Question about IBD cats and cats with lymphoma

myrnafaye

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I am wondering what you perceive about your cat's demeanor, his or her personality, on a day to day basis.  Do you see changes, variations?  I am not asking about clinical signs, like eating or not eating, or litter box issues.  Do you, for example, see "good days and bad?"  changes in your cat's playfulness, or "hiding"?  How is it for you?  and please tell me when you answer whether your cat has IBD or lymphoma or if you are not sure.

My cat Obi is quiet.  more quiet than he used to be.  He is eating and drinking fine but he is quiet.  He is also 15.
 

stephanietx

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I have no words of advice, but didn't want you to feel ignored.  Bumping this up so one of our more knowledgeable folks will see it.
 

cocheezie

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My Cocheezie has a new place for afternoon naps. At first, I thought she was checking out hiding places. Then I thought she was getting away from everyone watching the World Cup in "her" room. The hiding place is a lower bookshelf in my office. It is only accessible by walking under the small table up against the bookshelves that holds my printer (she's deaf so the printer noise doesn't bother her). She still uses the space for an afternoon nap when she wants a good, solid sleep. She is most agreeable to be woken up and asked to come out. Until about 2-3 weeks ago, she would NEVER come into my office which is a converted dressing room off the bedroom.

Twice, we've found her hidden under a chair in my husband's study. It is a chair that is used to pile things on and is not easy for a cat to get under. Again, she was very agreeable about coming out.

She's beginning to attempt an escape and go into hiding when she sees the IV fluid bag heading for the bathroom to warm up. I'm concentrating on making the experience more enjoyable. She's always been a self-petter so now I put a brush in front of her and gently scratch just above her tail while she is getting fluids. She put her head down and goes crazy on the brush. She's getting tired of being pilled. Working on that as well by holding the 2 pills and 3 treats in my hand. She gets the treats after.

Otherwise, she's become very clingy and demanding. We used to pride ourselves on having the quietest cat in the world. There are times when she howls for me. I spent all morning with her so that my partner could concentrate on his work and not be interrupted by howling. She eventually jumped to the window ledge for a nap. I waited until she was asleep, then went into my study to start my work. She started calling for me after 15 minutes. It took 4 trips trying to figure out what she wanted. I tried food, petting, lying down with her, treats. She's stopped howling and is back in the window. Soon she will come into the office and go under the printer to her spot. Late at night, when I'm working, she will come in and lie down right behind my chair even though she is aware that the chair has wheels and rolls. I've stuck a note on my computer that says "CAT!" in big letters so that I don't roll the chair back.

We both work from home and spend a tremendous and exhausting amount of time catering to our cats.

She's still having consistently good days, with occasional bad moments. We don't understand. Even the vet is surprised.

She has liver lymphoma, kidney failure, constipation, heart murmur, and thyroid issues. The lymphoma is pushing her internal organs out of their natural places. Eventually there will be more signs. And eventually there will either be a big crash, or she will stop eating.

Every cat is different, and every cat is a contrary beast.
 
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denice

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My IBD kitty has occasional days when I know he isn't feeling as well as usual.  I go by being in the meatloaf position.  I think he only does that when he isn't feeling well, it's not a normal position for him to be in.  I try not to read too much into things like finding another place to sleep.
 

betsygee

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Yes, I have an IBD kitty who's about 14-1/2 years old now.  He does have some days when he's more lethargic--he sits around and sort of stares into space.  But then he will go back to his 'normal' self.
 

that guy

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My guy is 19 and he has had IBD, renal failure, and pancreatic issues for a few years now and it is an emotional roller coaster to be honest. He also has arthritis so he is kind of played out for sure but he has his good days and he also has is bad. I see him dazing out sometimes and I can see there are times when he does not feel well and other times he is much better. When he is not feeling well I check up on him every hour or so to let him know he is not alone and if he does not want attention then he moves out of reach so I know he wants to be alone. He snaps out of it after the attack and is better but I never know when he will be hit or how hard. He also throws up when he is not feeling well sometimes and it is heart breaking to support him while he throws up uncontrollable over everything including himself. Because of his age I am very gentle with him even when petting but when I am holding him under his chest to keep him upright as he is throwing up I can really feel how skinny and frail he is. What is important is his quality of life is still good most of the time so I help him battle through it as much as possible. It can be very hard and I question myself all of the time to be sure I am doing this for him and not for me and so far I think I am doing it for the right reason. If this is new to you then you can expect a lot of ups and downs with your cat and within yourself but if your cat is still a trooper then the least you can do is march right beside him or her. You should also search for the 'quality of life' tests and make sure your cat is still happy. As we age we all slow down and at 15 your cat is basically a geriatric case and no longer a senior so he will not be like a kitten most of the time.
 
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myrnafaye

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Another question:  do you find it helpful or not - to feed three times a day, smaller meals, instead of two?  I started doing 3 but I am not sure if it matters or if it makes a difference...input appreciated very much.
 

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You are better off feeding an IBD cat multiple times a day so it is easier for him to digest it. Like water IBD cats do not digest food very well and at times they eat a lot of food in one day. My guy goes between two cans if he is not feeling well and upwards of 4 cans some days,. In his prime he was a 11 lb cat and now he is just over 7 lb and he can eat 6 - 7 cans of food in one day. I give him food a fork full at a time when I am home and try to make him wait between feedings to allow his body to concentrate digesting small amounts of food at time. I have a feeder with pop-up lids (it has two sides and a dial timer with 2 hour increments) and I put 1/2 a can in each of these and a plate with 1.2 of a can when I go to work. He also needs to eat overnight so I give him 1/2 a can on the plate and then 1/2 a can in the feeder. If he feels well he will eat most if not all of it and then gets another can or two typically when I am awake. He gets nothing but canned food and has it pretty spread across the day in smaller feedings. He was never a food hog and I have always fed him as much as he wanted and he never gained weight. I checked with the vet and she had said if he can maintain his weight then just feed him what he wants. I do put limits on it because sometimes if he is really hungry he will eat too much and not allow the hungry signal in his brain to catch up and make him stop eating.Make sure to raise his food and water dishes at least to chest height so he does not have to stoop when he eats and drinks.
 
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betsygee

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Another question:  do you find it helpful or not - to feed three times a day, smaller meals, instead of two?  I started doing 3 but I am not sure if it matters or if it makes a difference...input appreciated very much.
I discovered that Jake does better with 3-4 smaller meals than 2 regular ones.  
 
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fijiboi

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When I was home I usually only fed my cats wet food once a day and they have the dry food during the day if they get hungry and cat grass.
 

jcat

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I haven't seen any behavioral differences, but that may be due to our cat's young age. Mogli was diagnosed with IBD last summer; he's now two years old and currently not on any medication, though he was right after Easter. His IBD has been treated with a Spanish nutraceutical called Entero-Chronic and a restricted diet (single proteins introduced over a period of about 9 months, no grains, low fat). His IBD was presumably triggered by enterohemorrhagic E coli and complicated by food allergies (chicken, grain) and resulted in severe diarrhea for months. The only vomiting we saw was when he ate anything with chicken.

We've had the best results feeding him 4 - 5 times a day. He gets two main meals of canned food roughly 12 hours apart, two snacks of about 10 pieces of hypoallergenic dry between the canned meals (the idea is to slow down his digestion), and a few pieces of freeze-dried meat for his clicker training either mid-morning or in the late afternoon, depending on my schedule.
 
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myrnafaye

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I understand what others are saying about several meals, and that is what I started doing.  However, I may take a short vacation at the end of August, and I cannot have a cat sitter come three times a day - even twice is quite expensive.  If I have to pay her for three feedings, which she cant do anyhow, I may as well not go.  How do others manage this problem?  I dont know anyone who can stay here.  I do have access to cat sitters who are vet techs.  And I dont feed any dry.
 

jcat

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Thus far we've boarded Mogli so that he could be fed four times a day. He'll have a cat sitter for a week next month, who'll come twice a day to feed him his canned food and will put the dry in a treat ball before she leaves. We're hoping that's going to work.

Could you use an automatic feeder with a timer and cold packs for the third meal?
 
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myrnafaye

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I dont think so. I have two cats.
 

goholistic

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Sebastian does better with timed meals (twice a day) and a system rest in between meals because of his chronic pancreatitis. During his meals, he gets small amounts about 15-20 minutes apart until we're done, so it ends up being an hour or so. When a cat eats, a signal gets sent to the pancreas to produce enzymes. It goes to work. I tried smaller, more frequent meals in the past, but he didn't seem to do well. I think it was too much for his pancreas. He does better with a break and system rest. I understand this is different from what IBD cats need.
 

abbyntim

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I understand what others are saying about several meals, and that is what I started doing.  However, I may take a short vacation at the end of August, and I cannot have a cat sitter come three times a day - even twice is quite expensive.  If I have to pay her for three feedings, which she cant do anyhow, I may as well not go.  How do others manage this problem?  I dont know anyone who can stay here.  I do have access to cat sitters who are vet techs.  And I dont feed any dry.
I feel ya. I am trying to figure out how to manage a vacation. Right now, I am feeding the cats twice per day, roughly 12 hours apart. I do something similar as @GoHolistic: in the morning, I start at about 5:30 when I first get up and stretch that 1/2 can per cat over one to to two hours, depending on when I need to leave. We do the same thing in the evening: Start the process when the first person gets home and stretch it out. I doubt I could get a cat sitter or boarding facility to do this, though I might have better luck with a boarding facility.

But I also have two cats and Tim is very food-aggressive. I use a timed automatic feeder with ice packs on occasion when I know we won't be home until late, or when we'll be gone too long both before and after feeding time, but worry that Tim gobbles Abby's share. If I were to board them, they'd need to be in the same cage and would Abby ever eat? We tried separating them last time and that didn't go well: Tim held onto a poop for over five days. Maybe they could be in adjoining cells (ooops, cages), and the wall could drop during feeding and be open all other times? I really don't know. Will I ever get to go anywhere again?
 
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myrnafaye

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I suspect that I will instruct the cat sitter to feed them as much as they will eat in the time she is there.  I may ask my neighbor to come in mid day to feed them; or, they will get two meals the best the cat sitter can do for that time.... 
 
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myrnafaye

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Hi, Go:  YOur response is particularly helpful to me, as Obi was as you remember, diagnosed with mild pancreatitis.  He may still be recovering from that, I dont know, but I dont have a definitive diagnosis of IBD or lymphoma because I chose not to US him.  I can certainly manage to give him small amounts, of, say, 3 oz of food, twice a day, with each feeding spread out over 15 minutes, is that how you do it?     HOw much does Sebastian weigh, and how many oz do you feed him daily?
 

goholistic

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Hi, Go:  YOur response is particularly helpful to me, as Obi was as you remember, diagnosed with mild pancreatitis.  He may still be recovering from that, I dont know, but I dont have a definitive diagnosis of IBD or lymphoma because I chose not to US him.  I can certainly manage to give him small amounts, of, say, 3 oz of food, twice a day, with each feeding spread out over 15 minutes, is that how you do it?     HOw much does Sebastian weigh, and how many oz do you feed him daily?
I feed Sebastian his canned food first in 1/8-1/4 can increments every 15-20 minutes, and then the homecooked portion is last. He is probably 13 pounds now. The exact amount and total ounces really depends on the food I'm feeding him and which protein rotation we are on, but I make sure the canned food adds up to be about 150-160 calories for the day and the homecooked filling in the rest of what he needs, which probably ends up at about total of about 180-200 calories a day. He knows the routine, and goes to clean his face after every feeding, and comes back in about 15-20 minutes like clockwork. 
  So, yes, if I was giving Sebastian 3 oz. of food at each meal, I'd probably offer 1 oz. at a time every 15-20 minutes.

A "mealtime" might end up being an hour or so, but then he gets that system break between mealtimes so that his pancreas can rest. I only give him freeze-dried treats maybe once on the weekend.

P.S. While there can be a full recovery in cases of severe acute pancreatitis, low-level chronic pancreatitis can wax and wane.
 

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Please tell me where or how I can buy Entero-Chronic for my IBD/ possible lymphoma kitty....I read a little about it and it looks like a safe supplement and possibly very effective. 

Many thanks!

Bliss
 
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