Healing an IBD gut in dogs and cats:

Healing an IBD gut in dogs and cats:

Introductory Diet of Homemade Meat or Fish Stock

Meat and fish stocks provide building blocks for the rapidly growing cells of the gut lining, and they have a soothing effect on any areas of inflammation in the gut. Bone broth is rich in minerals including calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, sodium, potassium, sulphate, fluoride, all delivered in an easily absorbable form. The minerals will improve immune function and support healthy digestion. Bone broth is also rich in collagen. Collagen is a protein containing two important amino acids, proline and glycine, and it will help heal the lining of the gut to relieve intestinal inflammation. Broths also contain glycosaminoglycans, also called GAGs, important building blocks for tissue repair.

This is why broths aid digestion and have been known for centuries as healing folk remedies for the digestive tract.  Do not use commercially available soup stock granules or bouillon cubes, as they are highly processed and contain detrimental ingredients such as MSG.

To make good meat stock, you need joints, bones, a piece of meat on the bone.  It is preferable to use free range or organic meats when possible. It is essential to use bones and joints, as they provide the healing minerals and collagen, more so than the muscle meats.

If you are using larger boned meats, ask the butcher to cut in half the large tubular bones, so you can get the bone marrow out of them after cooking. Put the bones, joints and meat into a large pan and fill it with water. Bring to boil, cover and simmer on a low heat for at least 3 hours.

You can make fish stock the same way using a whole fish or fish fins, bones and heads.

After cooking, take the bones and meats or fish out and sieve the stock to remove small bones. Strip off all the soft tissues from the bones as best as you can and encourage your pet to eat them. Reserve the extra for adding to meals later. Extract the bone marrow out of large tubular bones while they are still warm. To do that, bang the bone on a thick wooden chopping board. The gelatinous soft tissues around the bones and the bone marrow provide some of the best healing ingredients for the gut lining and the immune system; your pet needs to consume them with every meal.

The meat or fish stock will keep well in the fridge for at least seven days or can be frozen. Provide warm meat stock as a drink with meals and between meals. It is very important for your pet to consume all the fat in the stock and off of the bones, as these fats are essential for the healing process. 

You can feed your cat or dog more and more of the meat and soft tissues mixed with the broth until the signs of diarrhea, bloating, abdominal pain, and constipation have gone away. In most animals this happens quite quickly, within a week or two, but in severe cases it can take months.

Then introduce highly digestible species-appropriate raw food. Usually start with rabbit fillets for cats. We then progress to rabbit mince, which is ground meat, bone and organs. If fillets and mince are tolerated, we like to get cats chewing on pieces of raw meaty bone, such as rabbit shoulders, as quickly as possible. Introduce new raw foods regularly. Every week a new type of raw meat can be added, watching for any recurrence of clinical signs.

For dogs, we include green Tripe, rabbit and Hare meat, or venison, with connective tissue, fats etc., Meaty shin bones that are large and not brittle are wonderful teeth cleaning aids. These Novel game proteins are well tolerated to a sensitive gut. Include lightly steamed green veggies daily as well.

The Keys to Improved Health

What is important is that your pet has a healthy mucosal flora in the gut, and a species-appropriate diet. By optimizing these two factors we give your pet the best chance of repairing the inflamed gut. So, a restorative diet and the restoration of the bowel flora are two key components of helping a cat or dog with IBD.

There is a definite connection between the functioning of the gut and the functioning of the rest of the body. When food is not digested and absorbed properly, our pets suffer from multiple nutritional deficiencies. Inflamed guts become a source of toxins, rather than a source of nourishment. Healing and sealing the leaky gut are the key to improving health. The gut has great capacity for repair when fed a species-appropriate diet.

If your pet has been diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Disease, and you would like further help and advice, please contact me or book a clinical consultation.