Cat IBD

Aga8175

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My cat 11 years old started throwing up white foam about couple months ago it went from throwing up once a week to throwing up every day. Had all the bloodwork done which came back normal. He also had Cerenia and fluid injections plus got a shot od Depo couple weeks ago. Vet said its either IBD or lymphoma.So far there isnt much improvent he eats very little, lost weight , mostly sleeping not much energy. Has anyone had that experience? How long does it take for cat to feel better if it is IBD?
 

bluebklyn

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My 13yo Nishi was diagnosed with IBD about a year ago. We did all diagnostic testing EXCEPT for intestinal biopsy because 1) it is expensive and 2) my vet said he would treat IBD and lymphoma the same way, at least at first. As I understand it, if all the usual tests have ruled out everything except IBD v. cancer, then you can first try to stabilize your kitty with IBD treatment--however this is something you need to work out with your vet.

It took several months to get Nishi's intestinal distress worked out. It took a combination of switching to several small meals per day, novel proteins, courses of probiotics and fiber, and steroids. She was having frequent vet visits and getting B12 shots and bloodwork. A year later, she is on 2mg of budesonide daily, plus Proviable daily, and fiber every few days. She no longer eats chicken or turkey. After dropping down from 12 to 8 pounds (o_O), she's back up to 10 1/2 and holding steady. It all takes a long time to figure out. Everything we tried took at least two weeks to make a difference. Hang in there!

There is a rather extensive site here: IBDKitties – Helping Save Lives…One Paw at a Time.
 
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Aga8175

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Thank you so much for the information, Toffi was on the Urinary SO diet for few years due to urinary crystals, now i got him Purina sensitive skin and stomach and he is eating little bit of that, he does not like wet food so dry food is my only option. I just hope that the treatment will work and its not lymphoma. I would be so happy if his appetite and energy improved. I was hoping that after over 3 weeks of treatment i would see some improvement.
 

fionasmom

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Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Cats
Lymphoma in Cats

Welcome to The Cat Site! As bluebklyn bluebklyn suggested, check out that site if you suspect IBD. In order to get a clear picture of what is going on, your vet may have to do some other diagnostics and work from there. These are discussed in the articles from VCA.

IMO, your cat is not going to improve much with the treatment that the vet has done so far. He is probably starting out with a general diagnosis, possibly hoping that there will be a return to normal, but it does take more than that to help an IBD cat.
 

LTS3

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daftcat75 daftcat75 can provide some info.

Another good web site besides IBDKitties is Feline IBD

The vet needs to get a definitive diagnosis. A biopsy is best but is expensive. An ultrasound is a lesser expensive alternative but not always definitive.

Some cats may need a bunch of medications plus a diet change to help with symptoms. My IBD cat was on a few different medicines to start plus it turned out chicken was giving him flare ups so I changed his diet to rabbit. He's now only taking pred as needed and monthly B12 shots and still eating his raw rabbit diet.
 

daftcat75

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If he hasn’t had an ultrasound, then your vet is only guessing. And I’m only speculating. That would be the next step. Because IBD left untreated can progress to pancreatitis and/or liver disease.

Throwing up white foam sounds like stomach acid. Does he have free access to food or does he get timed portions? If he gets timed portions, I would spread his portions across more feeding times.

If it is IBD (or lymphoma), there is almost always a dietary component that needs to be addressed (grains and gums, binders and fillers, and protein trigger foods.) Dry food and IBD are almost never compatible. It’s worth the effort to try to switch him to wet food because that will be your easiest and best bet to find and eliminate his food triggers. With dry food, there are just too many suspects and not enough clean dry foods to eliminate those possible triggers. I recommend starting with Fancy Feast Classic pates probably in turkey or beef flavors (two proteins he’s likely not been having in his dry food.) I recommend FF Classic because it’s a decent compromise between a clean recipe and a wet food most cats like; even kibble addicts. It’s a good starting point in his transition to more and eventually all wet food. You may ultimately have to try him on a simpler recipe like Rawz single protein pates. If he does have a trigger, even small amounts like that found in flavorings can be problematic.

You can search for posts I have already made on other threads for more details than I’m typing out tonight (on my phone.)

Get the ultrasound if you haven’t already. Skip the biopsy if he isn’t eating well right now. Instead, I recommend buying a baby scale and weighing him no more than once a week, preferably the same time and location each week. If his weight is stable or he can gain weight, it’s probably not lymphoma. Lymphoma is marked by relentless and dramatic weight loss despite eating enough or more than enough calories.

But again, this is all speculation without an ultrasound.
 
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