What is the most common cause of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in cats?

What is the most common cause of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in cats?

• A. Irritable bowel syndrome
• B. Lymphocytic-plasmocytic enteritis
• C. Crohn's disease
• D. Feline infectious peritonitis

Answer: (B)

Feline inflammatory bowel disease is most commonly seen as lymphocytic-plasmacytic enteritis, meaning the lining of the intestine is infiltrated predominantly by lymphocytes and plasma cells. This histologic pattern is the classic and most frequent type diagnosed in cats with IBD, and it aligns with the chronic GI signs you see clinically, such as vomiting, weight loss, and diarrhea. The term describes what the tissue looks like under the microscope, reflecting an immune-mediated inflammatory process rather than a single infectious cause. Other options don’t fit as the typical feline IBD pattern. Irritable bowel syndrome is a human term and isn’t the standard way veterinarians describe feline GI disease. Crohn's disease is used for humans and isn’t the usual label for cats. Feline infectious peritonitis is a systemic coronavirus disease that can involve the GI tract but is not the underlying cause of the common feline IBD histology. Therefore, lymphocytic-plasmacytic enteritis best explains the most common feline IBD presentation.

Feline inflammatory bowel disease is most commonly seen as lymphocytic-plasmacytic enteritis, meaning the lining of the intestine is infiltrated predominantly by lymphocytes and plasma cells. This histologic pattern is the classic and most frequent type diagnosed in cats with IBD, and it aligns with the chronic GI signs you see clinically, such as vomiting, weight loss, and diarrhea. The term describes what the tissue looks like under the microscope, reflecting an immune-mediated inflammatory process rather than a single infectious cause.

Other options don’t fit as the typical feline IBD pattern. Irritable bowel syndrome is a human term and isn’t the standard way veterinarians describe feline GI disease. Crohn's disease is used for humans and isn’t the usual label for cats. Feline infectious peritonitis is a systemic coronavirus disease that can involve the GI tract but is not the underlying cause of the common feline IBD histology. Therefore, lymphocytic-plasmacytic enteritis best explains the most common feline IBD presentation.