Question about IBD

[Lisa and Witn (GA)]

I took Simon to the vet earlier this week because he has been losing weight. Of course before I took him, I checked his glucose levels because the first thought was that it may be feline diabetes. It was 79 so that was easily ruled out. He just had full bloodwork done in August and everything was normal then. The only test we chose to run was for his thyroid. The good news was that the results were normal. The bad news is the results were normal and now we have to figure out what else is going on. At least if it was his thyroid, that is something medication could help keep it under control.

He is scheduled to have an abdominal ultrasound on the 24th. I just spoke with the vet and he thinks it may be IBD. I asked him about it since Simon's appetite is normal. He is eating and not excessively hungry. He explained that even with IBD, a cat can have a normal appetite, it just may be that his body is not processing the proteins in the food properly.

I have never had experience caring for a cat with IBD. I would like to know what is the normal treatment and are there any diet changes? Any advice would be appreciated. Since I know several members have cats with IBD, this is the best place I know to get any information I need.

 

[Larry and Kitties]

What is the constancy and color of Simon's feces?
IBD is really not a definite diagnosis. It can be caused by small cell intestinal lymphoma and sometimes is the precursor of the lymphoma. If IBD or lymphoma ultrasound will likely show thickening of the walls of the small intestine. A biopsy is necessary is determine the cause of the thickening. IDB can be treated with budesonide, a steroid that stays in the intestine and is not really systemwide like prednisolone.
Frequently with IBD or lymphoma the feces will be abnormal.

 

[Lisa and Witn (GA)]

What is the constancy and color of Simon's feces?
IBD is really not a definite diagnosis. It can be caused by small cell intestinal lymphoma and sometimes is the precursor of the lymphoma. If IBD or lymphoma ultrasound will likely show thickening of the walls of the small intestine.

His feces is normal both on color and consistency. His appetite and behavior are good. His ultrasound is on the 24th and hopefully I will know more then about what is going on.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

I'm on my third cat in a row with small cell lymphoma, Neko being the second. The last one also has IBD. Stools didn't look off with any of them. The ultrasound will tell you if it's one of IBD or lymphoma, but won't tell you which one. The location, if any, of thickening, can tell you if you can get away with just an endoscopy to take a sample, or need a surgical biopsy. You might also want to get his b12 levels tested, as they are often low in cats with GI issues, and he might need supplementing.

Some cases of IBD can be managed with just novel protein diet with probiotics, and no steroid. A couple good websites: https://www.ibdkitties.net/ and https://www.rawfeedingforibdcats.org/

 

[Larry and Kitties]

The ultrasound will tell you if it's IBD or lymphoma.

"I recommend abdominal ultrasound to assess the gastrointestinal tract for abnormalities. We perform the ultrasound, which reveals that the intestinal walls are thicker than normal. This suggests that there is some kind of cellular infiltration going on in the walls of the intestines. If the cells that are infiltrating the intestine turn out to be inflammatory cells, we call this condition inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). If the cells are cancerous lymphocytes, we call this lymphoma. The only way to distinguish between these two conditions is to biopsy the intestinal tract. I tell my clients that we can obtain a biopsy in two ways – either by exploratory surgery or by endoscopy. Both procedures are costly and require anesthesia.” Dr. Arnold Plotnick DVM, blog post A Potential New Blood Test to Detect Cancer in Cats; Monday, December 16, 2013. (1)"
Above from: https://www.ibdkitties.net/ibd-or-cancer/

"A very good ultrasound doctor (or technician) should be able to differentiate the difference between IBD and intestinal lymphoma on ultrasound as each disease shows specific changes to the wall of the intestine affected. Unfortunately, both diseases can coexist together. Biopsies of the intestine are usually required for confirmation but, unless full thickness (a complete section of the intestinal wall) biopsies are done, the pathologist may not be able to be sure.
Above from: https://www.apeacefulendingathome.com/feline-ibd-vs-intestinal-lymphoma/

"THE DIAGNOSTIC CHALLENGE
Differentiating IBD from enteropathy-associated T-cell lymphoma (EATL) type II (small cell) in cats is extremely difficult. Both conditions are most commonly diagnosed in middle aged to older cats of any breed and sex. The most common clinical signs with both diseases include vomiting, diarrhea, weight loss and changes in appetite. In addition, food hypersensitivity, parasitism, and endocrine, renal, or hepatic disease can also cause similar symptoms. Physical, ultrasonographic, endoscopic and microscopic examinations are of limited use in differentiating IBD from EATL in many cases."
Above from: https://cvm.msu.edu/vdl/laboratory-...-lymphoma-from-inflammatory-bowel-disease-ibd

Thus, it is not easy to differentiate IBD for SCIL.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

Sorry, I worded that wrong and will correct above. I meant, the ultrasound will tell if you are dealing with one of IBD or SCL, or something else altogether.

 

[Lisa and Witn (GA)]

Thank you for all of the information. I will let everyone know what I found out after his tests.

 

[Ale & Bobo & Minnie (GA)]

Minnie had IBD and Bobo also does. In my experience, the main symptom is vomiting and nausea. They were both treated with ondansetron daily. Minnie had to be upgraded to budesonide when the ondansetron alone was no longer enough to keep her from vomiting. In their cases, removing beef from their diets made a huge difference. B12 supplements or injection is also needed as someone already mentioned above

 

[Wendy&Neko]

The GI symptoms you see will depend what part of the small intestine is thickened. Vomiting tends to be more duodenum (first part of the bowels), diarrhea more for the later part of the bowel. Some cats have very few GI symptoms, except weight loss.

 

[Lisa and Witn (GA)]

The GI symptoms you see will depend what part of the small intestine is thickened. Vomiting tends to be more duodenum (first part of the bowels), diarrhea more for the later part of the bowel. Some cats have very few GI symptoms, except weight loss.

That is what my vet said also. So far weight loss seems to be his only symptom.

 

[Alli and Bub]

My cat was diagnosed with IBD and his only symptoms were bouts of pancreatitis. They found thickening of the bowels with the ultrasound and it was later confirmed with endoscopy. I would say vomiting and diarrhea seem to be the most common symptoms of IBD, but that wasn't the case with my cat. He's currently on daily Budesonide and a hydrolyzed protein diet, but I am looking into a possible novel protein diet.