My Old kitties issues, chronic pancreatitis?

So DeeJay my old girl has been losing weight, she was at the vet a couple of weeks ago, everything was normal on her bloodwork with the exception of the BUN which was 38.  She did good for a little bit then since friday she's only been eating 1/4 to 1/2 of her normal amount of food, I have tried various brands of food, raw, feeding it slightly warmed, parmasan cheese and bonito flakes, and she just isn't eating much.  So I took her to work with me today (I work for the vet).  She's also been having facial twitches, you can see them here: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/268878/facial-tremors   The vet did bloodwork again, and again everything was the same.  So she recommended that I put the kitty on Phenobarbital for the tremors/seizures and gave me some Cyproheptadine for an appetite stimulant....it works as she ate 1/2 a can of food at the vets.  She was also dehydrated today so they gave her some Subcutaneous fluids.  So I took her to my dad who is a retired vet to get his opinion,  and he looked at her blood work and noticed that MCH/MCHC were slightly elevated and her MPV was on the low end of normal, as well as her TP was elevated.  Based on that he suspected that she is not getting oxygen like she should and may have something else going on, so he palpated her abdomen and boy oh boy was she every a grump about it, she was growling and hissing, so her tummy is really bothering her.  I have noticed no vomiting, no diarrhea, nothing like that.  Nothing showed up on the fecal.  He also noticed that she has some congestion in her lungs.  I am currently treating my boy Munchie for a respiratory infection.  He said she seems to be tender in her pancreas/gall bladder area.  His thinking is that she might have something like chronic low grade pancreatitis.  His recommendation was to put her on antibiotics and steroids for inflammation and then see how she does.  If she doesn't improve then pursue further diagnostics.    She is not acting sick other than not eating as much as she normally does and losing weight.  My dad does not recommend putting her on Phenobarb as her seizures are not major, even though she is having multiple ones per day.    He said the affects of the medication are way worse than mini seizures. 

She could well have chronic pancreatitis.  There isn't always vomiting with it, sometimes the only symptoms are pain and decreased appetite.  I would try your dad's recommendations.

I probably wouldn't give the phenobarbital either unless she were having full blown seizures.

I would also follow your dad's suggestions. Very sound and logical things to try at this point.

Yeah, I just saw the video. I wouldn't give phenobarb for that. It ruins the kidneys, I believe it is, so a BIG trade-off in that decision.

I wonder why the thinking is chronic, not acute? Because of the lack of vomiting? :dk:

For Ming Loy, she was on pain meds, I think steroids for a week or so, and I gave her fluids daily. I also fed her many small meals throughout the day. It took about a week before she felt seemingly all better.

I hope this will be the case for your gorgeous DeeJay!

He is thinking chronic because of the blood results her pancreatic enzymes arent elevated. Also she is not showing any outward signs such as vomiting. Granted her tummy is super tender but those are the reasons he thinks its chronic vs acute. Forgot to mention, I do have pain meds and I have a bag of fluids I can give her if needed.

I've actually been reading up on the differences between chronic an acute, because DH is in the process of having tests run to see if that may be HIS problem.  It's amazing the difference between the two   Granted, I'm checking for HUMAN symptoms, but I'm guessing if they are that different for humans, same holds true for cats .  It's almost like they are two different things, with the exception that they involve the pancreas.

Anyway, aren't you lucky to have such resources readily available.    Now that we know your dad is a retired Vet, guess who we'll be coming to for questions

that DeeJay starts feeling better soon.  I THINK she already is, based on your other thread

cprcheetah said:

He is thinking chronic because of the blood results her pancreatic enzymes arent elevated. Also she is not showing any outward signs such as vomiting. Granted her tummy is super tender but those are the reasons he thinks its chronic vs acute. Forgot to mention, I do have pain meds and I have a bag of fluids I can give her if needed.

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mrsgreenjeens said:

I've actually been reading up on the differences between chronic an acute, because DH is in the process of having tests run to see if that may be HIS problem.  It's amazing the difference between the two   Granted, I'm checking for HUMAN symptoms, but I'm guessing if they are that different for humans, same holds true for cats :lol3: .  It's almost like they are two different things, with the exception that they involve the pancreas.

Anyway, aren't you lucky to have such resources readily available.  :high5:   Now that we know your dad is a retired Vet, guess who we'll be coming to for questions :lol3:

that DeeJay starts feeling better soon.  I THINK she already is, based on your other thread

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Interesting. Obviously not something with which I'm familiar. Thanks, Sally, for the additional info.

mrsgreenjeens said:

 
I've actually been reading up on the differences between chronic an acute, because DH is in the process of having tests run to see if that may be HIS problem.  It's amazing the difference between the two

  Granted, I'm checking for HUMAN symptoms, but I'm guessing if they are that different for humans, same holds true for cats

.  It's almost like they are two different things, with the exception that they involve the pancreas.

Anyway, aren't you lucky to have such resources readily available. 

  Now that we know your dad is a retired Vet, guess who we'll be coming to for questions

that DeeJay starts feeling better soon.  I THINK she already is, based on your other thread

Click to expand...

Very interesting.  I have been reading up what I can about Pancreatitis in cats.  DeeJay seems to be doing okay today, her belly is still super tender (she really grumped at me when I picked her up).  She did eat a whole 3oz can today while I was at work so that makes me happy.  Yep, pick my brain away with questions :-)  I generally tend to do TONS of research on stuff as at one point I was going to school to become a vet but due to finances had to back out.  I still love to learn and soak up as much information about things as I can.  I have helped my dad with many strange diagnoses :-)  For example my cat who has Cerebral Hypoplasia....I figured out what was wrong with her and found out about it, he'd never seen it in 30+ years of practice.  We have since seen 3 other kitties with it.

I'm so sorry to hear that DeeJay isn't feeling well. There is a special blood test that can be sent out to Texas A&M to confirm pancreatitis. My Sebastian had/has pancreatitis, with suspected IBD as a cause and/or related condition. I like to research, too, so I basically have a whole library of resources now!     His first flare-up had him hospitalized, but I think his case was pretty severe and he had violent, continuous vomiting, a fever, and a hard, distended abdomen that was very painful. Like Denice said, I've read that pancreatitis in cats can manifest as nausea, anorexia and lethargy.

As to the phenobarbital, apparently it doesn't mix well with corticosteroids either (http://www.marvistavet.com/html/phenobarbital.html).

So glad she's eating!  

Well I am happy to report DeeJay must be feeling MUCH better, I am unable to get her liquid medication into her anymore.....gonna have to call my Dad today to get pills......I have been able to sneak her Cyproheptadine in her but the liquid even scruffing her I am unable to get it into her.....she's a bugger about medication.

Another update, she has gained weight she is 10.0# now, she was 9.8#, she is eating really good.  Took her last appetite stimulant last night so we will see if it continues.  She has eaten good today so far.  She did throw up last night though.  She is still a major pain to give the medicine too, I am maybe getting 1/2 to 3/4 of her liquid dose in her if that.  I checked with my dad and he said as long as she is getting some it will help her, as he wants her on this specific med and it doesn't come in pill form for her size.

I'm sorry about her throwing up - and that the med isn't available in pill form. I don't ever use liquids if I can avoid them. :lol3:

But she's gained weight and is feeling better!

it keeps up after the appetite stimulant!

Ugh....so I feed DeeJay in the bathroom, she was in there for maybe 10 minutes and pooped in my bathtub. It was very soft and gray in color. She never ever misses the liotter box. Called my dad and he wants me to watch her, if it continues she could have gall bladder disease which would more than likely require surgery. Not what I. Wanted to hear.

DeeJay is not doing good, she hasn't eaten really today, and has a fever of 103.7, she is shaking and has been shaking for 10 minutes.  I called my dad and he gave me suggestions for the fever, and I am watching her, she is definitely going to see him in the morning however.  He said the shaking is like the chills that you or I get when we get a fever.  I noticed that the litterbox in my room had another grey stool in it (she slept with us last night)   I am so worried about her.   She seems EXTREMELY painful even though she is on pain meds (Buprenex), she is hunched up in a ball and cries/grumps/grouches when she moves.  I will keep y'all posted on her progress.

Many prayers your way. Many, many, many! Your poor kitty, hope your dad can help. What a sad situation to be in.

Oh no I hope your kitty gets over this soon.  Your dad sounds like a very good and experienced vet, that makes a huge difference with a sick kitty.  If it's her gallbladder I know from my own personal experience that that is very painful.

So went and saw my dad this morning, yes he has tons of experience (40+ years).  DeeJay has a Urinary Tract Infection with kidney involvement, not major enough for it to show changes in the bloodwork though.  But she is definitely tender in her kidneys.  He gave her a shot for her fever and a vitamin shot to hopefully help get her eating better.  We put her back on the cyproheptadine and then added Tramadol in addition to the Buprenex, the tramadol will probably help her arthritis pain as well but she is extremely painful.  He said the next step would be an xray/ultrasound with possibly an exploratory surgery to figure out what exactly is going on with her gall bladder (painful and she is having grey stools).    Since my dad doesn't have a clinic any more the xray/ultrasound will have to be done at my work, but he can do the exploratory (he has a surgery room he built in his house). 

Thank you for the update and hope the tramadol helps her discomfort. I hadn't known you could give that to cats. Good stuff in people. UT infections are indeed painful.

Best wishes to DeeJay to get better without needing surgery.
(((((((hugs)))))))

Oh no! I'm so sorry DeeJay took a turn for the worse.    Many, many vibes that she's feeling better soon! 

Fever has broken, however she has been in the same spot for hours and just doesn't look good.  She did eat about 3oz of cat food today, although it took her all day to finish it.  She is refusing her favorite Tempation Treats :-(  She normally goes crazy when she even hears the bag russle.