Possible IBD

[Nancybudny]

My Calliope is 12.5 years old. For about 17 months she has had progressively worse diarrhea and vomiting. Usually she has the diarrhea at least 7-8 times a day and it usually is accompanied by such gas it sounds like someone is sitting on a whoopee cushion. And she goes wherever but almost never in the box though she still pees in the box.
The vomit occurs much less frequently but when it happens it is massive, slimy, very watery and no lumps of food in it. It usually takes me around 20 paper towels to clean it up there’s so much. I have gotten nowhere with at least 2 different vet practices and several visits. throughout all of this she has lost half her weight and is now skin and bones even with a voracious appetite. As a last resort I am trying a couple of raw based dry or freeze dried foods that were recommended on another site. Anyone have any other suggestions?

 

[LTS3]

Here are two good web sites about IBD and treatment:

IBDKitties – Helping Save Lives…One Paw at a Time

www.ibdkitties.net

Feline IBD - Healing can happen!

Address the root cause of IBD in your cat. Treat inflammation and gut dysbiosis with proper tools to restore health, not just manage symptoms.

www.rawfeedingforibdcats.org

First, your cat needs a diagnosis. IB Dis typically diagnosed with a biopsy. A biopsy is expensive so many people opt for an ultrasound and / or just treat the cat for IBD-like symptoms. You definitely need to find a new vet who will run blood work and other diagnostic tests. A veterinary internal medicine vet is helpful. You can try work with your current vet. Insist on a a senior blood work panel to start if that has never been done. All vets are able to get a courtesy consult from any vet school or from other vets to discusses cases and figure out what next steps to take to get a diagnosis. Sometimes you have to be a bit pushy with a vet to get any sort of diagnostic done. Don't settle for band aid treatments or a .

Initial treatment may include various medicines and diet. My IBD cat took antibiotics, anti-nausea meds, an antacid, and steroids. The vet wanted my cat on prescription junk food but I continued feeding the same raw diet but in rabbit instead of chicken. These days my cat only takes steroids (prednisolone) as needed based on symptoms and he also gets a monthly shot of B12. IBD cats tend to have low B12 levels which causes weight loss and poor absorption of nutrients. There is a specific blood test a vet has to request when submitting blood work. Treatment is just shots of B12 which can be done at home.

IBD cats have super sensitive tummies. Chicken is a common trigger of a flare ups. Try to eliminate chicken from the diet to start. Feed novel proteins like rabbit or vension. Raw diets are great if your cat will eat that. Many cats don't and there are suitable commercially available limited ingredient canned foods with few fillers that can be fed.