Ibd? Constipated Cat. After The Enema...

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sidneykitty

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I'll have a look today, that's a good idea! She loves tuna.

As an aside, I'm thinking of trying to start her on Cosequin for her arthritis in case its causing her pain and not wanting to poop. Will check with the vet. Before all these vet adventures started she was on a mobility diet for arthritis and it seemed to make a difference.
 

daftcat75

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GlycoFlex Plus is very effective but it also gave Krista the poop and soups. She did love the taste though. Perhaps when her poops stabilize, we can try a smaller dose and work up to the initial loading dose. Or we can try Cosequin which appears to be a subset of GFlex. My guess, based on my limited research into side effects, is that the MSM, which is absent from Cosequin, was the soup-maker.
 
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sidneykitty

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I found some tuna and pumpkin today! I got a couple other tuna toppers and other treats. Picked up a liquid version of Cosequin/joint support

Haven't tried the tuna toppers yet but we have good news. I also got some Instinct rabbit raw toppers and boy she went NUTS for them tonight. Like rubbing her face on the bag nuts. For context, that's what she used to do to Temptations. Ate all her food topped with them crunched up after we had a really good play! Hoping hoping this isn't another one-time success... :crossfingers:
 

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I have a kitty who is almost 16 and had constipation with IBD, chronic pancreatitis, some chronic hepatitis & had a rare benign liver tumor removed a couple years ago & had a thyroid adenoma - was treated with I131 and now currently has out of control pancreatitis and a bladder/ kidney infection. Currently on Budesonide (steroid), bit of Pepsid AC (antiacid), Clavamox (antibiotic), amlodipine (blood pressure Med) and daily subQ fluids (60ml) In spite of all she has wrong she has gained weight to 3kg (6lb 9oz) and is a a good weight for a tiny boned Lanky Siamese Balinese cat. She is eating lotus just juicy Venison and I remove the fat pieces. I add 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin baby food per 5 ounce can. This helps tremendously for constipation. Her fPLI is 50 yet she hangs in there. I'm hoping to get her kidney or bladder infection cured doing cultures now to see if a different antibiotic will be better. She first got pancreatitis following Ziwipeak Venison changing their formula and adding in chickpea. I switched her off of that. She is carb sensitive. Something could also have been wrong with the chickpea ? Who knows....She has survived due to my and my vets persistence And her luck!! She has a good internal medicine vet helping a lot!!!!! I love her totally and I think I'll have her around a bit longer at least I sure pray so. Try the pumpkin - a little bit helps!!! They don't want to eat when constipated.
 

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I posted recently about my Amber's potential IBD diagnosis - here. Wasn't sure if I should continue that or start a new thread.

W
I have been dealing with a kitty with IBD for about five years. After much trial and error, her current regimen is 1/4 tspn (sometimes a bit more) Mirilax once a day, prednisone crushed and mixed with wet foot once a day, shot of B12 (.5) once a week, and a strict diet of SD Hills Thyroid food (for hypothyroidism). Once we put her on the TY food, she made a very noticeable difference. Her coat came out nice and she wasn't as sick as she was.

She went in to the vet a short while ago and he suggested she get (in their office only) a shot of prednisone and an antibiotic. She could feel her intestines and said they were a 'mess'. She will be going in on Monday for that and so he can look at a polyp.

Your kitty is fortunate to have have you! :)
 

Jojo&Tutu

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Cyanocobalimin contains cyanide and aluminum in low dose not much to affect a big human but large dose given often to little cats might impact them: another option for cats is cobalequin pills. It is safe for IBD cats I think was tested at Texas A&M - I forgot where but it was university tested not to cause reactions for IBD cats and is effective for IBD cats -worth a try if you can pill your cat. My internal medicine vet recommends Budesonide instead of Predisone for steroid as it has less impact on other organs. Tutu might eventually have to switch to predidone for her out of control pancreatitis. Tutu currently does not need B12. Tutu currently takes Budesonide .6 mg once a day (steroid), amlodipine .625 mg once a day for blood pressure, Ondansetron HCL 2mg once a day, Pepsid AC 1/4 of 10 mg pill twice a day(famotidine), Renal K powder 1/8 teaspoon twice a day added to food (potassium supplement), and subQ fluids 60ml once a day. She is also currently on Clavamox 62.5 (antibiotic) but that might change. She is having trouble getting over a kidney infection. Tutu has pancreatic hyperplasia (polyps) happens in older cats. She recently had seven teeth being reabsorbed removed, and went through thyroid I131 radioactive treatment for a thyroid adenoma last spring. She had a rare benign liver tumor removed in 2016. She has had IBD her whole life along with some inflammation on her liver. Her internal medicine vet was a professor at UC Davis and is very good but I am just worried about her infection she can't get over and her pancreatitis out of control.
Is your kitty hyperthyroid? Can be a sign of an adenoma that can be treated before turns into cancer. I hope your kitty feels better soon. My kitty is carbohydrate sensitive so she is on Just Juicy Venison by Lotus. A unique protein helps.
Your kitty is lucky to have you too. An internal medicine vet specialist might also be helpful for your kitty.
 
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sidneykitty

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Well I got an update from the vet, but its not much of an update especially how long it took them to get back to me...there was a mixup with my previous records. Sorry this is going to be a bit long as I'm going to summarize the vet conversation/plan and reply to those who've posted recently, too!

Vet says she doesn't see anything else wrong with Amber, she isn't sure if its IBD since we don't have a definitive diagnosis. She said she only sees IBD cats with vomiting/diarrhea. She made a good point that the vomiting I'd originally brought her in for could actually have been due to constipation. So now we're focusing more on treating/preventing the constipation now. (Part of me, though, would love to know what is CAUSING the constipation!)

I asked about UTIs, pancreatitis, etc. but she said no, no test results (blood, urine, u/s) indicates that she would have those. The "plan" is:
continue with the Glucosamine/Cosequin (I found a liquid variety I am stoked with!)
keep her on the Hill's z/d dry diet
keep her on novel protein wet food with 1/2 tsp Miralax per day
keep up with B12
vet wants to start Cisapride twice daily

This week Amber has been pooping every other day and vet said that's not enough and wants Cisapride to make her poop every day. I'm not sure I'm ready to start with a medication she'll need to be on forever if there are other things we can try first (like more wet food!!). I need to look at the side effects of cisapride.

I asked the vet if we should up her wet food and I'm very confused - the vet said it doesn't matter if she eats dry or wet food. I'm not really too sure about that, to be honest, and I'd prefer for Amber to continue to eat more wet food. I can't see how more moisture in would not equal more moisture out. So that was a bit perplexing to me.

What do you all think? About cisapride, wet food?

Thanks for your input Jojo&Tutu Jojo&Tutu ! WOW it sounds like your cat has been through so much! That's just amazing! Well done for taking such good care of her. :) she's lucky to have you! I'm sorry to hear her kidney infection is difficult...I hope she can recover soon! I will give the pumpkin a try, though Amber's never eaten it for me before. Her thyroid levels were checked in January and were normal.

JazzyKitty JazzyKitty - thanks so much :) Its good to hear encouraging stories from others that they manage to get IBD under control! How long did it take you to get there? I'm glad to her hear IBD is under control but sorry about the intestines and shot :( I hope she's feeling better soon!

I feel very lucky that Amber has been healthy (minus a few accidents when she was an outdoor cat) for so long! She'll be 15 in August and she's only started to have some issues recently. I'm always amazed by her. I think she must have got good genes from her Tonkinese momma or something. My first cat I adopted at age 11 and she was very ill from the start and died about a year later. It was very difficult, so no matter what happens with Amber, I will always feel blessed for the time we have together and know I'm doing my best for her!
 

daftcat75

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“Cisapride increases the release of acetylcholine, which in turn stimulates the smooth muscle in the digestive tract to contract more frequently.“

https://m.petmd.com/pet-medication/cisapride

Compare with:

Egg yolks provide many nutritional benefits, but what concerns us here are the nutrients, choline and lecithin.

Choline. A component of choline is acetylcholine. Acetylcholine acts as a major neurotransmitter for the autonomic nervous system (which includes the GI tract). The stomach and the intestines contain a muscular layer that allows for wave-like contraction of the organs, known as peristalsis. This process propels food through the digest tract.”

How Best to Manage Hairballs

Get the powder from this same site. Start with 1/8 tsp in wet meals. Or even in dry meals if she likes it. It can have a laxative effect like kitty drain-o. If the stools get too loose, back off to a smaller dose. Krista and I had to do the smidgen-pinch-dash spoons before we could get to 1/8 tsp.
 

daftcat75

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Dry food can either cause diarrhea due to poor digestion or constipation due to low moisture. Amber will be better off in the long run with less to no dry food.
 

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My personal advice is to stay away from Cisapride. My vet wanted Tutu on it for constipstion but it was only available from a pharmacy north of Phoenix Arizona and I found out it was pulled from market for people. At the time my mom would winter in Scottsdale Arizona so when I went to visit her I took a trip to the pharmacy- a Drive north of Scottsdale. I talked to the principal pharmacist and he told me it was pulled off market for human use because the smooth muscle of the intestines that it causes contractions for is the same smooth muscle of the heart - that it was affecting peoples' heart - so I decided no way and told my vet what I found out. That's when we started to use pumpkin. I only use 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon organic baby food pumpkin and add it to a 5 ounce can of food. Don't use any more than that or check with your vet. Wet food is best for constipation. Miralax is also fine to use. I useLitus Just Juicy Venison. A unique protein with juice. I mix it up and make sure there are no bones as one can had a bone chunk in it- ugh!
 

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I just thought of something else that really helped Tutu's constipation and that is Ondansetron (Zofran). It relaxes the intestine muscles and really helps. Tutu takes 1/2 of a 4 mg pill each day = 2 mg per day. It helps with vomiting and constipation for her. ALOT!!!
 
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sidneykitty

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No way! I'd much rather give her egg yolk lecithin or egg yolks than cisapride! That's amazing, daftcat75 daftcat75 . Do you know if its possible to buy egg yolk lecithin in-store like at a natural grocer or something? I'll have to take a look.

I read a bit about the heart issues and with her heart murmur (and possible heart disease - again we don't know, but her cardiac pro BNP results were normal) I don't want to risk anything that might damage her heart.

Oh gosh the vet is going to think I'm nuts...I'm leaning towards not starting cisapride as I understand she'll never be able to go off it again. I just don't think we're quite at that stage yet if there are other options. Honestly why don't vets suggest these things?

I was beginning to consider starting her on some raw food as well since she loved the Instinct rabbit so much, but I'm hesitant due to the bone content causing constipation. I know feeding raw will really send the vet over the edge!
 

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The hairball link above has a link to buy egg yolk powder. Start with that before you go to lecithin. Because it’s the choline in egg yolk that you also want.
 
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sidneykitty

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Oh I see! So start with egg yolk (or the egg yolk powder like on the site) and do it twice a week like the page says? Then move on to egg yolk lecithin if that doesn't work. Is that right?
 

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You can tell your vet what I found out from the lead pharmacist at the Arizona pharmacy that compounds Cisapride. I'm not sure about raw as there is some risk for bacteria. Try to find a high protein low carb canned food -I use Lotus Just Juicy Venison. I only had one problem with a bone in a can so I'd you smash up the food you can see it and remove it. The food is like human grade food chunks of meat and juice or gravy. Cats can be allergic to fish and other proteins or carbs so a unique one helps. Lotus is very good quality made here in California.
 

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Oh I see! So start with egg yolk (or the egg yolk powder like on the site) and do it twice a week like the page says? Then move on to egg yolk lecithin if that doesn't work. Is that right?
Twice a day. You should get the egg yolk powder. The amount you’ll be giving is way too little to keep up with fresh yolk. You may want to get the smidgen-pinch-dash spoons in case it works too well. ;)
 

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JazzyKitty JazzyKitty - thanks so much :) Its good to hear encouraging stories from others that they manage to get IBD under control! How long did it take you to get there? I'm glad to her hear IBD is under control but sorry about the intestines and shot :( I hope she's feeling better soon!
Hi Sidney,

My kitty and I have been dealing with this for about four/five years. She did start out with vomiting, though she also has vomited when she is constipated. It's been a long road, but I am so happy to have had these extra years with her! She's my baby, don't know what I'd do without her. BTW: she didn't like her shot this morning, but she is very forgiving! :)
 

daftcat75

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For what it’s worth, I feel like Krista’s IBD is well-managed. If it weren’t for her teeth, we’d probably be smooth sailing back to good health. It is very encouraging to hear of an IBD kitty living so long with it. When Krista’s troubles started, I read way too many Testimonials on ibdkitties.net. I found them heartbreaking and I wasn’t reading any successes. I just stopped reading them. I don’t even like to recommend that site anymore specifically because those testimonials paint too gloomy a picture.
 
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sidneykitty

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Thanks, got it! Just ordered some egg yolk powder now. I've got a really wee spoon I can use.

Its really good to hear there are success stories with IBD! I'm so happy she's done so well, and even got over the shot already. :)

Well, Amber's played her favourite trick on me tonight. I served up the wet lamb she's been eating and she wouldn't eat it even with multiple topper attempts. So then I opened the beef she's been eating as well, and its oh, yes, mom I will eat that without toppers!

She always has wanted a different food every night... she still didn't finish it all, but I'll take it. We're back to trying to mix the dry + wet and seems to be going...ok. Problem is she's too smart and she just licks off the toppers and while I was putting some kibble into her wet food tonight, she just stuck her head into the dry food container and started eating that! She does keep life interesting.

I think I understand now what the vet meant about dry food or wet food not mattering. If its a motility problem, like the muscles and nerves can't move the poop which is what she keeps saying, then yes I can see wet food would not make much of a difference. But if its a hydration/pain from arthritis problem, then I can see why wet food would make a definite difference. Shrug. Just a theory I had tonight, but not sure how IBD would fit into that.
 

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Thanks, got it! Just ordered some egg yolk powder now. I've got a really wee spoon I can use.

Its really good to hear there are success stories with IBD! I'm so happy she's done so well, and even got over the shot already. :)

Well, Amber's played her favourite trick on me tonight. I served up the wet lamb she's been eating and she wouldn't eat it even with multiple topper attempts. So then I opened the beef she's been eating as well, and its oh, yes, mom I will eat that without toppers!

She always has wanted a different food every night... she still didn't finish it all, but I'll take it. We're back to trying to mix the dry + wet and seems to be going...ok. Problem is she's too smart and she just licks off the toppers and while I was putting some kibble into her wet food tonight, she just stuck her head into the dry food container and started eating that! She does keep life interesting.

I think I understand now what the vet meant about dry food or wet food not mattering. If its a motility problem, like the muscles and nerves can't move the poop which is what she keeps saying, then yes I can see wet food would not make much of a difference. But if its a hydration/pain from arthritis problem, then I can see why wet food would make a definite difference. Shrug. Just a theory I had tonight, but not sure how IBD would fit into that.
The muscles and nerves have a harder time moving hard dry poop -is your cat's bowel wet, soft but firm, or dry and hard? That can answer your question. Constipation typically means dry and hard so wet food is indicated. Ondansetron also helped my cat poop.
 
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