Some of you may have followed my moggy's journey with anorexia. He's back home from the hospital and is starting to eat on his own again. An ultrasound revealed some intestinal inflammation. They did a second ultrasound and the inflammation was better this time. The docs said it looks more like IBD than small cell lymphoma, and we can begin treating it. Our family has decided not to do a biopsy as it would just be too invasive for him. Has anyone's cat gotten an IBD diagnosis without biopsy? How is your cat coping?
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Ibd Diagnosis Without Biopsy
- Thread starter wombat
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Yes, but when he was very young, under 2 years old. They diagnosed based on symptoms, exam, blood work, fecal ... and vets experience. If he were older, I imagine more tests would have been advised. And granted, they couldn't definitively rule out other causes without all the extra tests. He did have some imaging done after a bad flare-up several years later. Never a biopsy (not for the IBD anyway). At any rate, my cats vet was not cheap, but fortunately, isn't the type to spend her patients owners money when she doesn't think it's absolutely necessary.
I am pretty sure most of the threads I have read on this site about IBD, diagnoses were done as
darg
suggested above.
In case you would be interested in reading some of those threads I have attached a link to a series of them. I hope you find some helpful information in them.
Search Results for Query: IBD | TheCatSite
darg
suggested above. In case you would be interested in reading some of those threads I have attached a link to a series of them. I hope you find some helpful information in them.
Search Results for Query: IBD | TheCatSite
*raises hand* Charlie either has IBD/IBS or a food allergy/sensitivity - or both. As the only way to know for sure was a biopsy we opted for a "no" for exactly the same reason - it's evasive and he has asthma and a heart condition so that, at least for me, is too dangerous to try without a really, really compelling reason. Treatment is the same for both food sensitivity and IBS/IBD so bonus!
If the inflammation is better I would assume the same as the vet as I don't think cancer would show that result. (Not a vet though.)
Charlie is doing much, much better with a food change and added supplements to his diet. *knock on wood* One of my favorite supplements being bone broth added to his food that
daftcat75
taught us about and a pro-biotic.
What has your vet recommended for you to try? You can ask about the bone broth too and see what they say. :-)
If the inflammation is better I would assume the same as the vet as I don't think cancer would show that result. (Not a vet though.)
Charlie is doing much, much better with a food change and added supplements to his diet. *knock on wood* One of my favorite supplements being bone broth added to his food that
daftcat75
taught us about and a pro-biotic.What has your vet recommended for you to try? You can ask about the bone broth too and see what they say. :-)
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- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #5
Thanks, FeralHearts! Did you get an ultrasound done?
I'm working on switching him to homecooked food but at the moment with his anorexia (although I'd call it hyporexia since he's started eating now), we're just letting him eat whatever he'll eat!
I'm working on switching him to homecooked food but at the moment with his anorexia (although I'd call it hyporexia since he's started eating now), we're just letting him eat whatever he'll eat!
*raises hand* Charlie either has IBD/IBS or a food allergy/sensitivity - or both. As the only way to know for sure was a biopsy we opted for a "no" for exactly the same reason - it's evasive and he has asthma and a heart condition so that, at least for me, is too dangerous to try without a really, really compelling reason. Treatment is the same for both food sensitivity and IBS/IBD so bonus!
If the inflammation is better I would assume the same as the vet as I don't think cancer would show that result. (Not a vet though.)
Charlie is doing much, much better with a food change and added supplements to his diet. *knock on wood* One of my favorite supplements being bone broth added to his food that
What has your vet recommended for you to try? You can ask about the bone broth too and see what they say. :-)
You're welcome.
Yes, he had an ultrasound and x-rays and Charlie was none to happy about that. His intestines showed inflammation as well. He also had a bad bladder infection and blood in his urine. No crystals at first - that came later with stress.
I agree getting food into them is the most important thing and slowly change the diet as best as you can - or - as best as moggy's system and purrrsonality will allow you to.
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If you're seeing improvement and aren't specifically treating for cancer, then it's probably not cancer. I don't know that cancer ever improves without aggressive treatment.
The rule of thumb I heard is that if you can stabilize his weight loss or even get him to gain weight again, it's probably not cancer. Cancer eats calories.
I got x-rays and ultrasounds for Krista but skipped the biopsy. She was 14 at the time and not doing all that great to begin with. I felt a surgical procedure and its recovery would have been too much for her.
Has the vet ruled out pancreatitis? My Krista's recovery didn't really begin until the third vet I saw recommended a test for pancreatitis. The test is Spec fPLI. It is a non-standard test so it's possible he's never had it checked. Two vets before Krista's current vet didn't request that test. Pancreatitis can be a complication of IBD that will need to be treated concurrently. I would almost say that pancreatitis is more important, but you cannot treat one without treating the other. IBD is a disease of insults (trigger foods) and injury (inflammation) to the gut. Pancreatitis is often a carryover result of that inflammation. You cannot resolve pancreatitis until you remove the insults and heal the injury. Pancreatitis left unresolved can cause permanent damage to the pancreas impairing your cat's ability to digest his food or regulate his blood sugar. So unless you've ruled out pancreatitis already, take him back to the vet and have that tested.
Homemade will go a long way to determine and avoid trigger foods. So good on you for that.
Changing the diet will remove the insult. But you still need to heal the injury. Bone broth can work wonders here.
Bone Broth for Senior Cats: How Bone Broth Can Help Your Aging Cat - Wildernesscat
Steroids is the common veterinary approach. But long-term steroid use can come with its own problems like diabetes.
Vitality Science makes some great supplements and has excellent customer service. I recommend Luxolite to treat acute vomiting and diarrhea, Pet Flora, a probiotic, for regulating the gut bacteria, and either Feline Comfort or Feline Comfort Plus. But you can also contact Vitality Science customer service and they can help you with product selection and usage. I still use Luxolite to treat acute vomiting (more than one bout in 24 hours) and Pet Flora at the first sign of soft stools.
Gastrointestinal-stomach-intestines Natural remedies for cats-Vitality Science
One more missing piece for IBD that vets don't recommend nearly enough is B-12. It doesn't take very long for vomiting and diarrhea to deplete his body's store of that very important vitamin. Once depleted, his recovery will be severely limited until replaced. But here's the thing that really bothers me. It's virtually harmless to give B-12 when B-12 is not needed. It becomes mildly expensive pee. Ask your vet if you can buy a bottle of B-12, the supplies (syringes and disposal), and have a tech show you how to do the shots. Or you can learn from YouTube. They aren't that difficult to do as they are going under the skin, not into a vein. When done right, the cat won't even notice it.
The Importance of B12 – IBDKitties
The rule of thumb I heard is that if you can stabilize his weight loss or even get him to gain weight again, it's probably not cancer. Cancer eats calories.
I got x-rays and ultrasounds for Krista but skipped the biopsy. She was 14 at the time and not doing all that great to begin with. I felt a surgical procedure and its recovery would have been too much for her.
Has the vet ruled out pancreatitis? My Krista's recovery didn't really begin until the third vet I saw recommended a test for pancreatitis. The test is Spec fPLI. It is a non-standard test so it's possible he's never had it checked. Two vets before Krista's current vet didn't request that test. Pancreatitis can be a complication of IBD that will need to be treated concurrently. I would almost say that pancreatitis is more important, but you cannot treat one without treating the other. IBD is a disease of insults (trigger foods) and injury (inflammation) to the gut. Pancreatitis is often a carryover result of that inflammation. You cannot resolve pancreatitis until you remove the insults and heal the injury. Pancreatitis left unresolved can cause permanent damage to the pancreas impairing your cat's ability to digest his food or regulate his blood sugar. So unless you've ruled out pancreatitis already, take him back to the vet and have that tested.
Homemade will go a long way to determine and avoid trigger foods. So good on you for that.
Changing the diet will remove the insult. But you still need to heal the injury. Bone broth can work wonders here.
Bone Broth for Senior Cats: How Bone Broth Can Help Your Aging Cat - Wildernesscat
Steroids is the common veterinary approach. But long-term steroid use can come with its own problems like diabetes.
Vitality Science makes some great supplements and has excellent customer service. I recommend Luxolite to treat acute vomiting and diarrhea, Pet Flora, a probiotic, for regulating the gut bacteria, and either Feline Comfort or Feline Comfort Plus. But you can also contact Vitality Science customer service and they can help you with product selection and usage. I still use Luxolite to treat acute vomiting (more than one bout in 24 hours) and Pet Flora at the first sign of soft stools.
Gastrointestinal-stomach-intestines Natural remedies for cats-Vitality Science
One more missing piece for IBD that vets don't recommend nearly enough is B-12. It doesn't take very long for vomiting and diarrhea to deplete his body's store of that very important vitamin. Once depleted, his recovery will be severely limited until replaced. But here's the thing that really bothers me. It's virtually harmless to give B-12 when B-12 is not needed. It becomes mildly expensive pee. Ask your vet if you can buy a bottle of B-12, the supplies (syringes and disposal), and have a tech show you how to do the shots. Or you can learn from YouTube. They aren't that difficult to do as they are going under the skin, not into a vein. When done right, the cat won't even notice it.
The Importance of B12 – IBDKitties
My cat was treated for several years without a biopsy. He did very well for 7 1/2 years and then he started with unexplained weight loss. He was still eating and felt good but the weight loss continued. We started with the B12 to go with the steroid even though his B12 levels were just on the low side of normal. After several months he went into another flare and I let him go.
This has recently happened to my cat. He was referred to oncology by his primary vet as they thought he had GI Lymphoma. The oncologist did not think he had this and suspects it is IBS/IBD (not sure the difference between the two tbh). I do not plan to get a biopsy to confirm bc he has CHF, HCM and a heart murmur. He won't begin treatment until late October, bc that was the earliest I could get an appointment with Internal Medicine, but I know they want to put him on a steroid...in the meantime I was considering contacting an integrative vet to see what options he has other than steroids. I've changed his diet to raw, but that's only a week in.
