IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease)

Feline Inflammatory Bowel Disease

By Margaret Muns, DVM

In cats, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is the most common cause of chronic vomiting and diarrhea. The term actually refers to a group of diseases that are characterized by the invasion of inflammatory cells into the cat's intestinal wall.

Symptoms of IBD

One or many of the following symptoms can be found in a cat with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD):

Vomiting
Diarrhea
Weight loss
Normal/increased appetite
Stomach rumbling
Belching
Black, tarry stools
Flatulence (from digested blood)
Halitosis
Increased thirst
Abdominal pain
Weight loss

In severe cases, weight loss can be extreme. Vomiting cats will seldom produce food in a cat's vomit. Instead, the vomit usually consists of bile-stained mucus. The presence of hair or partially digested food in the vomit indicates that the disease also involves the cat's stomach.
The most common form of inflammatory bowel disease in cats is the presence of lymphocytes and plasma cells, which produce a diagnosis of lymphocytic-plasmacytic enteritis (LPE).

Causes of LPE

This disease can develop in one of two ways. The inflammatory cells can enter the intestinal wall in response to an injury or infection. Or, parasites, food intolerance, bacteria, fungi, or cancer can cause activation of the immune system and subsequent inflammation.
Cats that are affected with LPE may have a defective intestinal wall barrier. This defect allows normal intestinal bacteria to leak into the deeper layers of the intestinal wall, and the body mounts an immune response to remove them. Subsequent inflammation damages the gut wall even further, allowing more bacteria to enter the deeper tissues.

History and Clinical Signs

The most consistent clinical signs associated with feline lymphocytic-plasmacytic enteritis are those consistent with a small-bowel diarrhea syndrome.

LPE can occur in cats of any age, but most commonly appears in older cats. LPE can affect any area of the intestinal tract, and can also be very localized. Consequently, the symptoms of an affected cat are quite variable.

For example, clinical signs in some cats can appear suddenly, while in others, the signs can be more subtle and intermittent. Many cats experience exacerbation of symptoms only during times of stress, while others experience constant problems.

Vomiting may be the only symptom of LPE. Often, cats with chronic vomiting are misdiagnosed and treated symptomatically for stomach or pancreatic disease, when the disease is actually located in the small intestine.

Diagnosis and Treatment

Appropriate tests must be chosen by your veterinarian to rule out infectious disease, parasites, obstructions and cancer. Metabolic disease (especially, hyperthyroidism), concurrent large bowel disease, and pancreatic insufficiency must be eliminated, since each can closely mimic the symptoms of LPE. It is also important that your cat is screened for the viral infections feline leukemia and feline immunodeficiency because both diseases can be associated with IBD.

In severe cases of LPE, cats may have one or more abnormal test results that indicate advanced intestinal wall damage. In these cases, protein leaks into the intestinal tract and subsequently, cats can have abnormally low serum protein levels.

Definitive diagnosis of feline LPE can only be made by examining biopsy samples from the intestinal tract. Lymphocytic-plasmacytic enteritis lesions can be very localized, leaving the surface of the intestinal wall normal. If only grossly abnormal tissues are sampled, the diagnosis may be missed.

The pathologist will usually report cases of LPE as mild, moderate, or severe. A diagnosis of mild lymphocytic-plasmacytic enteritis may just indicate a reaction to an underlying parasitic or infectious disease, and the underlying causes should be addressed. A diagnosis of moderate to severe LPE tells the veterinarian that more aggressive therapy should be considered.

Dietary Therapy

Dietary therapy for feline LPE may or may not help, but it is certainly worth trying. Inflammatory response can be triggered by an abnormal immune reaction to normal intestinal components. Therefore, it may be possible that one or more ingredients in the cat's food may be one of the underlying causes.

Even if dietary therapy alone doesn't resolve the cat's symptoms, it can allow other treatments to be more effective. Occasionally, a cat can be completely weaned off oral medication and maintained on dietary therapy alone. One possible explanation for the efficacy of dietary therapy is that it helps the intestinal tract to compensate better, despite ongoing inflammation.

Effective dietary therapy for feline LPE involves feeding the cat a diet that is unlikely to trigger an immune response within the intestinal tract. To accomplish this, the cat must be fed a home-cooked elimination diet composed of a protein and carbohydrate source. Commercial hypoallergenic diets are not effective.

A careful dietary history should be obtained to find out which ingredients the cat has eaten over its lifetime. Once known, a food can be formulated consisting of a protein and carbohydrate source that the cat has never had. During the dietary trial (ideally five to six weeks), nothing but that special diet and water must be ingested by the cat, including treats, chewable vitamins, or chewable medications. If the cat has improved by the time the trial period ends, you can try switching to a commercial diet based on the protein source used.

Some cases of feline LPE may benefit from additional dietary manipulation. Adding extra fiber into the diet may help cats with large bowel involvement. Although the increased fiber doesn't have any anti-inflammatory effect, it can help to improve fluid balance inside the intestine and relieve diarrhea. Severe cases may benefit from additional vitamin and mineral supplementation.

A severely inflamed small intestine cannot absorb vitamins and minerals efficiently, which can result in a deficiency. Vitamin deficiencies can adversely affect the course of the disease. For example, folic acid and cobalamin may contribute to the small intestine's ability to repair itself. Therefore, supplementation of these important vitamins should be considered.

Drug Therapy

There is no set treatment regimen for every case of lymphocytic-plasmacytic enteritis in the cat. The appropriate choice of immune-suppressing drugs for treating feline LPE is up to your veterinarian. Treatment must be tailored to each cat's needs.

Prednisone (a potent corticosteroid) is usually the initial drug of choice for treating feline LPE. As a class, the corticosteroids are powerful immune suppressive and anti- inflammatory agents. In addition, treatment with corticosteroids may improve the fluid and electrolyte balance within the intestine. This can have a significant role in decreasing diarrhea.

If prednisone alone is given, then improvement should be noted within the first one to two weeks of therapy.Most cats with lymphocytic-plasmacytic enteritis will require life-long prednisone therapy to avoid a relapse.

In severe cases of LPE, azathioprine can be useful as a very potent immunosuppressive drug. Adding this drug to the treatment should be considered in cats that are not responsive to prednisone alone. Also, azathioprine can be used in cats that just cannot tolerate the adverse effects of prednisone. However, cat owners must wait three to four weeks before azathioprine will take effect.

Several other drugs can be tried for treating feline LPE. There is evidence that metronidazole may have a direct immune suppressing effect. Cyclophosphamide is a chemotherapy drug that also has potent immune suppressing qualities. Again, it is important that your veterinarian choose the appropriate treatment for your cat.

Prognosis

Most cases of feline lymphocytic-plasmacytic enteritis cannot be cured, although the disease is not usually life threatening. With aggressive therapy, many cases can be adequately controlled.

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Posted in IBD , Inflammatory Bowl Disease

Feline Hypertension (High blood pressure)

High blood pressure (hypertension) in cats




Hypertension is the medical term for high blood pressure, which is a common problem in people. More recently, it has been recognised as an important medical condition of cats.

Feline hypertension is commonly found as a complication of other underlying medical conditions (so-called �secondary hypertension'), although primary hypertension (hypertension without any underlying disease) may also be seen in cats. In contrast to people, where primary hypertension (also called essential hypertension) is most common, secondary hypertension is more common in cats. The most common causes of secondary hypertension in cats are chronic kidney failure and hyperthyroidism (an overactive thyroid gland). Other more rare causes of hypertension would include acromegaly (a tumour producing excessive amounts of growth hormone) and Cushing's disease (a tumour of the pituitary or adrenal gland resulting in excessive production of corticosteroids by the body).

Effects of hypertension
Hypertension is damaging to the body. The effects are most serious in certain vulnerable organs:

Eyes
Bleeding into the eyes and retinal changes such as swelling and detachment can occur and this may result in damage to the cat's vision which is often permanent. In some cases, bleeding into the front chamber of the eye can be seen without the use of special veterinary equipment

Brain and nervous system
Bleeding in this area of the body can cause neurological signs such as odd behaviour, a wobbly or drunken gait, seizures, dementia and coma.

Heart
Over time, the muscle of one of the heart chambers (the left ventricle) becomes thickened, as the heart has to work harder to pump the blood when there is high blood pressure. In very severe cases, this can lead to the development of congestive heart failure. Affected cats may show signs of breathlessness and lethargy.

Kidneys
Over time, high blood pressure damages the kidneys and may increase the risk of kidney failure developing. In cats with existing renal failure, the hypertension is likely to make the renal failure significantly worse over time.

Clinical findings
As hypertension is often seen as an effect of other diseases, cats with hypertension may be showing signs attributable to their underlying problem. For example, in the case of hyperthyroid cats with high blood pressure, weight loss (in spite of a voracious appetite) and hyperactivity may be the major clinical signs. In many patients, no specific clinical signs of hypertension will be seen until the condition advances to the point where there is spontaneous bleeding into the eye or retinal detachment - these cats are often taken to a veterinary surgeon as they develop sudden onset blindness. Early recognition of hypertension is therefore important in order to minimise the severe and often permanently damaging effects of persistently high blood pressure on the eyes and other organs. Some cats with hypertension do appear depressed, lethargic and withdrawn, and many owners notice an improvement in their cats' behaviour once hypertension has been successfully managed even if signs of damage to other organs are not present.

For rest of article and credits please click link: http://www.fabcats.org/owners/hypertension/info.html

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Posted in Feline hypertension , high blood pressure

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Destructive Scratching

Why Do Cats Scratch?

Although some people think a cat's scratching behavior is a reflection of his distaste for a couch's upholstery, a not-so-subtle hint to open the drapes, or a poorly conceived Zorro impersonation, the fact is that cats scratch objects in their environment for many perfectly normal reasons. For instance, cats scratch:
To remove the dead outer layer of their claws.
To mark their territory by leaving both a visual mark and a scent�they have scent glands on their paws.
To stretch their bodies and flex their feet and claws.
To work off energy.

Because scratching is a normal behavior, and one that cats are highly motivated to display, it's unrealistic to try to prevent them from scratching. Instead, the goal in resolving scratching problems is to redirect the scratching onto acceptable objects.

Training Your Cat to Scratch Acceptable Objects

You must provide objects for scratching that are appealing, attractive, and convenient from your cat's point of view. Start by observing the physical features of the objects your cat is scratching. The answers to the following questions will help you understand your cat's scratching preferences:
Where are they located?

Prominent objects, objects close to sleeping areas, and objects near the entrance to a room are often chosen.
What texture do they have�are they soft or coarse?
What shape do they have�are they horizontal or vertical?
How tall are they? At what height does your cat scratch?

Now, considering your cat's demonstrated preferences, substitute similar objects for her to scratch (rope-wrapped posts, corrugated cardboard, or even a log). Place the acceptable object(s) near the inappropriate object(s) that she's already using. Make sure the objects are stable and won't fall over or move around when she uses them.
Cover the inappropriate objects with something your cat will find unappealing, such as double-sided sticky tape, aluminum foil, sheets of sandpaper, or a plastic carpet runner with the pointy side up. Or you may give the objects an aversive odor by attaching cotton balls containing perfume, a muscle rub, or other safe yet unpleasant substance.

Be careful with odors, though, because you don't want the nearby acceptable objects to also smell unpleasant.
When your cat is consistently using the appropriate object, it can be moved very gradually (no more than three inches each day) to a location more suitable to you. It's best, however, to keep the appropriate scratching objects as close to your cat's preferred scratching locations as possible.
Don't remove the unappealing coverings or odors from the inappropriate objects until your cat is consistently using the appropriate objects in their permanent locations for several weeks, or even a month. They should then be removed gradually, not all at once.

For complete article please click link:http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/our_pets_for_life_program/cat_behavior_tip_sheets/destructive_scratching/

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Posted in cat declaw , scratching , training cat not to scratch furniture

TNR: Trap Neuter Return

Alley Cat Allies (ACA)

National information clearing house and advocacy organization working to establish effective nonlethal programs, including Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR), as the standard method of reducing feral cat populations. ACA functions through print, video, and web based information; workshops and conferences; and by consulting with individuals, groups, agencies, and institutions that work directly with feral cats. ACA is a 501(c)3 nonprofit association based in Bethesda, MD, and is supported by 95,000 donors and activists.

A nonlethal sterilization method to reduce the number of feral cats in the environment both immediately and for the long term. A comprehensive, ongoing program in which stray and feral cats already living outdoors in cities, towns, and rural areas are humanely trapped, then evaluated, vaccinated, and sterilized by veterinarians. Kittens and tame (stray) cats are adopted into good homes. Healthy adult cats too wild (feral) to be adopted are returned to their familiar habitat under the lifelong care of volunteers. Cats that are ill or injured beyond recovery are not returned to the environment.

TNR was brought to the United States from Europe and the United Kingdom in the late �80s. The practice of TNR grew rapidly in the �90s when Alley Cat Allies began providing information and assistance to people caring for feral cats who recognized that their numbers must be controlled and reduced through sterilization. In communities where TNR is widely embraced, feral cat numbers have dropped.

TNR programs operate largely or entirely through the dedicated efforts of committed volunteers. TNR works because it breaks the cycle of reproduction. In general, the cost of sterilizing and returning a feral cat is less than half the cost of trapping, holding, killing, and disposing of a feral cat. TNR protects public health and advances the goal of reducing the numbers of feral cats in the environment. The public supports humane, nonlethal TNR as the long-term solution to feral cat overpopulation.

Please go to this link for full information: http://www.alleycat.org/glossary.html

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Posted in Ferals , TNR , wild