Prednisone Or Keep Changing Food

[ginnyj]

My 10 year old Tabby has been throwing up on and off for years. Most recently it's every day or two and often right after his first meal. He had labs and an ultrasound which came up with "Inflammatory bowel disease."

One option was to put him on a "limited ingredient" food so he's been on "Natural Balance Green Pea and Duck" dry food for about 2 months. I feed him very small amounts about 10 times a day! The vomiting really hasn't improved.

The vet has suggested a couple of weeks of oral prednisone and I think it's time to try that. I am tired of trying different foods with no success.

I'd appreciate any advice. Thank you!

Ginny

 

[Kieka]

Have you tried novel proteins? I have one cat who can't handle chicken and another who can't handle turkey so we've gone poultry free in our household.

 

[LTS3]

These web site have helpful info:

IBDKitties – Helping Save Lives…One Paw at a Time
Raw Feeding for IBD Cats

Diet alone doesn't always help. A combination of diet, steroids, and maybe a few others medicines depending on the cat's symptoms and biopsy results may be necessary. One of my cats has IBD. He was started on pred and cerenia and flagyl. I kept his diet the same, just started feeding only rabbit instead of chicken. About a month in, the vet added omeprazole and clarithyromycin and amoxicillin.

Dry food seems to irritate IBD tummies because of the filler ingredients. Can you feed only canned food? Novel proteins like rabbit and vension aren't likely to cause flare up.

 

[duckpond]

Have you tried wet food with him? I feed both wet and dry, i like both. But my son has a cat with IBD. after years of vets, prescription foods, medications, the only thing that has worked for their cat was a total switch to wet food only. And the food their girl has the best luck with is Fancy Feast classics. Might be worth a try?

 

[mmosimca]

Long-term pred usage can work. There are some risks, but if you can keep the dosage low, those risks can be pretty heavily minimized.

When I finally gave in to pred use for my cat after trying so many other options, I felt like I'd failed him. But he's still here and kicking, over 9 years later (he's 15 now).

 

[mmosimca]

I'd like to clarify that I'm not recommending pred. I'm just saying that if you and your vet end up taking that route, there is still hope for a long and relatively healthy life, at least based on my experience and the experiences of those I've read.

 

[MargoLane]

I don't think using Prednisolone is the end of the world. I use it, in combination with diet, to keep my IBD cat from dangerous bouts that cause her to throw up blood. I feed a mostly raw, some canned diet that is high protein, low to no carbs, low to no bone content and I mix up a whole range of proteins. This has helped so much; I can tell when she's been eating too much canned, or too much bone by the litter box. So I don't discount diet in helping with IBD, because it really does. I would say to keep trying, and if you've haven't tried low carb wet foods, definitely go there first.

But my cat's flare-ups seem to be brought on by stress, and pred is what seems to prevent that. I keep her at the lowest possible dosage, and some day I'd like to only use it pre, during and post stressful situations. But I also want to keep her happy and healthy. How miserable would you be if you threw up every day, and your stomach hurt all the time? Of course there are risks and downsides to any medication, but I think there are cats (and owners) who are happier on Pred.

 

[KarenKat]

Our guy Trin (also a 10-year tabby) was having chronic diarrhea and we think it is IBD (we haven't done a biopsy, so it's not officially confirmed). We were already feeding Natural Balance Green Pea and Chicken before his issues, which he was fine on. We tried to switch him to wet food and started giving him a lot of chicken for treats and the that's when he started having a lot of diarrhea. When we went back to the NB, it didn't get any better.

Right now we are thinking it could be chicken, so we are switching over to Instinct LID Rabbit and giving weekly B-12 shots. His poop is quite nice now. We are going to continue this route and eventually try him on the Instinct Rabbit wet food.

I have not tried Prednisone, but we are planning on speaking to the vet to see next steps. Just thought I would share since we are using the same food.

 

[chicy724]

I am here researching similar issues because my 13 yo female is exhibiting similar issues with vomiting daily, and she's not really eating. I have to keep trying different foods which she eats for maybe a day or two then turns her nose up.

Blood work shows extremely high eosinophils (27%!!! normal is 2%-12%), absolute eosinophils (2484! normal range is 0-1000/ml) and elevated amylase (1793). So far we've treated for parasites which treatment just ended, and we're not better.

It is interesting you note that your kitty's IBD is brought on by stress. Mine has not been diagnosed with IBD (but I feel like we're going down that path, but there's no diarrhea or blood that I can see) and we just introduced a new kitty into the house that she's not yet happy with. Maybe there is correlation.

 

[MargoLane]

I am here researching similar issues because my 13 yo female is exhibiting similar issues with vomiting daily, and she's not really eating. I have to keep trying different foods which she eats for maybe a day or two then turns her nose up.

Blood work shows extremely high eosinophils (27%!!! normal is 2%-12%), absolute eosinophils (2484! normal range is 0-1000/ml) and elevated amylase (1793). So far we've treated for parasites which treatment just ended, and we're not better.

It is interesting you note that your kitty's IBD is brought on by stress. Mine has not been diagnosed with IBD (but I feel like we're going down that path, but there's no diarrhea or blood that I can see) and we just introduced a new kitty into the house that she's not yet happy with. Maybe there is correlation.

Sorry your furry buddy is going through that! My vet said that IBD can manifest in a few different ways; upper GI, which results in more vomiting and lower GI which tends to result in diarrhea. Yeah, stress seems to be my kitties big trigger. She moved four times in about 2.5 months before we got her, and every time she got so sick, she came close to death. And it happened when she moved to our house too; spent three days at the vet. Her daily symptoms (before pred and diet change) are actually pretty limited; loose stools with some mucus and blood and stomach pain (I think...she was such a dainty eater before pred, she'd only take a few pieces of food an hour and didn't seem to enjoy eating at all. Wasn't food or treat motivated in any way; I think the inflammation made eating painful?) But then she would have these big flare ups that were awful for everyone.

After pred/diet change she's super happy and energetic, LOVES food and stuffs her face with it and seems to handle stress much better. For example, my sister and her baby just visited our small apartment for a week, and she handled it like a champ. A little bit of picky eating one day, and some slightly loose stools the next. An extra dose of pred when that happened, and she made it through the week happily. So I think if using medications like prednisolone will drastically improve kitties life, try it out in a safe way supported by a vet. It doesn't have to be forever.

You cat sounds like my sisters cat who has had an untreated IBD for ages. Her vet just said to change diet; so they tried lots of different foods and supplements and the cat would have none of any of them. Her vet never mentioned any other course of treatment, so my sister just came to accept that she had a cat that puked most days. Things started to escalate when she started having poop problems too, and wasn't making it to the litter box. When my cat was prescribed steroids, my sister was really upset that there had been a treatment all along, and that her cat had been suffering unnecessarily. The vet was fairly abashed too, when she asked for a prescription. They're still trying to get the dosage right, but it's already really helped with the vomiting.

 

[ginnyj]

This is Ginny the original poster -

One of you asked if he was ever on wet food and yes, he was on wet food for a couple of years. grocery store variety and prescription Science Diet. We have tried several different things my vet suggested over the past few years.

I took a look at the two websites posted and will look at the Facebook page when I get a sec.

I think everyone has a different story and did different things. I'm not sure what to do next. I wish my vet was more holistic in his approach but I don't get that feeling from him. I'm sure there are holist vets online, I'll have to look.

Thanks for your ideas.

Ginny

 

[ginnyj]

Prednisone is not helping very much with my kitties "Inflammatory Bowel Disease." Jersey has been on P for about 2 months; one month on 2.5 mg daily and about 3 weeks on 5mg daily. At first the vomiting was 1-2 times a week, in the past couple of weeks it's been every 1-2 days. The vet wants to increase the Prednisone.

Trying to find him and contain him before he gets away is a stress on both of us. I want to find another option. I'm thinking of the "raw food diet." I would appreciate your thoughts on that.

Thanks!

 

[MargoLane]

Hey G ginnyj - I feed raw in combination with Prednisolone, and it's been great for us. I don't really know what triggers her flare ups yet, but with raw I know there aren't any fillers/veggies/carbs that could be doing it. Plus, she loves it and she's been so healthy on it; all other foods/diets have led to soft stools. Search for raw food and IBD in this forum; lots of people have found raw has eliminated or greatly reduced symptoms. Others haven't found it to be a cure-all.

There aren't really studies on raw, so you have to inform yourself about the pros and cons. I would suggest starting with a commercial raw, instead of making your own at first. The process of switching is arduous for some cats! They just don't want to. But if your cat already likes wet, it might go easier on you. Good luck - keep us posted!

 

[ginnyj]

Thank you for sharing your experience.