Pancreatitis and Hepatic Lipidosis any advice appreciated

[tracycycle1012]

Hi All,
So last Friday Mr. Puddy Paws was acting her normal self. We had gotten a puppy 5 weeks prior who annoyed her (yes she is a girl with Mr. in her name) but she never hid, etc. I had noticed she had been losing weight but attributed that to the fact I had stopped giving her treats due to my other cat developing allergies so they were both eating prescription dry z/d. Friday night I went into my room and she had vomited yellow several times then went into the litter box and it was straight liquid. She just laid down under the table. My daughter and I took her to the ER vet where they diagnosed her with Pancreatitis and Hepatic Lipidosis. (she is approximately 10) but not really sure, she was dumped in my neighborhood and the vert estimated her age.
We admitted her and they put her on IV's, etc. On Sunday night they started giving her a appetite stimulant but told me it can take a day or two to kick in.
She was eating extremely small amounts and since the vet was able to completely rehydrate her, they decided to send her home to me today to see if she would eat at the house for me.
I have a literal buffet set up in the master bathroom for her . I am keeping her in the master bedroom/bathroom to keep her calm, away from the puppy, noise, etc. She ate the tiniest portion of chicken possible. Then I went in armed with the big guns, fresh tuna. She definitely showed interest however she ate very little.

IF anyone has any experience with this I would love to hear your advice. Even my own vet doesn't want to do a feeding tube because she said it can be very intense. If she can start eating on her own it would be a huge improvement. They also sent me home with a bevy of meds, anti-anxiety for stree, probiotics and appetite stimulant.

 

[denice]

I had a cat with undiagnosed IBD which went into Hepatic Lipidosis and we went the feeding tube route. It was the best thing I could have done for him. The feedings were easy, time consuming because you have to go slow, but so much easier then trying to get him to eat. After about a week he started nibbling at his food and after about three weeks he was eating normally. The feeding tube came out after about a month. Is she on something for pain? Pancreatitis can be very painful and that will also make her not want to eat.

 

[tracycycle1012]

Hi Denise,

I had a cat with undiagnosed IBD which went into Hepatic Lipidosis and we went the feeding tube route. It was the best thing I could have done for him. The feedings were easy, time consuming because you have to go slow, but so much easier then trying to get him to eat. After about a week he started nibbling at his food and after about three weeks he was eating normally. The feeding tube came out after about a month. Is she on something for pain? Pancreatitis can be very painful and that will also make her not want to eat.

Yes, she has an entire bag of meds that came home with her today. She was under my bed at first then she was sunning on the bath math. I set up a bed in the closet for her as well. I will def look into the feeding tube, I am just hopeful she will start eating on her own so I can totally avoid that

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I had a cat with H/L also, and agree that the feeding tube was a lifesaver, for me anyway. My guy showed an interest in food, but would avoid eating at all costs. With the feeding tube, it only takes a few minutes to "install it" and then feeding is such a breeze, you know exactly how much the are taking in, plus you can give them their meds through the tube! To me, it's a win-win situation. Plus they can still eat on their own once they feel up to it, but the tube is still there if they backslide, which happens often.

since it's been a few days since you first posted, how is your girl doing?

 

[tracycycle1012]

I had a cat with H/L also, and agree that the feeding tube was a lifesaver, for me anyway. My guy showed an interest in food, but would avoid eating at all costs. With the feeding tube, it only takes a few minutes to "install it" and then feeding is such a breeze, you know exactly how much the are taking in, plus you can give them their meds through the tube! To me, it's a win-win situation. Plus they can still eat on their own once they feel up to it, but the tube is still there if they backslide, which happens often.

since it's been a few days since you first posted, how is your girl doing?

Hey there. So I found these tube treats by tiki cat at petco. Salmon purée, broth etc...I was actually looking for nutrical and saw them. When I opened the first one she literally. And out of the closet and ate the whole tube. She had two and a half tubes yesterday along with her meds

this morning I had to let our puppy out at 430 and puddy paws was out meowing (she slept with us last night)and she ate about a quarter can of food but another full tube. She ate two more tubes one mid morning and one at lunch.

I went back to petco for that and picked up a few pouches of their mousse which is thicker that the stix/tubes. She wasn’t overly interested in the mousse but literally ate three more tubes over the rest of the afternoon/evening with her meds. I like the tubes because I know she is also getting good moisture content and not a lot of crap. She hasn’t been drinking really that I can see yet. From the tiki cat reviews there seem to be a good amount of owners in there with similar issues.

she hasn’t pooped yet but still peeing.

I still remain cautiously optimistic at this point. She appetite is definitely increasing so tomorrow morning I am going to try to start with the mousse and just follow up with the stix

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

that's great that she is eating a little bit on her own, but she needs to eat MORE, and she needs to eat something that is more nutritious as well, as I'm sure you already know. Those are good as a complement to meals, but are not 100% nutritionally complete, which she needs right now even more than ever. But, hey, it's a lot better than nothing!