Morninglory Persians

A Cautionary Tale: Feeding problems in Persian cats

Background:

This tale begins in January 2005 with a telephone call from a friend in Rugby named Jane who was obviously extremely upset. Apparently one of her Persian cats named Amy aged 14 years was very unwell she was suffering from vomiting and diarrhoea and had been hospitalised at the vets where she was put on a drip and various blood samples were taken. Amy was very weak and lethargic and had a sunken appearance. She had no appetite and was refusing all food. The initial results of the blood tests were normal. I asked Jane if anything in the household had changed and she informed me that apart from adopting a rescue Persian in February 2004 (Candy) nothing had altered.

The house hold consisted of three other Persians including Amy, Tot aged 13 years and Candy they were all fed on a well known brand of dry food plus one fresh meal each day. As soon as she said this I realised that Gail Miller had had a similar experience with one of her ‘boys’ and it had been found that he had developed a food intolerance to complete dried food and apart from the signs already mentioned two of Gail’s cats had an unmistakeable trait of ‘soaking’ right down the chin and bib. It later transpired that Candy had had diarrhoea since being rehomed and also had the ‘soaking trait’ which was described as staining her chin and bib. My friend also describes Candy as drinking from the bowl then trying to immerse herself in the water ‘as though her throat was on fire’.

From 6th – 9th January Amy was kept on a drip and all further tests and X rays proved negative she still had violent diarrhoea however as she was generally much brighter she was allowed home.On 12th January she was taken back to the surgery as she had refused all food and drink. More tests and x rays were taken and the vet was at a loss as to the cause of her illness even suggesting that she may have a cancerous growth which was effectively blocking her intestines. It was clear that Amy was losing her battle for life.On 14th January 2005 the lab. Tests proved negative but Amy was still not eating or drinking and was being kept alive via the intravenous drip. On the 16th she was fully hydrated and the drip was removed and she made a small effort to eat by herself. She had normal bowel movements for three days and was allowed home on 17th January 2005. WHAT CAUSED HER ILLNESS?

During the period of Amy’s illness Gail Miller kept in close contact with Amy’s owner Jane and after many phone calls and much discussion it appeared that both Amy and Gail’s boy had one thing in common DIET both cats being predominately fed on complete dried foods, different brands but any inspection of the contents of the food will show that the brands are almost identical. Another point of remarkable similarity and indeed the main indicator that the condition was similar was the ‘soaking trait’Looking back many of Amy’s symptoms were initially attributed to age when in fact she was becoming intolerant of the food which in effect was slowly killing her.

Since regaining her health Amy has blossomed and her condition is likened to a cat half her age and she is full of energy. Needless to say dried food now never touches her lips. Now, more that 3 months later Amy is well and again looking every inch the Grand Champion.

To sum up: It would appear that some cats may become intolerant of dried cat biscuits. I hope that the description of Amy’s symptoms may be helpful if you are ever unfortunate enough to own a cat that begins to suffer in the same way. The 'soaking' in particular is a very distinct symptom of the problem and should not be ignored.

Sadly in the summer of 2005 old age overtook Ami, Grand Champion Chamois SugaPuff, and she was quietly put to sleep - a grand old lady. However with a change of diet she had had over a year of happy life playing in her garden and cuddling with her mum.

Further reading of interest.
http://www.petz.co.uk./vetontheweb
http:/www.epinions.com/content
http:/home.earthlink.net
http:/bordercollierescue.org/news and views. (This site includes a paper called ‘What’s really in pet food’ - be prepared to be astounded.)

Sue Johannesen

Addendum
Amy’s story is part of a much longer and more complicated set of events. Basically a number of breeders had noticed certain problems with a number of their cats, but by no means all of them. There are some basic common factors: cats seem to exhibit one or both of two reactions: uncontrollable chronic diarrhea and/or ‘soaking’ which basically means that the cat drinks in such a way that it lies it whole throat and neck in the water. The cat turns dark brown from chin to chest and root to tip of the coat; the water also takes on a dark sludgy appearance. There appeared to be no clear clinical cause and tests showed no bacterial or physical reason for the problem. The following are my notes. If we identify the brand of dried food that Amy was fed as Brand X then Then the brand that I fed would be called Brand Y.
My cats are fed on a combination of Brand Y, tinned and fresh food including white fish, tuna, meat, chicken etc. with fresh making up a considerable part of their diet. They had however been fed a complete dry food in the morning for approximately 18 months before symptoms began to appear. Previously they had never been feed on a complete dry food.

• Elderly entire Blue male developed chronic diarrhea. No other symptoms. All tests proved for a clinical cause proved negative.
• 18 month old entire Cream male – ‘soaking’
• 4 month old white kitten male – ‘soaking’

At first I felt that these problems were entirely unrelated as the symptoms were so different. However other breeders were having similar experiences and in some cases the cats were exhibiting both symptoms. The only common factor was food as the cats were of different colours, sexes and very different lines. I had virtually reached the point with my old male that I felt I was going to lose him and in the absence of a clear cause my vet and I felt that there could be something quite sinister in this elderly cat. I discussed the problem of food intolerances with my vet and decided to go down that path although my vet was not too hopeful. I began eliminating specific foods from his diet. Briefly he was put exclusively on a dry food regime. This was catastrophic! Immediately I eliminated the dry food and the change was remarkable. His diarrhea stopped and has never re-occurred. I contacted the manufacturer of the produce I had been using and was advised to try some of the other products in the range including those for older cats, kittens, cats with sensitive stomachs etc. None of them worked. As soon as I eliminated all dry food from the diet of the affected cats, the soaking also stopped as if by magic. When I discussed the results with my vet he suggested that I look at some of the websites on Canine Sprue – an acquired gluten intolerance. Dry cat food has a high level of gluten and most have added wheat gluton which is the hardest to digest. Basically it appears that many cats can eat a dry food with no obvious ill effects. Those that are affected can exhibit symptoms which may not readily be associated with diet as the symptoms may take some time to appear. My personal thoughts are that some cats may develop an intolerance which results in something akin to an inflammation of the mucous membranes. Where this occurs in the mouth and throat, the characteristic ‘soaking’ appears; where this occurs in the digestive tract / bowel, the diarrhea occurs. I am now very aware of this problem and any cat of mine which shows an adverse reaction will never again be fed dry food in any amount however small.

Gail Miller

If you have had similar experiences with dry complete food we would like to hear from you.

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