Irritable Bowel Syndrome Treatment

Question by Playmate23: VETS: Lump on cats back?
My cat has IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) She was born with it. I’ve been taking her to the vet for a bout 8 months to get steroid shots about every other month. The last time I went (3 weeks ago) a lump formed where the injection site is. I called the vet, took her in, she said she was fine. Well all of a sudden a couple days ago she started having all of the symptoms as if she never even got the shot at all, so I was thinking maybe she is getting immune to the steroid shots. I took her to the vet again today and he said that the lump is probably from the injection site and that she is probably getting immune to the shot. He said that the lump could become cancerous! I was like what ?! He said I’d probably have to get her surgery to have it removed, and I said, so you’ll pay for it then right? He then changed his story and said no, that the lump probably wasn’t from the injection that it could be a spider or bug bite… She’s never swelled up from an injection before. So he gave her a medicine to take by mouth for a couple of days to see if she’ll stop being sick. I was being nice to him, I didn’t get upset, I was just asking, and now he is refusing to give her injections ever again! Is that right?

Can cats become immune to sterroid shots?
Could the steroid medicine be balled up in the knot on her back, and never even spread through her system?
Should I have to pay for the surgury to get the lump removed?
Can he refuse to give her injections that will help her?
Is there anything else I can do to help my cat?

Best answer:

Answer by bloomorningglory
Anytime you inject a substance like that you can have a reaction like that. It could be a local reaction where the skin and tissues in that area are just really peeved and will recover over time, but it could be something more serious. Since the relationship between you and the vet is somewhat stressed at this point, I would highly recommend a second opinion outside the clinic in regards to what to do about the lump. It may be safe to watch it for now, it be something that should be looked into further with perhaps a fine needle aspirate (done in the office while you wait) or perhaps it should be removed and biopsied if it is truly something that could turn cancerous.

If you’re going to use ongoing steroids, you may want to consider using oral medication instead of injections. Also if you haven’t, there may be other things to try that could lessen the need for steroids or draw out the time between injections. Things like probiotics – found in yogurt or in supplements available at the pet store, or trying a limited ingredient grain free diet can be helpful. Sometimes just adding fiber – like canned pumpkin or some a couple of sprinkles of Metamucil, can help things out.

Also it is good to note that anytime you get medication or injections for your pets, you should ask about the side effects, or do your own research prior to administering. Your vet should volunteer the information, but sometimes they forget or brush over them or assume you already know. Because there is always risk of side effect with any medication or injection, you can’t really expect your vet to cover the cost of any consequences. It’s something you should carefully consider when using new drugs. It’s like in humans, when you take a new medication and have a bad reaction, you don’t get a free ride, unfortunately. Please do some research on your own about steroids. Used long term they are believed to increase the risk of liver damage and things like that. They can just be hard on a cat’s body, so they are usually used as a last resort. Good luck!

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Question by Gina: What Are The Best Probiotics For Cats?
Lactobacillus Acidophilus seems to be the one I see recommended most often.
Which other ones are best for cats?
My cat just finished a long run of multiple antibiotics.
My veterinarian gave me a product called FortiFlora made by Purina.

First of all, I’m pretty disturbed that my vet would push a product manufactured by a heartless company that has a strong track record of selling very unhealthy pet products.

But, while I’m still tying to figure out why my vet is pushing Purina products, I glance at the product ingredients and find Animal Digest listed as the primary ingredient and below that I find that the product contains only one probiotic organism – Enterococcus Faecium – a bacteria which I had never heard of, and which seems to be fairly well known for its ability to occasionally cause problems.
Yet my vet stressed that I must give this supplement to my cat?
I should probably add that my cat has a bleeding stomach ulcer, in case that has bearing on which types of probiotics I should choose.

Best answer:

Answer by Lo dit
“Lactobacillus acidophilus and other Lactobacillus species, and certain strains of Bacillus, Enterococcus, Bifidobacteria, and Streptococcus”- http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=library&act=show&item=probioticsadietarypowerhouseforyourcat

You can try Bene Bac. http://www.jbpet.com/bene-bac-powder,659.html

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Question by Just Me: IBS diet in cats……?
What is a good food to feed a cat with Irritable bowel syndrome? My vet recommended Science Diet but I’m not very fond of that brand. Is there a high quality brand that is good for this?

Thanks.

Best answer:

Answer by old cat lady
On raw feeding groups and the Feline Instincts site there are many reports that switching to a raw diet absolutely eliminates the problem entirely. You might want to look into it.

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