hi bren, sorry to hear about your kitty...cats that have been on prednisone for awhile can develop diabetes and drinking lots is a classic sign.
However since you mentioned that at first your kitty was dx'd with IBD and now also has no appetite and loosing weight, I really wonder if the first dx was wrong and this was Chronic Renal Failure (CRF) all along or perhaps kitty has developed this along the way..its very common in older kitties. I will send you a video with signs and information than you need to take kitty to your Vet and discuss this with them.....good luck and keep us updated♥
http://partnersah.vet.cornell.edu/Cat-Owners-Guide-Kidney-Disease/Diagnosed
Thanks for the comments, our cat has had every test you could imagine from several CBCs to ultrasound, X-rays and an endoscopy. Every thing was ok apart from the intestine wall was quite thick. All the symptoms she has sounds like so many diseases but she has been tested for them. Our primary vet referred her to a specialist vet who did most of the tests. She has a regular visit to our primary vets for steroid injections and a weigh in. Of all the things that is most concerning is her lack of eating, as we were told to put her on a single protein diet to help with the IBD, the double is she doesn't like the food we have tried so far. I spoke to Purina yesterday and they suggested a food they do EN which we should introduce slowly. I don't want to get to a situation that she losses so much weight that she then gets organ failure, so we got some food which is tuna and rice, which is what she used to eat. Would you believe it she is eating it, so I want to try and get her to eat a lot more to gain weight and then slowly introduce the new food. What do you think?
one of the hardest things to do is get a cat to eat what it 'should' eat, they have their preferences just like we do.
your kitty does have to eat thats of primary importance, whatever food you are introducing do so very very slowly...but yes first give her some time to gain some weight and be as healthy as she can be..
I will send you a site with wonderful info on diets if you click on the topics on the right hand side of this Vets site, there is also info on transitioning foods etc...she will also give you a list of all the best commercial diets available on the market. its best you choose a 'grain free' brand, as well as a single protein. good luck and keep us posted♥
http://catinfo.org/
Thanks for the info on the diets. Believe it or not she has started to eat again, that and the combination of the medication and me giving her 200ml of rehydration support with Royal Canin sachets, has seen her not loose any weight this week, from 6kg to 2.9kg. Its a start and she is going in for a couple of days to be placed on a drip to aid the rehydration. My only advise to anyone who's animal has had the same problem to keep trying. We aren't out of the woods yet.