Hi all, it's been awhile since I last posted here. Thank you to anyone who reads this - I really feel hopeless & need some guidance.
My 16.5 yr old kitty has IBD & polycystic kidney disease. She was diagnosed with both when she was around 10/11 yrs old. I have tried everything under the sun in the past 6 years to help her manage her IBD - raw food, tracking ingredients to find allergens, all different probiotics/supplements, vitamin b12 injections, pumpkin, etc. She has pretty much always struggled with her poops no matter what. Sometimes I make a change & it will get better for a few months but we always end up back to diarrhea eventually. She does take Prednisolone 2x a day, for a total of 2.5mg a day.
I mention all that just to avoid comments of advice for certain products/foods. I do appreciate any insight that anyone has, but I really don't think any food change or magic supplement will help at this point, and it's very likely that I've already tried it. Her kidney disease has also progressed over the past couple of years, so her options for food are limited. She has to eat a renal support food at this point.
She does have flare ups every so often, but lately there have been less IBD flare ups & more kidney disease flare ups, where her kidney levels skyrocket & she has to be on IV fluids for a couple of days to help flush them out. Thankfully, that hasn't happened for about 8 months, & she just had a check up last week where all her kidney levels came back in the normal range.
My problem is that for the past week, her IBD seems to be flaring up & I cannot manage it. She is eating fine (she never really eats "enough" but she has a good appetite) & is drinking & is her normal playful self, but our evenings have been riddled with diarrhea spells & she vomited last night.
It's really strange because she starts arching her back as if she was about to poop, but does this all over the house. Sometimes she'll eventually go to her litterbox & get it out, but most times she ends up going in a random spot in the house. It has been mostly liquid consistency but some pudding poops as well. She also vomited last night at around 3am despite not having eaten anything since 10pm, & the vomit did look like her food. I've also caught her pawing at the rug as if she is trying to pee on it a few times, but as soon as I get near she goes to her litterbox to pee.
I just don't know what to do to help her, & I'm losing my sanity cleaning poop off my carpet multiple times a day & during the night. She literally just had a check up & got the all clear from the vet - blood results looked great & physical exam went great. I really don't want to bring her back because she gets extremely stressed at the vet & motion sick in the car.
This is all complicated by the fact that we'll be moving in a couple of weeks so there will be some more stress for her. We're taking steps to make it as smooth as possible, but of course it's going to take her awhile to get used to the new place, & I don't want her to be dealing with stomach issues during that time as well.
I guess this is more of a venting post but I'd appreciate advice as well. One big thing I'm wondering is - at what point does this affect her quality of life? I know that she's an old kitty & her time could come at any point now, but she is still eating & playing & cuddling & jumping. She doesn't seem like she is in pain, but this diarrhea must be uncomfortable for her. I just don't know what to do to help her when we've already tried so many things, we don't have much freedom with her food choice now due to her kidneys, & nothing tangible & treatable ever shows up in her results at the vet.
My 16.5 yr old kitty has IBD & polycystic kidney disease. She was diagnosed with both when she was around 10/11 yrs old. I have tried everything under the sun in the past 6 years to help her manage her IBD - raw food, tracking ingredients to find allergens, all different probiotics/supplements, vitamin b12 injections, pumpkin, etc. She has pretty much always struggled with her poops no matter what. Sometimes I make a change & it will get better for a few months but we always end up back to diarrhea eventually. She does take Prednisolone 2x a day, for a total of 2.5mg a day.
I mention all that just to avoid comments of advice for certain products/foods. I do appreciate any insight that anyone has, but I really don't think any food change or magic supplement will help at this point, and it's very likely that I've already tried it. Her kidney disease has also progressed over the past couple of years, so her options for food are limited. She has to eat a renal support food at this point.
She does have flare ups every so often, but lately there have been less IBD flare ups & more kidney disease flare ups, where her kidney levels skyrocket & she has to be on IV fluids for a couple of days to help flush them out. Thankfully, that hasn't happened for about 8 months, & she just had a check up last week where all her kidney levels came back in the normal range.
My problem is that for the past week, her IBD seems to be flaring up & I cannot manage it. She is eating fine (she never really eats "enough" but she has a good appetite) & is drinking & is her normal playful self, but our evenings have been riddled with diarrhea spells & she vomited last night.
It's really strange because she starts arching her back as if she was about to poop, but does this all over the house. Sometimes she'll eventually go to her litterbox & get it out, but most times she ends up going in a random spot in the house. It has been mostly liquid consistency but some pudding poops as well. She also vomited last night at around 3am despite not having eaten anything since 10pm, & the vomit did look like her food. I've also caught her pawing at the rug as if she is trying to pee on it a few times, but as soon as I get near she goes to her litterbox to pee.
I just don't know what to do to help her, & I'm losing my sanity cleaning poop off my carpet multiple times a day & during the night. She literally just had a check up & got the all clear from the vet - blood results looked great & physical exam went great. I really don't want to bring her back because she gets extremely stressed at the vet & motion sick in the car.
This is all complicated by the fact that we'll be moving in a couple of weeks so there will be some more stress for her. We're taking steps to make it as smooth as possible, but of course it's going to take her awhile to get used to the new place, & I don't want her to be dealing with stomach issues during that time as well.
I guess this is more of a venting post but I'd appreciate advice as well. One big thing I'm wondering is - at what point does this affect her quality of life? I know that she's an old kitty & her time could come at any point now, but she is still eating & playing & cuddling & jumping. She doesn't seem like she is in pain, but this diarrhea must be uncomfortable for her. I just don't know what to do to help her when we've already tried so many things, we don't have much freedom with her food choice now due to her kidneys, & nothing tangible & treatable ever shows up in her results at the vet.
