I too have a cat with colitis and two with weak digestive systems. IBD
and related diseases come in a variety of severities. I feel lucky--I
switched cat food to Nature's Recipe which has absolutely no corn and
has a number of positive elements like probiotics, yucca and is generally
quite a good dry food. This helped the two cats with weak digestive
systems--no more loose stools and no more regular hairball sessions.
The change in diet was insufficient for my ex-feral with colitis. He
required a shot of dexamethasone (sp?) and another dietary change to
Medical High Fibre wet cat food. I now feed this to all my kitties twice a
day (five cats share one can at each feeding) and I also leave a bowl of
Nature's Recipe (for those that wish to snack) and fresh water ad lib .
This has solved the colitis problem.
On the other hand, my sister had a cat that was blocked and following
the surgical removal of the mass he required special supplements to
promote movement of the stool through the intestines. For him this
worked temporarily, although for others it works to resolve the problem.
If he had been a young cat, my sister may have opted for surgical
removal of the non-functioning part of the intestine which sometimes
works to resolve IBD related intestinal problems.
I noticed that your main concern is lack of appetite and weight
gain--perhaps feeding him more often would help with that. Maybe a
change of diet would be warranted. Could be something to discuss with
the vet. Rabbit protein is very low in fat and not conducive to weight
gain. Just a thought.
Sincerely,
Selena Walker
Stittsville, Ontario, Canada
in memory of Zachie, June 1982-November 1994
swalker@rohcg.on.ca