Losing Weight

[krisrath11]

My mom has a ragdoll cat who is pretty large and longhaired. Lately she has lost weight (she is 12). She took her to the vet where they said she had ibd. They gave her a cortisone shot and it got her back to normal for a few months. She lost weight once again and went for another shot. Any ideas what to do, what to feed her or if she could possibly have something else?

She loves her cat dearly and I'm trying to help save her and get her healthy again.

@Sarthur2

 

[FeebysOwner]

Short of just giving the cat cortisone shots, did the vet offer any additional advice?

There are many other members on this site who deal with various form of IBD, and hopefully they will soon see your post and offer their first hand experiences.

In the meantime, in case you haven't already read up on IBD - here a some articles to get you started.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease In Cats

What Is Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Cats? | Canna-Pet®

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) in Cats

It might be that you need to find a cat-only vet to work with, or perhaps a vet university if you have one nearby - especially if you are not finding the current vet to be pro-active.

 

[LTS3]

How confident is the vet about the IBD diagnosis? An ultra sound and biopsy of the GI tract are typically done to confirm IBD or other GI issue.

Steroids help but it's usually given as a pill daily and slowly tapered off. Other medicines may be needed based on the cat's symptoms/

Many cats with IBD and other GI issues have low B12 levels which causes weight loss due to poor absorption of B12 by the body. B12 injections are needed. There is a blood test the vet can do to determine the cat's B12 levels.

Your Mom should take the cat to another vet who will diagnose the cat correctly / confirm the IBD and provide more treatment than just steroid shots. A veterinary internal medicine vet is ideal.

Here are two other links with more info on IBD:

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

A bland-ish diet is helpful. Try LID novel protein diets such as these:

Blue Buffalo Basics
Merrick Limited Ingredients
Koha Limited Ingredient
Natural Balance LID
Instinct Limited Ingredient Diet | Instinct Pet Food
RAWZ | 100% Rendered Free Cat Food
Single Novel Protein Grain Free Wet (not Raw) Food? Help!
Your favorite brands of "novel protein" canned cat food
Recs For Low-carb, Grain-free Pork Without Chicken Or Fish?
Canned - Pure Vita - Natural Holistic Pet Foods
NutriSource Pet Foods

Raw and home cooked diets are also helpful but most people prefer the convenience and ease of commercially available cat food.