[yellowdaisies]

I haven't posted on here in awhile, but I wanted to post about this...

Our cats are kittens in my signature, but they are turning 2 in August. Monday, we took Lily to the vet (our wonderful, wonderful, WONDERFUL cats only vet) because she hasn't had much appetite and was losing weight. She was also lethargic. Turns out, she has pancreatitis. She is now at the vet, on an IV, being syringe fed (she won't eat on her own), and getting medication. I am heartsick because apparently my baby girl was in a lot of pain for a long time but we never knew! She just started getting really lethargic in the last couple weeks. She is a really tough girl.

I was happy tonight because the vet tech called to update me and he opened with, "Your girl has some attitude!" Apparently she hissed and growled when he fed her in the evening, although earlier she was too lethargic to put up any fight at all. That made me SO relieved to hear (he was happy too!) because she has always been such a little spitfire.

Anyway, does anyone have any experience with pancreatitis?

Also, Lily tested positive for coronavirus, which means she COULD have FIP. Does anyone have experience with FIP, and especially with FIP causing pancreatitis? I understand that FIP is fatal, so I am really worried over this. She is such a young kitty...we just didn't see this coming.

Thanks in advance...

 

[Beckie210789]

Our cat Monkey had pancreatitis, that's one reason why I joined this site. Her bout was due to lower quality food with by products. She was hospitalized at our vet's office for 5 days before they allowed her to come home. We had to give her fluids under the skin for a week, and a steroid (prednisone) to treat her. Our vet told us (since she was almost 2 years old when she got sick) that she had age on her side, and she was a fighter. I don't know about coronavirus or FIP, since she only had the pancreatitis, but I'll keep you in my thoughts.

 

[westfayetteville]

Hi Yellowdaisie
I don't know a lot about pancreatitis, however the diabetic site I'm a member of has some info on it Here is the link Diabetic Cat Care with out being a member it may not open. I don't know.
Here are a few supplements listed
Milk thistle – the active ingredient in milk thistle is sylmarin. It comes in powder and liquid form. The challenge with powder forms is that rice flour and other carbs not suitable for FD cats are usually added. If possible, liquid milk thistle (tincture) is a better choice. Look for the highest amounts of sylmarin extract you can find, and the lowest count of ethanol (alcohol) – ideally under 5%.
Taurine – preliminary recent studies indicate that taurine is also capable of regenerating cells of the liver, as well as pancreatic cells. This is exciting news! The maximum dose of taurine is up to 500mg per day.
This is not a supplement, but is good to settle there tummys
Pepcid AC (must be AC - active ingredient famotadine) is also very helpful when dealing with a cat with pancreatitis. Ideally given 20-30 minutes before feeding, the dose is 1/4 tablet twice a day (BID).

 

[dweamgoil]

I will keep you in our thoughts and hopefully, it's not FIP. We lost a young kitten last year to FIP. We had to humanely put him down since he was just suffering on an ongoing basis. It was devastating.

What does your vet say regarding changing the diet once she is out of critical condition? I have read the key is low fat, no grain diets. I would assume all canned as well.

 

[yellowdaisies]

Thanks everyone!

Lily has actually already been on a mostly grain free diet for her whole life, with the exception of some Merrick that has grain. She has eaten wet and dry though. Our vet hasn't talked to us about her diet yet outside of us possibly having to syringe feed her special food if she is still not eating on her own when we take her home. She told us that in cats, the cause of pancreatitis is usually unknown, although in dogs it's usually from eating foods high in fat. I'll be sure to discuss diet with her when we take Lily home. I need to anyway because she is underweight now and I need to know how to put the pounds back on her.

Dweamgoil - how did the kitten get diagnosed with FIP? Lily does NOT have "wet" or effusive FIP, because they would have seen the fluid during the abdominal ultrasound where they first found the inflamed pancreas. She MAY have "dry" FIP. The vet told us that the only way to really find out if she does is to do exploratory surgery and take biopsies of her organs. This is VERY expensive, so I am not sure if we can do it right now, since her vet bills have already been so expensive. I just finished grad school and have only been able to find a part time job so far. It's just a frustrating time altogether, but we want to do everything we can for Lily!!

 

[yellowdaisies]

The vet just called me and told me that she tore apart her cage last night - scattering food and everything everywhere...doesn't surprise me too much. Oh, Lily. She is eating some on her own now, but her pancreas is still inflamed and it still hurts her when her abdomen is pressed. The whites of her eyes are slightly yellow, due to the fact that she's been malnourished lately because of the pancreatitis. They're not sure if she can go home tomorrow or not. I'm going to go visit her in a few minutes.

Beckie - how long did you have to continue treating Monkey at home before she was back to normal? Has she had any flare ups since? I'm wondering when her pancreas is going to stop swelling...

 

[dweamgoil]

The diagnosis was based on age, background, and symptoms. He also had a very high white blood cell count for a kitten his age, which wasn't responsive to antibiotics. He had neurological issues, which caused him to circle, and not be able to raise his neck properly. He was also failing to thrive at 12 weeks after 6 weeks of round the clock syringe feeding with formula and vitamins. He had to be on a heating pad constantly to maintain his body temp. His jaw was locked, and he was ALWAYS shivering and crying. He was very lethargic, and could not maintain the energy level to only walk a few steps without becoming exhausted.

The doctors did say they could test to cofirm that it was indeed FIP, and like you, the testing was VERY expensive and would be done post-mortem. I decided to cremate him and bring the little guy home with me to finally rest. He also stated that based on their experience collectively (I had 3 vets working on the little guy), they had no doubts that judging by his age and symptoms, it was FIP.

If you are interested, I posted the links to the threads outlining his story:

http://www.catforum.com/forum/38-health-nutrition/147415-trying-not-judge-supportive-but.html

http://www.catforum.com/forum/38-health-nutrition/148236-mikey-yet-another-problem.html

http://www.catforum.com/forum/38-health-nutrition/148046-mikey-still-not-doing-well.html

http://www.catforum.com/forum/50-over-rainbow-bridge/148250-mikey-crossed-bridge-today.html

http://www.catforum.com/forum/38-health-nutrition/148435-cremation-costs-what-rackett.html

 

[Beckie210789]

Beckie - how long did you have to continue treating Monkey at home before she was back to normal? Has she had any flare ups since? I'm wondering when her pancreas is going to stop swelling...

We treated Monkey for about a month, carefully tapering off the prednisone dose at the end. The fluids we had to give her under the skin were administered for about a week and a half. Monkeys also had yellowing of the eyes/skin (jaundice) her's was a condition called hepatic lipidosis, or fatty liver disease. it's caused by them not eating. The fluids we gave her were to help flush her liver and help with the yellowing or jaundice.

She hasn't had any flare ups, although it's been not quite a year yet. Even if she DOES have one, since she's already been diagnosed once, I want to assume that so long as we catch it early, that we would put her back on the prednisone and monitor her until she is feeling better again. They ran a CBC on her at the vets to diagnose quickly, and another when she was better to monitor her pancreatic levels. A fairly straightforward test.

 

[yellowdaisies]

Monkeys also had yellowing of the eyes/skin (jaundice) her's was a condition called hepatic lipidosis, or fatty liver disease. it's caused by them not eating. The fluids we gave her were to help flush her liver and help with the yellowing or jaundice.

Interesting that you mentioned that. The vet told me over the phone this morning that the whites of Lily's eyes were slightly yellow because of issues with her liver related to not eating enough and being malnourished. She's on an IV pumping fluids through her to get her rehydrated again. Thanks for the info!

I went and visited her for over an hour today, and she was SO happy to be with me. I miss her so much!