Bowel Disease

catpapa

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To anyone that may have a cat with this issue: How did your vet, or you, come to the conclusion that IBD was the issue?
Also, did the Predistone (sp?) help?

I've had some tests done on my cat for the past few weeks and we're having a really hard time pinpointing the issue. As stated in my other post, the stool sample came back negative, Xrays showed nothing except some minor authritus by one of her hips, but I was asured this was nothing serious at this time. I tried chicken flavored metro for 7 days with her and it didn't seem to do anything. I did notice about 2 days after stopping the metro, she had one day where she was feisty, playful and pretty normal, only to go back to being kind of lethargic, with runny poop and small vomiting.

I'm being told IBD is really hard to pinpoint, but all of the symptoms fit in with what's associated with IBD. I'm just afraid to try the Predistone (sp?)due to some of the side effects I was told about. But if it helps her, I may have to.

So to thsoe of you withcats that have IBD, was it pretty much a crap shoot diagnosis? How were you sure? Is it under control?
 

carolina

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The only absolute certain way to diagnose IBD is through a biopsy... with that said... the great majority of people with IBD cats have not done a biopsy - a lot of us go through an elimination type of diagnosis as it is less risky and less expensive.
That means you test your kitty for pretty much everything else that could cause those symptoms, including parasites, run blood tests, do x-rays, treat with metronidazole, and all the tests are normal, except that the kitty still has the symptoms, and pretty much the only explanation for it is IBD.

It is a very good idea IMO to remove allergenic ingredients from their diets putting them into an anti-allergic diet (i.e. Hills Z/D), or a single protein single starch diet (Natural Balance Venison and Green Pea, Duck and Green Pea, or Royal Canin Venison and Green Pea or Duck and Green Pea) for an elimination diet (we can elaborate on this later). This way you can see if they are actually allergic to something they are eating, as oppose of having IBD (or both).

Here in my house I have 2 with IBD, one of them allergic to chicken on the top of it.

One of them has stomatitis as well, and takes daily meds for it, and the medicine helps greatly with his tummy problems. A lot of times stomatitis kitties have IBD as well, which is his case. He is on Hills Z/D for wet, and a mix of Orijen 6-fish and Evo Salmon and Herring, as he can not have chicken.

Hope has IBD, and all of the sudden she became sensitive to a lot of different foods - as though she just could not process it well - anything... She had a horrible time. We did several courses of Metro (by the way, 7 days is too short - you should do 10 days, as only that long you will kill giardia, if that is the problem, IBD also works better with longer courses of metro), and unfortunately she needed prednisone. We only did one month though. She has done amazingly well since we changed her to Z/D. She loves it, and there is no diarrhea at all to worry about.
Hope is not on any medication right now, but the vet said she might need some from time to time when she has a flare up - I hope not soon.

If she didn't get better with pred., our plan was going to be an ultrasound, and depending on the results, last case scenario, the biopsy.

Anyway, that is my experience with it... I hope it helps you some!
 

sharky

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I have two with it ... one diagnoised off elimination and holistic type testing ... the other via surgery ( thought he ate a toy he did not)
 
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catpapa

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I picked up some Hills d/d, venison and green pea flavor just 2 days ago. It doesn't look like she's eating it, but I'm easing her into the food change, so it may just take a bit of time.

Everything I've done so far for her has come back negative, except for the higher globulin levels from the blood test and the authritus shown in the xray.

You mentioned you had a cat allergic to chicken, which is funny because a few days ago, I restocked wet food without getting any chicken, to help see if that was an issue. I would also mention that the metro I got last time was chicken flavor, so if that's what she allergic to, it probably wasn't helping. I would go with the tuna flavor if I had to get it again.

The pred is a last resort for me. I would be willing to try the metro one more run around, but they only give me a 7day bottle. I can ask about a bigger bottle I suppose. =)

Thank you for the info. I think I was just looking to see if I had missed a step or something.
 

kylew

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I would not be afraid of prednisolone. It's a miracle drug
My little guy Franklin is 2 1/2 and has IBD. It was diagnosed via endoscopic biopsy. Biopsy is the only way to get a definative IBD diagnosis.

We went through everything you are now going through. At first we thought it was a protein allergy so he ate duck or venison. It got a bit better but then came back. He was then put on Hills z/d, a hypoallergenic diet. Still no good. Fianlly we did the biopsy and confirmed the IBD. This all happened in late May. He was put on 2X/day prednisolone for 4 weeks. the dose was then reduced to 1X/day for 4 more weeks. We're 3 weeks into this phase. After this he will go down to 1X every other day. He has not thrown up or had diarhea since he started the prednisolone! He has regained all of the weight he lost and then some. I have checked with 3 vets and all have said that the potential side effects of the drug, diabetes being the most important, are rare and are more than out weighed by the benefits!
 

carolina

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Originally Posted by CatPapa

I picked up some Hills d/d, venison and green pea flavor just 2 days ago. It doesn't look like she's eating it, but I'm easing her into the food change, so it may just take a bit of time. Make sure your kitty eats - this is very very important... Do not let her go without food...

Everything I've done so far for her has come back negative, except for the higher globulin levels from the blood test and the authritus shown in the xray.

You mentioned you had a cat allergic to chicken, which is funny because a few days ago, I restocked wet food without getting any chicken, to help see if that was an issue. I would also mention that the metro I got last time was chicken flavor, so if that's what she allergic to, it probably wasn't helping. I would go with the tuna flavor if I had to get it again. Chicken allergies are not that common. Yes, chicken can be an allergen, but there are many things worse than chicken - I would not worry about chicken at this point. However, changing her to a novelty (one that she never ate before) protein is a good idea, as you can rule out all allergens...... although peas can be a problem too. Try this food to see if it works - if it does, you can also give Natural Balance Venison and Green Pea, canned, as it is much cheaper, and not prescription - pretty much the same thing. Available at Petco. If it doesn't work, try Hills Z/D - that is the ultra hypoallergenic food by hills.

The pred is a last resort for me. I would be willing to try the metro one more run around, but they only give me a 7day bottle. I can ask about a bigger bottle I suppose. =) Prednisolone can be a very good thing, and the only thing that works in the end - do not close the doors for it. For me and my vets (I had 2 vets working with my cat), it was also the last resort, because of the side effects. I would not use it long term, at least if I had any choice at all... But short term it can make a world of difference, and bring your kitty back to health. All it took for mine was a month - But I did a combined treatment with pred., Metro, Amforol (to control the diarrhea while the pred got to work), and the food change. Then We phase out of the Amforol, then out of the Metro, then out of the pred - she is now completely drug free, and 100% better, all symptoms controlled with food only.
She is expected to have flare ups throughout her life, but if she she does, I will try Metro first before pred.

Thank you for the info. I think I was just looking to see if I had missed a step or something.
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