Adopting A Cat With Ibd - What Should We Expect?

Hi all,

New to this forum, just looking for some advice on what to expect day to day!

We’ve adopted a beautiful 5 year old fluffy boy who has IBD, and he’ll be coming home with us on Saturday.

He has IBD, which we’ve now done a lot of research into so have some information on what it’s all about, causes, symptoms etc.

What we can’t find information on isn’t what to expect day to day!

The people at the cat rescue centre said he’s been absolutely fine since he’s been there (2 months) and he’s already on special food that won’t irritate his condition.

His last owner gave him up because she was relocating to Australia, not because of the IBD.
Apparently his is also caused by stress, which isn’t surprising considering he was kept in a tiny flat and taken out on a lead.

What we’re unsure of, is what to expect day to day - is he likely to have accidents? Is he likely to make it to the litter tray / garden? Should we be letting him out into the garden? I hate the idea of keeping him cooped up.

And more importantly, what is likely to happen long term? Will his condition deteriorate? Will he end up needing medication?

Please, any experience and advice would be so appreciated - we want to make sure we can give this boy the right home!

Joanna x

I am new to a kitty with IBD (Trin), but from my own research it sounds like there are so many different experiences people have.

For our kitty, it was IBD because of an intolerance to chicken, we think. Day-to-day is as normal as any kitty for us. He has had diarrhea, which is when we started down the diagnostic path. Right now he has low B-12 so we are giving him weekly B-12 shots, and after today moving to monthly.

Other than that, there are no day-to-day differences for us as to what to expect than from a non-IBD kitty. Did the rescue mention what his IBD symptoms have been, and if he is on any medication? That to me may be more informative for his specific case.

Good luck, and congratulations on your new addition! Do you have a picture and a name picked out?

I'm just a few months ahead of you so I have a lot to say on this topic! Get ready to think and talk a lot about cat poop!

I adopted my cat in April and was told she was on special food to manage an allergy, but it turns out she has IBD. So it's good that you're getting a handle on this before your pal even comes home! And serious kudos to you for adopting a special needs cat; Now I wouldn't trade Busy for anything, but I'm not sure I would have picked her had I seen the words IBD on her rescue page.

So I'm definitely not an expert, but happy to share what our experience has been like. It seems like there are so many different ways IBD can manifest, so I would ask and get as many details about the way the symptoms played out as you can. My cat is super normal day-to-day, but has stress induced flare ups that can land her in the hospital. It can get so bad that she has blood coming out of both ends, which requires a hospital stay. This happened less than a week after we adopted her, and every time in her past that she had changed homes. But she hasn't thrown up since leaving the hospital two months ago, and all diarrhea was completely cleared up by a diet change.

On the other hand, my sisters cat also has IBD and has none of the scary symptoms we have, but has more day to day vomiting. Some cats seem to vomit, some have diarrhea, some have both. Find a vet now if you don't already have one and send them every medical record you can get; we had to start this whole process with a new vet, so we ended up paying for a lot of blood work, samples, etc. that had just been done.

After her hospital stay, Busy was put on Prednisolone, which is a steroid often prescribed to cats. Lots of people with IBD cats would like to avoid medication, so it's sometimes seen as a last resort. Each to their own, but I felt that it was important to let her really settle into our home without risking her life. We're now down to a low dose every other day, which really minimizes the risks of side effects. Eventually, I'd only like to use the steroids to manage stressful situations (moves, house guests, etc.) but I'm open to long term use if it keeps her happy and healthy.

We also slowly switched her from the Purina Veterinary Gastroentric kibble, to a high-protein, low-carb diet. Mostly raw, some high-protein wet and no kibble. This was because the Prednisolone wasn't completely managing the diarrhea. She continued to have loose stools and the most foul smelling poops and gas ever. That took some trial and error to get the right mix of food, but she is currently a super happy, energetic kitty who loves her food and rules our house. And bonus; no gas, and very normal, stink free litter box.

In terms of some of your questions, our cat has never had an accident in the house, though I know some do. For most cats, it seems like accidents tell you that you need to change it up, because something isn't working. We live on the 11th floor, so outdoors isn't an option for us. I don't know if that decision will be based on your cats IBD or not; other with more experience than me could probably help.

I can't tell you much about long-term that the vet/other posters would't be able to say better. But I can say that I'm really happy we adopted Busy, even with IBD. She doesn't have any daily symptoms, though I spent more time than I thought I would working on healthy diet. And my partner and I think of it like this; what if she had ended up in a home that wasn't willing to work with her to manage her condition? Her life could have been so miserable, and I know she's happy with us. Really, we're the right home for her, not so much her being the right cat for us.

I had a cat that had IBD for years. Everyone's experience is different. My cat was on Prednisolone for it but others have been able to get control with just diet. It does tend to be progressive but that is different for different cats. Patches had his first flare when he was only 18 months old and wasn't correctly diagnosed and put on the steroid when he 7 1/2. He was symptom free for over 8 years and then he did deteriorate. When he was 7 1/2 he had fatty liver so he probably also had some liver damage.

I think the best advice I can give you is to have a good vet and don't put off a vet trip if symptoms do arise. The inflammation is damaging and it is best to get it quickly back under control.

Thank you all for your kind responses! Very very useful, and again shows how much this condition varies from cat to cat.

The picture above is our little guy (i added the emojis lol)
His name is currently ‘The Monk’ which we weren’t too keen on, but we’ve started referring to him as Monky which seems to have stuck! He’s a Ragdoll, and I believe the condition is more common in the breed?

From the information we’ve got from the centre (and believe me we asked A LOT of questions), his IBD is purely diet controlled, as far as they are aware at least. There was no mention of medication, although they did say that his symptoms seem to be just poop but no vomit.

He seemed super chilled and friendly, so I’m hoping that people aren’t a cause of stress for him.

Really, the people at the centre seemed more concerned about him being stolen due to his breed then the IBD - we’re thinking (hoping!) that perhaps it’s a mild case?
I’d like to think that’s if he was an extreme case, having accidents etc. That they would have been much more specific about his care level?

Much love, Joanna x

Aww, Monky is so cute! Hopefully it is a mild case, sounds like the symptoms are not too bad. And since you are already forewarned and you have educated yourself if anything flares up or gets worse you have the best chance of making swift adjustments. Again, congratulations on Monky, he looks like a catch!

So cute - I love a fluffy cat! Sounds like you're going ahead with the adoption! Congrats!

Just keep a close eye on him, and his litter box habits. Seems like it might be mild at this point, and hopefully you can keep it that way.

Such a Beautiful boy! I think you can expect lots of love, snuggles and playful fun Enjoy your new best buddy!

My son has a cat with IBD. He is able to control her issues with diet. There is one food she can eat. As long as that is all he feeds her she is fine!

Every IBD cat responds and reacts differently day to day. It's a journey you just deal with one day at a time

Here are two web sites with good info

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

If your IBD cat is diet-controlled, that's great What are you feeding your cat?

My IBD cat is on diet and steroids. He's been doing ok since being diagnosed 6 months ago. There were a few early bad days: diarrhea, nausea, etc. He was on 4 different medicines for awhile. I found that keeping a log of everything (food fed, when the meds are given, body weight, when he poops, how the poop looks, etc) helps make it easy to see patterns. That's how I discovered early on that chicken is a no-no for my cat.

What a gorgeous feline! Keep us posted on how y'all are managing.

My 11-year old Mickey was just diagnosed with IBD (although they haven't ruled out pancreas issues). It was out of the blue, as he was always the healthiest member of the household. The first sign was his diet. I've always fed him dry in the morning, wet at night, which he always gobbled up. Suddenly he wanted nothing to do with kibble. So I went all wet food. Then he only wanted wet foods that were heavy on gravy, then broth only...finally, nothing. There's nothing worse than seeing your pet turn away from all food, and shrink from 14 to 9 lbs. My vet immediately put Mickey on an appetite enhancer, Cerenia and Prednisolone. Only had to use the appetite medicine twice, and the cerenia 5 times. I don'tknow how long he has to be on the Pred, but his appetite has come roaring back. I'm only allowed to give him food with duck or rabbit, but I'm going to try some Limited Ingredient dry rabbit food this week. My doctor wants to start B-12 shots, but I'm not sure yet, because A) I don't know how expensive that is, and I've already spent several hundred and B) I know I could never administer the needle myself. If she's eating healthy now, do I need the shots?

B12 shots definitely do help. If the cat has low B12 levels, that affects nutrient absorption and results in weight loss. It's not a big deal to give the shot. It's a quick poke into the neck scruff and cats don't notice it at all, especially if they're busy eating. The vet should show you with a sample syringe and colored water so you know what line to draw your cat's dose to. Many people get confused with the line markings and may under or over dose.

I pay $15.89 for two 1 ml bottles of B12. Each bottle is only good for one single use. So I have to buy B12 every two months. My cat's dose is only 0.25 ml once a month so I basically throw out the bottle after taking that teeny dose out The vet will determine the proper dose for your cat.

Hi all,

thank you again for all the info and responses, really appreciate it <3

So do you think we should take him to the vets straight away?

I don't want to take him in and cause him unnecessary stress on top of moving in with us, plus it sounds like he's coping okay just on his Z/D food so don't want to introduce treatments / meds that might not be needed right now?

I've also read a fair few articles about the benefits of slippery elm - has anyone used this with success / failure? I don't know what it's availability is like in UK?

Much love, Joanna x

If it was me, I’d take him to the vet for a baseline wellness checkup within the first few months, make sure the vet has any records you do and have him looked over. Then you can also see if you like that vet, if something occurs. Then I would follow the vet’s recommended care plan if symptoms arise.

I agree that adding in medications is probably not needed unless recommended by the vet. Try and keep track of his litterbox habits and if his poop looks normal. Watch out for excessive vomiting. He will be stressed with the move so either of these things may occur anyway. But if they don’t stop after a while or they get worse then a vet visit is good.

We've been dealing with IBD since we adopted Mowgli in March 2013. It took months to get it under control - a chicken and grain allergy aggravates it - but sticking to his special canned low-fat, grain-free, single protein diet has done wonders. He has had flare-ups with diarrhea and sometimes vomiting when he's gotten into food he shouldn't eat, but they've been dealt with using a supplement called Entero-Chronic. I don't believe that's available outside Europe.

Mowgli has never missed the litter box.

See how it goes after you get him home! Watch closely for symptoms and get him to a vet if anything shows up. Seconding the log as well! It's how I worked out that I needed to reduce a certain brand of food, and which probiotics caused issues and which didn't. And definitely don't start medications pre-emptively. He may be doing very well on his current food, and will be just fine to keep going on that. And anything that you do decide to introduce (if needed) in the future, do it nice and slowly, so you can really monitor the effects.