Anyone know what meds are best to treat IBD?

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I have a cat who had terrible IBD when we got him. Vet recommended fiber (metimucil) added to food, but this made it 10x worse. We switched to venison/duck limited ingredient wet food and started on prednisolone which helped a ton. He now has solid stools and much less accidents outside the box. Vet also said kaolin/propectalin, but she said most cats won't take it cause of the taste. My cat never would. B12 supplements improve diarrhea when cats are deficient as well.

We tested for Trichomoniasis, as new research has said this is a very common and underdiagnosed cause of cat IBD. This is a protozoan parasite and won't show up on a usual parasite screen, they have to do a DNA test of the fecal matter for diagnosis.

You also should rule out other causes of diarrhea/vomiting such as pancreatitis, as there are some different treatments available for these.
 
That's very interesting, testing for a protozoan parasite. I'm bringing it up because my vet ran all types of blood work except for doing a parasite panel.
She is suggesting either chlorambucil or budesonide to treat his IBD. I will mention the new research on this to my vet. Thanks for the info.
 
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Lisa and Smoky said:
She is suggesting either chlorambucil or budesonide to treat his IBD.
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For a while I had two IBD/lymphoma kitties. The diabetic one (Neko) was on budesonide, which helped her IBD and didn't seem to impact her diabetes. She also couldn't take prednisilone because of her heart. Kitty #2 (non diabetic) was originally on metronizadole which helped a bit. Isolating which proteins he could eat also helped. But when the vet figured the IBD had transitioned to small cell lymphoma, we started prednisilone which worked a lot better. We also started chlorabumcil (Leukeran). I personally wouldn't start chlorambucil unless you were pretty sure it was lymphoma, because it is a chemo drug which has some other possible side effects. Some kitties also have a really hard time with chlorambucil. Kitty #1 (Neko) got very nauseous from it - it took her 4-5 days to get over the nausea after having her dose. At one point, I just stopped giving it. You have to handle the drug with gloves and be careful on contact with the body liquids (eg. urine) for a day after they have it. On the up side, kitty #2 is now in remission, so Leukeran can work if it's lymphoma.
 
Smoky has not been diagnosed with lymphoma, but with triaditis( pancreatitis,IBD, and intestinal issues. I'm not quite sure why my vet put it out there as a treatment option. I did tell her I was afraid to use the budesonide since it is a steroid. I'm now thinking about asking her for the budesonide instead. Chlorambucil is expensive, $8-$10 for 1 pill.
 
You can get chlorambucil compounded (in the US) for less. In Canada, where I am, it's a lot cheaper. There are also dosing protocols, called pulse dosing, that call for a larger dose but once every two weeks that use less medication.
 
That is the price for it when it is compounded, at least in PA where I live.:confused: the budesonide is quite a bit cheaper.
I am just a little paranoid about using it since it is a steroid.
 
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I talked to my vet who explained the pros and cons of using budesonide. I think she was a little miffed that I didn't want to try the chlorambucil first. She stated that she has several clients that have cats on this med and they are doing quite well.
I would like to know if the insulin dose would always have to be increased while a cat is on the budesonide. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?
 
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