Pancreatitis - Spock is not well

Spock, whom we've had since he was a baby almost 8 years ago, is very, very sick. He stopped eating and drinking and was vomiting foam, so I took him to the vet yesterday. When they took his blood, the serum was white with pink - almost all fat. His cholesterol and glucose were off the chart, platelets were really low, but his kidney and liver functions seemed within normal range. The vet had to fed ex blood samples to a lab at Texas A&M to test for pancreatitis, so we might not hear back until the beginning of the week. Meanwhile, he won't eat or drink. I've injected reglan for nausea and some antibiotics per vet's instructions, but I think I need to take him back for IV fluids. I'm very frightened for him - he doesn't feel good at all. Has anyone had a cat with pancreatitis? Does this sound like your situation? Thanks for any well wishes and healing energy you want to send his way.
Stef

Oh honey, I am so sorry. I have not experienced anything like this. Healing headbuts and calming, soothing licks from KittenKiya's Clan.

Oh gosh, I am so sorry to hear about Spock. I no nothing about this disease, but if your vet is having you give him shots, maybe he can show you how to administer iv fluids to Spock. I did that daily for my dear little Timothy because he was suffering from kidney failure. It sure made him feel better!
Kitty prayers to Spock from Sophie, Mollie and Oliver!

I Would defo go with the IV fluids, they will be really important. There is no cure as such for pancreatitis, it is more managing the symptoms, and in Spock's case, getting the nausea under control so he can start eating again. If I get chance to send the info home tomorrow, I will post some excellent advice I found on another forum about it.

Thank you all. He started declining quite a bit today, so I took him back in. I knew he was dehydrated and running a fever. By the time we got to the vet's he was dripping diarrhea and urine. They are going to try to stabilize him over the next couple of days (he's there on IV), then start treating the diabetes despite the possible pancreatitis. This is just terrible. I don't know if you all remember, but we lost our little Morgan back at the end of August. It's been a year full of kitty sickness, especially with this litter of kittens we rescued in April. The vet said they may be able to get him feeling better but that we should prepare ourselves for the worst. He's such a big ol' angel.

Oh honey, I am so sorry. We all feel so helpless at a time like this. Many, many hugs and kisses, and kitty kisses for your baby.

Aww, fingers crossed. I think your vet is right though - diabetes is a lot more 'treatable' than pancreatitis, so it makes more sense to do that.

Spock seems to be doing a bit better. He was vomiting up the IV fluids, so they gave him more reglan, and they started insulin this morning. Now we're waiting to find out if the pancreatitis caused the diabetes or vice versa. Please keep your fingers crossed for us!
Thanks.

My boy Sebastain had pancreatitis when he was about 5 years old. He seemed fine when I left for school in the morning and by night time he vomited some white foam and blood. I took him to the ER. All looked normal except he was VERY constipated. I left him there for 2 days. After 2 days I took him to my regular vet. That's when he received the pancreatitis diagnosis. He was sick for about a month. He would eat very little and I had to force fluids. But, it took anout a month to fully recover. I made him a bed on the patio, so he could watch the birds while recovering. He lived another 10 years. But, I did not find out until later that certain food can cause pancreatitis. Check with your vet, but table scraps should be a no-no. I have no idea why or how my boy got pancreatitis. But, it is very serious! My boy did develop an auto-immune disease later in life and the pancreatitis may have been the start of his health problem. But, talk with your vet about diet and signs that you should look out for.

Best of luck and good vibes.

Thank you for sharing your experience. It's good to know that he had another happy ten years with you. We're still waiting to find out if the diabetes caused the pancreatitis or if the pancreatitis caused the diabetes so we'll know how to proceed with treatment. I don't feed any table scraps, and I told them about the food (Eagle Pack holistic dry and Evo wet). He took a bad turn today after I visited with him for an hour or so. He vomited twice after I left, and his fever shot up again to about 106. They gave him a shot for that. The insulin is bringing his blood glucose down to about 165, so they are continuing the dosage in his IV. He still won't eat, so the concern has broadened to potential liver damage if he doesn't take in some food soon. I am so sad for him, there in a cage with an IV and horrible litter he won't use (the only thing I'd use it for would be to gravel the driveway - the stuff is awful!) and dogs all around him. He looked so sick and sad when I was leaving. He'll be there at least through the weekend, assuming he at least remains somewhat stable. This is so awful.

I am so sorry to read that he is not improving. I spent a month taking care of my boy. I do not know how I got through it.

Have you tried giving your baby something from home to remind him of you. When Sebastian was at the dr's, I asked that they sing "You are my sunshine" and that he use the towel that I gave them. I also gave him a t-shirt that I wore, not washed. ( I thought that the staff would think that I was crazy, but they understood)
Can you give them litter to use?
I know how helpless it feels, to not have your baby with you, when he is sick.
Best wishes and all of the good vibes in the world.

I asked my husband to take something with him when he went this morning, but I don't think he did. I'm going to take a shirt with me today. He's doing a little better today, thankfully. He's more alert and used the litterbox instead of the constant urinating on himself. Hopefully we'll get status updates throughout the weekend. Their office is technically closed, but someone will be going in checking on the patients. If you don't mind my asking, what sort of costs did you run into during Sebastian's hospital stay? I don't want the vets to think the treatment should be cost-prohibited, so I haven't asked. We want no stone unturned or potential treatment withheld, but I"m wondering if I need to take out a loan or something. Morgan's medical treatment a few months ago and Spock's initial diagnostic procedures have put a strain on our savings account. We'll do whatever we need to, of course, but I just want to make sure we're prepared.

I don't have any experience with this, but I hope little Spock gets better soon!

The test results came back finally from Texas, and Spock definitely has pretty bad pancreatitis, and the diabetes appears to be secondary to that. It is also resulting in a diseased lower intestine. His blood sugar went back up this morning, but they started the steroids for the pancreatitis this morning anyway. It makes me nervous because since it's the weekend no one will be there to monitor him, except for the vet on call, who comes in a couple of times. Kennel assistants aren't really equipped to test his glucose and such. Theoretically, once the pancreatitis is treated, his blood sugar should return to normal range. Thank you all for your healing vibes, and please keep 'em coming!

No advice, but I feel for you.

I am sorry that it has taken me so long to respond. Sebastian died on 11/15/06 and I am still hurting. When he had pancreatitis in ~1995 or 1996, it cost me about $800.00. The most expensive part was the ER which incorrectly diagnosed him. The regular vet did not cost too much. My boy just needed time and love to recover. He was only in the hospital for 3-4 days. It was many years ago so I do not remember all of the details.

Do not be afraid to ask. All vets that I have seen have always given me an estimate of what the treatment would cost, both high and low. I completely understand about costs. Sebastian broke his arm in October and then the subsequent sick visits cost us over $3,000. I had to beg and borrow to come up with 1/2 of the funds. We had just spent our savings fixing storm damage from the Spring. And, my husband had lost his job earlier in the year ,so we used our savings then. I also understand "no stone unturned" we spent over $1,000 in the end to find out what was wrong with our boy. We never did get the cancer diagnosis but he was very sick and in pain and after 5 weeks his arm had not begun to healed. Go by your heart when it comes to your baby. Sometimes we never truly find out what is wrong. I hope in your case that you do.

On a side note- my boy was on prednisone for over a year with his stomatitis. Extended use of steriods can cause organ problems later. I am not saying do not use them, but keep in mind that when it comes to treating illnesses, sometimes the treatments can cause problems later. Keep very good records so when asked about previous medical issues and medications, you leave nothing out

Best wishes and good vibes!!

I'm so sorry your baby Spock is going through this, he will certainly be in my thoughts and prayers. I hope he feels better soon.