Mica won't eat, possible IBD or cancer

Hi, Mica is nearly 16 and my vet has been keeping an eye on her kidney function. It is within the normal range at the moment though (she is having subq fluids which I think may help) and so the vet does not think this is causing her inappetance.

The vet suspects IBD and has started her on pred several weeks ago. She seemed to improve somewhat, however in the last few days she seems to have got worse again. She vomited on Monday and has eaten very little since. I plan to contact the vet tomorrow if she is no better.

I am beginning to wonder if she may have cancer. The vet has suggested ultrasound, but I have been hesitant to go that route both because of the cost, and also the fact that it sounded like it may not show changes even if she has IBD.

At this point I don't know what to do. If the ultrasound shows cancer, I would be hesitant to treat her anyway as she is nearly 16.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this? I feel guilty holding back on the ultrasound just due to cost, but unfortunately the cost is something I have to consider.

Thanks in advance!

Is her thyroid ok? Not eating is a vicious cycle because not eating makes kitties more nauseated which cycles. 

Baby food (no onions or garlic) is the best thing ever for a sick cat. Most cats love it, and even though it's not balanced it's fine to use short term. You should ask your vet about something for nausea like cerenia. Here's some info about IBD and assist feeding her if you can't get her to eat anything.

http://www.foodfurlife.com/medicating--assist-feeding-your-cat.html

http://www.foodfurlife.com/manage-nausea---the-role-of-food.html

http://www.foodfurlife.com/what-is-ibd.html

Melaniewa said:

 

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Cats with thickened bowels either from IBD or small cell sarcoma (an infiltrative cancer of the intestines - which means the cells become cancerous without a tumor) will show thickening on an ultrasound, but the U/S can't distinguish between the two, but it will  tell you if there is a disease process and both of those illnesses are treated in similar ways (pred).  An U/S can also show other things like cancer, and having that info may give you good info that will help yo make decisions that will shorten the time that your cat is in discomfort or suffering.

I'm sure you've done complete blood work

Or you can manage her symptoms and when they get too hard on her, you can say goodbye, either way is ok.

Stephen

Thank you so much for your replies, they are much appreciated.

I called our vet to see what they thought, and they want me to take her in tomorrow to do an exam and repeat blood work. They also talked about assisted feeding.

I am hesitant to do assisted/tube feeding. I can think of nothing worse than being force fed when I was nauseous. Also her blood work was only done a week ago so repeating it after such a short time seems redundant to me.

Am I thinking about this all wrong?

I just don't know what to go along with as far as my vet's suggestions.

I do think a physical exam is a good idea, but I am not sure about the rest of it.

Mica definitely needs to eat!  If cats do not eat for 24-48 hrs they often develop hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver) which can be fatal!  Assisted syringe feeding or an esophagus tube can be placed (usually only temporarily) in order to get nutrition into the cat until it is able to eat on its own.  I have done both.  Believe me...either is preferable to losing a cat to hepatic lipidosis.

As mom to 5 cats, all now 15 years old from one litter, I have been in your predicament with 4 cats.  You need to at least get a GI Ultrasound.  With one cat, the GI ultrasound showed significant thickening of the small intestine which led to both an upper and lower endoscopy as cancer was feared.  Luckily it was not cancer...only severe IBD.  He did quite well on prednisolone and other medications and quality of life was good.  His sister had an ultrasound which looked suspicious for cancer.  A upper endoscopy confirmed small cell lymphoma in stomach and small intestines.  Unfortunately, she died shortly afterwards as cancer was too far advanced.  Another sister had ultrasound which showed mild thickening of small intestine, but also incidentally showed a bladder tumor.  She is now on Prednisolone for the IBD and chemo for the bladder tumor.  Another sister cat just had an ultrasound and was found to have mild IBD.  She is not on Prednisolone at present until symptoms worsen.

While an Ultrasound cannot tell you IF it is cancer, it can strongly suggest IBD, and if they think it might be cancer.  At least the Ultrasound can give you more information as to which direction you might want to go next.  A good GI Ultrasound costs around $300 and is definitely worth it.  Go for it!

As for the repeat bloodwork, they may be looking for elevated white blood cell or platelet count...suggestive of cancer.

You might want to ask about a test for Pancreatitis which often goes hand in hand with IBD.  The first sign is cats lose their appetite.  It rages like wildfire, is very painful and cats can go quickly. 

I hope my insights based on sad experience is of some help.  First thing is get food into Mica ASAP!

Thanks for your experience with ultrasound. I am rethinking this as it sounds like you have received some valuable information from the U/S.

Also if the assisted feeding is only temporary, then that seems much more reasonable to me. I have had my own GI issues including long term nausea and vomiting, and if people had tried to force feed me I think I would have considered it a form of abuse!

She is eating small amounts at the moment, but not nearly enough to maintain her weight.

Anyway I'll take her in tomorrow, and may well book her in for a U/S next week also.

Thanks again for the info. I find it so hard at times to decide the best way to move forward.

Plus my other half does not get terribly involved in the decisions, but is always asking me how much it is going to cost! 

Melaniewa said:

 
Thank you so much for your replies, they are much appreciated.

I called our vet to see what they thought, and they want me to take her in tomorrow to do an exam and repeat blood work. They also talked about assisted feeding.

I am hesitant to do assisted/tube feeding. I can think of nothing worse than being force fed when I was nauseous. Also her blood work was only done a week ago so repeating it after such a short time seems redundant to me.

Am I thinking about this all wrong?

I just don't know what to go along with as far as my vet's suggestions.

I do think a physical exam is a good idea, but I am not sure about the rest of it.

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I agree force feeding your cat if she is nauseous isn't a great idea but she has to eat.    My vet has a great cocktail for cats who aren't feeling well and i've done this on more than one cat.  Sub Q fluids with Cerenia and zofran (both anti nausea drugs), B12 and pepcid (all 4 injectable with fluids) and many cats perk up with this and start eating.  An ultrasound could be very helpful too.  I would talk to my vet about this cocktail, and then if that didn't work do an ultrasound.