A lot of vets still don't like them, but they've helped Minnie's health and my sanity. My vet uses the SPOT test from Spectrum Labs.

She looks WONDERFUL! Get well soon Sadie.

I too have a couple (one grey, one non) who are with me almost all the time. I'd be lost without them. That's an incredible photo.

I'm so sorry you lost your handsome and special boy. Godspeed Festus.

Yippee!!!!

that the next report--and every report after that--is positive. Get well soon handsome Maxx.

FWIW.... - IBS/IBD can be food related. Minnie's IBD seems to stem primarily from food allergies. - Once the gut is upset, it can take a long time to settle down. After we scoped Minnie, we put her on the maximum dose of pred and a novel diet. It was months before her poop firmed up and she started gaining weight. Granted that she was very very sick, but I've seen similar--if shorter--delays with her at other times, and with the others. My point here is that whether or not your plan works, it's a bit early to rule out food. I really hope that Beau's return to the new/old food solves the problem, or that you find a treatable bug.

I'm so sorry.

I'm so sorry. Godspeed Smiley.

Unbelievable. Both that she didn't suffer damage to her eye, and that the repair is so perfect. Dora

Cora hurt something deep in her hip in November '07. She didn't limp, but she couldn't do anything that required pushing with that leg, including stairs, getting up, lying down... It was a nightmare. The x-rays were negative. I thought (I may have heard incorrectly) that the vet said it would heal in 6 weeks. Around the third re-visit, we saw one of her more experienced colleagues, and she said 16 weeks. I think Cora finally started to do stairs again around the 12 or 14 week mark, and was pretty solid by 16 weeks. Soft tissue injuries can take a long long time to heal, and can be re-injured very easily.

Vinnie: Chew it smaller. Betsy, Chief Stick Chewer

Cysts can apparently be filled with different things. I'm with most everyone else: I wouldn't worry. If it changes, you can revise your decision.

Oh no! I am so very sorry. Your lovely and precious girl had to leave much too soon. Godspeed Annie.

I'm so sorry you lost your precious--and gorgeous--girl. Godspeed Pumpkin.

Oh yeah. For months and months, my heart was in my throat every time Minnie pooped. For a few years, I used a flash to check whenever she pooped in the dark. I'm less nervous now, and less (ahem) anal now about the flash, but I still look. I'm glad you had a chance to speak to your vet. I hope the new plan keeps Soul on track.

I'm so very sorry. Diane was a very special girl. Godspeed Diane.

Poor Soul. Poor you. A few things, based on my experience with Minnie (who has IBD): 1. I'm not a huge fan of fasting, because it seems to make Minnie worse, not better. However, vets often advise it to give the bowel a rest. And, you're right--the less he consumes, the less likely it is that he'll need to poop. 2. The other thing that can bring on a bowel movement is exercise, so you might not want to walk him or let him motor around the yard. 3. Attacks don't necessarily happen immediately. Even at her sickest, Minnie could go a week or so between bouts of HGE--the meds and restricted/special diet would hold off the symptoms. Eventually the cumulative insults to her digestive tract would result in a bout. Once she was healthier, her system could handle the stress for much longer before it cratered. The delays make it extremely hard to isolate the problem. It could be that the venison (or potato) in his regular food is an issue, but it just took a while for the reaction to become apparent. I hope that Soul has a good night, so that you can deal with your regular vet tomorrow. One of the things you might discuss is keeping an inventory of flagyl. I don't keep it, but I do consider tylocine and misoprostal (stomach protection) stock items. Sigh.

for Isis.

I'm sorry. I hope she has lots of good days left.