Any experience with Pancreatitis?

[ramdanielle]

On Wednesday: my cat, Carter (2 year old, neutered male, DLH) started throwing up every 2-3 hours. He has never thrown up before, not even a hairball so I was immediately concerned when he threw up the first time. He also stopped eating after lunch. He ate his lunch fine that day but vomited it all two hours later.

I took him to the vet the very next day, Thursday. $1200 in bills later from blood tests and X-RAY (to see if he swallowed foreign object), vet believes that it is pancreatitis. I’ve never dealt with pancreatitis before so I had no idea just how serious this is. Mind you: during this time, it’s been 24 hours of Carter not eating anything. He is drinking water! Vet also prescribed him 3 medications—anti nausea, some type of antacid, and some med for liver? Not sure


Today, Friday, December 23rd, I called the vet to tell them that my cat is still not eating and it’s now the second day of him not eating. They told me to take him there for IV fluids. I did. Hours later, i took him home. He’s still the same: lethargic and not eating.

it is Christmas Eve tomorrow/ Christmas weekend so the vet’s office is closed. My only option would be emergency Vet.

i am super stressed because he’s still not eating. Do i take him to the emergency vet tomorrow if he still doesn’t eat for more IV fluids? Has anyone experienced pancreatitis with their cats? How long until you see improvement in them?
Im really so sad bc i don’t want to think of the worst.

 

[AbbysMom]

My cat had a milder case of pancreatitis. For three days in a row I had to bring her to the regular vet for the whole day for IV fluids. If she didn’t improve I was going to have to bring her to the ER vet for 24/7 IV fluids. She did improve and we gave her sub-Q fluids at home. From what I understand the fluids are critically important for a cat with pancreatitis. If it were my cat I’d be taking him to the ER vet. Good luck.

 

[silent meowlook]

Hi. I am sorry, but I would take your cat to the ER. Do you mind listing what medications the vet gave you? Was an ultrasound done? Did they do a specific test for pancreatitis called FPLI? Pancreatitis is painful. If they gave you pain medication you should use it. There are also appetite stimulants that can be prescribed. Definitely, go to the ER. These things can go south real quick if your cat isn't eating.

 

[silent meowlook]

spec-fpl-treatment-for-feline-pancreatitis.pdf (idexx.com)

 

[di and bob]

Offer him anything to get him to take a few licks. My sick cats will ONLY eat Delectable Lickables in the stew flavors. I pray your little one will get through this.......

 

[neely]

Do i take him to the emergency vet tomorrow if he still doesn’t eat for more IV fluids? Has anyone experienced pancreatitis with their cats? How long until you see improvement in them?

Yes, please bring him to the ER as other members have suggested. But make sure to let them know what type of meds your vet prescribed as well as the dosage. Our cat had several pancreatitis flare-ups and as mentioned above the vet did a fPLI test, it's the most specific test for pancreatitis. She also prescribed prednisolone to reduce inflammation and gave us Hills A/D Urgent care canned food: Hill's PRESCRIPTION DIET a/d with Chicken Wet Dog/Cat Food The second time it was the weekend and our vet was closed so we went to the specialty vet ER and they did an ultrasound as well as prescribe an appetite stimulant: Mirtazapine | VCA Animal Hospital

Best of luck and please keep us posted on Carter's progress.

 

[ramdanielle]

Hey guys!
Thank you all for your comments and suggestions. You guys have been so amazing and truly supportive. I just took him to the ER and he will be staying there until Monday morning. He’s not gonna be here for Christmas but at least he’s getting treatment

 

[daftcat75]

On Wednesday: my cat, Carter (2 year old, neutered male, DLH) started throwing up every 2-3 hours. He has never thrown up before, not even a hairball so I was immediately concerned when he threw up the first time. He also stopped eating after lunch. He ate his lunch fine that day but vomited it all two hours later.

I took him to the vet the very next day, Thursday. $1200 in bills later from blood tests and X-RAY (to see if he swallowed foreign object), vet believes that it is pancreatitis. I’ve never dealt with pancreatitis before so I had no idea just how serious this is. Mind you: during this time, it’s been 24 hours of Carter not eating anything. He is drinking water! Vet also prescribed him 3 medications—anti nausea, some type of antacid, and some med for liver? Not sure


Today, Friday, December 23rd, I called the vet to tell them that my cat is still not eating and it’s now the second day of him not eating. They told me to take him there for IV fluids. I did. Hours later, i took him home. He’s still the same: lethargic and not eating.

it is Christmas Eve tomorrow/ Christmas weekend so the vet’s office is closed. My only option would be emergency Vet.

i am super stressed because he’s still not eating. Do i take him to the emergency vet tomorrow if he still doesn’t eat for more IV fluids? Has anyone experienced pancreatitis with their cats? How long until you see improvement in them?
Im really so sad bc i don’t want to think of the worst.

Call the emergency vet and ask them if they can sell you a couple of cans of Hills A/D or Royal Canin Recovery. These are highly palatable foods meant for sick kitties who aren’t interested in eating anything else. You’ll probably have to bring your cat down as it is a prescription food. However you may get a kind soul willing to sell you two or three cans over the counter to get you through the weekend.

 

[fionasmom]

Good call to get him to the ER. It is the safest place for him to be right now. Pancreatitis can be acute or chronic so protocol from here on will be important.

 

[Furballsmom]

Oh hon I'm so sorry . Bless your heart hang in there with this

 

[neely]

I just took him to the ER and he will be staying there until Monday morning. He’s not gonna be here for Christmas but at least he’s getting treatment

Do you know if they will be calling you with updates? I'm sorry he won't be home with you for Christmas but glad you brought him to the ER where he will be monitored and get the necessary medical care he needs. Please post when you can after he comes home.

 

[ramdanielle]

Hello everyone,
Thank you all for amazing comments. This site is truly supportive.

Unfortunately, my cat passed the day after Christmas it’s been the most heartbreaking and shattering moment of my life. And the way he passed brings me so much sadness and disappointment.

When i took him to his regular vet where they did all the testing and such, they reassured me that they didn’t find any foreign objects in his stomach causing obstruction. I sighed in relief and told me that it’s pancreatitis.

When i took him to the ER vet during that Christmas weekend, i was calling every 2 hours to see how he was doing because I was so anxious and I wasn’t getting any sleep. I didn’t even want to celebrate Christmas because he wasn’t there. The ER vet supervised him and gave him iv fluids, medications, and all that stuff over the weekend. With the updates they were telling me, Carter was resting comfortably but he was still throwing up from time to time AKA no signs of improvement.

The morning of Dec. 26, i picked him up at the ER vet because they would be closing at 8 AM. When i picked him up, i gave him so many hugs and kisses because i somehow knew that it was gonna be the last time then the er vet advised me to bring him to a 24/7 animal hospital so they could keep a close eye on him that we don’t have to go back and forth with this er vet and regular vet.

i found a 24/7 animal hospital on the affluent neighborhood of my city. The vet who examined him told me that he might not make it and that she was afraid that he has a foreign object inside his body. Plus, Carter had mucus on his mouth and nose from throwing up so much that she’s afraid that it is aspiration pneumonia; it’s deadly to animals. She told me that she has a plan to do ultrasound on him and they’re gonna sedate him so they could remove all the fluids from his stomach. I really didn’t know what to do anymore because i was already so stressed and now I’m overwhelmed. So i just said: “please try anything you can”. I paid $3k that time.

They told me to go home for the meantime. I went home and I was hysterically finding ways to find some money and possibly liquidate some of my assets bc i had already spent 6k over the weekend. Then they called me. They confirmed that they found a foreign object in his intestines. Remember how his regular vet said they didn’t find anything? Because of that, Carter was not using the litter box and the only way for waste and all the iv fluids to come out of his system was to throw them up. And so now it’s dangerous that he might’ve developed aspiration pneumonia. Then they told me that the surgery to remove the foreign object, be hospitalized for a few days, be in incubator, the ventilation for his lungs if needed, wouldve costed me an estimate of $40,000. I started hysterically crying because I knew I had to put him to sleep due to financial constraints. So the next thing i said to the doctor: “can i say goodbye to him for the last time? And can i bring my other cat (his brother) too?” And they said they’ll prepare a private room for me.

My family of 8 and my other cat all went to the hospital to say goodbye and prepared a private room for us. Moments later after we got there, they told me that Carter is currently under anesthesia and in tubes and they were afraid that if they remove all his tubes and basically life support, that he might not even make it from the operating room to the private room.They were very accommodating and let all 9 of us in the operating room to say goodbye.

when I saw him, it was heartbreaking. He was on life support and all these tubes and i said my goodbye and i really hope he heard me even thought he was unconscious. I held his paw and watched him until his very last breath.

it’s so heartbreaking to me that his last days were in a cage, full of strangers. This wouldn’t have happened if his regular vet just found the obstruction immediately and Carter would still be here today.

Today, i received his ashes and he is finally home for the last time. My heart still breaks and i still have dreams about him every night. Give your cats some extra cuddles tonight

 

[Furballsmom]

Oh honey I am so sorry .

 

[silent meowlook]

I am so sorry. Your regular vet didn't know there was a foreign body, because nobody can really know if there is a foreign body without extensive testing and diagnostics that a regular vet is not capable of doing, nor has the equipment to do. Exploratory surgery can be done if it is suspected. Sometimes the surgery comes up with no foreign body. Sometimes it shows areas that look like cancer.

I think that the pancreatitis diagnosis is used to much without the proper testing to back it up. (Just my opinion). Unless a specific test was done to test for pancreatitis, an FPLI, there is no way to know. This test is not done with general blood work. A cat that is vomiting that much is not something you wait and see with.

It doesn't sound like the ER was monitoring his ins, and outs, which means the quantity of fluids given are logged and the amount urinated is logged, those numbers have to be added and compared to each other after a formulation is done figuring in dehydration. I hate to say it because they are sometimes needed but I cannot stand the way many animals wind up being overlooked in ER hospitals, in my experience. ER hospitals are extremely overwhelmed and understaffed. I have worked in them a decade ago and it wasn't like this. That is no excuse.

They might not have been able to save him even if they had seen him right away at the 24-hour hospital. I can't tell you how many times things like this, where you do everything and anything to save them, and you do manage to but then they succumb to something else related or not soon after.

I am angry and hurt for you and your cat. I truly wish you peace at this horrible time. For the record, I am not a veterinarian.

You did the right thing taking him to the vet and the ER vet and you did everything you could do. I am so very sorry for your loss Had you not taken him in he would have been suffering. I am so sorry.

 

[ramdanielle]

I am so sorry. Your regular vet didn't know there was a foreign body, because nobody can really know if there is a foreign body without extensive testing and diagnostics that a regular vet is not capable of doing, nor has the equipment to do. Exploratory surgery can be done if it is suspected. Sometimes the surgery comes up with no foreign body. Sometimes it shows areas that look like cancer.

I think that the pancreatitis diagnosis is used to much without the proper testing to back it up. (Just my opinion). Unless a specific test was done to test for pancreatitis, an FPLI, there is no way to know. This test is not done with general blood work. A cat that is vomiting that much is not something you wait and see with.

It doesn't sound like the ER was monitoring his ins, and outs, which means the quantity of fluids given are logged and the amount urinated is logged, those numbers have to be added and compared to each other after a formulation is done figuring in dehydration. I hate to say it because they are sometimes needed but I cannot stand the way many animals wind up being overlooked in ER hospitals, in my experience. ER hospitals are extremely overwhelmed and understaffed. I have worked in them a decade ago and it wasn't like this. That is no excuse.

They might not have been able to save him even if they had seen him right away at the 24-hour hospital. I can't tell you how many times things like this, where you do everything and anything to save them, and you do manage to but then they succumb to something else related or not soon after.

I am angry and hurt for you and your cat. I truly wish you peace at this horrible time. For the record, I am not a veterinarian.

You did the right thing taking him to the vet and the ER vet and you did everything you could do. I am so very sorry for your loss Had you not taken him in he would have been suffering. I am so sorry.

Thank you so much and thank you for your insight! I am not sure which hospital to contact now to send some kind of complaint. Right now I am still exhausted and overwhelmed.

 

[AbbysMom]

I'm very sorry for your loss.

 

[fionasmom]

I am very sorry for your loss. When a cat passes on, we lock the thread out of respect. If you would like to post a tribute to Carter in our Crossing the Bridge forum, you are welcome to do so.
Crossing the Bridge