IBD cat not eating

[Tummytrouble]

Thanks! She is an outlier for her reactions to medications, so it wouldn't surprise me if this applies to the Leukeran as well.

 

[scarlett71177]

Friend, I am right there with you. I don’t have any info for you, but I’m sending support and encouragement.

 

[Tummytrouble]

Thanks,I appreciate the support, sending it right back at you. This IBD can f right off.

 

[Tummytrouble]

Feeling a bit depressed in general about Chatchka. She's not really playing anymore and mainly sets up in the front window and watches the world. She's always done this but now it's so much more often. She still hunches after eating every meal and grinds her teeth when eating her wet (which thankfully she has started eating a bit more of than when she completely went off it). We had her 5th Chemo pill today and I just feel like I should be seeing more improvement? I dunno. She's stopped sleeping with me regularly and I'm bummed about that too. I feel like she's also a bit depressed. Hoping for better days over here.

 

[Tummytrouble]

Nutritional yeast and IBD, does anyone have thoughts on this topper? I'm starting to wonder if it is part of the problem because she won't eat her food without it, but it seems like it could be inflammatory.

 

[fionasmom]

You said, in this thread or another one, that you use it already? It is possibly inflammatory, but you might try a small amount and see if that makes her eat since that is her biggest problem right now. When do you see the vet again to discuss her progress?

 

[Tummytrouble]

I do or have been using it for every meal to get her to eat, small amounts. I tried today to stop it and she won't eat much without it yet. I'm holding out for a bit. Her next appointment is the 11th of October. Yes I did mention that I use it-but yesterday I was mulling on her lack of improvement and I landed on the nutritional yeast as a possible factor. I don't know-grasping at straws a bit. But if I can't get her to eat better without it today I will probably cave in and just get her to eat a healthier amount. I will add she's had a few small bites of food, but I really think that's the Mirataz talking.

 

[Tummytrouble]

I do or have been using it for every meal to get her to eat, small amounts. I tried today to stop it and she won't eat much without it yet. I'm holding out for a bit. Her next appointment is the 11th of October. Yes I did mention that I use it-but yesterday I was mulling on her lack of improvement and I landed on the nutritional yeast as a possible factor. I don't know-grasping at straws a bit. But if I can't get her to eat better without it today I will probably cave in and just get her to eat a healthier amount. I will add she's had a few small bites of food, but I really think that's the Mirataz talking.

Adding in that with it as a topper and the Mirataz, she's been doing great eating-except the fact that she keeps hunching after.

 

[fionasmom]

My cat vet has always said that any cat in question has to eat, no matter what other condition they have. If I were you, I would probably try a little bit of the yeast cautiously.

The 11th is not that far off, so you can discuss a possible reaction to the medication and also the hunching/teeth grinding which might go together as some intestinal discomfort.

 

[Tummytrouble]

My cat vet has always said that any cat in question has to eat, no matter what other condition they have. If I were you, I would probably try a little bit of the yeast cautiously.

The 11th is not that far off, so you can discuss a possible reaction to the medication and also the hunching/teeth grinding which might go together as some intestinal discomfort.

Thank you, I agree. It just helps to hear another voice on this.

 

[Tummytrouble]

Feeling down and hitting a wall again. Chatchka had her follow-up for the Chlorambucil blood tests and check-in. The vet was pleased with her weight gain and pointed to that as an indication her gut is working. However, she still hunches after every pill and meal and her gut is also being heavily supported by anti-emetics. We discussed that and he agreed we could pull all her anti-nausea meds to see how she does along with removing the second dose of steroid in the evening. However, he granted two days of this and if she declines to go right back on it all until our next check in two weeks from today. As you can imagine I'm eager to not have to pill her up to 6x a day. But I didn't med her yesterday evening and this a.m. for the anti-nausea meds. She got her Chlorambucil and Prenisolone and guess what? She's nauseous and has stopped eating. I'm defeated. I gave her a zofran and have told myself I will fully return to all meds on Sunday to give it a fair shake even though I already know the outcome. I want off this hamster wheel of all day pilling and I know she does too. The hunching is upsetting as I know it's her not feeling good. Any thoughts or tips welcome. She's on Chlorambucil, Prednisolone and zofran/cerenia. Along with Mirataz. Hills Z/D wet/dry diet.

 

[jmichaelp]

So the results show she has IBD, not cancer? Can you eliminate the Chlorambucil? Seems to be overkill for IBD unless Prednisolone by itself doen't work. Dude has been fine using just Prednisolone.

Don't give up! You can see from Dude's weight chart that he went from 11 lbs to 8 lbs. If he drops I work on it to get his weight back up.

Cats & food are strange. I accidentally ordered Hills k/d chicken & neither cat would touch it, both lost weight. Back to ocean fish & they're scarfing it down. Try a food topper like churro or dried bonito. Sometimes Dude eats better if I stand there with him. ANY food for a short time is better than no food. Elevating the food bowl (stick anything you have under there) may help with nausea.

I used a syringe to feed (Robot or human?). It helped to attach a 2" piece of tubing to the end so I could go in from the side of the mouth more easily.

What is the pilling schedule? Can you combine pills in a gel cap? Size #4 (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084GFMDSK/?tag=thecatsite) is easy for them to swallow & can hold a lot of pills. I can put cyproheptadine, prednisolone & B12 in one gel cap. I use a pill popper (Amazon.com) Be quick, firm & confident while pilling, your attitude really helps, your cat can feel it. Dude looks forward to getting his meds (he even complains if he hasn't been given them) because they come with extra love/attention & treats. Mirataz transdermal can eliminate that pill. Cerenia can be injected. Mirataz often helps with nausea, will that be enough by itself?

Consult with another vet (Chewy is convenient for this if you're using autoship), maybe they have ideas. Don't give up!

 

[Tummytrouble]

Yeah, unfortunately, the Prednisolone wasn't working well enough on its own which is when the Chlorambucil was introduced about two weeks ago. She's bad today. But that's because I didn't listen to my better judgment and held off giving her zofran in the am, to see if she would get over the hump. She didn't and now she's barely eaten, got nauseous enough to associate her dry food with it and is generally miserable. The vet told me she would need to go back on the fully pilling schedule if she didn't handle removing the anti emetics and the second dose of 2.5 pred in the pm. Her current schedule will go back to 8:40am pred/zofran 4pm zofran 8:40pm 1/2 pred, 11:30pm Cerenia/zofran. So roughly 6 pills a day. We have another follow up on 10/31 and I'm going to ask about changing the Chlorambucil bc I do think she's in the minority that can't handle it very well. Back to being stressed. Thanks for your thoughtful reply and tips, appreciate it. I have all her bowls elevated, I use nutritional yeast flakes as topper and this vet really won't budge on letting her have other food beyond the zd. We shall try to hang in. But if she seems to be suffering I will have to reassess.

 

[jmichaelp]

If the pilling is the holdup, I'd get a feeding tube ASAP while she's relatively healthy. You can give her extra food & all the meds that way until she's stabilized. Please read the following & consider talking to a vet. Feeding tube in a feline. Why being aggressive saves you one of those 9 lives.

 

[Tummytrouble]

Thanks, my vet mentioned this at the beginning of our journey as an option he would happily pursue when/if need be. At the moment, I have her eating again and taking her meds. The pilling isn't a hold-up per se, I am just not seeing 6 pills a day as a sustainable quality of life in the long run. I've been doing this for two months, so another few weeks won't hurt. But my concern is the hunching she does hasn't stopped and that tells me we aren't addressing the issue but rather placing a nice bandage over it. Again, I'm happy to bandage her to get her to the next step. But the vet and I don't know what that step is yet. She eats when on this pill schedule. She doesn't/can't when off it. That's what I know for now. I really think the Chlorambucil is making her the most nauseous and if I can find a workaround or better chemo option I will look into that.

 

[Tummytrouble]

And now she's not eating more than a few bites even on Mirataz. I spoke too soon.

 

[jmichaelp]

And now she's not eating more than a few bites even on Mirataz. I spoke too soon.

Could it be pain-related? Dude's appetite & sociability decline substantially due to his arthritis. Solensia helps greatly when it works.

Jimmy Valvano Don't Ever Give up Line

This is The V foundation week so i posted this for it

youtube.com

 

[Tummytrouble]

Interesting thought, I just feel that her hunching directly after eating indicates it is pain or discomfort, but in her intestines rather than something like arthritis.

 

[jmichaelp]

The picture of Chatchka in September looks good. She'll be okay, you just have to get the right combo.

You're pilling 4x a day, for me that's not excessive unless you're not using gel caps to combine them & instead giving her individual pills. I've pilled him 4x a day, if I didn't make his meds an event to give him extra attention, each pilling takes only about 1-2 seconds for me. I've never given chemo, so I understand her reaction to the gloves & how much more difficult that could make things.

I'd talk with your vet about simplifying things & starting from the beginning, i.e. getting her to eat an adequate amount of food on her own. Do you have to give z/d plus an appetite stimulant too get her to eat food or can you give her another food without a stimulant (my cats wouldn't eat chicken k/d but will eat ocean fish)? If you can do that, then address the next biggest problem - is it nausea, ok fix that, then get the next problem. You have a lot of meds going on, some of which appear to act in similar ways. Even the food is a med, it may may require getting off of z/d to any food she'll eat. The sucralfate can be tricky to work with, I've used it for my own gastritis & also for a cat. Also still giving her SEB? Maybe just SEB & see how that goes if the sucralfate is too tricky? You're giving her Cerenia & Zofran, both which may cause drowsiness & do the same thing. Maybe one or the other. Mirtazapine also helps with nausea/vomiting, so that may be enough. Looks like Chlorambucil also can cause " low energy/depression, lack of appetite, vomiting, diarrhea " among other things.

 

[Tummytrouble]

The vet stands firm on her diet for now and won't let me change it, so there is that. I will be pushing for that at the next appointment, changing it I mean. I've been pilling without the gel caps bc initially he warned me not to use gel caps that had any byproducts in them, which all do except the vegetarian cellulose ones. However, those only come in large sizes, so I had to cut them down and it still seemed a bit big for her. I have started using the size 5 gels (giving up on keeping it vegetarian for peace of mind) to put her cerenia in at night bc that one is so crumbly and tastes horrible and it was the most stressful to give her. And I can combine with the zofran if needed. The chlorambucil really throws a wrench in terms of pilling her all the nausea meds. I am getting better at pilling in general every time. I'm quiet, quick and often it also takes mere seconds to do. It is the symptom fallout from the chemo, that has me in this loop. I will say I'm starting to see some improvements in her demeanor, energy, and eating.
I think the Chlorambucil may have taken a while to really have an effect. But every day tends to shift in terms of doing good or bad, so I don't want to get too ahead of myself. I want to ask him about low dose Naltrexone, Budesonide and changing her diet. I do think she can come through this, I just have my days of being overwhelmed. Thanks for all your feedback and tips, it really helps. Also, I'm not currently giving her the sulcalfrate, just the SEB.