Feline triaditis is actually three conditions occurring simultaneously: pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas), cholongiohepatitis (inflammation of the liver), and inflammatory bowel disease or IBD (inflammation of the intestines).
There may be no known “cure” for triaditis, though I would argue that proper nutrition is the absolute BEST method of treatment and prevention. By proper nutrition, I mean a raw diet or a canned diet – and most definitely no dry food/kibble of any kind.
Diagnosis of triaditis is difficult. The only definitive way to diagnose is a biopsy, so exploratory surgery is involved. Blood tests, such as the GI function panel (cobalamine, folate, TLI, PLI), specific feline pancreatic lipase test, and bile acid test, can be helpful. However, while positive results from these tests can confirm diagnosis, negative results do not rule out diagnosis. If inflammation is severe, it may be visible upon x-ray or ultrasound, but not always especially in the pancreas as it’s such a small organ.
Treatment of triaditis generally focuses on managing symptoms, meaning pain management, anti-inflammatories, antacids, possibly sub-cutaneous fluids, etc. Note many veterinarians feel it’s too risky to give cats non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like Metacam/meloxicam or aspirin at the same time as giving steroids (like prednisolone) and in fact recommend a week between giving NSAIDs and steroids.
Latifah
I am reasonably convinced I lost Latifah to triaditis. I talked to some feline experts about her case, and I know Latifah had pancreatiatis and IBD – a GI function test showed highly elevated PLI and TLI levels, and low cobalamine levels. About a week before Latifah died, I found her in the kitchen in a large pool of yellow liquid she presumably threw up. (Yellow bile generally indicates a liver problem.) The day she died, she started out looking tired (which generally indicated a visit to the vet was pending) then before I could get her to the vet she began suffering seizures. A seizure at the vet’s ended her life.
I’m convinced the metacam and cyclosporine (an immune modulator similar to steroids) Latifah was on for stomatitis were reducing the inflammation of her organs and prolonged her life. I did a lot of research after she died trying to understand what happened – and some wonderful vets and caregivers gave me a ton of information, and I’m convinced.
Rumpelmintz
Now Rumpelmintz is sick. She’s lost two pounds over the past year. I’ve done everything I can think of. I got her a full “senior moments” work-up with bloodwork and urinalysis and x-rays and EKG and blood pressure. We started her on metacam in case of arthritis. I took her to an imaging specialist for a thyroid scan and an abdominal ultrasound. I asked the vet to check her eye pressure and took her to an eye specialist.
So my next best guess was triaditis – or at least some components thereof (IBD, pancreatitis, and/or cholongiohepatitis). Rumpelmintz is on the antacid famotadine (Pepcid) and the anti-inflammatory Metacam (for pain) now. We could try oral prednisolone (steroid). To try prednisolone, we’ll stop the Metacam. If it’s triaditis, the prednisolone could help, but stopping the metacam could make things worse. Her white blood cell count (WBC) is normal per her bloodwork, so we won’t try antibiotics first. (Liver inflammation can cause infection, in which case antibiotics should be used before starting steroids.) Without a culture & sensitivity there’s no way to know if there are bacteria or what kind they are or what antiobiotics to use. I’m not willing to put Rumpelmintz through a biopsy/exploratory surgery to confirm diagnosis or collect a sample for a culture & sensitivity. Honestly, she may not survive the anesthesia – and since whether the diagnosis is triaditis (or components thereof) or intestinal lymphoma or something else, the treatment would be likely the same (steroids), I see no point to putting her through it.
We know Rumpelmintz has IBD. I had a GI function panel done in 2005 that showed low folate levels and borderline cobalamine levels. We can also see her intestines are inflamed on x-ray. My vet thought the x-ray might have shown some liver enlargement/inflammation, it’s very hard to tell.
At this point, we’re starting a week off Metacam and we’ll start prednisolone October 1 and see what happens. We have nothing much to lose at this point. We’ll give it a month or so. I’ll weigh her in mid-October and let the vet know what’s going on.
I know we can’t “fix” Rumpelmintz but if we can improve her quality of life, I want to do that. If we can’t, then we need to let her go. I will not tolerate a miserable cat. There’s no point to living in misery, in my opinion.
Life of the Lintee Bean 
Agree so much with that last paragraph; quality of life is everything. Do hope you can get Rumpelmintz’s meds balanced so she can continue to enjoy hating the other cats a while longer (been reading her biog – she sounds like quite a character). Hope you don’t mind, I’m going to pass this info on to a friend who’s old girl has a history of IBD and pancreatitis. I think she’ll find it useful. Ax
Annette,
Thank you so much and of COURSE I don’t mind! Biggest reason I blog it all down is in the hopes my experiences benefit others. 🙂
Lynette
If she has low cobalmine, check out TAMU’s info on giving B12 shots. I’ve heard of a lot of cats (even with just borderline cobalmine numbers) that improve with regular B12.
Absolutely. I have several posts on that subject, including:
https://meowmeowmom.wordpress.com/2008/08/29/be-true-to-b12/
https://meowmeowmom.wordpress.com/2008/09/02/puke-and-poop/
Hi Lynette, I’m so glad that I found your blog through the FelineIBD yahoo list. My 12 yo kitty, GXIR (pronounced jixer) has been sick for two years now, with vomiting and weight loss (two pounds). She has been diagnosed with triaditis via blood tests and an ultrasound. She’s been on prednisolone for six months and her vomiting has been greatly reduced in the past month or so. Now she only vomits (yellow or dark brown bile) once every couple of weeks. Her recent ultrasound in November showed that the triaditis has not progressed since previous ultrasound in March, but has not improved either. There is “sludge” in her gallbladder as well. A couple weeks ago I changed her food from Purina Sensitive Systems to Taste of the Wild kibble (she refused the k/d prescribed by the vet). I would love to get her on canned, but even a bite of canned food (Wellness, k/d, Tops chicken hearts, or Evo chicken and turkey) causes her to vomit it up 12 to 15 hours later. We had a $165 cobalamin test done (not the TAMU one) which show her levels slightly higher than normal levels, so the vet didnt’ think B12 injections would be useful. He also didnt’ think digestive enzymes would be helpful since her poop is well formed and looks normal.
We just lost GXIR’s littermate brother, Kokanee, who also had IBD, unexpectedly to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy six weeks ago Halloween night. I’m just crushed that he was misdiagnosed with asthma/allergies in June as his heart appeared normal on an x-ray and sounded normal. He sounded so much like your sweet Ralphie, as Kokanee thought all guests were here to see him and he kept them well entertained and had a loud snorty purr. He loved everyone and just thrived on love. I’m housebound with a severe chronic illness and miss him desperately. (Interestingly, GXIR looks a lot like Ralphie!)
I feel so guilty about all this because it began two years ago when we introduced a new cat, Sierra, who was aggressive towards them at first, although she never actually touched them, just chased, until we could catch up with her, or one of them turned and hissed. They weren’t scared of her, just on their guard and went off their food, which started the vomiting. The ASPCA encouraged us to keep her and work with her, which we did and they now get along fine, but the damage was done on GXIR and Kokanee’s systems. If I’d had any idea of course, Sierra would have gone back to her original owner (my aunt.) I know hindsight is 20/20, but if I lose GXIR from triaditis, I’ll never forgive myself or get over it. She’s my baby.
Sorry to write so much at once but I’m in a state of anxiety over my baby girl. I would so appreciate any advice you have for me. You’ve certainly been through a lot with your cats!
Jessica,
Your first priority should be to get GXIR off all dry food – I cannot emphasize this enough! Try mixing additional fiber into the wet food at first, to transition – you can use psylium (such as unflavored Metamucil) or guar gum (like unflavored Benefiber). Wellness may be too high in fat content for GXIR to tolerate. Try a lower-fat canned food, or better yet – a raw diet.
Check out my other posts on IBD:
https://meowmeowmom.wordpress.com/tag/ibd/
In particular:
https://meowmeowmom.wordpress.com/2008/09/02/puke-and-poop/
It took TIME for some of my cats (like Rumpelmintz) to adjust to wet food and stop vomiting – but she rarely vomits at all now – in fact, the last time it was when I fed her Wellness canned. She doesn’t tolerate that brand well.
Best of luck!
Lynette
Yea I am convinced Wellness isn’t all that great of a cat food. Mine reacts poorly to it too. Wish I had realized it years ago.
I have no problem with feeding Wellness, as long as it’s the canned,,,, I NEVER feed dry food. I also feed poultry or rabbit only-no fish, beef, etc as they exacerbate my cat’s IBS
Hi there,
My little black female cat has been recently diagnosed with triaditis, and at the same time they found an abdominal mass which turned out to be a hard, large and non functioning kidney which they removed. If at that time I had all the info on triaditis I would have let her go then. As it is she is at home, still on antibiotics. She seems a little better but is sick sometimes.
I think I ought to make to make the decision and have her put to sleep. She is not 100% and I don’t know if she will be again. The longer I leave it the worse it is for making decisions.
I have another cat as well, her brother. I am worried that he may develop it. Is is contagious or infectious in any way?
I would be grateful for your reply…many thanks, Fiona
Triaditis is not infectious or contagious in any way. In my opinion, the best prevention is a good WET diet – no dry food. See my other posts on IBD (one of the components of triaditis). For example:
https://meowmeowmom.wordpress.com/2008/09/02/puke-and-poop/
https://meowmeowmom.wordpress.com/2008/08/25/a-cure-for-what-ails-your-cat/
Hi Lynette,
I just found your website — it’s wonderful! I have some information that I believe can help anyone with a cat suffering from triaditis, or other similar complaints. I don’t have time for a long post right now, but this infomation is a gold mine for cat owners (and dog owners as well). I will try to get back to your site very soon to post something about it.
[…] vet. I wasn’t upset, just a little nervous. I thought maybe she was having an attack of pancreatitis or triaditis. The vet agreed, and gave her some cerenia (an anti-nausea medication) and sent us home with […]
Dear Lynette,
I just found your wonderful site while searching for feline triaditis. Thank you for your detailed information! I would love to know how Rumpelmintz is doing. Did you ever get a confirmation it is triaditis?
Thanks for your feeding tips, I will need those for our cat who was diagnosed with triaditis last week.
I admire you for the great work you are doing. Thank you for encouraging us!
Best to you and your cats from across the ocean, Martina
Thank you so much, Martina!
Rumpelmintz is doing pretty well. She just had a birthday April 19 – 16 years old. We didn’t confirm definitely that it is triaditis, but she is managing well on a low dose of prednisolone (steroid) and an all-wet diet. She’s showing signs of early renal insufficiency (CRF) so we recently started sub-q fluids.
Best of luck!
Lynette
Thank you for your quick reply! Its so good to hear that she is doing fairly well, and this is really a great birthday. I hope you can control the renal condition and wish you and Rumpelmintz the best!
Hopefully soon, we will get our beloved cat from the hospital and I will definitely keep in mind your suggestion of an all-wet diet. I hope he will accept the change to diet food at all…
I will sure come back to this great site. Thinking of you and all your lovely cats, Martina
My cat, Ezra, was recently diagnosed with Triaditis. This is new to me. I took her to the ER on Aug 5, 2011 (my birthday). She is still nowhere near normal. She is still not eating well; VERY small amts on her own. I have been feeding her with a syringe since her return from the hospital. I am very concerned for her. She is not herself at all! Very lethargic, not playful, hiding and sleeping all day long. I have to literally pull her out from under my bed to feed her. She does purr and tries to jump on the table once I get her out (however, she is too weak to even jump), she does want to “love” on me a little more this past week (climbs onto my lap when I sit in the floor & “head-butts” me until I pet her). She will be 7 years old this Oct.; still young in my opinion. Of course I would be heartbroken to have to “set her free” but I also do not want her to live a life of misery~ being this sick & being “force fed” for the remainder of her life.
She is extremely picky~ refuses to eat the RX food (AD) the Dr recommended & refuses to eat any food that has Vita-Cal in it. She really only licks the gravy off the top of the ONE food she even shows interest in. Any advice? Suggestions? Anything????
Thank you.
First of all, I’d ditch the A/D. It’s not high-quality food and is not any higher in calories than any other canned food. Give her anything she’ll eat. She MUST eat or she’ll quickly develop hepatic lipidosis from insufficient protein.
Feed a high-protein (high meat content) canned food – or all-meat baby food will work short-term (long term it needs to be supplemented as it lacks minerals like calcium and sufficient taurine)
Assisted feeding is not a great option, in my opinion, long term. It’s too difficult (if not impossible) to get enough protein into them to avoid fatty liver (hepatic lipidosis)
You may want to consider a feeding tube – Dr Lisa pierson has an excellent web page on the subject:
http://catinfo.org/?link=feedingtubes
Best of luck
Hi there, my little one Noelle was just diagnosed with Triaditis and I have been very scared for her well being. She must have had this underlying for quite some time, (she is about 8 now) but it really didn’t hit her hard until recently when I noticed loud gurgling in her tummy and brought her to the vet. This happened once before and they basically gave her fluid treatment and a pepcid and she was all good. This time for whatever reason I demanded they check her blood and boy am I glad they did. Her liver enzymes were obscenely high and I had to bring her in for an ultrasound which uncovered that she had inflammation of the pancreas, liver and small intestines, as well as an obstruction in her common bile duct. They gave me some meds and a few days later she started turning yellow. At that point the doctor recommended they operate since the disease was rapidly progressing. Long story short they got in there and had to reroute her gall bladder. She bounced back extremely well I am happy to say but the underlying Triaditis still needs to be managed. She was always a big lover of dry food which I thought was ok becuase I was feeding her a “natural” brand. After doing some research and having a very smart girlfriend I was luckily able to cut dry food from both my cats diets and switch them over to a natural wet limited ingredient canned food which they are both finally getting used to. Noelle actually really likes it and eats like a champ! Following the surgery the doctor didn’t want to medicate and see how she did after the biliary obstruction was fixed. She was doing well for a week or two with one vomiting episode (which still upset me) but no other major setbacks until about two days ago when she became lethargic and was acting the same way she was when the problem was first noticed. I brought her back to the vet where they gave her fluids again and kept her overnight and the next day they did another ultrasound that showed she had a flare up from the disease and we were going to have to keep it under control with medicine. Now she is taking 5mg of prednisolone once daily and although I am scared to death of having her on a steroid she is doing very well since coming home. I’ve also started adding some filtered water to my cats already wet food to make it more appealing and they seem to love it and I’m sure the extra water is good for them. Noelle is acting like her old self since the surgery and besides the one flare up I have my old happy kitten back! I’ve been trying to do some research on this disease but there is only so much info out there and I am so afraid that this is something that is going to be fatal, but a lot of the things I’m reading are saying that well managed triaditis patients can still live a long healthy life. I’m sorry if my thoughts are jumping around on this post I am kinda typing as I think so I may be rambling on here, but any feedback that anyone here can give me would be much appreciated and hopefully will ease my brain a bit. Hopefully I’m not too late to the party here and somebody sees this. Thanks for reading! Also, if anyone knows of a holistic way to help treat this condition please let me know. Again, I am not a big fan of the steroids based on the potential side effects I’ve heard about but I have to do whatever is best for my baby.
Hi Jim,
Congratulations on getting your cats off dry food! their health will benefit immensely from being on an all-wet diet.
Steroids scare me too, but sometimes in severe cases they are a necessary evil. Personally, I think we can avoid them in many cases with a simple diet change – but sometimes it’s not enough, especially in cases where they’ve already been consuming dry food for years. The good news is that, on an all-wet diet, the side effects of steroids can be minimized – for example, the risk of developing diabetes is lessened.
Sam-E and other natural supplements may be beneficial as well.
Best of luck,
Lynette
Why no dry food?
Sorry, I didn’t know that would post….I am glad I found your site and have been hanging in there with my best buddy since mid December with what may be triaditis. He’s had 4 blood panels, 2 ultra sounds, several needle asperations and the diagnosis has been less than certain. The Mook is on Steroids, antibiotics, samE, Ursodial, Vitamin B-12 but after some initial progress over the first 2 weeks, has become worse. He now has a feeding tube. In any case, I have read through many posts and responses and have seen the ‘no dry food’ but I must have missed the rationale. Thanks.
Click to access Tips%20for%20Transitioning%20PDF%201-14-11.pdf
thanks…found some info on it.
CatInfo.org (Dr Lisa’s site) is a great source of information! Here’s my most popular post on the subject of dry food:
https://meowmeowmom.wordpress.com/2008/01/11/six-reasons-not-to-feed-dry-cat-food/
Best of luck!
Lynette
Hi Lynette. I just figured I’d follow up and give you an update on Noelle. It’s been a stressful couple of months. When I last left you, Noelle was doing well on half a pill of prednisolone daily. Since then, her dosage has been cut to a quarter of a pill daily and I’ve been going with that for almost three weeks now. She was doing well from what i can tell until yesterday early in the a.m. she seemed a bit inactive and she threw up a small amount of yellow bile. She was still eating normally but I called the doctor and he told me to monitor her and keep him updated. Then this morning she seemed really uncomfortable and ended up throwing up again. This time it was watery food and she seemed like she was really unhappy afterwards. She wouldn’t eat. Yesterday I picked up some denamarin to start giving her which is the result of me doing some research and finding that milk thistle and SAMe could really be beneficial for her disease. I couldn’t get her to eat anything after her vomiting episode this morning but eventually she came around a bit and ate the pill pocket with the denamarin. She still wasn’t interested in eating so we visited the vet and he gave her a shot of something to help her tummy. I guess flare ups are going to be something I’m going to have to deal with but I can’t stand to see her in pain and I don’t know what damage these flare ups are doing to her insides. When we got home she ate but now, being later in the day she still seems uncomfortable and inactive compared to how she normally is. I am really worried about her even though the doctor did a quick ultrasound and said everything looked normal. Is there anything more I can be doing to help her recover from this? Is there anything that can be done to prevent flare ups in the future? Will the denamarin make a difference? So many questions and anxiety on my end. I don’t want to see her in pain 😦 Thank you for your time. How are your cats doing?
Hi Jim,
Sorry to hear it’s been a tough time for you and Noelle. You could talk to your vet about giving Noelle famotadine (1/4 of a 10 mg tablet of Pepcid – not Pepcid complete, just plain famotadine) and/or giving her sub-cutaneous fluids.
Best of luck,
Lynette
Our Siamese cat, Pretty Girl, who just turned 8 on Jan. 12, 2012 was recently diagnosed with a liver infection and triaditis. I found her in the family room on Sunday, January 16 and she was very lethargic and had spittle around her mouth and a runny nose. We rushed her to the emergency vet who took xrays, gave her fluids and put her on a broad spectrum antibiotic. That next morning we took her to Carolina Veterinary Services where they did an ultrasound which showed that her pancreas, liver and small intestine were enlarged. They admitted her and did a needle biopsy of her liver and pancreas, thankfully they kept her on the antibiotics which saved her life. She was in the hospital until that Thursday and then released for home care. We have been treating her with 5 mg of prednisone twice a day, two antibiotics and denamarin plus a pill that we give her every other day which had been used to treat liver cancer in cats, and although not successful in treating cancer, it has been shown as beneficial for liver function (she has been on the antibiotics since January 16 and the prednisone and denamarin since Jan. 23 and the other pill since Feb. 9). She was yellow and quite jaundiced, her bilirubin was dangeroulsy high and the vet said she was showing signs of liver failure. She went in for a blood re-check yesterday and her billirumin has gone from 6 to 3 – which was great news, however some of her other liver levels are dangerously high. She is a tiny cat (weighs between 6-7 pounds and is now down to 5 punds 2 o.z) and the vet said she has lost some weight since last time she was in (2/1) and he is now worried that she’s not absorbing the food. The vet wants to do a surgical biopsy which he said may be inconclusive and we have said no to this – we want to treat with meds – either it is triaditis which we are treating for or it is cancer in which case we would not treat, plus we don’t want to put her through the pain of surgery and recovery. Pretty Girl is eating and drinking well, she is active and as strong-willed as ever, she is even playing with her toys and enjoys having us chase her all around the house, she has only vomited twice since we have had her home and that was a result of the overly rich canned food we were giving her (the vet told us to give her whatever she would eat at that time). She is now on Blue Buffalo dry food. We are extremely worried and frustrated b/c our cat looks great on the outside and is not in any pain (in fact she looks a little better each day) but is so sick inside. The vet said we have three options: continue treating as we are, amp up treatment for the triaditis or amp up the antibiotic. Amping up will mean an increase in side effects and his fear is that if she does really well he will not know which meds to take her off of and whcih ones to keep her on. We are spending every spare minute we have with her as we are not sure how much longer we will have her. We are sick with anxiety over our cat. We would appreciate any advice and/or support you can give. Lynn
Hi Lynn,
I’m sorry your Pretty Girl is ill. I personally agree with your choice not to put her through a biopsy. If a diagnostic test would not affect treatment, there’s little to be gained from it. Any choices you do make will be the “correct” ones as they’re made out of love for your cat.
If you’ve read my posts on feline nutrition, you know I do not advocate the feeding of any dry cat food. Lynette
I would definitely take her off the dry food and add some fresh filtered water to a high quality canned food. (something grain free). My Noelle has been doing well on half a pill of prednisolone at night and denamarin in the morning. I have to bring her in within the next week or so for a check up so I hope her weight is holding. She eats well but she’s always been a skinny girl so it’s hard to tell if she’s lost weight. Trust me, I know the anxiety you are going through and I know it’s easier said than done but stay strong for her and keep a close eye on her behavior. The second I see Noelle not acting herself I am on the phone with the specialist that has been working with her. If she is not in pain, then you have the disease under control, and that is the key. My thoughts are with you and I hope Pretty Girl is well. Please keep us posted as I would like some feedback that I may be able to apply to Noelle.
I am so glad your Noelle is doing better – it helps me to hold out hope for Pretty Girl. What kind of cat is Noelle? Pretty Girl also has always been very petite. Thank you for your positive thoughts for Pretty Girl, it has been such a stuggle for us. Like you, our Pretty Girl is our baby and we would do anything to get her better. Our vet has told us not to give her any canned food – what kind of canned food does your Noelle eat? My husband is set to have a conference with the vet again tomorrow and we have a list of 10 questions to ask of him and a conversation pertaining to wet food is on that list and I would like to have a brand to suggest to him. Would you recommend giving only filtered water to my cat as well? We give all of our pets tap water and always have. She is a good little drinker – she drinks from several bowls of fresh water throughout the day. Lynn
I’m surprised the vet said no canned food. Dry food is no bueno. I was feeding her Dick Van Pattens Natural Banlance Limited Ingredients canned food. Noelle responded well to the venison and duck flavors. I think some of her symptoms were being set off by chicken and other proteins that most cat foods contain. I read that venison, duck and rabbit are all easy to digest and are great for cats with IBD. Unfortunately Noelle is a picky eater so she got tired of that food AND there was a shortage of the venison flavor. I was forced to find an alternative. I found a brand called Natures Variety at Petco. They have a line of food called “instincts” and it’s all natural ingredients and no grain. Grains are the WORST thing you could possibly feed her right now. The flavors I’ve been feeding my cats are the 95% venison, 95% Duck and 95% Rabbit. I also mix a good amount of water with it so they stay well hydrated which is also important for triaditis kitties. They pee a lot more but that is expected I guess 🙂
The vet has said he is worried the canned food is too rich and will cause a further flare up in the triaditis. The vet knows she is on Blue Buffalo and has not told us to take her off of it. We will definitely address this with the vet tomorrow. There is just so much to research and learn and different ways to approach and treat triaditis it is all confusing and very overwhelming. Please keep me updated regarding the treatment of your cat and I will do the same with Pretty Girl. Good luck and I am glad she is doing so well!
noelle is a domestic short hair and as far as the water goes, I would do filtered water instead of straight tap. Who knows what kind of crap is in tap water. I have one of those refrigerators with the built in water dispenser with a Brita filter attached. Even one of those deals you put on the tap itself would be find IMO. I’ll try and post a pic of Noellie when I get a chance 🙂
Thank you Lynette. My husband has a conference with the vet tomorrow and one of the items is dry food vs. wet food. The vet has told us not to give her any canned food at this point. Is there a brand that you would recommend so we can suggest it tomorrow? Yes, the last thing we want to do is make her suffer. Lynn
Lynn,
I have a number of posts on feline nutrition and why it is important not to feed any cat, and especially a cat with health issues, dry cat food. Start with these:
https://meowmeowmom.wordpress.com/2008/01/11/six-reasons-not-to-feed-dry-cat-food/
https://meowmeowmom.wordpress.com/2008/12/10/canned-cat-food-which-one/
There’s a list of the feline nutrition/health posts here:
https://meowmeowmom.wordpress.com/about-feline-health-and-nutrition/
Best of luck,
Lynette
My 6 yr old Siamese has been diagnosed today with Triaditis….:(
Jasmine has been vomiting frothy fluid, was lethargic and not eaten or drunk any fluid on her own for 3 days….I had been syringing water into her every hour thinking she had a small virus but when she didn’t improve by today I had her admitted to the Vetinary hospital attached to our vets surgery…. They immediately put her on a drip…then took bloods….the results showed low white cell count….higher than normal glucose levels ( although the vet said this can be raised when a cat gets stressed) her pancreatitis test was negative but she has the inflamed bowel etc….associated with Triaditis…..
She is being monitored and we will know more tomorrow when hopefully the drip will have rehydrated her.
Jasmin is still refusing any food including her favourite fish etc….will not drink on her own and hasn’t peed or pooed since Friday….she has lost weight recently and is 3.4 kgs as apose to her twin brother Percy who weighs 6.5 kgs ( Jasmine has always been tiny)
I need to ask…is this a disease that will ‘ flare up ‘ from time to time or is it permanent now?
The Vetinary nurse will stay with her tonight and will update us in the morning….
In my experience, it’s a disease that flares up from time to time… and the best prevention for these flare ups is good nutrition – no dry food, only high-quality canned or homemade raw. You can learn more about my thoughts on nutrition by reading my other posts. They are all categorized under “About Feline Health“.
Best of luck,
Lynette
My beloved Henry has been sick for about 6 months and has been to the vet multiple times. He got much worse Thurs and has spent the weekend and now has been diagnosed with triaditis. We are trying everything he is like in kittie intensive care right now. We love him so much. I am glad to get information about this disease it helps alot.
Thanks,
Rebecca
My sweet little girl Chloe, a 13 year old Siamese developed triaditis last year. She started off vomiting continually, this stopped but then had permanent diarrhoea. We were back and forth to the vet and eventually were referred to a specialist facility. Sadly, our own vet messed around for too long and although the specialists did all they could to get this awful disease under control, sadly it was too late. She just couldn’t absorb any nutrients and despite eating voraciously, it came out the other end virtually unchanged. She became very thin and for the last two weeks developed unsteadiness in her back legs due to nutritional deficiency. The one blessing was that I don’t think she actually felt unwell until the very end. As soon as it was apparent that she was no longer enjoying life I took the heartbreaking decision and she was put to sleep on 29th November 2012. I just wish so much that we had got the specialist referral when it first started and then maybe we could have got on top of it.
Thank you Lynette for sharing all this info. I wish that I had know to do this research a few months ago but as Jessica said in an earlier post, hindsight is 20/20. after researching an finding this among other posts, I am now left wondering if this is what my beloved Wally suffered from. We put him down 1 month ago today. He had many of these symptoms, liver failure, jaundice, high bilirubin, wight loss, little – no appetite, swollen stomach. His vet said that his blood work was pointing to cancer in a few different areas. She wanted us to go for an ultrasound but my parents decided against it assumuming that it would lead to a biopsy or exploravtive surgury. I should add that he was my parents cat however I lived with them for most of Wally’s life aside from some college time 11 years ago and then I got married and moved out 2 years ago. I fortunately lived 7 min away and could visit a lot. I’m now extremely sad and embarressed to say that mostly only ate dry food for almost 16 years or his whole life. We did this because he was a extremely picky cat and would only eat dry according to my father. Also my father believed that it was the best thing for him; not sure why and I never questioned it. I really wish a vet had mentioned the importance of wet food at some point to me. A week bfore we put him down he completely stopped eating so I began giving him wet food less than a week before he was pts and he ate a little but definately not enough. I feel so awful and guilt stricken right now and I just don’t know what to think. I wish so much that I knew what excatly happend to him. Was it some form of cancer, was it Pancreatis or Triaditis, was it Fiv or Lukemia related. I have so many questions and my vets answers were all extremely vague simply because more tests were needed for a definitive, I suppose. I just wonder if I could have prevented this had I fed him diefferently. My mom told me that she thought he was eating less for a while but didn’t really think too much of it. I am so regrettful and sad.
Hi Vicki,
Please, try not to feel guilty! I know that is much easier said than done. Love is THE MOST IMPORTANT THING we can give our animal companions, and it sounds like Wally got plenty of love. That is a great thing.
I think it’s lovely you are seeking answers to your questions. Should you decide to adopt a cat of your own in the future, or assist others with theirs.
Unfortunately, just like doctors, vets generally receive little nutritional education. What they do get is sponsored by large pet food conglomerates – and often focuses more on “feed animals” (cows, swine, chickens, etc) rather than companion animals. I’ve personally found that vets that know of – and are willing to educate others on – the benefits of a wet food diet for cats are few and far between. In fact (and this angers me to NO END), the AVMA is in the process of adopting a policy that all vets should educate pet owners against a homemade/raw diet. Guess who are the largest sponsors of the AVMA? Yup – pet food conglomerates. While dry food is often “cheaper” than wet food, it is more profitable for the pet food companies due to the decreased costs, particularly of shipping, etc.
Please be gentle to yourself.
Lynette
Thank you for your kind comments and your information. I don’t think I will be able to get over this anytime soon. I keep replaying everything over and over again in my head often changing things in order to possbly get a diffrent outcome. If he actually did have cancer then I feel that it worked out as it should have but it it was something else that could have been treated and could possibly have saved him, then I will never forgive myself. The problem is, I will never know what really happened am am left to wonder, research and guess. People keep saying he was 16 and had a long life and I happy for that but I keep thinking what if he had 1 or 2 or 3 years left with quality of life. I actually feel sick over it. The more time goes by the more and more I miss him. The more time I have to think about what really happened and what couldve been. I tend to be an obsessive person to begin with. This is consuming me though. I know I need to find a way to come to terms with this and let go but I don’t know how. The only things make me feel somewhat ok is that I will handle things more promply and wiith more thought next time and I will have more knowledge and the desire to educate myself about pet food. I too feel disgusted by the pet food industry. I wish the other posters would write in to tell us how their cats made out. How is Rumpelmintz?
Oh Vicki… I understand truly. I do this with all of my cats. Did I make the best choices for them? What if I’d done things differently? I lost two cats to kidney disease before I realized the dry food I was feeding them was killing them. All I can say, to myself, is I did what I could at the time… And I loved them the best I knew how.
Rumpelmintz just celebrated her 18th birthday in April. It’s a balancing act now… She has IBD, heart disease, kidney disease, eye issues, arthritis… Treatments for one thing contraindicated for something else. But, for now, I am enjoying her company and she is loving that she is finally an only cat.
Gentle hugs to you.
Lynette
THANK YOU LYNETTE,
IM STILL STRUGGLING WITH THESE HORRIBLE FEELINGS. I FOUND OUT WEDNESDAY THAT I AM PREGNANT. ONLY A FEW WEEKS. IM NOT TELLING PEOPLE YET. IM EXCITED BUT NOT AS MUCH AS I WOULD LIKE TO BE. IM STILL FEELING VERY DEPRESSED AND HAVE VERY LITTLE APPETITE. MY GENERAL DR HAS ACTUALLY REFERRED ME TO SEE A THERAPIST TO HELP ME DEAL WITH MY OBSESSIVE THOUGHTS AND DEPRESSION. I DONT REALLY KNOW WHERE THE LINE BETWEEN GRIEF AND DEPRESSION LIE. PERHAPS THERE IS NO DIVIDED LINE. MY HUSBAND IS POSSIBLY BUYING A PUPPY BC HE ALWAYS WANTED ONE AND IS HOPING IT WILL CHEER ME UP WITHOUT CAUSING ME TO FEEL TOO DISLOYAL TO MY FELINE BABY BY GETTING A CANINE INSTEAD. ALTHOUGH I AM SO SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS WITH LATIFA, I FIND COMFORT IN LEARNING THAT IM NOT THE ONLY CAT OWNER WHO HAS BEEN GONE THROUGH THESE EXPERIENCES. IT MAKES ME FEEL LESS ALONE AND A LITTLE LESS CRAZY. I CAN HOPEFULLY TAKE SOME COMFORT IN KNOWING THAT ILL BE MORE INFORMED FOR THE FUTURE. IM GOING TO TRY TO FORGIVE MYSELF AND ALLOW MYSELF TO FEEL OK. I DONT KNOW HOW IT WILL WORK OUT BUT I NEED TO BC NOW IM CONCERNED ABOUT MY STRESS LEVELS AFFECT ON MY EARLY PREGNANCY. I DONT KNOW IF I CAN BUT I WILL try. thank for your support.
I know this post is a couple of years old， but I am so glad I found it before it’s too late for my sweetie. My 11-year old Russian blue mix was diagnosed with triaditis a while ago. She was not eating and had some vomiting, but her bloodtests were all normal. Luckily I found a great vet in my 2nd shot who ordered ultrasound right away and diagnosed triaditis, and pretty severe. First flareup episode was really scary and I had to do force feeding and sub-q water before the prednisolone and Metronidazole kicked in. was then put on the Hill’s ID wetfood and doing ok. Then after she got off meds, she had a 2nd flareup, not as bad because I quickly put her back on low-does pred. Now I am feeding her 2.5mg twice a week prednisolone because I am not sure if she can get off it totally. Plus, she does not like the Hill’s ID wetfood and refuses to eat it from time to time. I have been adding some homemade white chicken/rice and/or mix in blue buffalo wetfood to trick her to eat the ID wet.
My questions are –
1. is this low-dose predisolone (2.5mg twice a week) ok to use long term or could I even further reduce it, like only give it once a week?
2. One vet told me I can give her the ID dryfood, since she likes dry better. But I read you post on the bad of the dryfood. so is the dry food that bad, even if it is RX formula? Or I could continue giving her some homemade, some other brand wet, mixed up with the hill’s ID. What would be the best option?
thank you for your input.
I am very anti dry food, ESPECIALLY prescription and ESPECIALLY in medical cases such as these.
If reducing pred, it is much better to give a lower dose with same frequency than the same dose less frequently. So, if you reduce I would NOT go to once a week, I would give half that amount, still twice a week.
Keep in mind homemade chicken/rice is not nutritionally complete. In fact cats do not need rice! Cats are strict carnivores. Also, cooking meat depletes nutrients, so unless nutrients (particularly taurine) are added, the cat could become ill or die in short order. Also, there’s no source of calcium or other minerals in chicken/rice. So your homemade chicken is okay as a treat, but don’t let this compose more than 10% of her diet.
I would go with Blue Buffalo wet food (or another wet food, preferably little-to-no grains and lower fat) only. No dry. No prescription. I prefer more natural “prey” proteins – poultry, rabbit, etc… not fish, pork, beef.
There’s a ton of information on IBD, etc on my blog and on felineoutreach.org, education section.
Best of luck!
Lynette
Thanks so much for the fast reply. Several vets told me to stay strictly on RX, claiming that other premium brands have too much “residue.” It is true that she does not respond well when I tried a couple of premium brand grain-free single meat source canned food, so guess my search goes on.