IBD & KIDNEY PROBLEMS

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Angel-007

Member Since 2015
My cat (Honey) hasn't been eating or drinking. He was diagnised 4 weeks ago with diabetes..I've tried FF, tuna,various canned foods.
Honey's sonogram was today. The vet called and got the report faxed to their office. Honey's liver and tummy lining are inflammed. Today he got two shots; anti-naseau & pepcid. He also receiced an oral dose of probotic. They sent me home with medcine & canned food for him as well. I asked, but the doctor couldn't say when he'll feel better. Has any had similar problems with their cat?
 
Inflammatory bowel disease can cause inappetance, nausea, vomiting, and/or diarrhea. Budesonide is a steroid used to treat the inflammation and may have minimal impact on the blood glucose, despite being a steroid. Its worth discussing with your vet. The condition can be difficult to control; some folks have found that a raw diet may help considerably. Your mileage may vary.
IBD may (or may not) progress to intestinal lymphoma. Because of that, sometimes drugs used to treat GI lymphoma may be prescribed.
 
Warning, long post ahead!

Hi Angel, welcome to FDMB, although I'm sorry you have to join us here. That said, there's a wealth of info here and hopefully we can help you.

I don't know if IBD and diabetes are linked or if it's just that unfortunate circumstance where once a person or animal has one health problem, they're then prone to others. There are a few of us here who have IBD kitties, although some of them don't have diabetes. I'll tell you a bit about my story and tag some of the others to chime in. There's a Facebook group called IBD Kitties that may also be helpful for you to join.

My cat Marshmallow was probably borderline both diabetic and IBD at the same time. She got a UTI (drinking and peeing constantly in January, so now I know she was borderline diabetic at the time). She had antibiotics, which triggered 4 months of diarrhea (now I realize she was also on the brink of IBD). The vet got the diarrhea under control with a steroid shot, which triggered steroid-induced diabetes. She was on insulin for less than 3 weeks, and she's now considered a diet-controlled diabetic.

For IBD I give her Budesonide, which is an anti-inflammatory that tends not to raise BG levels. Some vets give prednisolone, another steroid anti-inflammatory, but it can raise BG levels. Which medicine did your vet give Honey? I noticed an improvement within a couple of days. I used to hear rumbling sounds from her belly but the noises disappeared after just two days on Budesonide.

Is he throwing up or burping or licking his lips? Those things indicate nausea. Pepcid is good for helping that, and it's good the vet gave him anti-nausea meds too. Has he eaten since the vet visit? If not, ask for an appetite stimulant. Ask for Cypro, not Mirtazapine. The Mirtazapine can make cats spacey and weird but a lot of cats do well on Cypro.

As BJM said, IBD can make cats lose their appetites for a while, but then a few days later they'll eat ravenously. This cycle can keep happening until they get better regulated. Which food did the vet give you? EN? Z/D? The idea behind IBD food is that if you switch to a novel form of protein, it may be less irritating to the cat. Novel proteins are duck, rabbit, venison, lamb. Some kitties do really well on raw food. There's another Facebook group for IBD kitties and raw food.

I'm glad your vet gave Honey a shot of probiotics. IBD cats don't always get a lot of nutrition from food, they can just poop it out without absorbing a lot of nutrients because the inflammation inhibits absorption. Probiotics create a healthier digestive system so they absorb more nutrients. (Probiotics also help if there's any diarrhea or constipation.)

I give Marshmallow Animal Essentials Plant Enzymes and Probiotics every night. The dose is 1/8 tsp mixed into food twice daily. She also got noticeably better after just a couple days of this. She still has a little nausea so I'm adding another probiotic to help with that.

Please ask anything you can think of. We've all been in your shoes and we're here to help. Sending healing vibes to Honey. :bighug:

Tagging @Cat Ma, @Laura Nels, @dana moore, @Larry and Kitties. Can you guys offer words of wisdom for Honey?

Shane
 
A couple more questions I forgot: is Honey on insulin? What kind and what dose?

You mentioned kidneys in the subject line but not in your message. Does the vet think Honey's kidneys are in renal failure? If so, that will affect which treatments you pursue.

When you have a moment, please create a signature (click on your user name on the top right of the page, then click on Signature. Put in some details, like what insulin Honey is on and which IBD medication. Then save the changes). This will help people get an idea of what's going on at a glance. Thanks!
 
Well I'm questioning the whole situation with the IBD and the diabetes because my cat got diabetes from getting steroid injections from his irritable bowel disease.

With diet change switching to soft food mainly Riley's diabetes is in remission and now that his steroid injections wore off he no longer has symptoms of irritable bowel disease.

Thank God but it makes me wonder if I would have switched him to soft food right from the get-go would he have ever had the irritable bowel disease to begin with?
Could we have prevented the diabetic episode along with all of these antibiotics he was exposed to and steroids?

So now Riley is only eating soft food and I do give him the Fortiflora now and he seems to love it and his bowel movements are semi normal. He used to have massive diarrhea 4-6 weeks until we gave him steroids but that was when he was eating dry food. The soft food actually made his stools hard so now I have to give him cellulose powder for a little extra fiber and some pure pumpkin, so he is no longer on antibiotics or steroid.
I also give him the methyl b12 because his neuropathy was pretty bad but it's been a couple of weeks and you can hardly even tell that he had neuropathy.

His Paw is slowly but surely getting better from cheeing at it, we're not really sure if that has anything to do with the neuropathy or not.
 
Bonnie has had IBD for several years. She doesn't have diabetes. She had chronic diarrhea, vomiting and weight loss, classic symptoms of IBD. She's doing well on Budesonide, B12 injections and on a limited ingredients novel protein diet. She is starting to show interest in raw food. For probiotics, I give her Forti Flora. FF helps with her diarrhea. Since having IBD, she's never had a ravenous appetite but she's eating better with Budesonide and B12 shots.

Since Honey's liver is also inflammed, the Budesonide won't be effective in reducing inflammation since Budesonide only targets the gut. Once the liver is back to normal, then Budesonide would be a good choice if Honey's only issue, other than diabetes, is IBD.

I haven't heard of a correlation between IBD and diabetes. It is true that some cats develop lymphoma due to IBD while others don't. Budesnoide is supposed to have a less systematic effect than other steroids but some cats still develop diabetes while being on Budesonide while others don't.
 
@Angel-007 If Honey isn't eating or drinking, you'll need to force food down with a syringe. Forcing down unflavored pedialyte can help with mild dehydration if she's not drinking water on her own. Ask your vet if an appetite stimulant would help Honey.
 
Yay, @dana moore! I'm so glad Riley is doing so well! Isn't it amazing how much a nutrition change can help? I know what you mean about the steroids. I feel like if my vet had told me to change Marshmallow's food back in January and not given her steroids, she could have avoided getting full-blown diabetes. But she would still have IBD. That said, both our kitties are doing well now and that's what matters. :)
 
Cat Ma said:
Is it kidney or liver inflammation? Yes, please let us know how Honey is doing.
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It's liver inflammation. He's doing well on the medcine because he's walking better, eating & drinking on his own. He is not using insulin. Last glucose reading was 81, the vet said that number was good.
 
granadilla said:
Yay, @dana moore! I'm so glad Riley is doing so well! Isn't it amazing how much a nutrition change can help? I know what you mean about the steroids. I feel like if my vet had told me to change Marshmallow's food back in January and not given her steroids, she could have avoided getting full-blown diabetes. But she would still have IBD. That said, both our kitties are doing well now and that's what matters. :)
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Is there a cure for IBD? Or does the cat take medcine for the rest of their life?
By the way I love your cats' name!!
 
Cat Ma said:
@Angel-007 If Honey isn't eating or drinking, you'll need to force food down with a syringe. Forcing down unflavored pedialyte can help with mild dehydration if she's not drinking water on her own. Ask your vet if an appetite stimulant would help Honey.
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The vet showed me how to feed him with a syringe. I have appetite stimulant..how do you give it to kitty?
 
Cat Ma said:
Bonnie has had IBD for several years. She doesn't have diabetes. She had chronic diarrhea, vomiting and weight loss, classic symptoms of IBD. She's doing well on Budesonide, B12 injections and on a limited ingredients novel protein diet. She is starting to show interest in raw food. For probiotics, I give her Forti Flora. FF helps with her diarrhea. Since having IBD, she's never had a ravenous appetite but she's eating better with Budesonide and B12 shots.

Since Honey's liver is also inflammed, the Budesonide won't be effective in reducing inflammation since Budesonide only targets the gut. Once the liver is back to normal, then Budesonide would be a good choice if Honey's only issue, other than diabetes, is IBD.

I haven't heard of a correlation between IBD and diabetes. It is true that some cats develop lymphoma due to IBD while others don't. Budesnoide is supposed to have a less systematic effect than other steroids but some cats still develop diabetes while being on Budesonide while others don't.
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Thanks, good advice. The medcine is helping. He's eating, drinking and walking much better! I'm so happy about that. Within two days of taking the medcine I noticed a change.
 
Angel-007 said:
Is there a cure for IBD? Or does the cat take medcine for the rest of their life?
By the way I love your cats' name!!
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Hi @Angel-007. Thank you, she is definitely a Marshmallow (soft, squishy, sweet). :)

There's no cure for IBD but it can be managed well once you find the right combo of meds for your kitty.

I'm glad to hear Honey is doing better! :woot::woot: What is the name of the medicine the vet gave him? And yes, 81 is a good number for his BG. Are you testing his blood sugar levels at home? It's very important to learn how to do that, and it's not hard.

If the appetite stimulant is a pill, you can just pop it into him. Look on YouTube for videos on how to give a cat a pill. If Honey is hard to pill (some cats are), then you can crush the pill, mix it with a teaspoon of water or food, and give it to him in the syringe.

I know this is all overwhelming. Hang in there, and ask us all the questions you can think of. There's a ton of collective knowledge on this board.

Shane
 
@Angel-007, it is so encouraging to hear Honey is doing much better! That 81 glucose # at the vet is great.

What kind of food did your vet send Honey home with?

There is no cure for IBD but it is a very manageable condition with medication (Budeosnoide is good if the only issue is the gut), B12 shots (which you can do at home), probiotics and diet (a limited ingredients novel protein, one Honey hasn't had before such as rabbit, lamb or duck is ideal). If you do transition diet, do it gradually to reduce chance of stomach upset.

I crush tablets or open capsules and mix meds in food and then put the mixture in a syringe. It is best to put Honey's med in a food that isn't her favorite so she doesn't develop an aversion to it. CJ is unusual in that I can mix meds in any food and she'll eat it. Bonnie, however, won't.

Keep up the great work!
 
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@Cat Ma - can you give some more background on how B12 helps with IBD? I'm trying to learn more about all the things that B12 can help with, and also our vet and the specialist who saw Saoirse earlier this year suspect she has low-grade IBD.
.
 
B12 helps with absorption of nutrients. IBD cats tend to be deficient in this even if their blood work shows up as normal. Bonnie hasn't been tested for a B12 deficiency but it's clear the B12 shots help her. Her appetite has improved, her weight is up and her energy is much improved.
 
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Cat Ma said:
@Angel-007, how is Honey?
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He is well. We saw vet tonight. His glucose level were high in the 200 range. She said to start his insulin today at .05 once daily. He has fluids via IV every other day. He will have probotics for the rest of his life, the liver medcine daily for about 3 months. The liver medcine is metrocondazode.
 
Angel-007 said:
He is well. We saw vet tonight. His glucose level were high in the 200 range. She said to start his insulin today at .05 once daily. He has fluids via IV every other day. He will have probotics for the rest of his life, the liver medcine daily for about 3 months. The liver medcine is metrocondazode.
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The vet said he has pancreitis...I don't think its same as IBD..thats what other vet said he had.
 
That's really valuable information. Thank you! :)

I have noticed that in the last few days since I started giving Saoirse Zobaline in addition to her B-complex supplement her coat condition has improved slightly for the first time in months. It started to deteriorate very shortly after becoming diet-controlled, and it also started rusting again (possible tyrosine deficiency - she was like that before diabetes Dx last year). She actually had post-shaving alopecia after her scans in March. The fur didn't start growing back till I added B-complex supplementation to her daily regimen. I have not been able to determine whether it's an absorption or a metabolism problem at the root of these things.

.
 
Angel-007 said:
He is well. We saw vet tonight. His glucose level were high in the 200 range. She said to start his insulin today at .05 once daily. He has fluids via IV every other day. He will have probotics for the rest of his life, the liver medcine daily for about 3 months. The liver medcine is metrocondazode.
Critter Mom said:
@Cat Ma - can you give some more background on how B12 helps with IBD? I'm trying to learn more about all the things that B12 can help with, and also our vet and the specialist who saw Saoirse earlier this year suspect she has low-grade IBD.
.
Click to expand...
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He is doing well, eating,dtinking & walking normal.
@Critter Mom Honey has pancreitis
 
Angel, if you click on the bold blue text in my earlier post, it will take you to the information on pancreatitis and nausea.

It's very good news that Honey is eating and drinking well. That's so important when pancreatitis is in play.
.
 
Angel-007 said:
She said to start his insulin today at .05 once daily.
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What specific insulin?
The one per day is abnormal. Usually insulin is dosed twice daily.
The 0.05 does not make sense. What is units? Insulin is is dosed in units with 1 unit twice being the usual starting dose. With a human insulin like Lantus 1 unit would be 0.01 ml.
 
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