IBD, both cats?

[njg55]

One of my cats has had inflammatory bowel disease for a year; she sees the vet regularly, is on a special diet, has been prescribed prednisolone, and recently was prescribed probiotics. My other cat, her sister/littermate, has been fine. I have video monitors on all the litter boxes but haven't checked the feed in a while because I assumed any loose or soft stools were from cat 1. However, several times lately I've been in a room when cat 2 used the box and afterward noticed the kind of stools I associate with her sister. Could there be some sort of genetic basis that means both are susceptible to this disease, or is it just a coincidence? I'll probably contact the vet about the second cat if the problem seems to persist, but I'm curious about this change in her health. She loves the small tidbits of novel protein food I let her have when there's a bit left over in her sister's dish, so feeding that to both of them shouldn't be a problem. Or maybe eating a bit of that plus her regular, non-prescription food is the problem? She's been allowed to have a bite of that most days since I started feeding it to her sister, but until recently I didn't see the same kind of "output" in the litter boxes from both girls.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. I don't think there is any concrete evidence that genetics play a role in IBD, but since they can with many afflictions, it probably can't be ruled out. And even if it were genetically induced, there is no guarantee that the treatment plan would match for both cats.
If your current IBD cat still has stool issues, then that might also need further investigation as to why her regimen is not giving her better results. Perhaps, that is why probiotics have recently been added?

If you managed to get an actual confirmation of IBD with your one cat, you probably should follow the testing that was done with her and have it done on your second one.

It could be something else altogether, such as a food allergy which can occur at any time, even when a cat's food has not been changed. Although, food allergies are thought to possibly prompt IBD over the long haul in some cases.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Personally, I wouldn't be surprised at all if genetics played a part in this . You might try feeding her the IBD diet and see what happens.