Feline Bowel Disease

Pet owners find feline bowel disease, also referred to as inflammatory bowel disease, difficult to manage, as the cat's symptoms are often severe. Treatment exists that aids the cat to some degree, but it treats only the symptoms.

  1. Function

    • Feline bowel disease begins when inflammatory cells penetrate the mucosal lining of the bowel, according to Dr. Douglas C. Bronstad, a veterinarian. The inflammatory cells affect the motility, secretions and absorptive ability of the bowel, which creates conditions where the cat is likely to feel sick and present the disease's symptoms.

    Symptoms

    • The most common symptoms cats present are diarrhea and vomiting, according to Pet Education. Defecation sometimes increases, but the stool present declines each time. In some cases, the stool contains blood and mucus and becomes loose. In more severe cases, the cat becomes depressed and eats less, which leads to weight loss. Some cats develop a fever as the disease progresses.

    Causes

    • No one knows the exact cause of the disease, only how it functions, according to Pet Education. Speculations exists that genetics, abnormalities of the immune system, infectious agents and nutrition play a role in the cat becoming developing the disease. Some veterinarians think feline bowel disease may not even really a disease, but the body's response to certain conditions present in the cat's body that could have various causes.

    Treatment

    • Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine states that treatment usually involves dietary management and medical therapy. Food changes can remove antigens that cause gastrointestinal inflammation Some veterinarians provide a recipe for a homemade diet if the cat does not like commercial foods. Most often, the diet contains a source of protein the cat does not usually eat. Fiber also makes up an important part of the diet. It takes weeks until the cat adjusts to the diet, and the owner can't give items like table scraps to the cat during this time. Veterinarians often use corticosteroids and various antibiotics to treat the disease as well.

    Prognosis

    • Pet Education warns that feline bowel disease does not yet have a cure. The only options owners have is to effectively control the disease. Throughout the cat's life, symptoms ofter recur for unspecified periods of time, especially if the owner does not follow the treatment regiment completely. As long as the cat stays on the diet and takes its medications, the risk of relapse lessens.