Inflamed bowel..

[charliebubs]

Hi guys!

Sorry I haven't been around for aaaaggggeees, but I'm back now and in need of some help/support/advice!

You may remember Red, my lovely Siamese boy. Well, he's been having upset tummies for months now. We've been to the vets several times and so far nothing has cured him.

I'll start at the beginning........

Around August/September time Red started having loose bowel movements. Not too bad at first, but very smelly. I tried Pro-Kolin paste and then the granules on food and when they didn't work we went to the vets.

Initially he was given a course of antibiotics and we were sent on our way.

A week later when they hadn't worked we went back and were given different antibiotics and a couple of injections.

A week later they hadn't worked, so back we went. This time the vet suggested stool samples. I had to collect three samples from three different bowel movements over the next couple of days.

When these were tested they showed Giardia (a parasite in the gut/intestine). This parasite can live dormant and not show any symptoms in the animal, so this may not have been the cause of his upset tummy, but nevertheless he was treated for it (as were the other cats).

A couple of weeks later there was still no improvement in the poo, although the smell didn't seem so bad (we may just have been getting used to it!!!). We went back to the vets, she did another stool test and the Giardia had gone, so that clearly wasn't the problem here.

Then we tried a bland diet for a couple of weeks, then we tried a hypoallergenic diet for a few more weeks (as the vet thought it may have been a food allergy), then we tried a homeopathic rememdy for 10 days.........all with no results.

We went back to the vets last week and she has now decided that she thinks its an inflamed bowel. He was given a long lasting anti-inflammatory and another antibiotic injection.

I have been reading up on this condition in cats and there doesn't seem to be any cure, it's just a case of controlling and managing it.

The injections do seem to have altered his poo - it's not as runny or as smelly as it once was - so hopefully we're on the road to recovery now :)

Fingers crossed. ;)

Has anyone come across anything similar with their cats??? :?

[Mags]

Hello Charlie, it's good to hear from you again:)

Sorry to hear about the troubles Red is going through - yes, I remember him well...

Didn't Fran have a similar problem with Porsha a few years ago? There were several threads I think but this is the main one (http://www.catsey.com/showthread.php?t=19315&highlight=Giardia) which I hope will help you.

Alex also went through a bowel problem with Teddy here (http://www.catsey.com/newreply.php?do=newreply&noquote=1&p=587078) ........

I do hope Red is on the road to recovery, please keep us updated on him Charlie:)

[dandysmom]

Good to hear from you, but not the news. I hope those threads might help a bit, and that Red continues to get better; do keep us posted!

[charliebubs]

Hi Mags and Eileen :)

Thanks for your posts.

I do remember what Fran went through with Porcha. I think (if I remember rightly) that it turned out to be a food allergy with her. Fran had lots of allergy tests done.

My vet did offer me the allergy tests, but she said that they are expensive (£200+) and not conclusive. She has since moved on from the food allergy theory anyway, so I don't think they would help us now.

She has mentioned the possibility of a bowel biopsy, as that is the only way to get a definitive answer, but its the risk of anaesthetic and complications etc...............However, we'll have to go down that path if all else fails. :(

Fortunately, Red is fine in himself. He hasn't really lost weight and is still hydrated and eating and happy (just smelly and messy!)

Thanks ladies :)

[yola]

Sorry Red's not improved . . . he's had this for quite a while hasn't he? I can't offer any word of advice; as my Balie's runny bum cleared up as soon as I took him off the sensitive tummy food!

Nevertheless, it's lovely to see you here Charlie . . . please keep us up to date on Red's (hopeful) diagnosis and improvement!

[Kazz]

Sorry I can't offer any help other than to say I hope you find the answer.The only thing I would say is maybe a couple of weeks or 10 days is not long enough to try a "change of feeding" to see good results. I would have thought you needed longer to see results. But I understand you are following vets advice. Maybe a bland diet may be appropriate for him. Infections in the bowel are notroriously difficult to treat in animals and people. Best of luck.And nice to see you back a few pictures will not go amiss either.....hint hint.

[angieh]

Sorry to hear about your battle with Red's bowels - I do hope that you and your vet can find the cause, but it's good to hear that he seems well in himself.

The only bit of advice I can offer is have you tried Slippery Elm? Elaine advised me to try this for Merlin and it did help him although he didn't have the same problems as Red. Good luck.

[farthing]

Our Candy had problems with sickness although she never had loose poops. She was blood sampled and x-rayed and the conclusion was either a diffuse tumour or IBD. They vets suspected IBD rather than a tumour because her eosinophil levels were ALWAYS high (can indicate parasitic infection or allergy) even though she was an indoor cat regularly wormed, she was also prone to overgrooming- again an indicaton of an allergy. We were offered a boipsy, but she was 11 by then and the treatment was going to be the same- zantac and steroids. We tried her on varoius diets and she either continued to be sick or went off the food. We then tried Hi-life pouches, which is 60% meat, tapioca and any vitamins etc required, she is on no zantac or steroids now, and this is the best weight she has every been since we got her aged 10, she's now 13. I now suspect she may have had a gluten allergy, I already have a dog with it so I guess it must be more common than realised.
I do hope you find a solution, I'm not saying the diet I use will be cure for your boy, but don't give up hope and keep trying.

[Elaine]

Hiya Charlie, sorry to read about Red and hope you find the solution soon. xxx
In the mean time why not give the SEB a try, it certainly wouldnt do any harm.

[charliebubs]

I do have some Slippery Elm in the cupboard and guess there's nothing to lose!!

I think that he has marginally improved since the last injections he had. The stools are still not formed, but do seem to be getting thicker :(

Too much info............sorry!! :)

We're back to the vets tomorrow.............

[Tanya]

This sounds just like Oli ... he started with runny poo in August and it was so bad he would jump up and poo would drip out (he didn't even notice!). We had several lots of injections, antibiotics, other medicines, rice/white fish/chicken breast/mashed potato diet .... NOTHING worked! After all this, we thought the last result was to have a blood test ... he had blood taken from jugular (not sure if this is usual?!). The results came back clear ... so the Vet suggested we tried a veterinary prescription diet - Royal Canin Sensitivity Control. It took a few days for us to notice the difference but he is back to being Oli again. He has the dried biscuits during the day (the kittens have to eat it too - if he has anything other than this Royal Canin Prescription diet we are back to sqaure one!) and then he has half a wet pouch for breakfast and half for tea.

Hope this helps. ;)

[charliebubs]

Thanks Tanya.

I'm glad to hear that Oli is on the mend/all better :)

We have tried S/C but with no luck. :(

The problem is that after about 3-4 weeks Red just stops eating it. He gets bored. :(

It's hard with the other cats too, as if Red sees them eating something else he wants it! So, I've been making them all eat the same most of the time.

Ho hum........

[Tanya]

Have you tried S/C wet and dry? Oli has dry during the day but the wet pouches for breakfast and tea. The wet is chicken flavoured and the dry is fish! We have had to put the kittens onto the same biscuits as Oli because we always have dry biscuits down. As for wet food, they are all fed at the same time, but we lock Oli in a different room to make sure he can't get hold of the kittens food!

Good luck!

[charliebubs]

Thanks Tanya...........yes, we have tried wet and dry. Have tried both types of the wet food......pate and pouches.....but to no avail.

However, the injection he had at the vets last week does seem to be having some effect. It was a steroid jab and his poop is definitely changing. It's not normal, or fully formed yet ;) but it's more solid than it was!!

Sorry if that's TMI :)

Fingers crossed for more progress.