1.5 Year Old Maine Coon IBD Steroids

Kgraham1511

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Recently our Maine Coon male went to a different vet, long story.

Basically he stayed overnight with an colon irrigation and fluids. He was also tested for pancreatitis and feline leukemia which were all negative.

We picked him up yesterday with prednisolone 5 g tablets to administer as follows: 4 days 2 pills a day then 4 days 1 a day and 1/2 every 24 to 48 hours.

There was no mention of trying novelty proteins or change of diet. I am guessing that might be discuss after the round of steroids?

Also being a 1.5 year old cat. How much would every day or every other day steriods long term affect his health?

Anyone have experience with possible ibd at such a young age?

Just a really concerned pet parent. The saga took us taking him to another vet rather than his regular. His regular vet was terrible. If you want to know the full story feel free to ask, it is just a really long story spanning 3 weeks.
 

fionasmom

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If the round of steriods resolves this for good, it will not hurt him. You want to avoid keeping him on them at such a young age though. Did the vet mention IBD or do you suspect it? He was having a gastro episode which is what brought him to the vet?
 
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Kgraham1511

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IBD was thrown around but never really given as diagnoses.

Yes he didn't poop for about 3 days and stopped eating food.

He never really has had this problem before until know.

It was about a 3 week deal of one week taking him to another vet since the regular was out of town and a steroid shot. After that he was better for about a week but then went back to not eating the next week.

We were not told to refill the steriods or anything. So maybe our new vet thinks these steroids one round we'll be enough.

Only told to contact if he stops eating or has loose stool again.
 

fionasmom

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No refill means that the vet only wants to do one round which is good that he is not a vet who is throwing steroids' at cats and walking away. If he is better, you can probably monitor and watch to see if symptoms return. If they have returned or you sense that something is not right then he needs to go back to the vet and look at some other diagnostic tests. Not eating, constipation or diarrhea needs to be assessed if it continues. You mentioned that no change of food was discussed but you might call and see if the vet wants to follow that course regardless.
 
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Kgraham1511

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We have changed to what he was fed during his stay which is hills science diet sensitive stomach. His former food was royal canin sensitive stomach.
 

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For IBD you would need to get an ultrasound done to see how bad it. You could also look into a LID diet wet food diets like Koha. Rawz, hounds and gatos are also good. Basically any carrageenan/gum free wet food is important to help make it easier for him to digest. You can even look at the Nutrience care line, that one has a good sensitive stomach one.
 

JC fka JClark

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Vomiting, diarrhea and bloody stools are typically associated with IBS/IBD rather than constipation.

Short term course of steroids are commonly used gain control of the current symptoms. I've never heard of a cat developing IBD at such a young age. IBS of course is a possibility. With such a young cat I would confirm with the vet that the cats teeth are fine. After all if the cat won't eat then it won't have anything to poop. If teeth are okay then obviously a change in food is next. You could also ask your vet about a round mirtazapine which will encourage the cat to eat. Just give it to the cat in the morning because the medication can cause them to become more vocal.

Of course as others have said an ultrasound is really only a handful ways to rule out IBD.

GL
 
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Kgraham1511

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Thanks.

The only really worries me is the blood panel the day before he got the colone cleanse and steriods showed a really low white blood cell count.

Does anyone know if a few days of constipation and a hairball could cause a low white blood cell count?
 
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Kgraham1511

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So our vet is wanting to do long term possibly 5 mg every 24 to 48 hours.

Anyone had experience with putting a cat at 1.5 age on steriods for life?

What is the trade off? Will the drugs cut his life short?
 

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Steroids may not be needed continuously every day for life. My IBD cat occasionally needs a short course of pred to control symptoms. Most vets start pred at a high dose twice a daily for maybe a week or so. Then the dose is gradually tapered off as symptoms improve.

Diabetic-like symptoms and slightly elevated blood glucose levels are common with high doses: increased hunger and thirst and urination. The symptoms go away as the dose is decreased. Long term continuous daily use can induce diabetes in some cats. Usually tapering off the steroid and stopping it will put the diabetes in remission.

Have you seen these two web sites?

 

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A change in diet can make more difference than anything else, but it has to be the right change and not just from one low quality junk ingredient prescription food to another. Get him away from dry food and any canned food with plant based ingredients and see how he does, but try to stay with one protein source at a time in case it's an issue with the protein itself. Steroids are helpful short term to get the symptoms under control while you try to find the root cause but can be harmful long term and are known to cause organ damage with prolonged use.
 

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So our vet is wanting to do long term possibly 5 mg every 24 to 48 hours.

Anyone had experience with putting a cat at 1.5 age on steriods for life?

What is the trade off? Will the drugs cut his life short?
Much of the risk of long-term steroids use comes from daily dosing. Because he is so young, I would try the steroids as prescribed since you're probably already into that by now. After this current course runs out, if his symptoms return, I would work with an internal medicine specialist for any supporting meds needed like anti-nausea and anti-vomiting while you try to get his symptoms under control with diet changes and no steroids. 1.5 years old is far too young for a cat to be starting a lifetime of steroids. And daily steroids will weaken him and put him at risk for long-term health complications. You might want to call up an internal medicine specialist now as there is likely a long wait time for an appointment.

Another reason why you should give him a break after this course of steroids runs out is that he needs to be off steroids for some time before you can get an accurate ultrasound picture. I would not put him back on steroids again until you have an ultrasound to know what you're dealing with.
 

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I'm late to this party, but I've got two cats with IBD. One cat seems sensitive to any dry food and that includes just plain old dehydrated chicken breast. He's also sensitive to wet food if it contains gums of any kind. Since it seems about impossible to find and afford gum free wet food, I've got him on a homemade diet. It really did solve his issues with horrid diarrhea. Now another cat is having issues. She's a maniac for dry food, but she does eat some wet food like fancy feast. I don't know what is triggering her. She's a high-strung kitty and she gets picked on by the other cats sometimes. So it could be stress. After we finish her current food I'm going to try to get her totally on homemade food too and see if she improves. Her poop could peel the paint off a house, two blocks away. Man it stinks. The smell has woken me up from a deep sleep at least once... ugh!
 

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Recently our Maine Coon male went to a different vet, long story.

Basically he stayed overnight with an colon irrigation and fluids. He was also tested for pancreatitis and feline leukemia which were all negative.

We picked him up yesterday with prednisolone 5 g tablets to administer as follows: 4 days 2 pills a day then 4 days 1 a day and 1/2 every 24 to 48 hours.

There was no mention of trying novelty proteins or change of diet. I am guessing that might be discuss after the round of steroids?

Also being a 1.5 year old cat. How much would every day or every other day steriods long term affect his health?

Anyone have experience with possible ibd at such a young age?

Just a really concerned pet parent. The saga took us taking him to another vet rather than his regular. His regular vet was terrible. If you want to know the full story feel free to ask, it is just a really long story spanning 3 weeks.
I know this thread is a little old, but I just adopted a 4 year old female that has been diagnosed with IBS/IBD. I’m on the verge of trying the steriods. I’ve only had her 5 months and she‘s been treated for worms, seems to have an allergy to chicken (which is in everything) and has the bloody stool often. Most recently she went through a round of antibiotics and she seemed to be good for awhile but now bloody stools again. Wondering how you’ve made out with your cat and if anything has worked for him.
 

Mrsty1203

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I'm late to this party, but I've got two cats with IBD. One cat seems sensitive to any dry food and that includes just plain old dehydrated chicken breast. He's also sensitive to wet food if it contains gums of any kind. Since it seems about impossible to find and afford gum free wet food, I've got him on a homemade diet. It really did solve his issues with horrid diarrhea. Now another cat is having issues. She's a maniac for dry food, but she does eat some wet food like fancy feast. I don't know what is triggering her. She's a high-strung kitty and she gets picked on by the other cats sometimes. So it could be stress. After we finish her current food I'm going to try to get her totally on homemade food too and see if she improves. Her poop could peel the paint off a house, two blocks away. Man it stinks. The smell has woken me up from a deep sleep at least once... ugh!
I sympathize and know what you mean. When we got our new cat, Stella, I knew something was wrong just from the horrid smell of her stools, even when they weren’t diarrhea. We’ve only had her for 5 months and I’m still trying to sort out her troubles. Most recently she was on a round of antibiotics that really seemed to normalize things, smell included. But now only a few weeks later and I’m seeing bloody stool again. I don’t know what to do next. Vet had mentioned steroids. Of course they want to sell you their special food that the cats won’t eat… I just refuse to go down that road.
 

Mrsty1203

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A change in diet can make more difference than anything else, but it has to be the right change and not just from one low quality junk ingredient prescription food to another. Get him away from dry food and any canned food with plant based ingredients and see how he does, but try to stay with one protein source at a time in case it's an issue with the protein itself. Steroids are helpful short term to get the symptoms under control while you try to find the root cause but can be harmful long term and are known to cause organ damage with prolonged use.
I’m having a similar problem with my cat. Her issues are all lower bowel though, no vomiting thank God. But wondering what do you think of Stella and Chewy freeze dried raw? And I do like your idea of getting dry food gone altogether. I should do that… my cat eats both wet and dry and I have her on a LID duck dry but there is pea protein in it and I’ve read some cats have issues with that. She has a diarrhea reaction to any chicken. On top of that she just won’t eat beef, lamb, rabbit. Duck, turkey and fish is the only thing she’s willing to eat. She doesn’t like pate food either. Everything has to have a gravy…. Stella and Chewy does have all of the proteins she likes in a freeze dried form. She’s been eating the S&C duck 1 meal a day.
 

Mrsty1203

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Steroids may not be needed continuously every day for life. My IBD cat occasionally needs a short course of pred to control symptoms. Most vets start pred at a high dose twice a daily for maybe a week or so. Then the dose is gradually tapered off as symptoms improve.

Diabetic-like symptoms and slightly elevated blood glucose levels are common with high doses: increased hunger and thirst and urination. The symptoms go away as the dose is decreased. Long term continuous daily use can induce diabetes in some cats. Usually tapering off the steroid and stopping it will put the diabetes in remission.

Have you seen these two web sites?

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Thanks so much for those websites, exactly the kind of thing I was looking for.
 

Talien

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I’m having a similar problem with my cat. Her issues are all lower bowel though, no vomiting thank God. But wondering what do you think of Stella and Chewy freeze dried raw? And I do like your idea of getting dry food gone altogether. I should do that… my cat eats both wet and dry and I have her on a LID duck dry but there is pea protein in it and I’ve read some cats have issues with that. She has a diarrhea reaction to any chicken. On top of that she just won’t eat beef, lamb, rabbit. Duck, turkey and fish is the only thing she’s willing to eat. She doesn’t like pate food either. Everything has to have a gravy…. Stella and Chewy does have all of the proteins she likes in a freeze dried form. She’s been eating the S&C duck 1 meal a day.
If she'll eat it and you are comfortable feeding it to her, that's what really counts. I've never fed my Cats S&C so I can't say much either way about it.
 

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Merlin who is a former abandoned cat living outside who I saved was diagnosed with ibd, he was a bout 2 then maybe. He also had c difficile and possible tf so I did a lot of parasite treatments, metronidazole and rinidazole, supplements etc.

US confirmed some mild thickening in his bowels. He was on steroids for about 2 months and then I weaned him off and just let the home cooked diet try to heal him which it did finally, after a few very long and distressing from months he was ok.

His main symptom was runs/ soft stools etc. s boulardi made him worse and gave him explosive runs. None of the other supplements sich as cbd etc helped at all. The steroids did help a bit but did not firm his stool much, one dvm thought he had an inflammatory reaction to them and
s boulardi.

It turns out he and Quinn, my siamese baby, who also had tummy troubles starting after a flea treatment, are very sensitive to grains, starches, yeast and any dairy. They can only eat the home cooked food, fussie cat grain free, only one flavor, and plain chicken or turkey tidbits. No tuna either or other proteins and no carbs except pumpkin occasionally.
I would see how he does on the steroid course, think about a home cooked diet, I add supplements from knowwhatyoufeed.com to cooked chicken and chicken liver all ground up. And also do a repeat bw to check on his low wbc. Did dvm say anything about that?
 
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Kgraham1511

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I remember seeing someone asking for an update.

Currently he is doing very well. He is up to 12.5 lbs which is great for a male Maine Coon. Recently he went to the vet for a checkup and we were told he looks really healthy and could afford to gain some weight. The best news yet is he has gone from 2.5 prednisolone everyday to 2.5 prednisolone one day and 1.25 prednisolone the next day, pill form.

Since the change in prednisolone dose his appetite is even better!

I firmly believe the z/d Hills Science food, meatmucil and mirlax after six months have calmed and leveled his stomach.

Although I will take some credit here. I religiously follow his steroid, meatmucil, and mirlax regime. We have not missed one day of steroid and only maybe twice mirlax and metamucil. And he never gets to eat anything but his special z/d food.
 
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