Ming Loy has pancreatitis

ritz

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I'm so sorry to hear about Ming Loy, but she has you--the best Mother Teresa/Florence Nightingale ever.
 

lcat4

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I just saw this post, I hope today is a better day for Ming Loy, and you as well!

Lewis had pancreatitis last year, and just to confirm your thinking, was given the cypro twice a day, 1/2 tablet.
The vet also found inflamed intestines and switched his food to duck and potato. I think she was going for the novel protein concept, but i couldn't see how that was supporting the pancreatitis, with lower fat and fiber. Thus our transition to raw.

I don't know why these cats are so susceptible to all these flare ups, but I hope she recovers quickly. No fancy symbols on my ipad, so fingers crossed!
 

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I am praying that Ming Loy WILL recover from this pancreatic episode (and have no more :cross:) and with your knowledge/researching ability, I have no doubt that she will get the best care possible. :hugs: :heart3: :hugs: Poor little Ming Loy, I am sorry that she is going through this. I was VERY relieved to hear that she was hungry earlier - A VERY GOOD SIGN! Yes, Indeed. :cross: :vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes: GET WELL SOON, MINGLE..... :rub: :heart3: :Daisy Petal: :vibes:
 
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vball91

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Laurie, sorry to hear that Ming Loy has pancreatitis. It sounds like you caught it very early, so you are not dealing with the dehydration and HL which are often concurrent issues. I have done some reading on pancreatitis and while the research does not support that high fat is a problem for most kitties with pancreatitis, anecdotally on the yahoo feline pancreatitis group, some kitties do seem to get flare-ups from high fat meals. While not a huge concern since you feed a moderate fat diet anyway, it would be worth tracking her meals to see if she more problems after a higher fat meal.

I'm so glad she's eating and keeping it down. Many healing vibes for Ming Loy to recover quickly from this episode and never have another!
 
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ldg

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vball91 said:
I have done some reading on pancreatitis and while the research does not support that high fat is a problem for most kitties with pancreatitis, anecdotally on the yahoo feline pancreatitis group, some kitties do seem to get flare-ups from high fat meals.
Interesting, and thanks for sharing. I'll have to keep a journal, though I'm not sure what I'd be watching. Ming Loy and Billy run around and play after meals, and that didn't stop right up to the night she didn't come for the late night meal, and wouldn't eat. And she didn't once sit in the meatloaf position. I've been racking my brain to see if I missed any clues, but it just seemed to happen literally between one meal and the next.

The meal was turkey thigh, the morning meal ground llama. :dk:

The red meat meals are served 50/50 with a white meat; the only time they get skin is with chicken wings or whole ground animal. In fact, those meals are probably highest fat, because I trim so much of the fat.

I really don't know what, if anything, I should change going forward.

************

The good news is it's looking like she doesn't need pain meds or an app stimulant. :) She's eating well, and has had 2 ounces of food since last night. Her antibiotic stayed down. :clap:

She's curled up, not moving around much. But she likes being served her meals in bed, and she sits up, her eyes get big, and she starts her CH wobble/shake with interest/excitement. :D

Billy's confused about what's happened to his "rough-house" pal. He sat next to her bed after breakfast for a while... until Spooky made a good target, and he took off after her. :lol3:
 

vball91

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I am glad to hear she's eating. That is great news.

I don't think you need to change anything in her diet now, maybe ever. Just something to be aware of, but you're right that this was such a sudden episode that there were no warning signs. Hopefully, this is a single never-to-be-repeated episode, and you won't need to watch for patterns.
 
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ldg

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Thanks. :hugs: I sure hope so too. !!!

I just popped back in to put her consumption into perspective. She normally eats 3 ounces of raw a day. So she's doing really well!
 
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ldg

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Oh, the one change I will likely make is to keep her on digestive enzymes. :nod: I haven't decided if I'll use them for all of the kitties or not.
 

mrsgreenjeens

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Just now reading this thread and so glad that she appears to be getting better
.  BTW, I never STOPPED giving mine their digestive enzymes.  Had the bottle from the beginning, so figured, why not use it?  Now, particularly, I'm giving Callie extra, to try to get her to gain weight.  (it says right on the bottle to add more for seniors)

So...are you giving her the Miralax, or waiting until after this episode, or what are you going to do to avoid future constipation?  Always a balancing act, huh


that she keeps eating and that it all stays down
 

otto

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I can't seem to find anywhere where you mention what is thought to be the cause of Ming Loy getting this?

The pumpkin? (Ming Loy is the one who takes pumpkin for constipation?)

Genetics?

Glad she is doing better.
 

feralvr

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She's curled up, not moving around much. But she likes being served her meals in bed, and she sits up, her eyes get big, and she starts her CH wobble/shake with interest/excitement. :D
That is such great news that she may not need the pain or app. meds!!!!!!!!!!!! :clap::clap: :cross: :clap::clap: And, that she is eating better. :rub: :cross: :vibes::vibes::vibes: that the good reports continue.

AND to the above.... :heart3::rub::heart2::touch::rub: AWW Mingle... she deserves to be treated like a princess by having meals in bed. :bigthumb: ;) Billy, well....... he may be missing his romping around buddy but he may also be a bit worried about her too. Bless his little heart - except for the taking off after her part. :lol3: That must be a good sign too!!!!! :D Give them scritches and kisses for me!
 
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ldg

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I can't seem to find anywhere where you mention what is thought to be the cause of Ming Loy getting this?

The pumpkin? (Ming Loy is the one who takes pumpkin for constipation?)

Genetics?

Glad she is doing better.
.

Pancreatitis can be acute or chronic. The vet believes Ming Loy has an acute form, which may resolve - though in cats, it often recurs. They do not know the cause.
.

otto, you can't find any mention of the cause, because they don't know the cause. Unless there's an elevated white blood cell count which causes them to believe pancreatitis is from an infection, the cause is usually not known.

Here is Dr. Becker's take on it:


As a holistic veterinarian, I don’t think it’s a fluke or happenstance that the pancreas has become more and more attacked as an organ. We know that the high carbohydrate-based diets that most dogs and cats eat are extremely taxing to pets’ insulin levels, which are, in turn, taxing to the pancreas.

In addition, the foods that we feed our dogs and cats are entirely processed and devoid of natural enzymes, which help supplement your pet’s diet and reduce pancreatic stress. So, the pancreas really may live in a state of chronic inflammation and stress because the average American pet diet is dead (processed at high temperatures to create an extensive shelf life) and is therefore devoid of any naturally occurring amylase, lipase and protease enzymes that would naturally be found in raw foods. The canned or kibble (dry food) diet that you feed your pet causes the pancreas to have to secrete an abundance of digestive enzymes. If the pancreas fails to perform adequately, pancreatitis results.

There are also some drugs that are well known to incite episodes of pancreatitis. For instance, anti-seizure drugs such as Potassium Bromide or Phenobarbital are well known to predispose pets to pancreatitis.

Prednisone and other catabolic steroids are also well known to cause pancreatitis. Even the diuretic Lasix (Furosemide[emoji]174[/emoji]), has been implicated in pancreatitis attacks in dogs and cats.

However, diet also plays into recurrent pancreatitis episodes. Many cats and dogs eat a diet that is much too high in fat and we know that fat is also an inciting cause of low-grade, recurrent pancreatitis.

Certain breeds, such as Miniature Schnauzers may also have a genetic predisposition to having recurrent pancreatitis, and German Shepherds can be born with pancreatic insufficiency causing enzyme deficiency symptoms from birth.
.

From this article http://healthypets.mercola.com/site.../dont-let-this-organ-ruin-your-pets-life.aspx


The pumpkin is not suspected as a cause. But when the pancreas is inflamed, the pancreatic enzymes leak out of the organ. They are not necessarily delivered to the stomach, or not necessarily delivered to the stomach in amounts needed to digest food. Fiber/carbs are more stressful for cats to digest that meat/fat, so for now, we're eliminating the small amount of pumpkin she was receiving, and providing digestive enzymes. Because the fat I provide in the diet I feed my cats is roughly 19% on a DMB basis, I don't need to reduce the fat content.

So for the last 1.5 years, Ming Loy has been eating a diet that would theoretically reduce her risk for pancreatitis. :dk:

(Compared to Dr. Pierson's canned food list, the diet I feed my cats is lower fat than almost everything other than a number of Fancy Feast flavors, some Purina foods, Weruva - and the fishy foods, which are all low fat).

.

Just now reading this thread and so glad that she appears to be getting better :cross: .  BTW, I never STOPPED giving mine their digestive enzymes.  Had the bottle from the beginning, so figured, why not use it?  Now, particularly, I'm giving Callie extra, to try to get her to gain weight.  (it says right on the bottle to add more for seniors)

So...are you giving her the Miralax, or waiting until after this episode, or what are you going to do to avoid future constipation?  Always a balancing act, huh :sigh:

:vibes: :vibes: :vibes: that she keeps eating and that it all stays down :cross:
I'm waiting to see if she gets constipated. It wasn't a frequent thing, just a really uncomfortable thing for her, partly, I believe, because of her CH. She's so uncoordinated, it's hard for her to balance to push for a minute or so.

If I do use the miralax, I will see how it goes giving it to her every 2-3 days, or perhaps every day for a few days, and then not for a few days. Not sure. I'm just concerned that it can cause kidney damage over time. There's nothing really to say it does other than one isolated case in a human child who had an excessive amount of it.

But yes, it's a balancing act for sure!

***********************************************

Ming Loy continues to eat, and she does come at meal time. She's a very good girl for her fluids. :rub: But she does nothing but sleep so far. :( She wanted to be in my lap Friday night, but not since then.

FYI, her symptoms were:

Letheragy
Elevated heart rate
Vomiting
Elevated ALT


I did give her a PMR meal for the dinner time meal last night, and she ate 3/8 of the 1/2 ounce. At the late night meal, she didn't really want the baby food, so I gave her some rabbit (even though I wasn't going to give her whole ground animal because of the bone bits, I want her on powdered calcium inputs), and she really enjoyed that. I'm glad she kept it down.
 
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feralvr

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Aw Laurie. :hugs: I am keeping Ming Loy VERY close to my heart right now. :heart3: What a good girl taking her fluids so well for you. I also appreciate (as usual :hugs:) all of your very important and useful information on pancreatitis. It has been very enlightening as I did not know much about it in cats. As you know, my daughter just had a bout and has since changed up her diet. Things have improved for her. :cross: I am sending off MEGA GINORMOUS VIBES to Ming Loy this morning :vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes: :rub: And a zillion cyberhugs to you :hugs: :hugs: :hugs: :hugs: :hugs: :hugs: :hugs: :hugs: :balloon:

Sally - I also have never stopped the digestive enzymes/probiotics for my cats since starting raw. I still give it everyday. It helps Pip. I have noticed when I stop - he has a tendency to vomit up his meal :dk: Odd - but true. So I keep him on it and everyone else. Including me. :lol3:
 
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otto

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Thanks for the detailed reply Laurie. It sounds scary, but I know Ming Loy is in the best of hands with you and your vet.

:vibes::vibes::vibes: :heart3:
 
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ldg

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Something I should mention, just to be clear: in cats, as opposed to dogs. a high fat diet has not been connected to pancreatitis in cats. As my vet puts it, pancreatitis seems almost random in cats. It is often a problem for cats suffering from IBD. But other than that, there's just no clear reason or "trigger" for the most part.

So good news! :clap: :clap: :clap:

At the late night meal last night, Ming Loy came for dinner on time. Previously, she'd wait until the bowls were down, come to eat, and go back to bed. She went to her cardboard scratching pad to scratch, nuzzled into Billy (who, rather than tackling her as is their normal routine, let her sit there leaning on him. :heart2: ). After dinner, she climbed up to the bottom platform of the cat tree, also a part of the normal meal-time routine.

AND... this morning she not only did all of that, she expanded the "normal meal time behavior," which includes pacing around as I prep the meal, excited ("hurry up mommy, hurry up!) - and after finishing, she tried to steal Lazlo's food.

AND... at dinner, we had ANOTHER addition to the normal routine. When she climbed onto the bottom of the cat tree, she did the "after the meal" grooming!

So, knock wood, Ming Loy is clearly on the mend. :D

I will keep Ming Loy on digestive enzymes, and at dinner tonight I added them to everyone's meal. They all ate without issue, so I'll probably continue using them all the time. The vet says it does help reduce the work of the pancreas, and many kitties as they get older don't produce pancreatic enzymes as efficiently, and most of my cats are seniors at this point.

I am feeding her whatever's on the menu at regular meals now, though I'm now feeding her 1/2 ounce meals every 3-4 hours instead of 1 ounce meals 3x a day.

I will be using pancreas as Ming Loy's other secreting organ for a while instead of kidney.
 
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furmonster mom

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Just wanted to stop in and say I'm so glad Ming Loy is feeling better.

When Pippen got sick, back in '08, the first thing the vet checked was for pancreatitis (this, after he didn't recover well from severe constipation and the subsequent 5 enemas).  Like you, I did a lot of digging around for information.  In the end, the tests turned out negative.  Yet his ALT continued to skyrocket.  After a biopsy, it was determined that he had severe liver scaring.  To this day, he gets medications to support his liver function.

The reason I mention all that is because I noticed you mentioned Ming's ALT was elevated.  Are you giving her any liver support?  Milk Thistle (silymarin), or SAM-e?  Or is the theory that getting the pancratitis under control will alleviate that?
 
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ldg

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The theory is that the resolution of the pancreatitis will manage that ALT number. But we'll do follow-up bloodwork in a month or so to make sure. :nod:
 

feralvr

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So, knock wood, Ming Loy is clearly on the mend. :D

.
SUPER update!! I am so relieved to hear that she is feeling better!! :high5: :D Will keep on "knockin'" !!!!!!!!!!!!! Continued vibes for continued excellent improvement! :vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes: :rub: :heart2:
 
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