Severe constipation and IBD diagnosis

ruffback · Jan 10, 2016

Hello everyone,

I'm new to this site but it seems like a wonderful resource and support network for cat lovers :-)

My issue is my 13-year-old male indoor/outdoor cat (Kitty) who until last week had never been to the vet since he has never had any health issues - and I never wanted to go looking for problems when he seemed so bulletproof ;-)

Over the last month or two he's been losing weight, has slowed down a lot, and has become increasingly constipated in the last few weeks. 10 days ago I got a housecall vet over to check him over and to do blood/urine work. That showed some signs of mild kidney function impairment (they seemed a little swollen on examination), but the elevations were mild. The vet said she did not expect this mild of a change to cause the amount of weight loss and lethargy he has. He also had some white blood cells and calcium oxalate crystals in his urine, but no signs of bacteria (although a culture wasn't done)..

As the results were inconclusive she recommended an ultrasound which we undertook at a San Francisco clinic last Wed. The diagnosis from that appointment was basically IBD. As well as an accumulation of feces (not megacolon) the vet saw a thickening of the intestinal wall. He said only a surgical biopsy would determine if the cells were cancerous but he didn't usually recommend those.

Kitty is eating fine and drinking water as far as I can tell, although he is obviously in some discomfort as he moves position a lot. The main issue I have right now is dealing with his 4-day lack of poop. Over the past week or so I did add pumpkin to his food (and some pre and probiotics) and put Vaseline on his paw last week that did make him go then - but not this time (yet). I heard that Miralax (?) can bring water into the colon - assuming he has enough water in his system to spare. Would that be worth trying at this stage..? As we're heading into enema territory I fear otherwise.

Regarding the IBD diagnosis the vet said Prednisone and Vit B12 would be the standard treatment - but I'm not sure if this would help out his constipation in any way. I do think the steroid could be useful just to get him moving around more and putting some weight back on. But wouldn't B12 need to be bloodtested to see if he's short of that first?

I have to say, as I'm sure every pet lover does, I'm finding this all very distressing and upsetting. I'm a single late 40s guy, and he's my best buddy, a total cuddle bunny that I can't imagine losing after all these years together. He's not even that old really and has been super active and frisky all his life - until the past few months. I really don't want to get sucked into a diagnostics rabbit hole but obviously I will spend more money if it helps him be more accurately diagnosed.

By the way, I should mention that a few months ago he was exposed to a fungicide spray that my roommate used to get rid of some mildew on the sofa. She said it was non-toxic but I think that probably meant for humans. I sorta noticed that the symptoms began sometime after he was regularly lying on this couch after it was cleaned.. so I guess it's not impossible that toxins started this whole thing off.

Thanks your help everyone.

Jason

ruffback · Jan 10, 2016

Forgot to mention some important info - these days he gets a very healthy wet food diet (was on a dry/wet mix before) consisting of raw or cooked meat/fish with some organic pumpkin - either prepared by myself of from higher quality canned food brands. I don't include grains in his diet as he used to get diarrhea when he was eating grain-based wet foods.

Also I added Slippery Elm Bark to his food in the past week but it doesn't seem to have helped much. I did try the Immunity mushroom blend by Bixbi Pets too but stopped that because he wouldn't eat his food with it mixed in.

goholistic · Jan 10, 2016

Aw, @Ruffback, I feel for you. I have a kitty (Sebastian) with a history of chronic pancreatitis, IBD, and now suspected lymphoma (cancer). It is very distressing and upsetting. There are several other members here who have IBD cats who are very supportive, so you've come to the right place.

One of my other cats (Boo) has a history of chronic constipation and is on Miralax daily. He's also on an all wet diet. The thing with constipation is that, if bad enough, it can lead to megacolon. So I would definitely talk to your vet about getting that under control.

I can't write much more right now on the subject of IBD, but I can come back and I'm sure others will be along.

Hang in there and make sure he continues to eat and drink. And, personally, I would limit the outdoor excursions if you don't already. Keep an eye on him and bring him in a night.

laura mae · Jan 10, 2016

I have a cat that arrived in our house because he had been injured (likely hit by a car) and had a broken pelvis. His elimination function is somewhat affected and the vet had to do an enema. If he has a lot of feces, that might be the way to go. Once the enema was complete, my cat now has to take cisapride twice a day to increase the motility of his intestines. He also gets miralax with his food to keep things soft. If a kitty is stopped up though, Miralax won't unstop the kitty.

ruthm · Jan 10, 2016

Take a look at felineconstipation.org. Four days is way too long to go without pooping, he might need an enema. I would be calling my vet now- miralax isn't going to have any effect on what is already stuck inside there.

Miralax is a dose to effect. My K.C. gets 1/8 teaspoon. I give it once a day but in my reading found out it can be spread out over the day and night. Two times a day will not cause any issues for most. Many give 1/4 teaspoon. I hope things improve quickly.

catwoman707 · Jan 10, 2016

Ruffback said:
Hello everyone,

I'm new to this site but it seems like a wonderful resource and support network for cat lovers :-)

My issue is my 13-year-old male indoor/outdoor cat (Kitty) who until last week had never been to the vet since he has never had any health issues - and I never wanted to go looking for problems when he seemed so bulletproof ;-)

Over the last month or two he's been losing weight, has slowed down a lot, and has become increasingly constipated in the last few weeks. 10 days ago I got a housecall vet over to check him over and to do blood/urine work. That showed some signs of mild kidney function impairment (they seemed a little swollen on examination), but the elevations were mild. The vet said she did not expect this mild of a change to cause the amount of weight loss and lethargy he has. He also had some white blood cells and calcium oxalate crystals in his urine, but no signs of bacteria (although a culture wasn't done)..

As the results were inconclusive she recommended an ultrasound which we undertook at a San Francisco clinic last Wed. The diagnosis from that appointment was basically IBD. As well as an accumulation of feces (not megacolon) the vet saw a thickening of the intestinal wall. He said only a surgical biopsy would determine if the cells were cancerous but he didn't usually recommend those.

Kitty is eating fine and drinking water as far as I can tell, although he is obviously in some discomfort as he moves position a lot. The main issue I have right now is dealing with his 4-day lack of poop. Over the past week or so I did add pumpkin to his food (and some pre and probiotics) and put Vaseline on his paw last week that did make him go then - but not this time (yet). I heard that Miralax (?) can bring water into the colon - assuming he has enough water in his system to spare. Would that be worth trying at this stage..? As we're heading into enema territory I fear otherwise.

Regarding the IBD diagnosis the vet said Prednisone and Vit B12 would be the standard treatment - but I'm not sure if this would help out his constipation in any way. I do think the steroid could be useful just to get him moving around more and putting some weight back on. But wouldn't B12 need to be bloodtested to see if he's short of that first?

I have to say, as I'm sure every pet lover does, I'm finding this all very distressing and upsetting. I'm a single late 40s guy, and he's my best buddy, a total cuddle bunny that I can't imagine losing after all these years together. He's not even that old really and has been super active and frisky all his life - until the past few months. I really don't want to get sucked into a diagnostics rabbit hole but obviously I will spend more money if it helps him be more accurately diagnosed.

By the way, I should mention that a few months ago he was exposed to a fungicide spray that my roommate used to get rid of some mildew on the sofa. She said it was non-toxic but I think that probably meant for humans. I sorta noticed that the symptoms began sometime after he was regularly lying on this couch after it was cleaned.. so I guess it's not impossible that toxins started this whole thing off.

Thanks your help everyone.

Jason

Sorry to hear about your cat's diagnosis, however it is controllable.

As far as the fungicide starting it, off the top of my head I would say coincidence, because of the thickened intestinal wall, this has been going on as it takes time to happen.

I also have an IBD girl Krissy.

I also chose not to do a biopsy, and not to use steroids or anything else except an occasional day or 2 of pepcid AC and a novel protein limited ingredient diet.

So far so good

Did the vet go in to details about IBD, causes, etc?

denice · Jan 11, 2016

My kitty has IBD with constipation. It is true that IBD usually presents with diarrhea but not always. My kitty was only 18 months old when he had his first flare which presented like foreign body ingestion, constipation, dry heaving and anorexia. Over a six year period there were 2 hospitalizations, several enemas and several vets before getting a diagnoses. My kitty has been on a steroid for a little over 5 years now. He has so far done very well and has tolerated the steroid well. In that period he has only had one mild episode of constipation. My vet also recommends Miralax. So far Patches hasn't needed to take it daily, only on an as needed basis and he hasn't needed it for quite some time.

I didn't get a biopsy done, only an ultrasound. By the time I got him to the clinic that he is going to now he was in fatty liver. Since no obvious masses showed up on the ultrasound and a needle aspirate on his liver was inconclusive for cancer we went ahead and started treatment with the steroid.

zen warrior · Jan 11, 2016

IBD and its woeful complications can be addressed. First, the intestines are very sensitive in certain cats. They can take a long time to calm down and act normal even when the proper things are done. IBD can present itself in many degrees. It can be mild to severe, it can happen anytime in life. It can be the result of something else which effected the cat or it can stand by itself. That said your care and devotion speak volumes. This takes time so go about this systematically and slowly. Your immediate need is to address constipation. Keep in mind a product such as slippery elm takes a slower time to actually work. It often takes 2 weeks 2x per day to finally show it is working especially if the intestines are in such a terrible state. It's a natural supplement so it will not slam the intestine like a perscription drug. I'd suggest to positively keep using it. Additionally add Whole Foods 100% Organic Psyllium ( single ingredient psyllium only) with water or chicken broth to his food. You MUST add a liquid to get it to work. If you can't add the liquid DO NOT use the psyllium. If you can, in addition , give a piece of banana , high quality Greek Yogurt and use an online product Only Natural Pet GI Support. It comes in a capsule so delivery of it to your cat can be a problem if you can't pill him. If you can pill him and the pill is too big, you can open the capsule and put it into two smaller capsules which you can buy online or get empty capsules at a store like Whole Foods. CVS used to do it but I just buy mine online now. I currently have 1 cat with IBD. At one time I had 3 cats with it simultaneously. Once you can get the things down your cat, keep doing it. It can take several weeks to months to fully clear with severe cases. I've been stuck with the monster cases so my boots have been on the ground with this beast of a disease. You can do it. Take a breath and work at it.

ruffback · Jan 11, 2016

Sorry for the slow update everyone - really appreciate all your feedback :-)

Kitty had an enema yesterday which went smoothly as well as receiving some fluids and Vit B12. I also started him on a course of Prednisolone which he's adjusting to (bit withdrawn and glassy eyed) and also have Miralax to address his constipation. Might change the steroid out to Budenosine at some point if it seems to be working weight and digestion-wise but he doesn't return to his usual playful self. And if he doesn't respond to the steroid then will have to consider other possible conditions and options - the 'Raw Feeding for IBD Kitties' group on Facebook has been very helpful for considering all angles.

Digestive Enzymes and Probiotics seem high on some people's lists for IBD. On the FB group I was recommended S Boulardii (a yeast-based probiotic that has anti-inflammatory properties) and a human grade bacterial probiotic).

Currently he's asleep on my lap and we'll just have to take each day as it comes... I so hope he returns to his feisty self.

Thanks everyone!

laura mae · Jan 11, 2016

great news!

Severe constipation and IBD diagnosis

ruffback

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ruffback

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goholistic

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laura mae

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ruthm

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catwoman707

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denice

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zen warrior

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ruffback

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laura mae

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