It May Be Time To Say Goodbye. 14/f/ibd.

[PeachFox]

Hi, everyone. I've been browsing this forum for the past month since my cat was diagnosed with IBD after trials and tribulations. I appreciate this community and was hoping I could get some insight on my situation.

My cat, Peanut, started having trouble exactly one month ago. There came a point where she started vomiting every single thing she ate and could not keep a single kibble down. After hospitalization at the vet, a week of every test under the sun, (barium study, x-rays, blood work, etc.) they found there was a hairball stuck in her esophagus. They removed that with an endoscope but didn't go down any further.

Problems persisted. The vomiting persisted and she was still unable to hold anything down, so we went to the 24 hour ER where she had another endoscopy, a biopsy and was diagnosed with IBD. That was about two and a half weeks ago.

She was put on prednisolone, cerenia, entyce, clinicare, rebound, and fortiflora, not to mention a slew of other meds that she's been off because she wasn't eating and they were only aggravating her more.

She's been doing better: eating, drinking, pooping and peeing, until the other day when I tried to syringe feed her some of the clinicare. That was Saturday. (I believe.) Today is Monday. We have a follow-up appointment at the vet tomorrow and I'm so scared that this will be the last one.

I'm not trying to be selfish by keeping her alive. What hurts the most is that her personality is still so bright and loving and that she has an appetite, we just can't seem to get the IBD under control enough for her to eat regularly.

 

[Daisy6]

Welcome to TCS. Sorry you had to wait two days for a reply. We care and worry if other people's cats are suffering.

IBD is not fatal by itself. Many cats live with it. The consensus opinion on TCS is a cat wiht IBD should not eat any dry food (which I think is true for all cats). Also, a second opinion is in order if all your vet can find is a hairball.

 

[basschick]

my cat has had IBD for years - i think he was diagnosed at 10 and he's now 19. he eats only wet food - fancy feast, actually, in about a million flavors since he's picky - and is on regular pred. fortiflora made him throw up. sometimes we give him cerenia, sometimes pepcid, sometimes just his pred and his thyroid med. he used to throw up several times each day - now he throws up maybe 4x a week or less.

i'm curious - if your cat was eating and drinking, why did she need clinicare?

 

[LTS3]

Two and a half weeks isn't enough time for IBD to be controlled so have patience It may take a few months with diet and medicine for IBD to be well controlled.

Here are two web sites with info on IBD treatment:

IBDKitties – Helping Save Lives…One Paw at a Time
Raw Feeding for IBD Cats

One of my cats was diagnosed with IBD in January but the official confirmation from biopsy wasn't until March. The vet started IBD treatment right away in January. My cat didn't feel better until about April.

IBD is very manageable If you don't feel that the vet is addressing your car's issues or you concerns, seek out another vet.

 

[silkenpaw]

I think that if your vet did all the studies you mentioned and still did not pick up on IBD in a 14 year old cat with vomiting, it’s time to find another vet. Also the fact that they sedated her for an endoscopy and then did a half-a$$ed job. At least the ER vet knew Peanut needed a biopsy. Maybe he has a day practice or can recommend someone competent.

All my IBD cat, Bassie, started with was a healthy dose of prednisolone (5 mg twice a day) which was then decreased as appropriate, until her current 5 mg every other day, alternated with Atopica 5 mg. How much prednisolone is Peanut on?

Hang in there for a while. Find a good vet, to begin with. Let us know what happens today. Also, can we have a photo of Peanut? Sending her healing vibes and comforting vibes to you.