Oldtimer Kitty - possible IBD, food allergies, or...?

[Kathy and Kitty]

Happy post-Thanksgiving, everyone./

Kitty just celebrated seven months OTJ! He also has been eating more, losing weight, and throwing up every 3 or 4 days. I've linked his last two sets of labs in my signature, and I've gotten some input in Lantus Land about his symptoms:

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=30246

The vet has just run an fPli (pancreatic lipase) for pancreatitis, and I just talked with him. Happily, the fPli came up normal, so the vet is leaning against pancreatitis as a diagnosis for these symptoms. He is considering everything from food allergies and parasites to IBD and lymphoma. (We did the full range of thyroid tests, which came back normal.)

His main concern now is IBD, but he thinks we can try treating for worms/parasites first, and also switch his diet, in case this is a food allergy issue. The vet suggested the hypo-allergenic duck with green pea from Science Diet -- but he isn't as concerned about the diabetes recurring as I am. (Kitty has been eating nothing but FF chicken, with ample Liv-A-Little chicken dust on top, for seven months. He used to eat FF beef, until they changed the formula. It made his numbers rise about 25 points, which is why we shifted to chicken just before he went OTJ.)

I've cross-posted in Lantus Land, but I'm hoping someone in the Health forum might have some feedback. Specifically:

1. Should I treat for parasites/worms with the topical or the pill?
2. What kind of diet change might be useful? I could go back to the FF beef; his BG went up about 20 points, but that would still leave him below the 120 BG threshhold most of the time. Or I could try another food.
3. Has anyone seen this complex of symptoms? He has been peeing more, drinking some more, eating more, lost about half a pound in two months, throwing up every few days. Thyroid is norma, BG is good.

Thanks for any thoughts you have!

 

[Jill and Remi]

That is perplexing since the thyroid is normal. I didn't look, are the kidney values normal?
I know my civie, Abigail, has allergies and it does make her drink more, which in turn makes her pee more. But her eating is the same. I had an allergy test done on her(which is $$). I don't regret doing it because I switched her to a duck and green pea food before I got the results back and it turned out she is allergic to duck(and chicken and a lot of other things). I feed her turkey now. Her allergies present with runny eyes, sneezing and her ears get black crusties on the upper outside and some brown goo on the inside.
I don't think that helped you but I hope you get it figured out soon.
As for the deworming, my youngest, Sasha, got the pill.

 

[Kathy and Kitty]

Jill, this is actually VERY helpful. Kitty does have brown spots on the inside of his ears, and when we clean his ears, there's always dark brown gunk. Maybe it's allergies -- he does have high eosinophils, and has for a few years.

It's also helpful to hear that Abigail was allergic to chicken but not turkey. I have been giving Kitty some FF turkey along with the chicken, but the vet thought those proteins were too similar to make the change worthwhile. Abigail's experience suggests it's worth a try.

BUN was high side of normal, but within normal range.

I know I'm engaging in wishful thinking. I would love to find something easier than IBD as the problem.

Thanks.