I took my 14 year old male in for a check up after he was showing a cycle of normal bowels/soft bowels/really soft bowels and lethargy/soft bowels/normal. The colour was off - light brown to grey/clay coloured, which was the deciding factor in my taking him to the vet, as I feared liver disease.
Blood tests show the only problem is he's a little anemic. The vet was still concerned and ran some more tests to verify there wasn't an undiagnosed case of FIV going on here.
Binx' appetite is generally great. No vomit. He's not very outgoing/energetic/affectionate when his stools are really soft.
We did NOT do an ultrasound or biopsy. He's on Vit B12 injections once a week and 5mg prednisone 2x/day for 2 weeks and then once a day. I'm seeing some improvement in his stools and activity levels...no grey stool since he went to the vet a week ago!
I've been trying to educate myself about IBD and I'm a little confused as to what is best for my kitty at this point, considering that it looks like his disease is in the early stages. He has a GREAT appetite. Should I take him off his dry food? Right now he gets 1/3 can of wet food 2x a day to make sure he's getting his pred, and then I gave him a handful of kibble (Iams/Purina One/Beyond have been the last four dry foods used). I'm reading that chicken is not a good idea...? I'm about to start him on a probiotic, too.
I do see that the symptoms for each cat vary, and I'm relieved that his symptoms are so mild! I just want to help him stay healthy as long as I can., and I'd appreciate your thoughts.
Blood tests show the only problem is he's a little anemic. The vet was still concerned and ran some more tests to verify there wasn't an undiagnosed case of FIV going on here.
Binx' appetite is generally great. No vomit. He's not very outgoing/energetic/affectionate when his stools are really soft.
We did NOT do an ultrasound or biopsy. He's on Vit B12 injections once a week and 5mg prednisone 2x/day for 2 weeks and then once a day. I'm seeing some improvement in his stools and activity levels...no grey stool since he went to the vet a week ago!
I've been trying to educate myself about IBD and I'm a little confused as to what is best for my kitty at this point, considering that it looks like his disease is in the early stages. He has a GREAT appetite. Should I take him off his dry food? Right now he gets 1/3 can of wet food 2x a day to make sure he's getting his pred, and then I gave him a handful of kibble (Iams/Purina One/Beyond have been the last four dry foods used). I'm reading that chicken is not a good idea...? I'm about to start him on a probiotic, too.
I do see that the symptoms for each cat vary, and I'm relieved that his symptoms are so mild! I just want to help him stay healthy as long as I can., and I'd appreciate your thoughts.