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- May 31, 2015
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I've already read through the two awesome resources that are frequently posted here in regards to treating IBD, but the gist of them are basically get your cat on a raw food with a novel protein. The problem is that my cat is allergic to poultry and has eaten things like rabbit, venison, and beef raw food for years because that's pretty much all that's out there that he can eat.
Background
Background TL;DR: Symptoms are nausea, throwing up, and lack of appetite. No diarrhea; he's never had diarrhea. He's on ondansetron, which helps somewhat. He has heart disease, and his meds for that are pimobendan and clopidogrel. He has thickened intestinal walls. He has maintained and even gained weight over the past four months. Currently doing a round of B12 shots.
He has recently (one month ago) been diagnosed with heart disease, and he's now on pimobendan and clopidogrel for it. But all of the symptoms that brought us to the vet in the first place remain: nausea, lack of appetite, and throwing up. He's on ondansetron, which does help him eat and has cut down on the frequency of him throwing up, but I feel like its good effects are lessening with each week, and he's becoming even more interested in things he used to love to eat (even treats).
He's had the gamut of tests run. Everything is pretty much within range, though his protein has been trending down over the past year and has just now entered the "low" range. It's still a very high "low," though. His abdominal ultrasound did show thickening of his intestinal walls and nothing else (besides a little issue with his liver due to his heart which the meds are supposed to help).
Based on reading, I feel like it's still at the IBD point and hasn't gotten to lymphoma yet. He's actually gained a pound recently because I've started leaving out food so he can free feed whenever he feels up to it. What's odd is that he's gained weight eating about 20-30% less calories than he was eating before he suddenly lost his appetite a couple months ago.
I have seen multiple vets, and because his heart stuff was diagnosed at the same time we were trying to figure out the lack of appetite thing, they were all basically like "let's focus on the heart right now and get that stabilized." All the vets wanted to put him on some high carb prescription food to "help his IBD if it is that." I didn't go that route, obviously.
He can't do a biopsy because of his heart. He can't do steroids because of his heart.
It feels like he's on a downwards slide. He stopped being excited about treats about a month ago. He's started throwing up once during the day every four days or so, and he'll be quite nauseous for an hour or so afterwards. That's very new, just in the past week or so. He used to just throw up once a night in the early morning when his stomach would get too empty.
He was on CBD oil for focal seizures up until April 2021, when the vet had me take him off of it for a dental cleaning. His seizures seemed to be doing better, so I didn't start him back on it. But then just a couple months later is when he suddenly lost his appetite and stopped eating, so I can't help but wonder if the CBD was helping his IBD? But now he can't go back on it because of his meds.
I feel like all the vets have just left me to fend for myself. He's been referred to the best veterinary hospital in the state, but it'll take a month or more to get him in, and honestly I don't really want to put him through even more expensive poking and prodding, and in the end what could they do to help him, really? I know I'm probably letting my own (very bad) experiences with medical professionals cloud my judgment, but it's been a really hard couple of months on us both. No one will tell me how much time he has left with his heart, no one will give me any guidance on his IBD, and I don't want to put him through anything that would make him feel worse, especially if he doesn't have much time left.
How to treat his probable IBD?
I don't know how to even begin to approach managing his IBD. It's already so hard to get food into him as is. He's practically stopped eating his favorite food (Primal Raw) that he has always, always loved and eaten before. I'll put out canned food alongside his raw to give him options, but canned food without poultry in it is hard to find, and he was picky with canned food even before he got sick.
He already eats beef, rabbit, venison, salmon, and tuna. Those have been his main proteins for the past seven or so years.
It just seems like there's no other food out there left to give him, especially to do something as extreme as an elimination diet. An elimination diet on top of nausea and lack of appetite seems like a recipe for misery and failure.
He won't touch food with probiotics mixed in, and he won't touch kefir that I set out for him to try. I did see slippery elm recommended, but I'm worried about it interring with medications he's already on.
I'm just overwhelmed and at a complete loss. Is there anything I can do to try and help his IBD?
He's such a sweetheart. I know everyone says that about their cats, but he really is. He's only 11, and I thought I would have so many more years with him. I know he's on borrowed time, but I want to do everything I can to help him feel his best with the time he has left without decreasing his quality of life.
Background
Background TL;DR: Symptoms are nausea, throwing up, and lack of appetite. No diarrhea; he's never had diarrhea. He's on ondansetron, which helps somewhat. He has heart disease, and his meds for that are pimobendan and clopidogrel. He has thickened intestinal walls. He has maintained and even gained weight over the past four months. Currently doing a round of B12 shots.
He has recently (one month ago) been diagnosed with heart disease, and he's now on pimobendan and clopidogrel for it. But all of the symptoms that brought us to the vet in the first place remain: nausea, lack of appetite, and throwing up. He's on ondansetron, which does help him eat and has cut down on the frequency of him throwing up, but I feel like its good effects are lessening with each week, and he's becoming even more interested in things he used to love to eat (even treats).
He's had the gamut of tests run. Everything is pretty much within range, though his protein has been trending down over the past year and has just now entered the "low" range. It's still a very high "low," though. His abdominal ultrasound did show thickening of his intestinal walls and nothing else (besides a little issue with his liver due to his heart which the meds are supposed to help).
Based on reading, I feel like it's still at the IBD point and hasn't gotten to lymphoma yet. He's actually gained a pound recently because I've started leaving out food so he can free feed whenever he feels up to it. What's odd is that he's gained weight eating about 20-30% less calories than he was eating before he suddenly lost his appetite a couple months ago.
I have seen multiple vets, and because his heart stuff was diagnosed at the same time we were trying to figure out the lack of appetite thing, they were all basically like "let's focus on the heart right now and get that stabilized." All the vets wanted to put him on some high carb prescription food to "help his IBD if it is that." I didn't go that route, obviously.
He can't do a biopsy because of his heart. He can't do steroids because of his heart.
It feels like he's on a downwards slide. He stopped being excited about treats about a month ago. He's started throwing up once during the day every four days or so, and he'll be quite nauseous for an hour or so afterwards. That's very new, just in the past week or so. He used to just throw up once a night in the early morning when his stomach would get too empty.
He was on CBD oil for focal seizures up until April 2021, when the vet had me take him off of it for a dental cleaning. His seizures seemed to be doing better, so I didn't start him back on it. But then just a couple months later is when he suddenly lost his appetite and stopped eating, so I can't help but wonder if the CBD was helping his IBD? But now he can't go back on it because of his meds.
I feel like all the vets have just left me to fend for myself. He's been referred to the best veterinary hospital in the state, but it'll take a month or more to get him in, and honestly I don't really want to put him through even more expensive poking and prodding, and in the end what could they do to help him, really? I know I'm probably letting my own (very bad) experiences with medical professionals cloud my judgment, but it's been a really hard couple of months on us both. No one will tell me how much time he has left with his heart, no one will give me any guidance on his IBD, and I don't want to put him through anything that would make him feel worse, especially if he doesn't have much time left.
How to treat his probable IBD?
I don't know how to even begin to approach managing his IBD. It's already so hard to get food into him as is. He's practically stopped eating his favorite food (Primal Raw) that he has always, always loved and eaten before. I'll put out canned food alongside his raw to give him options, but canned food without poultry in it is hard to find, and he was picky with canned food even before he got sick.
He already eats beef, rabbit, venison, salmon, and tuna. Those have been his main proteins for the past seven or so years.
It just seems like there's no other food out there left to give him, especially to do something as extreme as an elimination diet. An elimination diet on top of nausea and lack of appetite seems like a recipe for misery and failure.
He won't touch food with probiotics mixed in, and he won't touch kefir that I set out for him to try. I did see slippery elm recommended, but I'm worried about it interring with medications he's already on.
I'm just overwhelmed and at a complete loss. Is there anything I can do to try and help his IBD?
He's such a sweetheart. I know everyone says that about their cats, but he really is. He's only 11, and I thought I would have so many more years with him. I know he's on borrowed time, but I want to do everything I can to help him feel his best with the time he has left without decreasing his quality of life.
