Hello! I'm feeling a little overwhelmed and I'm hoping for a little advice from someone who has gone through a similar situation...
My 15 year old kitty, Tatonka, started having a lot of GI issues about 3 months ago (throwing up a lot, constipated often, a little bit of weight loss). Blood work was perfect, but after an xray showing some backed up poop and foam in the stomach we started him on Miralax (1/8t twice a day) and Prilosec (1/2 tablet once a day). That definitely helped with the constipation issue but the throwing up continued and then progressed to a lack of appetite as well. He had an ultrasound this evening and that showed thickening in the small intestines consistent with either IBD or lymphoma. The vet gave us the option to start down the route of further diagnostics with a biopsy with a specialty vet or to start treating with Prednisolone today. She said the Prednisolone would be the way they would treat the IBD and also part of the treatment if it was lymphoma (but also with chemo obviously). Because he is 15 (and also already has arthritis) I don't really want to put him through the surgical biopsy. She also gave him a B12 shot and has recommended Royal Canin i/d wet food as well as pumpkin. I'm open to different diet ideas or supplements once he starts feeling better and eating more. If it is lymphoma and not IBD, will diet change and Prednisolone even help? Google is just a bit of an overwhelming place to start! Thanks in advance for any help!
Oh and also, any advice on how to get the ultrasound gel out of his fur without giving him a bath? He's a maine coon mix so there's A LOT of fur to clean!
My 15 year old kitty, Tatonka, started having a lot of GI issues about 3 months ago (throwing up a lot, constipated often, a little bit of weight loss). Blood work was perfect, but after an xray showing some backed up poop and foam in the stomach we started him on Miralax (1/8t twice a day) and Prilosec (1/2 tablet once a day). That definitely helped with the constipation issue but the throwing up continued and then progressed to a lack of appetite as well. He had an ultrasound this evening and that showed thickening in the small intestines consistent with either IBD or lymphoma. The vet gave us the option to start down the route of further diagnostics with a biopsy with a specialty vet or to start treating with Prednisolone today. She said the Prednisolone would be the way they would treat the IBD and also part of the treatment if it was lymphoma (but also with chemo obviously). Because he is 15 (and also already has arthritis) I don't really want to put him through the surgical biopsy. She also gave him a B12 shot and has recommended Royal Canin i/d wet food as well as pumpkin. I'm open to different diet ideas or supplements once he starts feeling better and eating more. If it is lymphoma and not IBD, will diet change and Prednisolone even help? Google is just a bit of an overwhelming place to start! Thanks in advance for any help!
Oh and also, any advice on how to get the ultrasound gel out of his fur without giving him a bath? He's a maine coon mix so there's A LOT of fur to clean!