IBD first line treatment

[xcourtney3]

One of my cats went to the vet today. We did a bunch of unrelated tests and I'll get the results of those tomorrow.

But today, the vet says Simba more than likely has IBD. We are going to discuss it further tomorrow when we talk about the test results. What should be my first line of treatment? His gut lining is not thickened yet. He currently eats Friskies canned food. His primary symptoms are vomiting after eating and a lot of hair balls. He has no vomiting on dry food but I don't want his exclusively on dry food. I just want to be informed and know a little about what's going on when the doctor suggests things

 

[denice]

The first thing to try is a diet change.  A simple wet food in a novel protein.  A novel protein is one that your cat hasn't eaten before.  A simple food is one that is as close as possible to meat, liver and necessary supplements.

If your cat's B12 is low the vet may have you start giving B12 shots.  I just started those with my IBD cat.  The vet may also recommend a probiotic.

If those things don't bring a complete remission of symptoms then the vet may give him a steroid.  My IBD kitty is on a steroid called prednisolone.

 

[Kieka]

The core trick with IBD is figuring out what in the food is triggering upset and what won't trigger it. Usually this is done by slowly changing foods over time until you find the right combination that doesn't cause symptoms. It can be tricky because sometimes it isn't IBD but a food allergy that is causing similar symptoms. Regardless of which most digestive issues require a change in diet to exclude problem foods and incorporate the good stuff. 

The, honestly, best option is a raw diet in this case because it is the easiest to digest. It is also easy for a human to do it wrong and takes time and effort. So this isn't an option for everyone and if that is the route you want to go please to a lot of research and get active on the raw boards. 

The other option is to switch to limited ingredient commercial foods, which means no more Friskies. You want to avoid grains because those are a common culprit in cat tummy problems. No corn, no wheat, no grains. I would avoid potatoes too as the research I have seen says that potatoes aren't much better than grains. So look for peas or tapioca as a binder. The other part of the food is a protein source.

Most of the time the culprit is poultry when you are talking tummy problems. Commercial poultry, especially chicken, in today's society has a lot of chemicals and additives in it from commercial farming practices. My dad is allergic to poultry but if it is a true organic, no additive, farm raised situation he doesn't have problems with poultry; should show what a difference those commercial practices make where it is the difference between allergic reaction and no reaction. So try something with rabbit, venison, human grade fish, or some other protein source you haven't fed before. 

Remember that any change between foods should take at least a week to transition and you shouldn't be changing dry more than once a month. Wet you can change more frequently and a lot of people, myself included, will frequently change brands and flavors to prevent them from becoming stuck on one food there. I usually buy whatever is on sale with the ingredients I like and switch when that batch runs out. 

 

[xcourtney3]

I spoke to the vet and he says the first thing he wants me to do is switch to a canned food with named meats and off the Friskies. He also says to try Slippery Elm Bark at 1/8-1/4 tsp 2x/day

 

[maggieq87]

Sorry to bump this up, but my cat had her diagnostic ultrasound today that revealed very severe ibd that's through all her intestines. She's been on steroids and probiotics with little improvement for months so she just started lomustin(sp?) Today. It's a chemo pill.
I know I need to switch her food now, but she had pancreatitis as a result of the ibd and food sensitivities and I'm really salty about raw food right now as she's been eating exclusively for years and still got very ill.
Unfortunately all the RX foods have chicken and grains?!? Hypoallergenic, AD, and gastrointestinal food does. She can't have rabbit, chicken, or turkey. I'm so overwhelmed! Help me!

 

[missmimz]

Start Here!

 

[jcat]

maggieq87 She doesn't necessarily have to get an Rx food. There are limited ingredient, grain-free foods; what you need to look for is a single, novel protein (for example, buffalo, lamb, goat, or kangaroo) and a single carbohydrate source. This thread might give you some ideas of what you could try:
What (commercial/prescription) foods have worked/have you tried for your IBD cats?

We consulted a certified nutritionist in order to find what worked for our cat. It took a lot of trial and error, but he's now on a canned diet that's a mix of prescription and nonprescription foods (low-fat, single protein, single carb) that he does very well on. He couldn't tolerate raw due to the fat content.