11/8 Possible IBD/Lymphoma :(

[pablo'smom]

Hi everyone,

Pablo has been doing great up until a week ago. Out of no where he started having explosive diarrhea. The vet prescribed him probiotics and recommended feeding him chicken and rice to help it pass. However, the diarrhea got worse and became water every two hours. We are at Medvet right now and they are most likely going to admit him to make sure he stays hydrated and then get an ultrasound in the morning. Right now it is looking like either IBD or Lymphoma and I am really upset and worried.

With all of this, I have a few questions. If it is IBD or Lymphoma, they would want to do a steroid and I am worried about his sugar. Has anyone had an experience with diabetes and IBD/lymphoma treatment and have any advice/recommendations? Also, as for diet, what are some recommendations? He also has CKD so I would need to find food to balance the GI issues, diabetes, and CKD. He is currently on Weruva BFF play pate.

Any help or advice is greatly appreciate.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

My Neko got a IBD or lymphoma (small cell lymphoma) diagnosis in her 4th year of being a diabetic. She was also CKD. If he needs a steroid, talk to the vet about using budesonide, instead of prednisolone. That is what Neko was on. It is a steroid more locally acting on the gut, and for many cats, including Neko, it did not impact her blood sugars. Neko's heart condition could not handle prednisolone.

After an ultrasound, and if his heart allows, they may suggest a biopsy or endoscopy, depending where any thickening might be. Alternatively the endoscopy could be a colonoscopy. You do need a sample to diagnose whether it is IBD or lymphoma. Treatments do differ between the two conditions. If there are swollen lymph nodes, they can take a needle biopsy and have that sample sent for a PARR test, which is another way to diagnose IBD or SCL. Note, I did have a cat who had both IBD and SCL, though that is more unusual.

Novel protein diets are a good approach for cats diagnosed with IBD. By novel protein I mean something he may not have had before, like lamb, venison, goat, kangaroo, rabbit, buffalo. There are novel protein options that are low carb and lower phosphorus. What proteins does he normally eat? In addition to diet, it's good to add a probiotic and a prebiotic. A good probiotic for IBD is Visbiome. A prebiotic can be something as simple as psyllium husk fiber. For the diarrhea, consider using s. boulardii, which is a probiotic fungus. More information here on it and dosing: Probiotics – IBDKitties.

SCL kitties usually get a course of a mild chemo drug called chlormabucil. The best dosing method is a dose given every two weeks. SCL cats can go into remission.

SCL kitties don't need a novel protein diet, but can still benefit from probiotic and prebiotic. SCL kitties may not need to be on a steroid once the chlorambucil has started to work to reduce the inflammation. Or it can be tapered down. Some IBD cats are on steroid for life.

Good luck, keep us posted on how Pablo is doing. GI issues are unfortunately rather common in acro kitties.

 

[pablo'smom]

My Neko got a IBD or lymphoma (small cell lymphoma) diagnosis in her 4th year of being a diabetic. She was also CKD. If he needs a steroid, talk to the vet about using budesonide, instead of prednisolone. That is what Neko was on. It is a steroid more locally acting on the gut, and for many cats, including Neko, it did not impact her blood sugars. Neko's heart condition could not handle prednisolone.

After an ultrasound, and if his heart allows, they may suggest a biopsy or endoscopy, depending where any thickening might be. Alternatively the endoscopy could be a colonoscopy. You do need a sample to diagnose whether it is IBD or lymphoma. Treatments do differ between the two conditions. If there are swollen lymph nodes, they can take a needle biopsy and have that sample sent for a PARR test, which is another way to diagnose IBD or SCL. Note, I did have a cat who had both IBD and SCL, though that is more unusual.

Novel protein diets are a good approach for cats diagnosed with IBD. By novel protein I mean something he may not have had before, like lamb, venison, goat, kangaroo, rabbit, buffalo. There are novel protein options that are low carb and lower phosphorus. What proteins does he normally eat? In addition to diet, it's good to add a probiotic and a prebiotic. A good probiotic for IBD is Visbiome. A prebiotic can be something as simple as psyllium husk fiber. For the diarrhea, consider using s. boulardii, which is a probiotic fungus. More information here on it and dosing: Probiotics – IBDKitties.

SCL kitties usually get a course of a mild chemo drug called chlormabucil. The best dosing method is a dose given every two weeks. SCL cats can go into remission.

SCL kitties don't need a novel protein diet, but can still benefit from probiotic and prebiotic. SCL kitties may not need to be on a steroid once the chlorambucil has started to work to reduce the inflammation. Or it can be tapered down. Some IBD cats are on steroid for life.

Good luck, keep us posted on how Pablo is doing. GI issues are unfortunately rather common in acro kitties.

Thank you so much for all the help. It's so frustrating and feels like a set back considering he has been doing really well lately.

He currently eats chicken based food now. I'm going to look into different food options that are not chicken based as that might help. Do you have any recommendations of brands that are low carb and low phos?

I'll keep you updated once I get his ultrasound results tomorrow. The vet said it could be acute pancreatitis, IBD, lymphoma, or even a B12 deficiency or a combination of those. His pancreas enzymes were mildly elevated but not enough to say it's acute pancreatitis without an ultrasound. His platelets were also low but they believe it's from clumping so they are doing a blood smear and sending blood out to a lab to confirm. Other than that, his kidney values were really good, glucose 114, and all this other labs were normal. I felt bad admitting him until tomorrow as he was purring and not acting in any pain but I know he is better off there than at home.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

Rawz, Koha, Nature's Variety Instinct, Merrick, Lotus, Evo, Fromme, Fussie Cat, Hounds & Gatos, Nature's Logic, Identity. I'd have to spend some time researching them to figure out which are low phosphorus. A number of people here feed Rawz and Koha, can't remember what else. I've tried some on the list with an IBD kitty. You will have to take a close look at ingredients. If he can't do chicken, I might avoid turkey and duck to start. Fish and beef are also common allergens. So look for rabbit, pork, lamb, goat, kangaroo, venison, buffalo, etc. Pick one protein and try it for a while. Another option for IBD is raw food or freeze dried raw. Those are usually not mixed proteins and might even open up more protein options. My local raw food store even had water buffalo and ostrich! Tip, try the cheaper meats first or he'll only love the expensive ones.

Cats with IBD or SCL are often low in B12, though my IBD/SCL kitties were always fine on B12. Hopefully he's getting bloodwork done to test his B12? No need to supplement if he's already OK with it. Did he get a SpecfPL test done? Pancreatitis is also a common companion for with IBD or SCL. A Primer on Pancreatitis