My senior dog has thickened intestines. Could it be cancer or IBD?

The symptoms do overlap for all of these disorders. Most have vomiting and diarrhea and the appetite is variable. In advanced cancer or gastritis they are anorexic but early on can still have an appetite. An ultrasound is a good way to distinguish cancer and IBD from gastritis though. However IBD and cancer have thickened intestines and are hard to distinguish unless there is an intestinal biopsy obtained.

It sounds like it may inflammatory bowel disease but he would need biopsies of his GI tract to diagnose. You could try a hypoallergenic diet like science diet z/d ultra and talk to your vet about low dose steroids (budesonide is a good choice for GI issues) if you haven't tried this already. Also I would have him dewormed with a broad spectrum dewormer if you haven't already. I have had good success with this regimen in some of my IBD patients. It sounds like y'all have ruled out everything else. I hope this helps! if this doesn't work then I think intestinal biopsies are the next step.

I'm sorry Diesel isn't doing well! If he had pancreatitis, you would see symptoms such as repeated vomiting, vomiting undigested food, a hunched pain, a painful abdomen, a distended abdomen, diarrhea, loss of appetite, dehydration, and lethargy. Diesel would be extremely ill if he had pancreatitis, and from what you are describing, I would be inclined to think he doesn't have it. It is possible that he does have cancer even if your vet didn't feel any masses in his abdomen. There can still be tumors even if they can't be palpated, and cancer would cause him to eat and lose weight. Cancer can also cause diarrhea. Certain cancers also do not show any changes in blood work. I recommend having further testing done on him, such as x-rays or an ultrasound of his abdomen. These would help visualize if he has any tumors in his abdomen, and further testing such as a biopsy of them can be done if any are found. Unfortunately cancer is very common in senior dogs. I recommend having him seen by your vet again to discuss further testing. I hope this helps!

I'm sorry you and Oscar are going through this. My honest opinion? In talking to pet parents about cancers, intestinal cancers in cats are one of the instances where I almost always urge people to go for it, and try to treat them. Why? Because they can do so well for so long. I'm assuming your vet is thinking this is either intestinal lymphoma or inflammatory bowel disease. Those two diseases cannot be distinguished from each other on ultrasound, and we often just see thickened intestines, so biopsies are needed. IBD is very treatable, and at 5 years old that is the more likely diagnosis. Some of these guys do great with just a diet change to a hypoallergenic diet. Others need immunosuppressive therapy in addition to diet, but there is an excellent drug called budesonide that has minimal systemic side effects, and works primarily in the gut. I've managed IBD cats well for 10+ years. If it's lymphoma, those cats respond well to prednisolone therapy (another, stronger immunosuppressive drug) and sometimes the addition of a well-tolerated chemotherapeutic called leukeran. I've successfully managed cats with intestinal lymphoma for 3+ years. If it's not lymphoma, and more of an issue with a focal intestinal mass, that's a whole different ballgame, but again, treatable in many cases. And I would have expected that they would have seen a mass on ultrasound, so that seems unlikely. I think the best thing about getting biopsies is having a definitive answer, and knowing what you're dealing with. Best of luck to you and Oscar in getting this figured out.

Poor Tyson....he looks so thin! If the blood-work was normal then the next step would be abdominal and chest x-rays to look for organ enlargement and masses. Your vet can also submit a fecal panel to look for parasites and infections, as well as a TLI to make sure he doesn't have exocrine pancreatic insufficiency. If your vet is not able to diagnose then you could take him to a specialist for more advanced testing, like an ultrasound, etc. Hope he gets better soon!

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Remi. In the bloodwork that was run, did it include GI specific testing such as cobalamin, folate, PLI and TLI levels. These are values that will give information such as the location of GI disease (small intestine vs pancreas) and treatment options. I typically do this planel in conjunction with an abdominal ultrasound. This information with the ultrasound can give insight into conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease, pancreatitis, exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, food sensitivities or as you mentioned cancer. The anti-inflammatory properties of the antibiotic she was on could help even with a tumor in GI tract, but there are so many other causes of diarrhea that would respond as well. I think it is worth pursuing further bloodwork and the ultrasound. If you can get a diagnosis, then a treatment plan can be developed. I hope this information helps!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Yes, especially IBD and GI lymphoma. Usually GI lymphoma doesn't respond well or for long if treated as IBD. Dogs in kidney failure do not do well usually. I hope this helps!