Bloody stools again. IBD

Well it seems that we can't control the IBD with Nature's Variety Raw and canned as my MC had a very bloody bowel movement. So we're off to the vet for prescription IBD food.

We also just tweaked his steroid (1.5 cm every other day from everyday.).

Hopefully I can work some way to feed him separately. Suggestions are welcome since I have two Hoover Coon kittens to contend with.

Sorry to hear that your cat is having an IBD flare. I would be more inclined to think that the lower dosage of prednisolone is causing the flare. Is there a specific reason the pred was reduced?

What prescription IBD food are you referring to?

The Vet wants to get him to the lowest dose possible so we can avoid certain side effects (diabetes, kidney issues) .

I was speaking of the RC Hypoallergenic.

In addition he's eating but loosing weight so I'm thinking he's having an absorption problem on the grain free and raw. Perhaps a pre/probiotic is in order. I found some for humans at the vitamin shoppe. I may pick up today. 13 billion sounds like it will do the trick.

The medicine is measured in centimeters? The cat may have had a flare due to missing a dose. It may be better to decrease the daily dosage rather than decrease the days that he gets medication.

peaches08 said:

The medicine is measured in centimeters? The cat may have had a flare due to missing a dose. It may be better to decrease the daily dosage rather than decrease the days that he gets medication.

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I think so. We were on 2.5/day for month then 1.25/day for month and now down to 1.25 every other day. His stools were better this morning. TBH I give him 1.5 cc.

JClark said:

The Vet wants to get him to the lowest dose possible so we can avoid certain side effects (diabetes, kidney issues) .
 

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Vets do strive for the lowest EFFECTIVE dose. It is very much trial and error to figure out what that dosage is since it is individual to the cat. I would definitely talk to your vet about this. It is sort of a Catch-22 in terms of dealing with current problems or preventing future ones, but if the reduced pred is causing the latest flare-up, then you might want to discuss taking it back up to the former dosage.

If you think he is having absorption issues, you may also want to discuss digestive enzymes with your vet.

JClark said:

I think so. We were on 2.5/day for month then 1.25/day for month and now down to 1.25 every other day. His stools were better this morning. TBH I give him 1.5 cc.

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Oh I see, cc = ml, which is a milliliter. If he feels better, it's probably because of the medicine. Did the vet give you instructions on how to reduce the dosage?

Also, be careful with making a lot of changes all at once. You won't know what truly helped. And it doesn't sound like the food was the problem anyway.

peaches08 said:

Oh I see, cc = ml, which is a milliliter. If he feels better, it's probably because of the medicine. Did the vet give you instructions on how to reduce the dosage?

Also, be careful with making a lot of changes all at once. You won't know what truly helped. And it doesn't sound like the food was the problem anyway.

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Her instructions were to go every other day after we finished the pre we were using for every day.

He probably had a flare up, but I'm going to put him on probiotic and see if that'll help with absorption. I've read that the intestinal inflammation associated with IBD inhibits food absorption.

Have you discussed B-12 shots with the vet? http://ibdkitties.net/B12.html

I also asked in the Probiotics thread in the nutrition forum if lymphoma has been ruled out. But as your kitty is on pred, I'm guessing that at this point it hasn't. It can be impossible to diagnose while results are "confused" by pred.

It's probably best to rule out the malabsorption issue first. The probiotics may help; but I would definitely discuss the B-12 shot(s) with the vet.

LDG said:

Have you discussed B-12 shots with the vet? http://ibdkitties.net/B12.html

I also asked in the Probiotics thread in the nutrition forum if lymphoma has been ruled out. But as your kitty is on pred, I'm guessing that at this point it hasn't. It can be impossible to diagnose while results are "confused" by pred.

It's probably best to rule out the malabsorption issue first. The probiotics may help; but I would definitely discuss the B-12 shot(s) with the vet.

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i've been thinking about that.
He went on a round of shots and gained some weight. IBD does inhibit the uptake of Vit B I was thinking maybe once a month but wanted to see how the Probiotics work first.

I highly urge you to read the entire article in the link I provided about B 12 shots.

If chosing one over the other, based on experiences of others, I'd opt for B 12 first.