My 10 year old kitty was diagnosed with IBD after an ultrasound. She started throwing up hairballs about every other day and so I took her in for a check-up.
Initially the vet prescribed Temaril-P (combo antihistamine and prednisolone) because I was suspecting flea allergies (she gets supervised outside time). Also she has always been a bit of an excessive groomer and it is shedding season. (Her bloodwork was normal at this visit.) About a week after the vet visit I called the vet because my cat started having convulsions. She was still throwing up hairballs and so the vet wanted to get her in for an ultrasound right away. She got an ultrasound that week and was diagnosed with IBD.
About a week after the ultrasound she stopped throwing up hairballs and she has not had one since. When I got the diagnosis, the vet told me to finish the pills and that was it for medication. I told the vet that I had been researching IBD and the limited ingredient diet and she said we were on the same page in terms of treatment. She gave me a prescription for Science Diet cans and that was it.
Most of the pills did not end up in my cat and instead were lost to the tuna juice (or whatever other trick I was trying to get her to take the pills). In all honesty I gave up on medication and focused more on grooming her as much as possible to avoid the hairballs. (This was before I knew about the IBD.) I also got her on a prescription flea treatment because the over the counter stuff was no longer working. The Bravecto seemed to do the trick.
After the IBD diagnosis I switched her to a novel protein diet and have been trying all kinds of canned food, but she loves her Sheba. She is very very picky when it comes to canned food. She also loves her kibble. I have also tried freeze-dried raw (without success) and the goal is to transition her completely to raw. I feel that I have had some success getting her off the Purina One onto Farmina N&D lamb, but other than that there has been no progress.
I have been super stressed because I do not want the inflammation to get worse and I do not feel like I am doing enough. I have read that steroids are really best for symptom flare-ups only but then it seems like some IBD cats are on steroids long-term. My cat is a very high-strung anxious cat and so it is especially hard getting medicine in her. I was wondering about a steroid shot but maybe that is too drastic at this stage.
Anyway, the last couple of weeks she has been eating grass and then throwing up white foam with grass in it. This happens about every second or third day. She has done this off and on in the past but now that I know about her diagnosis any vomiting raises a red flag for me.
I am not too crazy about the current vet and so my plan was to take my cat back to the old vet to get a second opinion about medication. I left the other vet practice last year because of some very major and very legitimate concerns. I really liked the vet personally but there were some issues with the owner of the practice and the way it was being run. The vet that gave me the IBD diagnosis seems clinically knowledgeable but I think she is more of a dog person. I also feel there is a lack of information and very poor follow-up.
I was hoping to avoid any vet visit at this point and just work on her diet. But given the white foam with the grass, should I get her in for a steroid prescription? She has no other symptoms and so I do not know if I should save the steroids for later.
Sorry for the long post. Thanks everybody!
Initially the vet prescribed Temaril-P (combo antihistamine and prednisolone) because I was suspecting flea allergies (she gets supervised outside time). Also she has always been a bit of an excessive groomer and it is shedding season. (Her bloodwork was normal at this visit.) About a week after the vet visit I called the vet because my cat started having convulsions. She was still throwing up hairballs and so the vet wanted to get her in for an ultrasound right away. She got an ultrasound that week and was diagnosed with IBD.
About a week after the ultrasound she stopped throwing up hairballs and she has not had one since. When I got the diagnosis, the vet told me to finish the pills and that was it for medication. I told the vet that I had been researching IBD and the limited ingredient diet and she said we were on the same page in terms of treatment. She gave me a prescription for Science Diet cans and that was it.
Most of the pills did not end up in my cat and instead were lost to the tuna juice (or whatever other trick I was trying to get her to take the pills). In all honesty I gave up on medication and focused more on grooming her as much as possible to avoid the hairballs. (This was before I knew about the IBD.) I also got her on a prescription flea treatment because the over the counter stuff was no longer working. The Bravecto seemed to do the trick.
After the IBD diagnosis I switched her to a novel protein diet and have been trying all kinds of canned food, but she loves her Sheba. She is very very picky when it comes to canned food. She also loves her kibble. I have also tried freeze-dried raw (without success) and the goal is to transition her completely to raw. I feel that I have had some success getting her off the Purina One onto Farmina N&D lamb, but other than that there has been no progress.
I have been super stressed because I do not want the inflammation to get worse and I do not feel like I am doing enough. I have read that steroids are really best for symptom flare-ups only but then it seems like some IBD cats are on steroids long-term. My cat is a very high-strung anxious cat and so it is especially hard getting medicine in her. I was wondering about a steroid shot but maybe that is too drastic at this stage.
Anyway, the last couple of weeks she has been eating grass and then throwing up white foam with grass in it. This happens about every second or third day. She has done this off and on in the past but now that I know about her diagnosis any vomiting raises a red flag for me.
I am not too crazy about the current vet and so my plan was to take my cat back to the old vet to get a second opinion about medication. I left the other vet practice last year because of some very major and very legitimate concerns. I really liked the vet personally but there were some issues with the owner of the practice and the way it was being run. The vet that gave me the IBD diagnosis seems clinically knowledgeable but I think she is more of a dog person. I also feel there is a lack of information and very poor follow-up.
I was hoping to avoid any vet visit at this point and just work on her diet. But given the white foam with the grass, should I get her in for a steroid prescription? She has no other symptoms and so I do not know if I should save the steroids for later.
Sorry for the long post. Thanks everybody!