Stanley Kubrick came into my life on June 22nd, 2011. I visited PetSmart in Asheville as I wanted to give another kitty, in need of a home, a loving home. I first saw him in a crate where he was propped up–aloof, ignoring everyone around him.

But something drew me to him. Perhaps his orange and white tabby stripes or his green eyes or maybe his calm demeanor.

Sarah, his foster mom, brought him to me in a small room to see how we would get along. No issues but he was still aloof. I thought it might be stress so I stated to Sarah, “I’m fine with taking him home but he has to give me some sign he is interested in me being his mom.” Upon hearing that, he turned and walked to me and rubbed my hand.

And so the beautiful orange and white tabby boy became my cat boy. There was only one problem–his name. It was Lo Mein. I thought this was the most dishonorable name for a cat, given that many felines end up in human food dishes in certain cultures. On the way home I kept asking him what his real name was and about the third curve down Riceville Road, I heard it loud and clear….Stanley Kubrick: The director of 2001, A Space Oddity…the version my cat boy directed anyway. He’s out there all right!

The shyness that was present at the adoption event never returned once he stepped his white paws into my home. During the couple of days I kept the kitties apart, Stanley protested. The separation from my big gray girl was difficult for him. He wanted to roam the home and play with his new sister.

He was born August 21, 2009. His guardian surrendered him when he was 6 weeks old. He was adopted on December 4, 2009 by a guy  who had a roommate. He lived there until his guardian, the one who named him Lo Mein, abandoned him when he left and his roommate didn’t want to care for him. I adopted him shortly after Brother Wolf Animal Rescue received him.

His story is typical of many abandoned animals.

Stanley adjusted well to his new home but he had a health issue that was very concerning. He had persistent diarrhea. After six weeks of vet visits and tests that added up to over $700 there was still no identified reason he was unable to digest food properly. The tests the vets wanted to administer became more and more invasive and Stanley’s anxiety level at being crated and put in the car grew in intensity so I made the decision to stop all the tests and vet visits. There were no parasites, it wasn’t contagious to my gray girl so I couldn’t see torturing him anymore. The one test I didn’t agree to would have helped rule out a problem for which there was no cure anyway….so why put him through it? I made the decision to stop tormenting him and allow him to live, or die, in peace.

High quality food was slowly added to his diet and he would have slight improvement but the persistent gas, bloating and explosive pooping continued. Over the two years that he has been with me I have consistently administered Reiki treatments and if nothing else the energy work helped him relax. Having a cat with IBS, irritable bowel syndrome, is challenging. Mostly because I saw how uncomfortable he was and how embarrassed he would be if he had difficulties.

A few months ago I decided to do one last internet search to see if any information would surface that might help him. I read a woman’s blog about her cat with IBS and how Blue Buffalo Wilderness food had helped her kitty. I visited my local pet store and found the all-meat dry and canned food. No grain at all. No fillers. Slowly I introduced both of my cat kids to this new food. By the time I switched them over, Stanley showed improvement and while it wasn’t consistent, it was the first sign of hope I had seen.

Recently, he met his new vet at Colony Vet Clinic in Fairhope. Dr. Babs Dixon listened to his story as she examined him and suggested we try a couple rounds of probiotic. I had thought that and was going to ask her about it. So I began sprinkling one capsule of Proviable-DC by Nutramax Laboratories in his wet food each morning. Within a week, he had totally normal bowel movements. We finished the first twenty days and then switched to every other day, which I will continue to give him as maintenance since he had such issues.

It seems obvious that Stanley had a sensitivity to grains. It wasn’t until I eliminated all grain from his diet that he improved. And then the probiotics were the final push his system needed to heal. I feed him a large tablespoon of the canned food each morning and 1/3 cup of the all-meat dry food daily.

To those who have never cared for an animal companion with chronic health issues it may seem odd for me to devote a lengthy blog entry to it. If you have a cat with IBS then you totally understand why this is so important. And you also understand how happy my heart is to see perfectly formed cat poo in his box. No more gas, no more bloating, no more explosive diarrhea. I am a very happy, joyful cat mom!

Witnessing the suffering of an innocent is difficult. Helping find a solution to ease their suffering and increase their health is joy-inducing. The real story of Stanley Kubrick, the cat, is one of patience and perseverance. And a good lesson in what a grain-free diet and ‘good’ bacteria can do to aid digestion of a carnivore.