Feline inflammatory bowel disease causes chronic gastrointestinal discomfort and nutritional compromise requiring accurate diagnosis, appropriate treatment, and ongoing monitoring to maintain acceptable quality of life.
Feline IBD causes chronic welfare compromise through persistent gastrointestinal discomfort, nausea, and nutritional deficiency. Cats with uncontrolled IBD experience recurring vomiting that is unpleasant and distressing, progressive weight loss that causes weakness and reduced activity, and the pervasive malaise associated with chronic systemic inflammation. Well-managed IBD allows cats to maintain good quality of life for years, but management requires commitment to diagnostic investigation, dietary change, and medication. The diagnostic workup for IBD — requiring biopsy to distinguish from lymphoma — is invasive but essential; treating alimentary lymphoma with IBD protocols or vice versa results in inadequate treatment and prolonged welfare compromise. Cobalamin deficiency, detectable through blood testing and correctable with B12 injections, often provides dramatic clinical improvement when treated. Monitoring response to treatment through weight tracking, clinical assessment, and owner-reported quality of life indicators guides protocol adjustment. Cats with IBD that is truly refractory to appropriate treatment may have unrecognised alimentary lymphoma; re-biopsy should be considered.