Treatment of shelter cat for IBS

Question
Hi-
I volunteer at an animal rescue shelter.  One of our cats is on an alternating (every other day) regime of Prednisone and Flagyl for supposed Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
I am concerned because I know that Flagyl is a very strong antibiotic that can cause cramping and diarrhea in humans and is only reserved for treating anaerobic bacteria.  Is long term treatment with these medications appropriate?

Answer
They sure are! :)

What they should run is a TLI/PLI/Cobalamine/Folate test on the cat to determine if his cobalamine level is low and then supplement with B12 injections.

Long term pred can cause diabetes in cats so they should test his blood glucose and fuctosamine once a month.

You will not have an accurate diagnosis for IBD without biopsies of the intestines.