My cat has diarrhea, vomiting, and losing weight. IBD or other cause?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This probably just means that her IBD is no longer being controlled on the current medications and she just needs further management of her condition. I highly recommend that you have reevaluated by a veterinarian for further assessment. At the very least they can make sure to treat her symptoms so that you can get her to feel better. They can also add medications to try to get her condition under control again. Good luck!

I'm sorry to hear that Mercedes is sick. If IBD or GI lymphoma is suspected the next steps may be ultrasound or even biopsy. Biopsy is needed to confirm the diagnosis of IBD. However, I will frequently treat if it is strongly suspected on ultrasound. If IBD is confirmed it's worth doing a trial of a prescription GI diet. Although a/d is a good recovery diet it is probably not the best one to use as a maintenance diet if IBD is suspected. It would also be worth giving your veterinarian a call to see if they can give a Cerenia injection. This will help to resolve the vomiting and can be continued if necessary. Vitamin B12 injections can also be helpful when a cat is experiencing GI distress and will be needed if IBD is confirmed. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach and best wishes to Mercedes!

I would talk to you veterinarian next week about gastrointestinal disease. With a continuously vomiting and diarrhea cat my concerns are Irritable bowel disease or even lymphoma. I would be less inclined it be intestinal parasites if Opie has been an indoor cat. I would not give the drontal today. I would recommend seeing a different veterinarian for a second opinion but Opie may need an abdominal ultrasound. If he is really have bad diarrhea and is still vomiting a lot a specialty hospital may be worth going to because the internist can perform the ultrasound. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

It sounds as though you and Schumacher have been through a lot over the past 2 years! Given his weight loss, chronic diarrhea, normal blood work and initial response to depomedrol, chronic pancreatitis or primary intestinal issues, such as inflammatory bowel disease or lymphoma would be my main concerns. In this situation, further diagnostic testing is often needed to try to get to the bottom of this issue. Some tests include vitamin absorption and pancreatic blood tests (B12, folate, TLI, fPL) and an abdominal ultrasound to look at his internal organs, intestinal thickness, lymph nodes, etc. In some cases, biopsies are needed to differentiate between different conditions so that the most appropriate treatment can be started. Cats with inflammatory bowel disease or lymphoma often benefit from long-term steroids, antibiotics and prescription diets to control their clinical signs. I hope that all goes well for Schumacher!

Food allergies could be one of the reason for the persistent diarrhoea and weight loss, but these conditions must be differentiated from IBD (inflammatory bowel diseases) and unfortunately from more sinister conditions like tumors. Weight loss in old cats can have different causes as well, and endocrine diseases (hyperthyroidism and diabetes mellitus) are frequently associated with intestinal diseases as well. Considering all these possible clinical scenarios, I would recommend a check up and more tests (blood test+urine analysis including thyroid hormone and feline pancreatic lipase and possibly an ultrasound of the abdomen) to determine underlying cause and treat appropriately. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

Vomiting and diarrhea can be a sign of a number diseases including food sensitivity, inflammatory bowel disease, thyroid disease, kidney and liver disease, or intestinal parasites. If you have access to his previous vet records I'd recommend making an appointment with a veterinarian to discuss the previous results and where to go next. Even though he's maintaining his weight daily vomiting and diarrhea is still concerning. While cats can lose teeth secondary to dental disease this is probably not related to the vomiting and diarrhea.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Diarrhea and weight loss can be observed with conditions such as colitis, gastroenteritis, dietary indiscretion, intestinal parasites, among many other possibilities. I recommend that you have Foxy evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. They may choose to check for parasites and to start medications for diarrhea depending on the results. Good luck! Hoping for a speedy recovery!