Older cat with possible IBD or colitis, how to treat?

I had a post a while back about my nearly 14 y/o cat with chronic diarrhea and weight loss. I thought then that it could be a pancreatic insufficiency, but the tests all came back normal except her vit B12 count was very low. I've been treating her with a vit B12 shot once a week and now she's on steroids once a day, but it's not helping. I'm at a loss on what to try next. The vet wants her on steroids for a month before trying anything else, but I don't know that she can wait that long. What do you use to treat your IBD kitties?

Have you seen this link?  http://www.ibdkitties.net/LivingwithIBD.html

I've never had a cat with IBD, but several people here have cats with it, and it seems like I've definitely read that they have used steroids to treat it, however, at the moment I'm so tired I just can't remember.  If that is what your Vet is recommending, I would probably try it.  Hopefully one of the folks with cats with this condition will be along shortly to tell what they do. 

Sometimes cats will respond better to another steroid.  My kitty used to be on prednisolone, there were major supply issues with this and the vet switched him to dexamethasone out of necessity.  He has done well on it but the vet told me that some kitties didn't do well on it.  He may also need a larger dose of the one that he is taking.

Two of the older kitties I took in last year have IBD.  It's been sort of a trial and error thing to see what works for them.  Jake is on prednisolone 1 ml every other day.  Molly was tried on that dose but it didn't work for her, she apparently continued to have diarrhea (this is before I got them so I'm not sure of the whole story).  She is now on budesonide 2 ml every day.   They were both also on metronidozole but I've been able to wean them off of that.  They get vit B injections twice a month.  That mostly keeps them doing okay. 

I use supplements to help with the diarrhea and vomiting flares: probiotics, pumpkin (for fiber), slippery elm bark.  

But since this treatment is new to your kitty, I'd sure talk to the vet again and tell him/her your concerns about whether it's working or not.  

Also, the link that mrsgreenjeens gave you is a great resource.  There is lots of information on that website and lots of support.

I use budesonide for my kitty. I actually found giving him 1/3 of the dose worked for a while. I'm now giving him about half the regular dose per day. I told my vet I was pour some of the capsule into a tiny bit of water and syringe it into his mouth (very careful not to choke him). I cannot use pill pockets because those effect his IBD - even the grain free ones.

He also gets 1/3 a capsule of probiotic (Culturell) every couple of days. This really did help him because he began hunting his toy again at night after starting him on it. I still have to give budesonide though because the probiotic doesn't completely fix the problem.

In addition - I had to change his foods around. He can no longer have Fancy Feast at all. He vomits right after eating it. He is on grain free because he is diabetic. He also gets sick if a food has too much oil in it. What is good for most cats, isn't good for him. It has been hard to figure things out. This is just what has worked for us so far.

My vet prefers budesonide because it isn't as systemic as other steroids, but I will tell you that when he was on the full dose it did effect his blood glucose levels so it does go out into the body if the dose is high enough.

Started her on raw last night and the vet upped her steroids to twice a day. She's already eaten a weeks worth of raw overnight. I'm beginning to think that it's something more serious, but with all the money I've spent on tests to find out what it's not, I can't afford x-rays right now.

No, this is not unusual. Here's a good explanation of what happens to their GI systems with IBD: http://feline-nutrition.org/health/feline-inflammatory-bowel-disease-nature-and-treatment

They can definitely have problems with proper nutrient absorption. There are two specific probiotics that help with IBD:

1) An L. acidophilus supplement. This helps the B-12 uptake

2) S. boulardii

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19706150
http://www.horizonpress.com/cimb/v/v11/47.pdf
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3296087/

What a number of people are finding particularly helpful is using the probiotic called Nexabiotic one day, and alternating with Natural Factors Double-strength Acidophilus+Bifidus AND an S. boulardii probiotic: I use Nutricology S. boulardii, others are using A.O.R. S. boulardii.

This is the Nexabiotic:
The Natural Factors:
The A.O.R S. boulardii:
OR

The Nutricology S. boulardii:
The directions for each are 1/2 a capsule 2x a day.

The Feline-Nutrition.org talks about bone broth. If you're interested in that, here is an article that mentions why it is so helpful for IBD animals (it's an article in Dogs Naturally, but it's the same thing for cats): https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/reasons-your-dog-love-bone-broth/

And here are detailed instructions on how to make it: http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2013/12/02/pet-bone-broth.aspx

The PDF version (instead of via video): http://mercola.fileburst.com/PDF/HealthyPets/DrBecker-BoneBroth.pdf

The other thing that may really help are digestive enzymes. These help "predigest" the food so kitty gets more out of it. I use Prozyme Original - it just takes a little bit, which is why it's so easy to use.
Vibes for your kitty.

After one day on raw she had solid poop. Still light tan and very smelly, but perfectly formed. That's the first time she hasn't had diarrhea in months. She's also going only two times a day instead of 4 or 5. Day 3 on raw, still solid. I gave her some probiotics with Salmon oil on Friday night, that's all I had, and she had less form. My computer is messed up and won't let me update from home. I will ask my vet about budesonide. She wants to try metronidazole again, but it made her worse when she was on it before. Hopeing the raw will work and that she'll start gaining weight.

I have been going through this with my cat for years and have done a LOT of research. He's on daily prednisolone and Pepcid, which help...BUT, the single best thing I've done for him is to change his diet. I switched him to a mostly canned grain-free, low starch, carrageenan-free diet. It made a HUGE difference. For canned food we use some versions of Tiki Cat (some have guar gum or carrageenan so we don't use those ones), Weruva,  Nature's Instinct and Soulistic. I also use some Wellness Signature and Nutro as a treat. You HAVE to read the label because some have carrageenan and some don't and they can be the same brand. I will also give him Nature's Instinct dry food and Wellness Core grain-free. 

carebearbaby1 said:

After one day on raw she had solid poop. Still light tan and very smelly, but perfectly formed. That's the first time she hasn't had diarrhea in months. She's also going only two times a day instead of 4 or 5. Day 3 on raw, still solid. I gave her some probiotics with Salmon oil on Friday night, that's all I had, and she had less form. My computer is messed up and won't let me update from home. I will ask my vet about budesonide. She wants to try metronidazole again, but it made her worse when she was on it before. Hopeing the raw will work and that she'll start gaining weight.

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If things are going well with the raw, there's no need for the metro.

As to the probiotics and salmon oil, with IBD kitties (as you're quickly learning) it's really best to introduce one new thing at at time - and in very small amounts, working up to the dose you want to use. :rub:

GusMaggie said:

I have been going through this with my cat for years and have done a LOT of research. He's on daily prednisolone and Pepcid, which help...BUT, the single best thing I've done for him is to change his diet. I switched him to a mostly canned grain-free, low starch, carrageenan-free diet. It made a HUGE difference. For canned food we use some versions of Tiki Cat (some have guar gum or carrageenan so we don't use those ones), Weruva,  Nature's Instinct and Soulistic. I also use some Wellness Signature and Nutro as a treat. You HAVE to read the label because some have carrageenan and some don't and they can be the same brand. I will also give him Nature's Instinct dry food and Wellness Core grain-free. 

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Perhaps you missed carebarebaby's update. She's feeding raw, and her kitty is having solid stools. Raw is less processed, usually with fewer ingredients to worry about than commercial foods - no carrageenan, xantham gum, guar gum, etc. .

Raw food is fantastic, but one thing you do have to watch is which brand you use. Most contain bones which irritate an IBD cat's stomach.

It's Nature's Variety Instinct Rabbit, it does contain ground rabbit bones, but doesn't seem to upset her stomach. She's only thrown up occasionally the entire time she's been sick. It's mostly just severe diarrhea and weight loss. I am guilty of giving her treats every once in a while when I don't have the raw thawed and she's screaming for something to eat. She's still eating like crazy, a full day's serving at every meal, 4 or 5 meals a day. I tried her on the digestive enzymes again but she didn't like the stew I made to mix it in. She'd rather eat it in chunks.

I think as long as she's tolerating the raw definitely stick with it. I tried the rabbit with my cats but they wouldn't eat it. The telltale is the solid poop and weight gain. Fingers crossed!

GusMaggie said:

Raw food is fantastic, but one thing you do have to watch is which brand you use. Most contain bones which irritate an IBD cat's stomach.

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Most contain bone that *might* irritate an IBD cat's stomach. Most of them handle bone just fine.

GusMaggie said:

I think as long as she's tolerating the raw definitely stick with it. I tried the rabbit with my cats but they wouldn't eat it. The telltale is the solid poop and weight gain. Fingers crossed!

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Introducing a new food you want your cats to eat often isn't about whether or not they like it, it's about figuring out how to introduce it slowly enough that they learn to like it. It's just easier when they like it right off the bat - but that often isn't the case. One TCS member's kitty took over a month before she'd even taste the raw food. It just takes patience and creativity IF you want them eating something specific.

She eats it great, I don't think she likes that it's cold though. She was on the NVI rabbit dry before they changed the formula and did great on it. The best she's ever done, she has severe food allergies, no poultry products, grains or peas. Then they changed it and added her two biggest allergens, chicken and peas.

You can put the portion you're going to feed her into a baggie and put that in warm water to bring it to room temperature (or a little warmer) before you feed her. It takes maybe 10 minutes or so before you feed her to warm up the food. Mine didn't like it cold at first either. Now I only have one that still wants it warmer than "out-of-the-refrigerator" temperature.

My heart goes out to you and your kitty. I had an IBD kitty at one time (she has since passed ) She had great success on the raw diet and she was on 5mg of pred a day for her lifetime. She never had diarrhea after getting her onto the raw diet. hopefully your kitty will have the same response. A lot of people that have had cats with IBD have sworn that raw cured or at least resolved their kitties GI issues. Best of luck to you and your fur baby! 

carebearbaby1 said:

After one day on raw she had solid poop. Still light tan and very smelly, but perfectly formed. That's the first time she hasn't had diarrhea in months. She's also going only two times a day instead of 4 or 5. Day 3 on raw, still solid. I gave her some probiotics with Salmon oil on Friday night, that's all I had, and she had less form. My computer is messed up and won't let me update from home. I will ask my vet about budesonide. She wants to try metronidazole again, but it made her worse when she was on it before. Hopeing the raw will work and that she'll start gaining weight.

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Raw fixed my 3 overnight as well, and they also ate a lot of raw that first time. Some of us are lucky enough to have cats that know what is appropriate for them.

Hope she continues to improve!

Metronidazole is an antibiotic so you may want to follow up with a probiotic after you've completed the course as it wipes out their gut flora.

Your Vet doubled the dose of Prednisolone in an attempt to get the inflamation under control. I suspect eventually your Vet will want to gradually reduce the dosage after a month or so. Prednisolone will also stimulate your cats appetite. Give it to your cat at night before you go to bed. It will do better during the day.

I've read that weekly shot of B12 over a period of a month will help your cat put on some weight and replenish B12 stores in the body. IBD inhibits the uptake of B12. On a side note B12 is very cheap and you can buy tiny (baby asprin) 1,000 mg size pills which will fit in a small syringe. Once a week the morning after I give him his Prednislone I drop one in a syringe, draw in a little water, give it a shake to dissolve. Uptake of B12 depends on the progression and type of the IBD within the GI tract. That which does not get absorbed will just pass through no biggie.


The IBD kitties webite is a godsend, but I will say that don't get discouraged if your cat doesn't improve on a Raw or "IBD Friendly" diet alone. My cat doesn't. He gets Natures Variety Instinct Raw and Canned every day, and he'll start vomiting if I go more than 3 days without giving him his 1.5 mg of liquid Prednisolone. IBD is a strange chronic disease. My cat still developed IBD even though for most of his life he had to eat a perscription diet for IBD cats due to issues with an older, now deceased, cat who probably had IBS.

IMO your cat is either predisposed to getting it or not and certain foods will just aggravate it.

GL.

JClark said:

I've read that weekly shot of B12 over a period of a month will help your cat put on some weight and replenish B12 stores in the body. IBD inhibits the uptake of B12. On a side note B12 is very cheap and you can buy tiny (baby asprin) 1,000 mg size pills which will fit in a small syringe. Once a week the morning after I give him his Prednislone I drop one in a syringe, draw in a little water, give it a shake to dissolve. Uptake of B12 depends on the progression and type of the IBD within the GI tract. That which does not get absorbed will just pass through no biggie.

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Actually, it's been shown in at least one study that an L. acidophilus supplement will improve B-12 uptake. More and more is being learned about the importance of gut flora in the role of immune system function, GI health, and nutrient metabolism. Basically - it's key to all of it. :lol3:

JClark said:

The IBD kitties webite is a godsend, but I will say that don't get discouraged if your cat doesn't improve on a Raw or "IBD Friendly" diet alone. My cat doesn't. He gets Natures Variety Instinct Raw and Canned every day, and he'll start vomiting if I go more than 3 days without giving him his 1.5 mg of liquid Prednisolone. IBD is a strange chronic disease. My cat still developed IBD even though for most of his life he had to eat a perscription diet for IBD cats due to issues with an older, now deceased, cat who probably had IBS.

IMO your cat is either predisposed to getting it or not and certain foods will just aggravate it.

GL.

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If you don't address the issue of the gut flora, any diet can be a problem. Many are finding that a combination of lactobaccilus (L. acidophilus at least), bifidobacterium and S. boulardii are really helping their IBD kitties.