Oh yes, hyperthyroid, kidney disease and IBD in the same cat. He passed away 3 years ago. He took anti-thyroid, BP meds, and metronidazole for the iBD. It helped, but sometimes he just could not make it to the box. What likely killed him is IBD cats can develop an intestinal lymphoma, but he lived quite a few years and was stable.

What can I say, we stocked up on paper towels and orange cleaner, and we put some inexpensive duvet covers on the guest bed because they were laundered a lot. He was also hungry all the time because he didn't absorb anything. We just dealt with it. He was an amazing kitty and we took his death hard despite all his problems.

Before you have anymore visits with your current Vet, can I recommend you either get a referral for a specialist or (if finances prohibit that) go to a Vet that does strictly Feline care. You're chances of getting an accurate diagnosis and successful treatment plan will be much higher if you do. I learned this the hard way after spending lots and lots of money on vet bills that resulted in the wrong diagnosis and a trip to a thyroid specialist. As it turned out, she had cancer and her illness had nothing to do with her thyroid at all. The thyroid vet was amazing, truly one of a kind. After a couple of tests he was able to pinpoint the correct diagnosis in one visit and help us make decisions that we sadly had to make. During the consult, he advised that when things persist the way they did with our cat, it's best to go to a vet that treats only cats. It probably would have saved us a lot of heartache and cash if we had known.

Thanks, lukki. Our kitty did see a specialist vet who wanted to do some scopes on him, but I just could not put him through that. Basically they have to go through the front and back to get to the small intestine or otherwise do exploratory surgery which we were not willing to do either, not only for the expense and putting him through all that but it seemed excessive. She said they could better treat the IBD if they knew the specific type he ad. So, we managed him medically the best we could.

My in laws cat had IBD and was vomiting everywhere for a year and a half. They had to give her a pill every day, which was an absolute nightmare.

The vet suggested they switch her to a grain free diet. They did. I believe the brand was Blue Wilderness or something like that (I can ask, if you are curious). She is fine now. They were able to transition her w/o much trouble (I think she's like 16 years old so she'd been used to the standard fare for a long time) and she is now off the pills and no more vomiting.

What kind of diet changes have you tried? I second the suggestion to try a grain free diet, as well as a 100% raw, or at the very least, a canned-only diet. Barring that, you could try Science Diet for Sensitive Stomachs. I had a cat before that had chronic diarrhea, and the Science Diet Sensitive completely turned him around- we actually found out by accident when another cat needed to be on that food, and as a happy byproduct, the diarrhea went away. I wouldn't normally recommend that food, because I don't like the ingredients, but it's worth a try. Have you tried a steroid? Metronidazole?

Re-homing this cat is not likely to fix the problem. Poor kitty. :(

We were not successful with different foods because our other cat would want to eat his food, but that is another avenue you can explore.

He was relatively good about taking pills, but was best for me. He loved DH, but for some reason I was the one he trusted to give the pills. I had a way to easily pop his mouth open and put them down the hatch. He also knew when it was that time of day. If I had to travel or if we were both gone and MIL had to come, that was really challenging.

Not with ibd, but neighbors had a cat with diabetes which they treated with chinese meds and diet and acupuncture. Cat is now diabetes free. So you might look for a cat acupuncturist...crazy I know, but it can be effective in animals. https://www.ivas.org/about-ivas/what-is-veterinary-acupuncture/

Oh...I'm sorry, I didn't know that. The cost to treat is extremely expensive, so I can understand the limitations.

There are a lot of really good grain free foods out there. A good site to research them from is Chewy.com. I feed my cats grain free Canidae; a mix of soft and kibble. It's sourced from and made in the USA which is important to me and they really like it. Feeding grain free or limited diet won't hurt the other cats, IMO it's a better option.

Feline IBD is tough. It's on the rise and vets have been slow on the uptake. If you live in an area where you can take Butrous to an Internal Medicine or Gastro Doc that will be best.

For chronic diarrhea, there is a probiotic called s. Boulardi and a specific regime for administering it to stop the diarrhea and then a maintenance dose. People have had major success with this that were about to throw in the towel. Please look up the Facebook group IBD Kitties. The instructions for s. Boulardi are in the files.

The admins are the best and most knowledgeable I have ever come across on any subject, ever. There are files with everything currently known about feline IBD and they keep them current. I was very close to euthanizing my Stevie Ray. Thanks to this group, he is going strong! It was a combination of diet, meds, probiotics and understanding the condition better.

Feline IBD can't be cured but it can be controlled. I wish you and Butrous the very best!

Thank you all so very much for your insights! I have tried different foods-the food we feed the cats now is chicken & brown rice-is that considered grain free? I suppose not.

I will try another food for them. I can't isolate his food from the others but they could all benefit from the food I'm sure.

I can try to see if there is a cat specialist here-our vet is an equine specialist, but a domestic pet vet, too. I never thought of that! He did mention doing a biopsy but it is invasive and expensive and I just don't want to put him through that yet. Fortunately we don't have carpeting, but he's gone on some rugs and lately in the bathroom-which if there has to be a place to go-I'd rather it be there than in the hall way.

Between his problems and our aging labrador, we have a lot of experience giving animals their meds. They actually make a pill pocket for cats-so Butrous doesn't mind it. Much easier than trying a syringe!

Just an additional thought on cat food. Our old cat has digestive issues - kidney problems, constipation and such, but no IBD diagnosed so far. However, we've realized the best diet for him is the one closest to the natural food cats usually get if foraging on their own - birds, mice, eggs, other protein foods, perhaps some fish. We stopped buying any pet food with added grains and fillers two years ago. Now it's chiefly Fancy Feast Purely in trays with no grains and (sparingly) canned fish like salmon or mackerel.

I also give my kitties plain foods like scrambled eggs, boiled chicken, fish and beef. I cook soups regularly and always make my own stock, so there's often some kind of boiled meat in the fridge.

The new diet made a big difference. No visits to the vet over an year and half, he lost weight and is now at his purrfect feline weight. Luckily, our senior kitty spends most of his time indoors and eats exclusively at home. I read in some sources that the grains and fillers in conventional cat food often result in cats being overweight. Our experience seems to support that.

The other, much younger, cat is more outdoor than indoor. He forages a lot at our neighbors' who leave out dry cat food for all the cute kitties next door. He's still overweight!

No experience with feline IBD but a firm believer in a 100% raw diet. Feline Instincts is a supplement that is mixed with raw ground meat and makes it a complete diet. They have several success stories with IBD on their web site and will answer questions.

Our vet has seen our cats only for check ups for the last several years and commented on how healthy they are.

I agree. Mine eats Rad Cat raw diet. It has made the most difference.

Hmmm just wondering, they've had a lot of success with people with chronic di problems and fecal transplants...has to do with the biome...the gut bacteria. I'm wondering if they do such a thing for cats?

I have shared the same experiences as many here. After trying prescription foods, novel protein, and whatever else I could find at fancy pet stores, I found canned Natural Balance duck and pea worked. It was also the least expensive. Your other cats would benefit from it too. I only feed mine canned food. A vet told me a long time ago, canned food is the best for cats. So out went the dry food.

Canned Natural Instinct is another brand to try. It contains a natural clay that helps eliminate diarrhea. It's pricey and dried my cat out a little to much but I feel it put her on the right track. She really did not like the taste that much. Very picky eater. The one I used is listed as 1 protein.

I also had her tested for allergies which can cause IBD symptoms. She has those too. I have her on immunotherapy for that.

Keep trying. Don't give up. I know it's hard. I've been there and even thought about giving her up. I couldn't do that to her because she would be unadoptable. Love her too much..so happy I found a solution. It took me a long time.

One of our cats has gone through periods with diarrhea. Metronidazole clears it up, but it's a b***h administering it (awful taste, whether liquid or pill form). Our vet suggested putting her on a probiotic, one meant for cats (animals). We mix Rx Biotics with both cats' wet food every day (two spoonfuls each, it's a tiny spoon). we give it to our other cat as well.

It definitely helps.

Please, please, please try a grain free food. My kitties are fine but I have had IBS for years. I was tested for gluten intolerance and told that I was fine and didn't have gluten intolerance. Years later after my DD nagging me (in a sweet loving way) I decided to cut gluten from my diet. I have seen an unbelievable difference in my digestive health.

Hopefully your dear kitty will benefit from a grain free diet. Blue Freedom would be excellent I use all Blue Buffalo grain free products for my pups and kitties.

I second the recommendation of a grain-free diet, wet food only. One of my cats has serious digestive issues, and this really helps. I rotate among a few brands because I think mixing it up a bit is better in the long term. Some of the brands I like are Nature's Variety Instinct, Hounds and Gatos, Nature's Logic and Wild Calling.

sas95, those are truly excellent grain-free, low-no carb, high protein suggestions. They contain no gluten or carrageenan (a thickener that is in almost all canned cat food and a known inflammatory).

There is something of a quiet revolution being fought over pet food right now. We have trusted that industry way too much, to the detriment of our fur babies.

Thanks, cattyles. I have done much research on diet for my cats. I am very conscious of what I feed myself, and so I also want to do the best I can with my furry family members. For anyone here interested in learning more about cat nutrition, I highly recommend the writings of Dr. Lisa Pierson on the web site that I have linked below. I think it is eye-opening concerning the reasons for tossing out the dry food.

Great source of cat nutrition info

Sas, thank you for posting the cat nutrition site. I give my kitties wet food but also have dry food available. I think I am going to stop giving kibble altogether. The SPCA will love me because just spent over 200 bucks on cat and dog food, some of it kibble.

I just want to agree with everyone that has posted about dietary changes. Our cat was diagnosed with early stage IBD/Lymphoma just before Christmas last year. Our vet also put him on steroids but unfortunately within a month of use, the steroid we used triggered diabetes. The side effects for the drug ( Prednisolone) were actually the same symptoms as diabetes so we didn't know anything was wrong until he became very, very sick a couple of weeks ago. We just got his diabetes under control and the vet hopes since it was steroid induced, he will go into remission but we are waiting a bit before we start him back on IBD/lymphoma treatment again. With that said, we had to change his diet due to the diabetes and it seems to be helping a lot so far. He's even put on weight again!

Now I'm not saying don't do the steroids, because it is an important part of IBD treatment but please just keep a close eye on any changes and side effects he is experiencing. Diabetes was not a complication we were expecting and I wish I had known that before we started. Switching over to 100% wet, grain free, low carb food right away will hopefully not only help with his IBD but will also keep his blood sugar numbers much lower overall and prevent possible diabetes down the track. If cost is an option( especially because of multiple cats) there are a number of canned options you can grab from the supermarket that can work that are reasonably priced. If you must use a kibble, there is one that has no carbs but I personally haven't tried it so not sure if cats will like it or not.

Young Again cat food

Wishing you the best of luck with it all. Keep us posted!

I had a cat who had this for years and he took prednisolone for years which isn't great but he lived to be 19 years old. He also had hyper-T and sometimes exhibited skin allergies. We tried many limited ingredient diets and raw food diet. He always barfed up the tiny pieces of ground bone in the raw food so that didn't work. In the last few years he was eating a canned grain free Wellness food. We always gave him as little prednisolone as possible to keep symptoms at bay. At some point in his last years we were able to get him off it completely. It seemed to coincide with the Wellness food.

Looks like the fecal transplant can work on cats too.

I had ordered some grain free dry food last night on Amazon-I think I'll start him (and the other cats) with that and use it up, then move on to wet only. They'll sure love that!

For those of you with the IBD issues-did your cat stop using the litter box? And when treated, did the cat begin using it again? We got really hopeful yesterday-he actually used the box-but then over night messed all over the place again.

I have a call in to the vet and should learn tomorrow if he'll be able to start Butrous on the meds. The new food should be here tomorrow, too-so I'm hoping that by the weekend we will see improvement.

It's very common for them to stop using the litter box, neetsie. It can be so upsetting. But if Butrous always faithfully used the litter box before, just imagine how upset and sick he must be to not use it. Sometimes, the diarrhea is so sudden and forceful they can't make it to the box. And sometimes they associate the litter box with pain and being sick. He's hurting and confused.

I would not feed him any more dry food. I would try the canned foods recommended by sas95. I would not use Wellness as mentioned above. It contains a thickener that is known to cause inflammation.

An internal med vet or cat specific vet will be able to get him on a treatment plan that will help him heal and feel better. I have had very good results from human grade probiotics, especially s Boulardi (sp). It works very well to control diarrhea. Most cats with IBD are also B12 deficient and regular injections help them.

There is a litter called Dr. Elsey's cat attract. It is great for getting a cat back in the litter box once their condition is under control.

I'm sorry you and Butrous are having to deal with this. Truly, it can get much better!

ETA - Annie is right, there is a lot of success with fecal transplants. It reintroduces healthy flora into the gut. If you live in an area with specialty vets, you are so lucky! I would have had to travel 400 miles.

With our cat, we had issues with vomiting and lots of ( very smelly) diarrhea but he was still using the box. Now that we have him on his new diet, the only time he has has had runny stools was when we transitioned him to another brand of canned food but it was nowhere near the extent of what it was before and only lasted that day.

There's also a product called Fortiflora which is supposed to be good for diarrhea and other gastrointestinal issues. I've also seen it recommended for picky eaters as it's sprinkled on the food and cats seem to really like it. Again, it isn't something I personally have tried but it was on my list of things to buy if we ran into problems with his diet changes.

ETA: we have been using Weruva brand and Cats in the Kitchen brand( but made by Weruva too) canned food. They are both grain and carrageenan free and the Weruva is also gluten free. I've just been getting the chicken flavors ( Paw Lickin' Chicken, Fowl Ball and Chicken Frick A Zee) as they have very low carbs to meet his diabetic needs too.

Fortiflora is good. It's supposed to be like crack for cats as far as luring them to food, but for some reason my cats won't go near the stuff. But I have found probiotics to be helpful for digestive issues. I do sprinkle some (unflavored) probiotics on their food in the morning.

I had forgotten to mention another good brand of wet foods for cats. Tiki Cat. It is the priciest of the foods, but also seems to be the blandest/mildest and contains human grade shredded food. Given the price, I feed it less regularly than the other brands I listed, but serve it more often when digestive issues flare up. If you try the Tiki Cat, make sure you get one of the two chicken varieties as the rest contain fish, which is not good for cats in general.

My vet warned me that with severe IBD, switching the food while the cat is in full blown inflammation mode often won't work. She put him on the meds and then after a short while switched his diet to the novel protein.

The idea is that if the cat's system is so inflamed, the body will react against the new food, and then that food will no longer be considered a safe food. So, I do think the timing is important. The steroids or metronidazole should be started before the new diet (according to my vet).

My cat used the litter box faithfully once his IBD was under control. I've resorted to temporarily confining cats at times if their litter box habits are out of control. I'm unwilling to have my house turn into a giant litterbox. At first I was reluctant to do that but it turned out okay.

I bought Tiki cats chicken yesterday and my cats wouldn't touch it. I was amazed when I opened the can and saw real shredded chicken. When I offered it today they ate it, probably because they were hungry.

SAS, after reading much of the info on the site you linked I decided no more free feeding dry kibble as that was keeping them from eating enough wet food. I gave them a small amount of kibble before bed but it was a very small amount because I wanted them hungry in the morning. I bought two containers of Tiki chicken puka puka and two of ziwi peak, and a can of Canidae that they normally eat. I didn't see a review on the Canidae.

Holly-Kay, Dr. Pierson's site is an eye-opener, isn't it?

My cat also got into the habit of going outside the box. I feel it had to do with the smell from the diarrhea and she just didn't feel good. I was so desperate. Dr Elseys Attract is the way to go!!! It really works. Also, I no longer use a lid on the litter box which was one of the recommendations on the instructions. I buy it from Chewy's usually on sale.

Holly-Kay, when I stopped giving my cats the dry food, one of them, Trent, was very picky about the wet. He would thumb his nose at much of what was set out for him. But after he realized the dry was no longer forthcoming and that his meals were now on a schedule instead of free feed, he started eating whatever canned food I put out for him because he was hungry. And now he likes it all, but I think the Tiki Cat chicken is a favorite with both of them. It definitely looks the most appetizing to me!

I joke with my husband that Trent went from being the world's pickiest cat to the world's most appreciative.

Back before so many good natural cat foods were available, I added in fresh chicken turkey and fish with my cats food. The vet had him on prednisone as well. I know that drug changed his personality. He became grumpier and pulled away from us and our other cats. I think also he could have been in pain and withdrew more at the end. Thankfully he did not develop diabetes but he suffered a stroke and recovered mostly and then later suffered another and it was not something he could live on with. Of course he could not live with inflammation in his intestines, but the prednisone wasn't good for him either. It broke my heart to see him lose his personality like that. I felt responsible for it but didn't know any alternatives like finding other proteins to try. I feel for all of you that have pets that have difficult health issues.

The vet has started him on some antibiotics and suggested the Fortiflora. One dose of the antibiotics and a sprinkle of the Fortiflora on his wet food and he had very solid stools. Still not in the box, but it was solid. I've given him another dose tonight and we're hoping for a positive result.

Neetsiepie. Try the Dr. Elsey Attract litter. It is a little expensive but it works. You can get it at Petsmart. It's worth every extra penny. I had a major going out of the box issue. Not anymore due to litter and finding a food that works.

A new large box, without a hood will help, too.

I second, third and fourth the Dr. Elsey Attract litter.

I will seek out that litter. We got rid of the lidded boxes and created large boxes out of plastic storage totes (cut out on the side). Thanks!

I'm glad Butrous is doing better!

The thread with the urine remover made me realize that at least poop is easier to clean up, although unpleasant in its own way.

I forty-seventh the grain-free food. Cats in the wild eat a mostly protein diet. I also recommend trying bonito flakes as a cat treat. Grain free and MUCH cheaper than most commercial cat treats. We used them with our diabetic kitty and our non-diabetic kitty loved the bonito flakes so much that she volunteered to take a shot so that she could get the flakes. You can get bulk bags of bonito flakes at Asian grocery stores.

Our kitty started displaying symptoms of IBD at less than two years old, and it took a year of diarrhea, vomiting, weight loss, and constant vet visits to figure it out. I remember how frustrating it was - how sometimes he'd pee or poop just outside of the litter box, and we couldn't help but feel it was to spite us somehow. Now we know better, and that he truly couldn't help it and was really sick. Any out-of-litterbox activity from him is now an immediate sign that something is off, and we need to switch his diet.

Hubs and I started him on a new diet as well as steroids asap, and that did the trick. It took a while to find foods he was ok with - you have to test each meat type for a few weeks to see if there's a reaction. Lamb and Venison are the only two so far that he doesn't react to - rabbit and duck seemed ok at first, but gunked him up after a few weeks.

After 8 months we weaned him off the steroids (slowly!) per a new vet's recommendation since he's such a young cat. His energy is back, he's gained weight back up to a healthy level (it took forever though), and he's his old self again.

The diet that I found to be effective for him is a mix of:

• organic canned pumpkin for fiber
• feline antioxidants - I use Ark Naturals NuPet Cat Antioxidant
• Nature's Variety Limited Ingredient Lamb OR
• Natural Balance Venison and Green Pea - I usually vary them morning and evening
• feline probiotics/prebiotics/enzymes sprinkled on top, not mixed in. I use Wholistics Pet Organics Feline Digest-All Plus Supplement.
• At the beginning, I would also mix in a little Rad Cat Raw Diet to get him to eat more since I was so worried about his weight.

Hope this helps! It seems expensive at first to go the wet food route, but it's so much less expensive than vet visits and meds. It's also worth it to see him happy and healthy again!

Has your vet mentioned or tried Tylan (tylosin)? It's an antibiotic that has anti-inflammatory properties (as does metronidazole) and has had near-miraculous results in many cases of chronic diarrhea in dogs and cats. It's an interesting medication....they aren't sure why it works so well but sometimes it's the only thing that does, good safety profile, and many times can back off to very tiny doses for long term use and still continue the good results.