Missing the signs: Pancreatitis

[darkhorse321]

hi everyone!

I'm new to this forum but am glad to have so many cat lovers in one spot.

I have 2 DSH tabbies, litter mate brother and sister. They will be 17 this December. They are the light of my life and my female almost died this past weekend because I missed the signs of pancreatitis, and that both she and her brother had to suffer with this pain because I attributed the symptoms with other ailments.

My male cat has megacolon, diagnosed at 2. He's been managed with diet and medication since then and has been doing great. After his second bout of pancreatitis in the early spring (February of this year), he began having loose stool after clearing out his bowels from being backed up. We decided to put him on prednisone once daily. He then had a horrid bout of hours of straining to poop one night, and excessive drooling---I now know that was pain from an inflamed pancreas--and I feel horrid.

How do I know the signs??? My female has arthritic hips (she's a bit of a big girl weighing in at 17pds) and again, I attributed her symptoms to this before she showed such obvious signs, of pain she nearly died (fever spiked, panting, distress--the vet was very worried when he saw her).

I am beside myself that I failed my two babies. I'm someone who has worked with animals for my whole life, and pride myself on understanding their needs--but I missed this.

They both were afflicted within a few weeks apart back in February, and their first bout was in 2010, though my female was never officially diagnosed with blood work.

I've made notes in a journal now so they will never have to endure so much pain, but I'm not sure what else to do to ensure that I see the symptoms before it gets that bad.

Any other suggestions? Other than notes and keeping things on file? What could be pancreatitis could be mega colon or arthritis.

Anyhow, thanks for any advice you can give

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I don't know that you can immediately pick up on the symptoms.  From this article from Cornell University, they are pretty non-specific.  Lethargy and anorexia are two common signs, but not every two cats are going to be the same.  http://www.vet.cornell.edu/FHC/health_information/pancreatitis_serious.cfm

 

[goholistic]

@darkhorse321, I'm so sorry about your kitties' health problems lately. So stressful for everyone! Everything is more difficult when there are multiple health problems. I agree with @mrsgreenjeens that symptoms can vary greatly from cat to cat, and also on the severity of a pancreatitis flare. I don't know if it'll be of much help, but I'm going to offer my personal experience.

I managed chronic pancreatitis for nearly three years in my dear Sebastian (RIP). His symptoms varied based on the severity of his flares. In all cases, he would have lethargy and loss of appetite (specifics below) due to nausea. He would also sit in a crouched/meatloaf position or, if he was laying, his back legs and feet would be drawn up very close to his abdomen. This was because of pain. Pancreatitis is very painful and makes them very nauseous. When he was feeling good, he liked to sprawl out and show his belly.

If he was having a mild to moderate flare, he would appear to be "fussy" with his food (he was generally a good eater). He would act hungry, but then sniff the food and walk away, which is classic sign of nausea. I could still get him to eat enough, but something was "off." He would still be lovely and social, but "fussy" and meatloafing like I mentioned above.

If he was having a severe flare, he had total anorexia (not eating at all), vomiting, was subdued, didn't want to be touched, and would hide in his "sick spots" (dining room chair, corner of room, or under the bed). These things were much more obvious.

I kept LOTS of notes, too. But more important was that I learned to observe Sebastian closely and be in tune with him. I didn't hover, per se, but I made it a point to really understand his behavior when he felt great and when he felt bad, what was normal for him and what wasn't, and not to ignore that inkling of "something's not quite right." For example, he was always the first one right at the door the moment I got home from work...literally trying to push his face through when I opened the door. If he wasn't there or if he was "late" arriving to the door, I figured that perhaps he's not feeling well. He was always at that door! It would be those little things that would tip me off that he's having or about to have a pancreatitis flare.

That's my experience, anyway. I hope everyone is on the mend!

 

[ruthm]

I had pretty much the same experience as Goholistic. My Tiger's main symptoms were inappetance, meatloafing and vomiting during the attacks. But like the others have said, every cat is different.  Please don't beat yourself up over this though--cats are experts at hiding their pain; in the wild their very lives depend on it!

What helped me the most was really being mindful of how Tiger felt when she first woke up- normal eating usually resulted in a good day. But I also learned to keep around all of the supportive medications: Cerenia(for vomiting), Ondansetron(for nausea) , Pepcid(if there was any foamy vomit early morning from her CKD), plus Cyproheptadine if her appetite really went off.  It sounds like your two had acute attacks from  your description. If you are lucky, it will be a one time occurance.  We were not lucky, it became chronic :-(   Hope they are feeling better and better each day.

 

[darkhorse321]

Thank you everyone. I just always prided myself on reading my pets well. Bandit- my boy- displayed all the symptoms as your Sebastian (so sorry you lost him!! Hugs!!)
But he also displayed those with mega colon so that's what I figured it was. Then the drooling when he was trying to poop. Again, he has trouble with that- though that was a first. But he no other signs until a few weeks later. Skye, his sister and my female, showed nothing. I think hers just hit lightning fast. And thank God my vet was on call and opened the clinic for me on our long weekend (I live in canada) she was so Ullman and him telling me we might have to put her down if her fever didn't break- I was hysterical in the car. Poor thing was worri3d about ME crying. She's a fighter and has made a full recovery. No fever and both have great appetites and back to their routines.

Now I'm hyper sensitive and worry my male cat isn't ok because he's been fussy with his foods. Again, this would happen after a bad mega colon night and he'd just want a different type. I have a ton of foods now and he's eating and drinking and still looking for the mouse [emoji]128521[/emoji] my little girl is here watching me write this in the dark. I am so lucky to have them and that they are OK. I hate when they are sick- I felt so helpless.

Thanks for your support. It's wonderful to find others who love their kitties as I do. [emoji]10084[/emoji][emoji]128150[/emoji][emoji]128149[/emoji]

 

[romeo911]

I'm needing some help in giving solution to help nutritional support for my kitty. He just got diagnosed with pancreatitis and poly cystic kidney disease was pretty sick a week ago. With 104 temp any throwing up multiple times . Took him to the vet gave sub q fluids and gave me ck food for him to eat made a slurry and slowly gave him nutrition. But what can I do for long term management. Anything suggested appreciated he is already not loving the food. I have to feed him low fat and protein are they anything I can fix him myself. I've been reading alot of great advice and I'm so glad of this site. Plus do they have any treats that he could have when he is better. Taking one day at a time and appreciative everyday that I have him he sure is a character when he feels good. Got sick fast too, I should have picked up the warning signs.

 

[darkhorse321]

I am soo sorry you are dealing with this too!!

Pancreatitis will go away, and the key is the following:

1. pain managment: I got buperorphine (I spelled that wrong) which is put into the cheek pocket of the kitty. Pain will make kitties nauseated because the pancreas is needed for digestion

2. Anti nauseant: They can give this at the vet and give you tablets. Now, I found Cerenia make my male cat zonked. The injection (different drug) was much better for him. Discuss with your vet as your kitty has kidney issues as well.

3. Hydration. Sub-cue fluids are a must.

4. Appetite stimulent. 

5. Prednisone----this is KEY for inflammation. Again---may be different for your kitty due to kidney issues.

Talk to your vet about B-12 injections. This was like MAGIC for Bandit!! Again, there may be more limits because your kitty has kidney issues, but B-12 is water soluable and seems to help with nausea and give them a better appetite than the appetite stimulant!

Also, try foods for kidney disease--I started my two on a hard food as well as wet food from Royal Canin and they LOVE IT!!  Their kidney levels were normal this time around which was a HUGE deal!! also, note that when a cat has pancreatitis, the kidney values can go up. Once pancreatitis has passed, I would run another kidney test to see where your levels are at.

HUGS TO YOU!!!

You can get through this.  

 

[LotsOfFur]

Just wanted to say don't be too hard on yourself about not knowing. Cats do tend to present with anorexia and lethargy for most illnesses and that is another reason cats are so hard to diagnose without blood work and other diagnostics.

You sound like an incredible cat guardian and seem very in tune with your kitties. Glad things are better.

 

[romeo911]

Hello to the Forum hope everyone is well and their furry babies too. You just don't know how reading from the replies from the Forum has helped me and giving me hope. He hasn't threw up in 2 days and I'm related with joy. I know this is a day by day illness but your input has gave me so much hope. Does anybody know if there is anything I could fix that's low protein low fat to give him more nutrition. Poor Romeo has lost 3lbs he only weighed 9 Lbs. He has a ruff little life. Got diagnosed with the Herpes virus when he was 2,almost lost him then. But lat week he seemed fine , I thought came off our patio and came inside the house sicker than a dog so to speak. He is eating now just the slurry I made through a syringe won't eat it on his own. Can you tell me if that Royal canine was a prescription food? Where you get this Pet Smart or the vet. I am also giving him buprenophrine and reglan , and he is drinking flavored Pedialyte that was a plus. I am so glad I found this site ,I found a great family Bless you all for input and bless your furry babies. I am going back to the Vet Monday if everything keeps going well to have him checked again. One other question can cats take human Pepcid and how do you give it liquid or tablet. I think this will be a great benefit but Romeo is like the Hulk when I give him any medicine. If I can figure how to put his picture on this site I will and I'd love to see your furry babies too. Again Bless you all love this site!

 

[foxxycat]

Here is a site I used when my Angel Floey had a pancreatitis flare. SHe did well on Cerenia and Pepcid. Cerenia is available as both pills and injections. We did injections of both meds as she was not pillable at ALL.

This link goes directly to Pepcid http://www.felinecrf.org/nausea_vomiting_stomach_acid.htm#famotidine which is called famotidine in the vet world. it explains everything about it.

Don't forget to consult with your vet prior to adding any medications=whether its prescription or over the counter.

IV fluids are the gold standard for treating for pancreatitis but obviously that's got to be expensive so the next best thing you can do-ask the vet to send you home with sub fluids and needles and show you how to administer fluids.

Fluids

Cerenia/Pepcid

Buprenorphine

Pred

also some cats do better with Zofran than Cerenia

and of course wet food to help give more liquid nourishment.

I have had to deal with several courses of pancreatitis. And I didn't know any of this either. I was hand feeding her as I thought she was just getting old and tired. Floey was 17.5 and lived a very long life with me. All I can say is we can learn from our experiences.

She too started doing things differently. Never meet me at the door=she was a dog cat. Always came outside to greet me and chew grass in front of me then go pee in the garden. It was like she held it all day to show me. Then in the morning she used to sleep on the toilet seat cover when I was in the shower and she stopped doing this in May/June. she also stopped eating her wet food. I just figured it was the heat as we have been bombarded with a hot summer for weeks. Sadly we did an ultrasound on her July 28th and it was not meant to be. We discovered she had an inoperable tumor in her gut around her kidney and all her organs were enlarged or funky looking. We decided that it was probably the cancer that started the pancreatic flare because the pancreas was enflamed on ultrasound. So sometimes getting an ultrasound gives you more pieces to the puzzle.

For the past 2 to 3 years she has been very tender on her belly and sides-she dealt with constipation as well so we didn't think it was serious. The ultrasound done last summer did state a bit of pancreatic issues. So for now I would make sure to read that link I gave you. yes its for kidney disease but many treatments we do for kidneys are also the same for pancreatic issues.

Sub fluids

pain control

Pepcid/acid control

are three things that you can ask about and see if it helps.

When I did subfluids for Floey-she often got hungry within 20 min after. I also administered Cerenia and Pepcid at that point together. So one of all did the trick. But when the meds and fluids wore off she went back to sniffing the dish and walking away then purring really loud at me bumping me with her head-she would nibble on my fingers-telling me she is hungry. So I could hand feed her kibble but nope didn't want any wet food.

 

[darkhorse321]

foxxycat---I need to discuss pepcid for my boy because I think he has acid reflux. His meows are different and I can tell his tummy is sometimes upset. He's sitll on antibiotics (metronitozole), prednisone 2x daily and cisciplride for he megacolon. We've introduced b-12 shots which are awesome for him! But, I think he has acidity issues. Just a hunch. I know my little boy (who's going on 17 this December, but my kitties will always be my babies  )

Did you get it at the vet? Is it the same as for humans? Is it pill or liquid?

 

[artiemom]

My guy has IBD--kind of in the same family, as pancreatitis; as far as treatment.. and symptoms...

He also takes cisapride twice a day, in addition to prednisolone (steroid)
 

Artie had a flare recently. He was given Cerenia for 4 days, and we doubled up on his pepcid to twice a day.

I buy the human Pepcid AC.. make sure it is the AC.. and not the long lasting ones, or the super duper ones..Just plain Pepcid. I use a pill cutter. He normally gets 1/2 a pill once a day, on an empty stomach. I ordered number 4 or 3 empty gel caps from Amazon. Your pharmacy may have some, if you really need them fast. 

I put the 1/2 pill in the gel cap, use a pill gun and follow that with a chaser of water, in a feeding syringe. 

Pepcid is a very, very bitter drug. I found that if I make the taste, Artie has not problem with it. 

For this flare, we used the Cerenia for 4 days, empty stomach; and the Pepcid twice a day for an entire week. It did help. 

I also normally mix some extra water in his wet food. He uses that water in place of drinking from his water bowl. 

(I also mix in some miralax with water, for his bowels).....

Good Luck...

 

[darkhorse321]

Thank you! I will be seeing the vet monday for his b-12 shot, so I will ask them about this. He's not a big water drinker---never understood why--he drank water oddly as a kitten-he chewed it, and when I moved to the place I'm in now (he would have been 2??), he loved drinking out of the running faucet in my bathtub, then, one day, stopped drinking water. No clue why--I did EVERYTHING to get him to drink--ice cubes (wow, did my floor get wet--those were fun toys!), water fountain (scared the daylights out of him) and tuna water/ice cubes(cue same disaster on hardwood).

He's been drinking more when he has pancreatitis--that's how I know he's having a flare--though more hardfood has been helping him drink, but he's VERY fussy with water. Who knows why?? He has moist food so I'm not too worried and we rehydrate him when he's looking a bit dehydrated (I test his skin daily).

I don't think he has reflux currently as he's been bonkers (For his age) and is currently sacked out on my bed in front of my fan (he was sleeping with his belly up, privates exposed in front of my AC unit this morning) and sleeping on his catnip toy Hahahahah. But, he also got some new yummy food from the vet and I think he's quite happy.

But all of this is excellent information and I can't thank you enough!

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Hello to the Forum hope everyone is well and their furry babies too. You just don't know how reading from the replies from the Forum has helped me and giving me hope. He hasn't threw up in 2 days and I'm related with joy. I know this is a day by day illness but your input has gave me so much hope. Does anybody know if there is anything I could fix that's low protein low fat to give him more nutrition. Poor Romeo has lost 3lbs he only weighed 9 Lbs. He has a ruff little life. Got diagnosed with the Herpes virus when he was 2,almost lost him then. But lat week he seemed fine , I thought came off our patio and came inside the house sicker than a dog so to speak. He is eating now just the slurry I made through a syringe won't eat it on his own. Can you tell me if that Royal canine was a prescription food? Where you get this Pet Smart or the vet. I am also giving him buprenophrine and reglan , and he is drinking flavored Pedialyte that was a plus. I am so glad I found this site ,I found a great family Bless you all for input and bless your furry babies. I am going back to the Vet Monday if everything keeps going well to have him checked again. One other question can cats take human Pepcid and how do you give it liquid or tablet. I think this will be a great benefit but Romeo is like the Hulk when I give him any medicine. If I can figure how to put his picture on this site I will and I'd love to see your furry babies too. Again Bless you all love this site!

Why are you needing low protein, low fat?  Is that because of the pancreatitis?  Many Vets have said for years that kidney cats need low protein, however, that has since changed, depending on what stage they are in.  Do you have the info on what stage your guy is in (blood results) , or does he have ACUTE kidney disease vs chronic kidney disease?  How old he is, etc?  We really need more info here, but that site Foxxycat referred you to is a great site for information.  It's mainly for kidney disease, but they discuss related illnesses.  If you want to find out about food, here is the page within that site that discusses them.  I'm linking you to the WET food link, because that's really what is best for kidney cats.  On this page you can see the amount of phosphorus, protein, sodium, fat, etc, in a wide variety of food.  http://www.felinecrf.org/canned_food_usa.htm#canned_usa

Now, if you want to make his food yourself, I can only steer you to this resource, http://www.thecatsite.com/t/264153/home-cooked-cat-food-resources,  and guess that if you want to cut down on fat, just don't use too much dark meat or the skin, but I would think this is all something you might want to discuss with a feline nutritionist.