Slinky acute pancreatitis

Angel7472

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So, I'm at the crossroads on thinking quality of life at this point.

Friday we put the tree up. Saturday Slinky starts vomiting everywhere multiple times. Eventually it turns to blood mixed with bile. We think OH NO she ate something from the tree. So my husband takes her to emergency vet, in the wee hours Sunday morning, where he does xray, anti-nausea, and subq fluids. Tells us the xray shows accordion that he feels is troublesome. If she doesn't have a bowel movement by Monday call and surgery will need to be performed.
Monday, call our regular vet and tell him the whole story and we are instructed to bring her in. Ultrasound shows nothing. So because of the fact she's not eating or having a bowel movement they want to do exploratory surgery to investigate.
Here's where it gets bad...She had an acute pancreatic attack. Nothing was found in her system. They had to rinse her cavity out with warm saline. The vet said that she had bile in her cavity that was causing excruciating pain. The next day she starts running a fever of 105 so they give her special antibiotics and tell us that if her fever doesn't come down we need to think about end of life.
Also there's narcotic tissue on the pancreas and dark spots that they would like to biopsy. We tell them to go ahead at this point. We're basically in the thick of it now.
She's been home, but she's not eating or drinking anything. She pees but still no bowel movement. We give her meds. My daughter was sitting with her and she ate 1 piece of kibble then turned her head away. She's obviously in pain from vomitting so much and the tube they put down her throat. But she licks her lips like she's hungry but won't eat. So last night we decided we're going to syringe feed her. My husband bought Gerber stage 1 turkey with broth. We've been giving her 6ml every 3 hours and then leaving half a teaspoon in the bowl in case she wants to eat.
Here's her med list: Amoxicillin 2ml every 12hours
Veraflox 1.3ml every 24 hours
Buprenorphine .3 sublingual (ya right) every 12 hours
Gabapentin 100mg capsule 1x a day
Mirataz transdermal 5g 1x a day
I guess what I'm asking is:

1. Is this too much? She has a history of PICA since she was little. We found her at 5 days old screaming her head off in the middle of an open field behind our house. Bottle fed which I've been told can be a cause for PICA.
2. She is very high anxiety and if we can't control anxiety this will keep happening-hence GABA (that I asked for).
3. I have 4 cats total so putting a permanent feeding tube would be hard to keep track of all the time.
4. When do you finally just say enough is enough? We love her to death but again how do you justify everything?

I know this is long but I'm really trying to just voice my concerns because I feel the vet isn't telling us the whole picture and maybe someone will come across this who's been there and can give me some insight. You guys helped me so much with Ghost my seizure cat. He's great now and takes meds like a champ btw! So thinking you guys can help me out here so... Thanks
 

fionasmom

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I am sorry that you are facing this. You are right, so many medical issues turn into a slippery slope and suddenly you are in the midst of something serious and complicated. Do you have results from the biopsy yet?
 
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Angel7472

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No yet. 5-7 days. We've been syringe feeding her and she did go over and eat a little on her own. Not much but she did venture to eat herself. That's something. The thing is shes only 4.5 years old so that's where my dilemma is at. She's still young
 

fionasmom

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Can you get her to an internist? All test results are yours and would go there with you. Your regular vet did not agree with the dx of intussusception but the ER vet may not have been wrong as this condition can resolve itself which means it may not have been picked up later if that were the case.
 

Lazy Orange House Cat

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Keep syringe feeding her. Natural Balance Duck and Green Pea goes into a syringe well and will give her better nutrition than just the broth. Good luck!
 
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Angel7472

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The ER vet stated they wanted to do an ultrasound before doing surgery. My regular vet reviewed the ER vets radio-graphs and decided to forego the untra-sound and opted for exploratory surgery instead. That's when they found the issue with the pancreas. As far as an internist this vet has one on staff. But that person didn't do the surgery for some reason. I'm sure the guy I've been talking to (I hope) has been consulting with them.
The Gerber baby is pureed turkey with a tiny amount of broth, so it's not just broth. She's actually getting pureed meat.
They discharged her to us even though she hadn't eaten a thing and told us the main goal is food. But just now I had to ask for urgent care food to syringe feed to her. Frustration beyond measure. But she walked over to her food dish on her own when I was talking to the Dr. So minor victory! I'll take it!
 
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Angel7472

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Pathology came back and everything is OK! So, I asked about Gabapentin for anxiety. He said that it is a very cost effective method to reducing her anxiety. We don't need to watch what she eats or anything. He feels it might be an isolated event. Hopefully!
The only thing that I find a little odd is he only wants to do 1-100mg capsule a day. Most that I've read is 1-50mg 2x a day.
Also, he isn't opposed to CBD treats. Which I know I can't give at the same time as Gaba but I really want to try this for her. And use the Gaba in the future when the CBD no longer works effectively. But the vet wants to know where it's coming from. Which I don't blame him, I want to know too.
So, my question is, has anyone bought cat treats from a legit CBD pet store? I've read of a lot of false stores just looking for money. I looked on Holistapet and they seemed ok but again not sure of the legitimacy. We also have a friend that owns a Hemp farm and will be making his own. But again so many questions as to dosage and how to make my own treats. Any recommendations would be helpful. Thanks
 

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Definitely go with a trusted brand for CBD. Keep in mind that it's not just the CBD you are buying but the manufacturing processes and purity. Holistapet gets good reviews. The one I have used and would recommend is Pet Releaf. I would suggest buying the dog or large dog tincture which is the same CBD, simply more concentrated than a cat formulation. The advantage of this is that you can use a fraction of dropper rather than a whole dropper which should be an easier sell for a cat. A whole dropper of anything is a tough sell. But if you can get her dose down to a few drops thanks to using a concentrated formula, that's easy enough to sneak into food.

CBD For Pets - Pet CBD Oil - Edibites - Pet Releaf
 
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Angel7472

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So, would I get this and only give her 2 drops 2x a day?

USDA Organic Hemp Oil 500 for Dogs | 500mg Active CBD

Hemp Oil for Large Dogs
May support situational stress
and occasional joint discomfort

That's the pet releaf large dog formula. That means a bottle would last months! Have you personally added it to treats and then baked them with it?

I was also looking at this only because it's trans-dermal and she loves her ears rubbed. So she would just think she's getting special attention.


But unfortunately, that would be a lot more expensive because I would have to do 4 clicks a day to get her 4mg a day.


I like the idea of the Holistapet only because it is treats and ready to go.
 

daftcat75

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So, would I get this and only give her 2 drops 2x a day?

USDA Organic Hemp Oil 500 for Dogs | 500mg Active CBD

Hemp Oil for Large Dogs
May support situational stress
and occasional joint discomfort

That's the pet releaf large dog formula. That means a bottle would last months! Have you personally added it to treats and then baked them with it?

I was also looking at this only because it's trans-dermal and she loves her ears rubbed. So she would just think she's getting special attention.

[/URL][/URL]

But unfortunately, that would be a lot more expensive because I would have to do 4 clicks a day to get her 4mg a day.


I like the idea of the Holistapet only because it is treats and ready to go.
There’s 16.5 mg of CBD per dropper. If you’re aiming for a 4 mg dose, it’s how many drops are in a dropper divided by four. It won’t be exact dosing. But it will be the cleanest. No extra ingredients to make it into a treat. And if you decide this oil isn’t working for her or she won’t take it, there’s nothing in that oil stopping you from taking it yourself. CBD is CBD. The only difference between a pet and a person tincture is the dose. And sometimes the carrier (the oil it’s in and any other ingredients not related to the CBD itself.) It’s okay if you take a pet CBD. It may not be okay to give your cat a person CBD because there may be added ingredients that won’t agree or are potentially harmful.

Mary’s is a good brand. They also make cannabis products for the medical and recreational markets. I trust their purity and manufacturing processes. Transdermal dosing can be different than oral dosing. You may want to pick up that product to try it out anyway. Use their dosing recommendation as a starting point. Though dry ear rubs are different from medicated “wet willies.” She may not enjoy this as much as you think. You may also need to wash off prior doses. Maybe not every time. But transdermals can build up a residue over time.

Treats can be good as long as the extra ingredients that make them a “treat” aren’t nonsense or potentially irritating ingredients. She will be taking this daily. Easy to give isn’t always the best for them.

Benefits and trade offs on each. If any of them give you a money back guarantee, that’s where I would start.
 
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Angel7472

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Thanks for all the help. The Gaba isn't working well for her. It takes the edge off 30min after we give it to her in the evening but then her nervous habits are back all day! Poor baby girl was shaking Friday when we had a rain storm and Saturday when we had a major wind storm. I had to sit in the room Friday night and open the shade to show her that there was nothing outside. Even so, she did the nervous neck craning duck and weave thing that nervous cats do.

So, today I purchased treats from Holistapet just to see if it helps. They have a 30 day money back guarantee so if they don't work I'm not out anything to start with. I was thinking 1 treat every 12 hours just to see how they work on her. She's 11 pounds and they recommend .5mg per pound of body weight. That would put her at 5.5mg per day and each treat is 2mg.

We've been letting her out of her room during the day where we can watch her. We close all doors in the house so she can't run and hide under anything. Rn as I'm typing this she's asleep in her usual spot on the back of the couch and all is well:heartshape:
 

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daftcat75

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Thanks for all the help. The Gaba isn't working well for her. It takes the edge off 30min after we give it to her in the evening but then her nervous habits are back all day! Poor baby girl was shaking Friday when we had a rain storm and Saturday when we had a major wind storm. I had to sit in the room Friday night and open the shade to show her that there was nothing outside. Even so, she did the nervous neck craning duck and weave thing that nervous cats do.

So, today I purchased treats from Holistapet just to see if it helps. They have a 30 day money back guarantee so if they don't work I'm not out anything to start with. I was thinking 1 treat every 12 hours just to see how they work on her. She's 11 pounds and they recommend .5mg per pound of body weight. That would put her at 5.5mg per day and each treat is 2mg.

We've been letting her out of her room during the day where we can watch her. We close all doors in the house so she can't run and hide under anything. Rn as I'm typing this she's asleep in her usual spot on the back of the couch and all is well:heartshape:
It can take up to a couple of weeks to see results with CBD. Stick with it as long as it doesn’t make matters worse. 👍 You have that money back guarantee as a back stop in case it doesn’t make things any better either. 😔
 
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Angel7472

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So, right after I typed the above message Slinky had a setback. About 11am she vomited what I believe is stomach bile. It was a yellowish color with nothing in it, just frothy. She hadn't eaten anything in the house (pica) so I know it wasn't anything like that. Off and on she regurgitated food and water throughout the day. She vomited 3x total yesterday. No more bile but still.
She went to bed with us and was fine until 6:30am, to which I was woken by her vomiting.
So, I'm thinking this may be a chronic thing now. She was eating fine yesterday. Nothing that threw any alarms other than the mild nausea and vomiting. It wasn't the same as her episode that hospitalized her. Even so I'm starting to feel deflated.
 

katiekat89

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So, right after I typed the above message Slinky had a setback. About 11am she vomited what I believe is stomach bile. It was a yellowish color with nothing in it, just frothy. She hadn't eaten anything in the house (pica) so I know it wasn't anything like that. Off and on she regurgitated food and water throughout the day. She vomited 3x total yesterday. No more bile but still.
She went to bed with us and was fine until 6:30am, to which I was woken by her vomiting.
So, I'm thinking this may be a chronic thing now. She was eating fine yesterday. Nothing that threw any alarms other than the mild nausea and vomiting. It wasn't the same as her episode that hospitalized her. Even so I'm starting to feel deflated.
Hi, wondering how Slinky is doing now and if you liked the CBD treats from Holistapet?
 
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