Feline inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) describes a chronic enteropathy with persistent signs and a histological infiltrate of inflammatory cells but no identifiable cause. The key exam skill is the order of work: exclude other disease, trial food and deworming, then biopsy to separate IBD from low-grade lymphoma before committing to immunosuppression.
Key facts
Inflammatory bowel disease at a glance- Species and system: cat, small intestine most often; stomach and colon can be involved.
- Definition: GI signs for 3 weeks or longer, with inflammatory infiltrate on biopsy and no other cause found.
- Signalment: mean age of onset about 6.9 years; purebred cats may be over-represented.
- Commonest form: lymphocytic-plasmacytic enteritis; eosinophilic is next.
- Classic presentation: weight loss, intermittent progressing to daily vomiting, diarrhoea and anorexia.
- Zoonotic or reportable: no.
What's inside
13 sections in the full guide- Key facts
- How the NAVLE tests this
- Cause and pathophysiology
- Clinical signs
- Diagnosis
- Differential diagnoses
- Treatment and management
- Prognosis
- Associated disease: the pancreas and liver
- Client counselling
- Quick review
- Test yourself
- References
The full guide also has 5 tables, 1 figure, 3 self-test questions and 6 references, available to NAVLE members.
Read the full study guide
The full guide is part of every NAVLE plan, with diagnosis and treatment tables, figures, a quick review and self-test questions. Start a free trial to try the question bank, or log in if you are already a member.