hello everyone! i've been lurking this forum for a few months as my senior cat has been having some health issues, but can't seem to find an answer to our latest question, so i'm asking you fine people for some insight 
my boy, little richard, is approximately 12 years old (he was a rescue) and i've had him for 10 years. this past november, i noticed he was frequently vomiting bile and was suffering from some constipation, after a vet visit and an ultrasound, the vet believed he had intestinal lymphoma. i opted not to biopsy and just treat him with prednisolone. he was started out on 5/mg per day. the prednisolone saved him, it was almost immediately effective. he stopped vomiting and was using the litterbox regularly, and seemed much like his old self.
fast forward to this january, the vet decided that since he was doing so well that severe ibd was the likely culprit (not lymphoma) and we should try to taper him and get him on metrodinazole. we lowered his evening dose by half and kept the morning does the same. at this point, he started having some trouble with his teeth which was probably being masked by the prednisonlone, so the vet recommended we bring his dose back up and get him in for dental. he had one infected canine that had to be removed, but everything else was ok. after the surgery, we made another attempt to lower his prednisolone and he began the metrodinazole (0.6 twice a day), he was doing great! getting use to life without his canine was a little difficult, but his appetite was there and he was using the litterbox regularly.
we went back to the vet about 12 days after the surgery for a check up, the vet said everything looked great in his mouth and we should try another taper... we brought his morning dose down to half, and kept his evening dose at the previous half dose. the next day, right before he was going to get his dinner and have his meds, he vomited a brown puddle of bile. since he hadn't eaten since that morning, his food and meds had already long since been digested. the following evening, he vomited at exactly the same time. i phoned the vet, and she recommended we bring his morning prednisonlone dose back up. at this point, i just want him off of this medicine, so we made the decision to give him one more day on the lowered dose... miraculously, he did not vomit again for over a week... until this past tuesday, he threw up in the morning right before he was going to receive his meds and breakfast. i let it go, figuring he was still adjusting to the new dose.
he did fine for the rest of the week, until saturday. my boyfriend returned home to feed him, he was a little bit later than usual, and he found a small brown bile puddle on the floor. then, later that evening after a night out, we came home to find 2 brown bile puddles on the bed (always a nice surprise)
we made the decision then to actually raise his morning dose back up, and keep the evening dose the same. he seems to be feeling better.
i guess my question is... is he going to be on prednisolone for the rest of this life, or is there something we can do to help him taper off? could the metrodinazole be the cause of his vomiting?
it seems that he doesn't have a blockage again because his litterbox habits have been totally normal and look very healthy, and he's not vomiting any food... just bile. could this just be part of his transitional period of life without steroids?
i'm going to call my vet again this morning, but i know she's just going to tell me to keep him on the prednisolone... i'm just not sure what to do here.
my boy, little richard, is approximately 12 years old (he was a rescue) and i've had him for 10 years. this past november, i noticed he was frequently vomiting bile and was suffering from some constipation, after a vet visit and an ultrasound, the vet believed he had intestinal lymphoma. i opted not to biopsy and just treat him with prednisolone. he was started out on 5/mg per day. the prednisolone saved him, it was almost immediately effective. he stopped vomiting and was using the litterbox regularly, and seemed much like his old self.
fast forward to this january, the vet decided that since he was doing so well that severe ibd was the likely culprit (not lymphoma) and we should try to taper him and get him on metrodinazole. we lowered his evening dose by half and kept the morning does the same. at this point, he started having some trouble with his teeth which was probably being masked by the prednisonlone, so the vet recommended we bring his dose back up and get him in for dental. he had one infected canine that had to be removed, but everything else was ok. after the surgery, we made another attempt to lower his prednisolone and he began the metrodinazole (0.6 twice a day), he was doing great! getting use to life without his canine was a little difficult, but his appetite was there and he was using the litterbox regularly.
we went back to the vet about 12 days after the surgery for a check up, the vet said everything looked great in his mouth and we should try another taper... we brought his morning dose down to half, and kept his evening dose at the previous half dose. the next day, right before he was going to get his dinner and have his meds, he vomited a brown puddle of bile. since he hadn't eaten since that morning, his food and meds had already long since been digested. the following evening, he vomited at exactly the same time. i phoned the vet, and she recommended we bring his morning prednisonlone dose back up. at this point, i just want him off of this medicine, so we made the decision to give him one more day on the lowered dose... miraculously, he did not vomit again for over a week... until this past tuesday, he threw up in the morning right before he was going to receive his meds and breakfast. i let it go, figuring he was still adjusting to the new dose.
he did fine for the rest of the week, until saturday. my boyfriend returned home to feed him, he was a little bit later than usual, and he found a small brown bile puddle on the floor. then, later that evening after a night out, we came home to find 2 brown bile puddles on the bed (always a nice surprise)
we made the decision then to actually raise his morning dose back up, and keep the evening dose the same. he seems to be feeling better.
i guess my question is... is he going to be on prednisolone for the rest of this life, or is there something we can do to help him taper off? could the metrodinazole be the cause of his vomiting?
it seems that he doesn't have a blockage again because his litterbox habits have been totally normal and look very healthy, and he's not vomiting any food... just bile. could this just be part of his transitional period of life without steroids?
i'm going to call my vet again this morning, but i know she's just going to tell me to keep him on the prednisolone... i'm just not sure what to do here.
