Small felines are more predisposed than other animals to suffer from triaditis, or what is the same: to the co-occurrence of inflammatory diseasesin three of the organs related to the digestive process: intestine, liver and pancreas Although cats are experts at hiding their ailments from us, when several diseases are added to the Once again, this task is more complicated for them, which allows us to act quickly to avoid the serious consequences that feline triaditis can have.
What is feline triaditis?
Feline triaditis is a typical pathology in cats where inflammation of three organs: intestine, liver and pancreas. In other words, in triaditis cats suffer from inflammatory bowel disease, cholangitis and pancreatitis at the same time.
However, the symptoms of the three diseases in many cases are very similar to other pathologies, which can make diagnosis difficult. Likewise, it can also happen that one of the symptoms manifests itself more than the others, giving rise to clinical confusion. For this reason, in cats it is very important to always assess the state of the three organs, even though it seems clear that our feline only has inflammation in one of them.
What causes feline triaditis?
Since triaditis in cats involves three different organs, the causes can be varied. Next, we will see what are the main causes of feline triaditis:
- Cat Anatomy: More than 80% of our small felines are especially predisposed to this disease due to their anatomy, as there is a close relationship with these three, specifically, its pancreatic and bile ducts (those that leave the pancreas and the liver) flow into the same place in the first section of the small intestine. This implies that contents of the intestine can rise to the liver or pancreas due to reflux during vomiting or due to abnormal intestinal motility and, in this way, distribute the infection or inflammation between these organs.
- More bacteria than dogs: Another cause that favors feline triaditis is that the cat's intestine has 100 times more bacteria than the canine, thus favoring infections and consequent inflammations.
With respect to each disease separately, the causes that can be attributed to them are as follows:
Causes of inflammatory bowel disease in cats
The most recognized theory of inflammatory bowel disease is the triggering of abnormal responses to the bacterial population present in the bowel, which leads to an inflammation of this organ by infiltration of inflammatory cells in a layer of the intestine called mucosa.
Causes of feline pancreatitis
The causes of most feline pancreatitis are unknown and may be attributed to:
- Drugs (Organophosphates, L-Asparaginase or Azathioprine).
- Virus (Parvovirus, Herpesvirus, PIF, Calicivirus).
- Parasites.
- Inflammation in the liver or intestine.
The role of diet in this disease is unclear, but a reduction in dietary fat in the diet may be important in some cats.
Causes of cholangitis in cats
There are two types of cholangitis in cats. Thus, depending on the type of feline cholangitis, the causes may be:
- Bacteria: Neutrophilic-type cholangitis (which are the first defensive cells to appear in an infection) is thought to arise due to an ascent of bacteria from a gastrointestinal infection, perhaps for this reason it is more frequently associated with pancreatitis
- Immune-mediated process: Regarding lymphocytic cholangitis in cats, it is believed that the cause may be more associated with an immune-mediated process.
- Parasites: As for chronic cases of cholangitis in cats, it is believed that it may be related to parasites, specifically some flatworms called trematodes in the disease-endemic areas, Metorchis albidus and Opisthorchis felineus being responsible for the cases in Europe.
Feline triaditis symptoms
The clinical signs of triaditis in cats are quite non-specific and can vary greatly depending on the degree of involvement and inflammation of each organ involved, but the common symptoms in triaditis feline son:
- Anorexy.
- Weightloss.
- Decay.
- Vomiting.
- Diarrhea.
Next, we will explain the specific symptoms of each of the three pathologies:
Feline Inflammatory Bowel Disease Symptoms
This is a more frequent disease in middle-aged cats and its symptoms are very similar to those of an intestinal tumor called lymphoma, this being more common in older cats, but it is not exclusive. Along with decreased appetite and weight loss, the clinical signs of an affected cat are vomiting and diarrhoeathat appear for a long time or intermittently. Not to be confused with an adverse reaction to a food, in which these same signs occur along with skin changes and itching.
Symptoms of pancreatitis in cats
Of the three, this is the difficult disease to diagnose, especially in cases where cats do not show clinical signs persistently.
The variety of symptoms of pancreatitis in cats can range from asymptomatic to producing cardiovascular shock and multiple organ failure. Although pain is known to be present in almost all cats with pancreatitis, this sign is often overlooked due to the nature of cats to hide what is happening to them. Thus, the feline pancreatitis symptoms can be:
- Pain.
- Anorexy.
- Lethargy.
- Vomiting.
- Diarrhea.
- Yellow discoloration of the mucous membranes (jaundice).
- Cardiovascular shock.
- Multi-organic failure.
Feline pancreatitis can bring consequences to our kitten such as fatty liver, diabetes or exocrine pancreatic insufficiency.
Symptoms of cholangitis in cats
Inflammatory disease of the liver occurs in the bile ducts (cholangitis), which, as we mentioned before, can be parasitic or, depending on the cell type involved in the inflammation, neutrophilic or lymphocytic. neutrophilic cholangitis is the most common and severe, in which, in less than two weeks, cats show signs such as:
- Jaundice.
- Fever.
- Lethargy.
- Anorexy.
- Threw up.
- Diarrhea.
- Weightloss.
In change, in lymphocytic cholangitis, the symptoms may be:
- Lethargy.
- Inappetence.
- Vomiting.
- Weightloss.
- Abdominal distension.
However, unlike the previous one, the cat may be more lively and may present polyphagia.
Diagnosis of feline triaditis
Feline triaditis should always be considered in cats with clinical signs such as vomiting, diarrhea, weight loss or jaundice. In order to diagnose cholangitis, one must use tests such as:
- Hepatic ultrasound.
- Analysis of bile samples.
- Blood test.
The only way to get a definitive diagnosis. in cases of inflammatory bowel disease and pancreatitis. is to perform a biopsy and histopathological examination, although for pancreatitis there are tests available to approach the diagnosis, such as measuring feline pancreatic lipase or performing an ultrasound.
Feline triaditis treatment
To treat triaditis in cats, the veterinarian must control the common and specific symptoms of each inflammatory disease, without forgetting the possible pharmacological interactions. In this way, the cat will receive two types of treatments: a specific treatment for the disease and other support treatments.
Support treatment for feline triaditis
The support treatments will aim to treat the symptoms of our cat, such as:
- Appetite stimulants: To treat anorexia in cats, appetite stimulants can be used or, in more severe cases, recourse to to esophagostomy tube feeding.
- Antiemetics: if our cat vomits, the vet will prescribe antiemetics.
- Fluidotherapy: in case of dehydration, the veterinarian could consider the use of fluid therapy to recover the correct hydration of the feline.
Specific treatment according to the disease
To treat the diseases that make up feline triaditis, your veterinarian may prescribe the following treatments:
- Treatment for cholangitis in cats: in cholangitis, hepatoprotectors and ursodeoxycholic acid can be used, which increases the flow of bile, reduces the fibrosis and inflammation; vitamin K if there are coagulation problems and antibiotics for at least 4-6 weeks in cases of neutrophilic cholangitis.
- Treatment for inflammatory bowel disease: in this case, corticosteroids at immunosuppressive doses, such as prednisolone, are the first-line treatments line. They should also be used in lymphocytic cholangitis and the more chronic forms of neutrophilic cholangitis. Other immunosuppressive drugs such as chlorambucil can be used in combination with it depending on the severity of the inflammatory bowel disease and, even if it is not altered at the time of diagnosis, vitamin B12 or cobalamin may decrease and must be supplemented. Corticosteroids should be avoided in cases of bacterial cause, but when necessary antibiotics should be given together.
- Treatment for feline pancreatitis: In cases of pancreatiti, analgesia is necessary to control pain, as well as implementing a diet low in fat and highly digestible. It should also be supplemented with pancreatic enzymes in case exocrine pancreatic insufficiency has developed.
The prognosis will depend on the severity of the disease, therefore, if your cat presents any of the symptoms that we have gone commenting, such as anorexia, weight loss, vomiting and diarrhoea, do not hesitate to take him to the vet to start a treatment that will restore his he alth as soon as possible and, thus, prevent irreversible damage from occurring that could affect the quality and life expectancy of your little feline.
