[flyfilly]

Hello, all! Lovely to meet you. I am mom to two kitts, Oreo and Mini. Mini was recently diagnosed with IBD so I've been scouring forums like this one when I have questions to hear about others' experiences.

My reason for joining the forum at this time is a question that I haven't found a great answer to yet: Mini recently recovered from an IBD flare (diagnosed and medicated by vet after she got into Oreo's food, we're very confident that was the issue) that included about two days of diarrhea. Since then her meds have normalized her stool and appetite but she is hesitant to go to the litter box when she needs to defecate (urination is no problem). Today she ended up going outside the box for the first time since I've had her. Never having had this problem before, I wondered if one of you could help.

I intend to call my vet on Monday of course, but since she hasn't been straining or producing more diarrhea I'm guessing there is little they can recommend medically.

 

[Susan]

Hi and welcome! I have no experience with IBD...but, if Mini is avoiding the litterbox because she now associates it with her past problems, then I might try putting out a new litterbox (perhaps even with a different type of litter) to see if she feels more comfortable with that. Just a thought...and not guaranteed to work...but it might be worth a shot.

 

[flyfilly]

Thanks, Susan! That is an excellent idea. I can't really blame the poor girl for having negative feelings about it now, but I certainly don't want this to become a habit! I will give that a try.

 

[Valentine's Heart]

Unfortunately, I've had a lot of experience with IBD. Valentine fought it all of his life and two others also had it. I believe the feral colony from where they came had a lot of inbreeding and problems for that reason. I lost a cat to IBD. She frequently had mishaps. It can be very painful and the litter box is avoided as contributing to the pain. Finding the right diet can be frustrating. I would avoid grains at all cost. Adding fiber to the diet can help sometimes -- human grade fiber works or canned pumpkin. I never left food out and all cats fed at the same time. They were allowed 15 minutes and then I collected the food. I had to isolate the cats since many were on different diets. With the new group, I've started them on no grains, but I think Sammy is having a problem. He was a rescue. I fed them one premium food and switched to another (without problem) and then to another -- all grain free. I do understand what you are going through.

 

[flyfilly]

Thanks, Valentine. Fortunately Mini is managing well on a rabbit and green pea based food and a small dose of prednisolone every other day but we have read horror stories about IBD and I'm really hoping we don't have to go through it to that extreme. Since this post I have switched Oreo to her food also, figuring it would be cheaper than continuing to pay for vet visits when she gets into his chicken-based food despite my best efforts. We always did have good luck with canned pumpkin before her diagnosis but the fiber from the peas seems to be doing the trick...for now.

She also began using the litterbox normally after I brought in a spare at Susan's suggestion. I guess she just needed some new associations with the potty. Thanks, Susan!

 

[katlover13]

Glad to hear the litterbox change that Susan suggested took care of your problem. My Charlie has IBD and I know it can be frustrating to find the combination of food/meds/probiotics that works.

 

[Susan]

You're welcome. Lucky guess on my part, but I'm glad to see it worked. I'm also pleased you were able to come up with the right combo of meds/diet to manage Mini's IBD and I hope that combination continues to work for you and her.