Does your cat have Inflammatory bowl disease (IBD)? This makes it hard for your cat’s intestines to absorb nutrition. This can also cause additional pain or discomfort for your cat.
Hello my name is amber larock and i am a staff writer with emergency vets usa as well as a licensed veterinary technician our goal at emergency vets usa is to educate our readers on topics regarding pet health so today we’ll be discussing inflammatory bowel disease in cats we’ll be discussing what it is what causes it and if your cat does have this condition
We’ll also be going into the detail of how to know when your cat may be suffering in their condition and when it may be time to say goodbye so inflammatory bowel disease in cats or ibd is an inflammatory condition that impacts a cat’s stomach and intestines basically what happens is inflammatory cells invade the gi tract leading to a thickening of the lining in
The stomach and the intestines making it hard for them to properly absorb nutrients not only can an inability to properly absorb nutrients lead to complications down the line and not only can a thickening of the lining and chronic inflammation be painful it also triggers a severe immune response due to the way the intestines are impacted this inflammation within
The intestines is essentially seen as a foreign invader trying to attack the body this in turn causes an immune response that leads to more inflammation so not only is the initial inflammation of the ibd extremely uncomfortable for a cat but it just leads to a chronic cycle of discomfort because of this ibd and cats can lead to a slew of serious gi symptoms that
Can be flared up at certain times or they may be chronic not only is this just uncomfortable for cats to deal with but it can cause a serious impact to their overall health a cat with unmanaged ibd may experience chronic vomiting chronic diarrhea blood in their vomit or diarrhea weight loss inability to gain weight and even passing multiple hair balls a month so
Once your cat is diagnosed with ibd there are a few different ways that your veterinarian may attempt to manage their condition first they may offer them medication to target any potential trigger of their condition for example some cats with ibd can be triggered by an initial bacterial infection within their intestines so this means potentially starting your cat
On a round of gi antibiotics this means deworming them if they fear intestinal parasites this also may mean a change in diet if they think that their initial trigger was a diet sensitivity if there is an initial trigger of the ibd that is still present in the cat’s life then the ibd will never resolve if the initial trigger is not treated along with attempting
To resolve any initial triggers your veterinarian may get your cat started on metronidazole which is a gi antibiotic that is known to target diarrhea and general gi upset in cats they may also prescribe corticosteroids if your cat is suffering from inflammation within the intestines and some veterinarians are also beginning to discover the use of probiotics
Prebiotics and vitamin b12 in treating cats with ibd so if you think your cat’s ibd is unmanaged or you think that they are truly suffering in their condition there are a few symptoms that they may display your cat may experience significant weight loss or inability to put on weight this may be due to the chronic vomiting diarrhea they experience or just their
Inability to properly absorb nutrients through their diet they may have blood in the vomiting diarrhea and these symptoms in particular will be impossible to manage basically some cats will be thrown every type of antibiotic and corticosteroid to help relieve their symptoms but a cat with unmanaged ibd it will just seem impossible and it will seem like a constant
Cycle for these poor cats and also these cats may eventually just experience anorexia because their stomachs are so upset so they lose their appetite they may also experience severe abdominal pain and they may also become lethargic weak disinterested in things that they once enjoyed so if it seems like your cat’s ibd is unmanaged and you’ve just tried everything
And you think that your cat is just truly struggling it may be time to either discuss aggressive treatment options with your veterinarian or it may be time to discuss quality of life with your vet every case is different so it’s just important to have a discussion with your veterinarian and talk about your cat in particular for more in-depth review on ibd and
Cats be sure to review the article that is attached to this video but stay tuned to emergency vets usa for more topics on pet health
Transcribed from video
When To Euthanize A Cat With IBD (Inflammatory Bowl Disease) By Emergency Vets USA