Feline Triaditis. My experience and concerns/questions

reggiesmom

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Hi, Reggie has just started on the Raynes Sensitive with turkey, sweet potato and peas,dry, on Thursday.  Before that he was on Royal Canin Hi fibre response GI for five years or so.  He is a kibble addict, with a little tuna and turkey as a treat, and he is always trying to nibble anything I eat.  The doctor wanted him on this diet because he is a kibble addict and loves the turkey, his weight is dropping and she wants him to gain weight.  He thinks wet cat food is poison.  According to his vet, the bloodwork doesn't show any food allergies.  He had an exam two months ago and was fine, putting on weight.  It has only been in the last two months he has crashed.  He is on prednisone, 5 mg twice a day, and some pre and pro biotic, a new product that supposedly has great results and Vit b 12 .  he goes for a weighin and checkup on Thurs, is stil has blood in stool.  His behavior is okay, still not Reggie, but close.  I will ask about the wet, but the vet's concern is getting up his weight.  I can hear his poor tummy gurgling away after he eats.  Thanks again for the input
 

gisele

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Hi Jim, I was moved to read the story of Noelle. I would like to know how she feels nowadays ;-)
 

grywlfjla

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Hi I just read your article. My cat was diagnosed two years ago, his name is Smokey he's 15 and has triad and possible something else going on. One thing you need to know is that food plays a huge part in this. I have been dealing with it for over 2 years. He was put in Royal canon digestive health fiber response now we may need to change because I think he needs a change Talk to your vet about the Royal canin formulas. My cat has seen on prednisolome 5 mugs 2 x a day. Please feel free to contact me for anything.
 

mac1

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My cat was misdiagnosed as having IBD. She was given steroids and antibiotics. She died 4 days after the steroids were used. I found her under the bed with yellow gums, nose and eyes. She was panting and appeared to be in great pain. She died on the way to the ER Vet. The weird thing is her blood tests and stool samples came back normal 2 weeks before this. I did not mention that she had been having diarrhea for a couple of weeks outside of her liter box. I wish I would have pushed for them to do more invasive tests. I miss Piper like crazy
 

gingerjake

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Aaah, I'm so sorry to hear you lost your Piper...& in this way. Any loss is hard but when they're ill & suffering, it just adds to the terribleness of it all. We just lost our Milo to 'system shutdown' in May. There wasn't anything we could do. We tried all kinds of things but he just slowly slipped away from us.

We had much better luck with our Spencer. He was diagnosed with triaditis & was given a 20% chance of survival. But we recognized the fighter in him & we armed him with everything he needed to survive. Feeding tube in his neck for 10 months & all the meds he needed to get better. And he did. That was all 4 years ago now...today he has gone from 9 meds a day to 1!!! And is very healthy for a 14 yr old boy! This was him on Valentines Day!

 
 

jadablue

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Hi,

I'm not sure if anyone is still posting on this thread since the last one was quite a while ago.  Anyhow, I'm trying to figure out what to do about my boy.  He has had several attacks of pancreatitis and each time he's been put on the usual regime of pain killers, antiemetic, and prednisolone.  He has been on a steady course of prednisolone, but just had another episode.  This time he is jaundice so we ran more blood tests and found out he has cholangitis.  I suspect what's going on here is triaditis. Dallas is 13 years old now and has been consistently losing weight over the last several months despite how much he eats.. and he is ALWAYS hungry.. except when he has an attack of course.  I feel like I'm just keeping him on this rollercoaster treatment course and don't want my boy to suffer. Anyone have input on this? I'm afraid we'll be faced with the end of the road soon. 
 

gingerjake

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Hello Jadablue  --

I don't come here anymore either since my boy is healthy now & we beat the triaditis.  Your Dallas sounds much like what my Spencer was doing. We eventually had to have a feed tube put in his neck to get food to his stomach so he'd put weight on but once that began to happen, he rallied quite nicely. I do realize that 13 is 'getting up there' but that's likely what Spencer is as well. We don't know for sure because he is a rescue that we got when he was (approx) 9...& we've had him 3 & a half years.

The other thing is have you had his thyroid checked? After we got Spencer up & running again, he started getting 'narrow in the hip' so we had our vet check him for this...he was losing a bit of muscle & she put him on a once a day pill & he's just fine again now.   See pic.

I hope this helps a little. Please let me know how he does?


 

vigilantelove

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Hi Jadablue,

I'm so glad to see someone post on here recently. I've been lurking this thread for 6 months now since my cat was diagnosed. Here's my recommendations/experience.

My Nova is 7, about to be 8 years old. He was diagnosed with severe lymphocytic-plasmacytic IBD in August 2016. He was put on Metronidazole 30mg 2x daily, Prednisolone 5mg 1x daily. He had lost a large amount of weight in a rapid period of time, and could not gain it back regardless of how much he ate... and he ate ravenously. We went through $5000 in procedures and probably about $1000 trying different diets trying to pinpoint something that did not cause him to flare up (Nova also has food intolerances, and they play a large role in disease management). We finally ended up on a diet of raw, ground rabbit with bones and organ, supplemented with Alnutrin. He still tolerates this well with minimal issue.

A few months later, he had a massive relapse, which resulted in constipation and a major blockage in his intestines, for which he underwent an endoscopy (thankfully surgery was not needed) to remove the blockage. He was retested for pancreatitis, B12 deficiency, full blood panel and EPI testing. He was positively diagnosed with chronic panceatitis and EPI (exocrine pancreatic insufficiency). In basic human terms, this is a secondary disease caused by severe pancreatitis. The cat no longer creates the enzymes needed to digest protein, as the pancreas has been damaged by inflammation. As a result, they will eat ravenously but continue to lose weight, because they cannot properly digest.

So, we added a pancreatic enzyme to Nova's medication regimen. Our vets also suspect Cholangiohepatitis (basically, triaditis... inflammatory diseases in all three - bowels, pancreas, and liver), but we can not afford a biopsy to confirm. We are playing the "rule out" game at this point, blood tests, altering his medication, re-testing, etc. Here's our current regimen and how it's working;

Raw Rabbit diet, supplemented with Alnutrin supplement (simple, taurine/vitamin supplement that is not derived from any other animal proteins) We mix a batch of 10lbs every few weeks, add Alnutrin and 4 cups of water, portion daily meals in tupperware, and freeze. I switched my other cat to this diet as well and she lost a little padding and her fur became incredibly soft.... and she was healthy to begin with!

Every meal, every little thing Nova eats, no matter what... must come with a pancreatic enzyme supplement. We use Pancreazyme, 1/8 tsp with every 4.25oz meal. He does not get treats, extras, pill pockets.... nothing but his main meals. He has maintained his normal weight for 4 months since the introduction of the enzymes. He also rapidly re-gained his lost weight within the first three weeks of enzyme use (5 lbs, nearly 1/2 his body weight!).

I will say, that it is not so easy for all cats. The enzymes taste bitter, are rather smelly, and I've heard countless cat-parents complain that their cats simply will not eat them. There are a number of ways around this, and there are plenty of stories at http://epiincats.webs.com/managing-epi and http://ibdkitties.net. I am very, very fortunate that my Nova will eat anything, and readily takes a little bowl of enzymes mixed with 1/4 oz of food and water before his main meal.

Pills;
2.5mg prednisolone 1x daily
30 mg metronidazole 2x daily
1/4 tab famotidine (plain pepcid ac) 2x daily
B12 Shot 1x per month

As Needed basis; 1/4 tbp Miralax up to 2x daily if we do not see stool within 24 hours.

This is all current. The pepcid was added due to ulcers found in his stomach during his last endoscopy. The regimen has changed over 6 months, and we're currently in a transition of trying to wean down the steroids. Nova may not be able to wean off of steroids, as these past few weeks his stools have been increasingly poor. He's got an upcoming visit for more blood work to see if the decrease in steroids has helped his elevated liver enzymes come down. Overall, he is in good spirits, he is playful and his personality is back to the fun kitty he was prior to the onset of his symptoms. He has occasional bouts of diarrhea, but this does not effect his mood or appetite. His flare ups are small, and generally consist of an hour of discomfort followed by poor stool, then back to normal. His overall wellness has improved drastically in the course of 6 months managing the disease.

I know, very well, that this can be a long, frustrating, stressful road. I sometimes stop, and realize that I will one day lose my beautiful little boy to this disease, and I just break down. I handle it by remembering to be thankful for every day Nova is happy. I am also very thankful that he handles his pills, medications, shots, and all of the vet visits... like a champ. He takes his medications without too much fuss, he bounces back from procedures, and he keeps fighting to be well. He is resilient, so I force myself to be resilient to help him.

So... after the novel, here's my advice;

Get tested for EPI, B12 and Folate deficiency, and a full blood panel. Understand that medications may be for life. EPI cats must have Pancreatic enzymes for life, with all meals in order to properly digest protein... and cats must have animal protein to live. Steroids may be for life as well. Ask a million questions of your vets. Do not be afraid to push if the answers are vague or unsatisfying. You are the only one that can advocate for your cat's health. They cannot speak, so you must be the voice. You know your cat, and their general demeanor. When something is wrong, and you know it, do not let them push fluids and pills without answers. The problem will persist once the effects of anti-nausea meds and fluids have worn off. (This has happened to me twice with Nova, and we no longer see that vet as a result. He nearly died of his blockage because they were not thorough.)

Once a diagnosis is reached, and the shock has passed, set up a routine and stick to it like clockwork. Managing these diseases takes commitment. It is easier, less stressful, and overall better for everyone involved (especially kitty!) to make a medication regimen plan and stick to it. We're on a 12 hour cycle, my husband and I trade off on mornings and evenings. Food/medication at 7am, and once more at 7pm. It has to work for kitty, but it also has to work around your life as well. It helps to keep a journal of stools, urine, appetite, energy level and overall symptoms on a day to day basis. This will give you a baseline, and help you recognize the little warning signs for relapses and flare ups before they become serious. It helps you learn your own cat's warning signs.

Hopefully this helps. My heart goes out to you. Managing this is not easy, and it is entirely overwhelming. There is hope. Nova may not be entirely managed, but he is happy. He is loving, playful, and not in pain. I've learned how to see his symptoms early enough to help him immediately, and keep him stable. It's worth it. If you need help, there are resources, there are kind people, and everyone I've reached out to who have experienced these issues have been happy to offer advice, support, or just nice words.

I would like to note that the folks at ibd kitties, hare-today, alnutrin and EPIcats were all especially kind, helpful, and informative when I reached out with questions and concerns.
 
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