Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Nowadays we meet a lot of cats that have been diagnosed with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) which refers to a number of ailments that affect the lining of cat’s gut. IBD is a serious condition which can have long-term effects if left untreated. Luckily, there are holistic and alternative remedies so no cat should suffer from IBD.

What is IBD?

A cat’s small intestine is lined with finger-like projections called villi. When the cat’s intestines are irritated, they swell up and what was once peaks and valleys becomes smoothed out like waves, resulting in less surface area to digest food¹. The villi are lined with cells called enterocytes that help absorb nutrients² and when swollen the enterocytes can’t do their job. This causes the walls of the digestive tract to become weak, nutrient absorption may become compromised³, and toxins may leak into the gut⁴. This inflammation of the villi is called Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).
Not to be confused with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (which is when the nerve supply to the intestines causes hypermotility, usually due to stress) IBD refers to inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, which could have many different causes. Chronic inflammation can be caused by a food allergy, stress, or could be a result of a parasitic or bacterial infection⁵. Common indications of IBD include diarrhea, vomiting and weight loss⁶. The gut bacteria which is normally balanced between helpful digestive bacteria and useless ‘bad’ bacteria can become unbalanced, resulting in the cat being even less able to digest properly⁷. With the GI tract under the weather, a cat’s immune system becomes compromised and can leave the cat vulnerable to secondary infections⁸.

How does diet effect IBD?

In some cases, a food allergy or intolerance that goes untreated can progress to IBD⁹. Cats can develop food allergies from repeated exposure to ingredients¹⁰. Frequent allergen culprits in cat food include grains, chicken, beef, soy, seafood and dairy¹¹ simply because these items are some of the most common ingredients in cat food. Additionally, the cat food industry has sacrificed quality for the bottom line, by reducing the amount of animal proteins in cat food and supplementing with nutrients¹². This results in many cats eating diets that are inappropriate for their species, made with little meat and stuffed with synthetic vitamins, preservatives or fillers. This diet that is improper for carnivores can lead to a damaged gut which can then trigger an allergic reaction from the food¹³. These highly processed foods that were created out of convenience are so biologically inappropriate that they have actually damaged cat’s guts and led to the rise in IBD¹⁴.

How can diet treat IBD?

The traditional way of treating IBD would be to put the cat on a limited ingredient prescription or hypoallergenic diet. Introducing either novel or hydrolyzed proteins, which are small enough not to trigger an immune response, are also common treatments¹⁵. However, all of these regimens do nothing to repair the gut lining, and instead focus treating on the symptoms, not the source. Additionally, these diets are usually full of carbohydrates and made from low quality protein sources¹⁶ and will worsen the problem in the gut.
One thing that everyone can agree on is that the cat needs a change in diet, and the more simple the better. Cats with IBD generally respond extremely well to a raw diet¹⁷, as it restores the balance of good bacteria within the body¹⁸. Raw meat is easier for a cat to digest, as it contains more digestive enzymes than cooked¹⁹. A commercial raw diet for cats is usually made from a high-quality protein, and contains little carbohydrates, again easing digestion within the cat. Probiotics may also be introduced, in the form of raw goat’s milk or as a supplement to aid in the cat’s digestion. Bone broths made from whole animals, including joints and marrow, are also instrumental in healing the lining of a cat’s intestinal walls²⁰. If you are unable to feed a raw diet, search for a high quality, limited ingredient canned diet. The closer to what a cat would naturally eat in the wild, the better. Once balance has been restored within the gut, cats with IBD have been known to go into complete remission²¹.

Prior to WWII cats were mostly fed canned foods. However the scarcity of meat and metal during this time revolutionized the cat food industry. The sacrifice of quality and the abandonment of species appropriate nutrition created long-term domino effects. It is not coincidence that food allergies, intolerance, and inflammatory bowel disease are on the rise in cats today.
As with humans, what we feed our cats can have long term effects on their overall health. Simply because foods are marketed as healthy and natural do not make them so. It is important to inspect all ingredients and ask yourself, why does this company say that my cat needs this? Your cat is a carnivore, an obligate carnivore. Sure, potatoes are natural, but are they natural for cats?

Footnotes

<sub>1. All Feline Hospital
2. Feline Nutrition
3. Only Natural Pet
4. Mercola
5. Cornell
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7. All Feline Hospital
8. Mercola
9. Only Natural Pet
10. Mercola
11. Pet Education
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13. Feline Nutrition
14. Feline Nutrition
15. Feline Nutrition
16. Natural Cat Care Blog
17. Feline IBD
18. Feline Nutrition
19. Jon Barron
20. Feline Nutrition
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