Pancreatitis?

[Emilywoodham1997]

Hi everyone, just thought I’d join to get some advice..my cat apparently has pancreatitis which was found after he had a blood test. Everything else was normal apart from his pancreas levels. The vet said this is most likely due to pancreatitis. He has had bouts of being sick, once or multiple times in a day for about a week. I took him to the vet and they found nothing obvious wrong. No dehydration, no high/low temp, he has put on weight since last at the vet and hasn’t really had any other issues apart from being a bit groggy after a bout of throwing up. He’s still eating although he is fussy and always has been. My concern is that there is a nasty underlying cause of the pancreatitis. He’s on meds for it and has had a diet change to Hills skin and digestion aid food. I was told if he continues to be sick that he will have to be hospitalised on a drip. I’m really worried. He’s only 8 or 9.

He is still playing and alert, this is a comforting thing for me right now :/

 

[molly92]

Pancreatitis is a frustrating diagnosis, because aside from dietary changes, it seems like all we know how to do is treat the symptoms. The cause is not really well understood. Cats have a strange digestive system where their bile duct and pancreatic duct join together (this doesn't happen in dogs or humans), so maybe this makes the whole system a little more precarious? We don't know.

I only know this because my cat's recent blood work also showed pancreatitis, although she has zero symptoms, and I did a deep dive trying to figure out why...and came up with very little. Lots of info about pancreatitis in dogs, though!

Anyway, it can be chronic or acute, and it can be mild or severe. It also can't be really conclusively diagnosed until an autopsy is done. One study showed that 40% of cats who died for unrelated reasons had pancreatitis at the time of death, which is a crazy statistic to me! But I guess that means a lot of cats live with it and don't have major problems.

I think the best thing to do is keep your cat on a controlled, lower fat diet, (which Hills is, even though I don't generally like the rest of the ingredients), and monitor your cat by keeping track of symptoms. Make sure he's staying hydrated by doing the tent test. Since this involves digestion, a good probiotic might also be worth a try.

Being hospitalized might be necessary to get him over this episode, but don't let that worry you too much. This is apparently pretty common for cats with an acute episode and it usually helps by giving the pancreas a chance to "rest" and get back to normal.

 

[Emilywoodham1997]

Pancreatitis is a frustrating diagnosis, because aside from dietary changes, it seems like all we know how to do is treat the symptoms. The cause is not really well understood. Cats have a strange digestive system where their bile duct and pancreatic duct join together (this doesn't happen in dogs or humans), so maybe this makes the whole system a little more precarious? We don't know.

I only know this because my cat's recent blood work also showed pancreatitis, although she has zero symptoms, and I did a deep dive trying to figure out why...and came up with very little. Lots of info about pancreatitis in dogs, though!

Anyway, it can be chronic or acute, and it can be mild or severe. It also can't be really conclusively diagnosed until an autopsy is done. One study showed that 40% of cats who died for unrelated reasons had pancreatitis at the time of death, which is a crazy statistic to me! But I guess that means a lot of cats live with it and don't have major problems.

I think the best thing to do is keep your cat on a controlled, lower fat diet, (which Hills is, even though I don't generally like the rest of the ingredients), and monitor your cat by keeping track of symptoms. Make sure he's staying hydrated by doing the tent test. Since this involves digestion, a good probiotic might also be worth a try.

Being hospitalized might be necessary to get him over this episode, but don't let that worry you too much. This is apparently pretty common for cats with an acute episode and it usually helps by giving the pancreas a chance to "rest" and get back to normal.

Thank you for this comment, it actually helped a lot. What’s the tent test though?

 

[molly92]

Thank you for this comment, it actually helped a lot. What’s the tent test though?

All you have to do is gently pinch the skin on the back of the neck in a "tent" shape, and then let go. If it snaps right back, your cat is well hydrated. If it sticks for a second or two and slowly sinks back down, they might need fluids.