The well-known problem of IBD or lymphoma and pancreatitis

[quiet]

Could you be giving 2.5 mg of prednisolone which would be 1/2 of a tablet? 0.25mg would be almost impossible to figure out how to give. It would be like a crumb of the pill (to lazy to do the math)

 

[arinlars]

Yes I am sorry.

My goodness it's so early here I lost my mind haha. I apologize it's 2.5mg half of 5mg

 

[quiet]

Yeah, I thought so. I have done that before. Move a decimal point one little space and it changes everything. 2.5 is a very low dose though. I would ask your vet why so low. He will probably really appreciate your asking (sarcastic) ( don't; think he will like being asked)

 

[arinlars]

You know what, I have find myself thinking "ok I think I am annoying the flip out of the vets now" every time I call they sigh, now they don't want to speak with me when stuff like that happens, they say ok come over at 2 but I work until 3 and I know they are there until 5.. I get the feeling they don't want to deal with me and I feel isolated and scared... The normal vet she is super nice but I understand that she is busy. The other vet, the internist, he is only speaking to me through his assistant. I really don't know what to do or who to trust anymore. It's my kitty, my best friend's life it's not a mobile phone that is broken all the time...

 

[stephenq]

I agree 2.5mg is a very low dose, especially every other day.

 

[arinlars]

An update:

We went to her primary vet and she said to increase the pred on 2.5mg per day and feed her another protein. No more chicken since she has chicken all of her life. She gave me two cans of hypo allergic food from royal canine with duck or rabbit and peas. I know they are the worse and contain carrageenan but i will consider the option on feeding her duck or rabbit so she gains weight and be health. Unfortunately all cat food they are mixed with other meats like the only one I could find without carrageenan and duck is Lotus but it has also some fish in it..

She also said its it's small lymphoma then we should start another med together with pred but she doesn't think it is.. She also told me if she was her cat she would not do any surgery because it's quality of life and not quantity.

Mimi is fine now eating a lot and playing

 

[mycatsmom]

What StephenQ said.  My Maggie exhibited these symptoms in September 2012 and I was told the same thing after ultrasound -- exploratory surgery or try prednisolone and see what happens.  I elected to try the pred (transdermal gel, she would not take a pill) and she got a little better but then quickly got worse -- refusing to eat, got so skinny...my mother was in the hospital with COPD at the same time, I got home from my trip and poor Maggie was just skin and bones and I would sit and cry because Maggie was dying and I didn't know why.  Then the associate at my vet said to double the dose for 7 days, that initial flareups of IBD have to be hit hard.  Within 3 days she was eating again.

Maggie lived another 15 months.  She was also hyperthyroid, so she got methimazole and prednisolone via transdermal gel.  She did great until the last month; she caught an upper respiratory infection that came on suddenly and was very severe...then I guess her immune system went into overdrive and she got very severe pemphigus and was in so much pain I had to put her down.  She was 15 and had a good long run.  Were it not for the URI I think she would have gone a lot longer on the pred.

 

[denice]

I know when Patches was very sick, he had gone into Fatty Liver, the vet started him on 10 mg a day.  She waited quite some time after he had stabilized before going to 5 mg a day.  I personally feel that some vets are a bit too conservative with the steroid.

 

[arinlars]

Hi mycatsmom,

I am sorry to hear that what kind of food was she on ?
I have a similar story, I gave the kitty to my mom for 2 months until I settle down in a new country and when I got her back she was super tiny ! 2 kg only ! The vet blamed it on her being depressed without me.

So in general cats with IBD don't live like 3-4 years more ? Do they eventually die from the disease ? My kitty I thought she was 13 years old for some reason but she is 10 she could well manage the biopsy I just didn't want to hurt her ... I kinda feel guilty now of she has lymphoma .. I will never forgive myself if I knew that I could save her . Vet said that if she is has later on lymphoma we do a surgery and / or start along chemo . I hate this sneaky disease if I was a researcher I would dedicate my life to find a cure

 

[denice]

Kitties can live for years with IBD if the inflammation is controlled.  My kitty had his first flare when he was only 18 months.  It took six years of vet hopping to get a diagnoses and begin the steroid.  He is 11 now and still doing well.

 

[arinlars]

I wonder if raw food is as helpful as they claim

 

[stephenq]

I agree with @denice that your vet may be too conservative with the Pred dose. You know you have the right dose when the cat starts gaining weight.

 

[arinlars]

Well she gets now 2.5 every day do you think I should ask another vet ?i can't even call them anymore , I have the feeling I annoyed them with my questions

 

[denice]

The decision about a vet is a decision that you have to make.  I personally would not continue to go to a vet that made me feeling like I was annoying them with questions.  The way I look at it, I am paying for a service and I deserve not only competent care for my kitty but also to be treated with respect.  

 

[arinlars]

Well we went to the vet i trust and I asked all of my questions. We increased the dose to 2.5 mg a day and switched to natural's instincts limited ingredient. She is eating the duck flavor to "surprise" her GI. She likes it but after a while like all the non carageenan cat foods, it gets dry. I mean she loves the Lotus with salmon, that's what my other cat gets and she is crazy about it. But except from salmon it has a lot of other fish so its a no no for her at this point.

She is getting better and feeling happy. I will keep you updated. I hope she will gain weight soon.

 

[stephenq]

That's good news. :-). Did you get a baby scale? It is a great way to track weight. If she doesn't gain weight then you may need to up the dose some more....

 

[arinlars]

I did and I checked her weight at the vets office too and it's the same, she indeed lost some weight. She will gain some weight again she eats so much. She ate the other cats food again but she gorged on it ! She almost threw up. I guess she knows it's a forbidden food and she is like "it's now or never" haha, but again it's no much harm since it contains no grain or carageenan or Guam gum. It's just has lots of different fish :/

Anyway I will keep you updated.

 

[arinlars]

Is it normal when the stool is too much ? Sorry for the description but it seems too be somehow firm/soft it's almost as big as she is!

Can anyone recommend a good food that your kitties tolarate and seem to like ? Turns out she doesn't like her food anymore but when I give her Lotus with salmon she eats it way too fast and gagging because of that .

 

[quiet]

Were you feeding her pumpkin?

 

[arinlars]

I put some when she had diarrhea but not every day