what does a remission of feline ibd look like

my cat was recently diagnosed with this it has been 5 or 6 weeks,she is not throwing up alot of food anymore her weight seems stable but she still throws up once a day the last two prior to that she went four of five days ,didn't throw upand seven days when she got anti-nausea  med from the vet when she was diagnosed the first week. i will be trying another food once this bag is done but  looking for some insight.. Camille appetite is still in good shape thank god but also worried a bit about christmas when we go away and l her food out for her .looked into even getting thise gravity feeders but learned they are pretty usless form the reviews.she is ten now and her ultrasound was completely normal so we are thinking it is very early in the disease.she was only throwing serious for like two weeks prior. Allison and Camille

First of all, as far as I know, IBD can only be truly diagnosed via biopsy, so was she actually diagnosed with IBD, or SUSPECTED IBD? 

Next, if she is vomiting once a day, then i would not call this remission, or anything even close to it.  Again, as far as I know, it doesn't go into remission.  You try to control it with diet and medication, and they can have outbreaks at any time, even simply by eating one little bite of something they shouldn't.  BUT, sometimes, with the right food and meds, they can be symptom free for awhile (meaning no vomiting and/or diarrhea)  This does not mean they no longer have IBD and can start eating anything they want though. 

What are you feeding Camille?  Most IBD cats eat wet food, and specific wet food, as not all wet food is appropriate. 

Are you going to be gone long over the holidays?  does she get stressed when left alone?  There are more than one automatic feeders.  This page lists automatic feeders that members of TCS have reviewed, if you are interested:  http://www.thecatsite.com/products/category/automatic-feeders

she has been diagnosed with suspected ibd,we have tried wet food and she not even remotely interested in it,she had about seven days  without symptoms when hwe gve her anit-nausea meds and four days or five days in week six..we will be gone for two days and she has done fine any other time,she misses us but other than that,,that's it,she hides whenever someone she doesn't know its here but that does not happen often. Camille and A

llison

I don't really know too much about IBD, never having had a cat with it, however, I'm not sure that I've heard of treating it strictly with an anti-emetic. 

This is a page from an IBD website that a member of TCS runs.  It's the medication page and doesn't even list anti-nausea meds :  http://www.ibdkitties.net/Medications.html

I'm going to see if one of our Team Members, @Denice, who happens to have an IBD cat, can take a look at your thread and offer any advice.

Allison Grondin said:

 
she has been diagnosed with suspected ibd,we have tried wet food and she not even remotely interested in it,she had about seven days  without symptoms when hwe gve her anit-nausea meds and four days or five days in week six..we will be gone for two days and she has done fine any other time,she misses us but other than that,,that's it,she hides whenever someone she doesn't know its here but that does not happen often. Camille and A

llison

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One of my cats had IBD for years, a mild case, that eventually became quite severe.  Complete remission for me means a complete cessation of symptoms, ie, no vomiting, diarrhea, or weight loss.  So i would say your cat isn't there yet, and i agree getting an anti-nausea drug while on the list to help our cat when we can't control the vomiting, doesn't address the underlying effect of the illness, and can mask it.  I would personally, with my vet try everything we could to get the disease under control before going to anti nausea.

There are a LOT of potential treatments out there, including food trials with prescription novel protein diets (dry or wet) like venison, rabbit, etc.  I would try a number of these foods first, and i would go with prescribed foods before i did OTC foods which some DNA testing has revealed conventional protein mixed in.

yep.then she is n't there yet.although at this point her symptoms are mild and that is a help. she is almost eating normal portions for a meal,again and her playfullness has returned with a vengeance or she is simply bored out of her mind because her life has been so quiet since the illness. her weight does seem stable.So far no diet has even been prescribed .she is being fed science diet longevity formula for 7 to 10 year old cats and she still has a bout half a bag of that left to finish. Camille and Allison.

Allison Grondin said:

yep.then she is n't there yet.although at this point her symptoms are mild and that is a help. she is almost eating normal portions for a meal,again and her playfullness has returned with a vengeance or she is simply bored out of her mind because her life has been so quiet since the illness. her weight does seem stable.So far no diet has even been prescribed .she is being fed science diet longevity formula for 7 to 10 year old cats and she still has a bout half a bag of that left to finish. Camille and Allison.

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Ok based on my experience with IBD I would consider doing 2 things right now if it was me starting all over again.
1) I would buy a baby scale and weigh my cat weekly and keep a written log. I can't say how many times I have said this. If she starts to lose weight you will note it LONG before you can see it visually and before a vet catches it on a routine visit and the. You can intervene much sooner. You need two recorded losses in a row for it to be considered a trend - single reading if done weekly means nothing as the next reading might be a gain, but 2 losses in a row and I'd call my vet.

2) I would talk to my vet about prescribing a novel protein diet. Your goal is to get her or keep her in remission for as long as possible with the least intervention on your part. Better a food that works now, rather than steroids later if possible.

It would be good to start the new food now (or soon) so you can transition her to it slowly.

You have to be persistent when giving a cat that only eats dry food wet food, and resign yourself to the fact that you're going to be throwing away most of the wet food you put out for the first week or two. Put a glob of the wet food next to or under the dry food every day so she gets used to the smell. Sometimes changing the texture will help too. When I was transitioning, my cat would only eat it mashed with a very specific amount of water. Too much, and she'd drink the water and the solids would all sink to the bottom and not get eaten. Too little and she'd just lick it and get bored. And don't keep the food around in the fridge too long, if there's still some left in the can after the third day I'd toss it, because you don't want your cat to associate the wet food with food starting to go bad. There's a good article on catinfo.org about transitioning dry food addicts to wet food that has more tips.