My Old kitties issues, chronic pancreatitis?

Shes eating well, at least. That's great !! And purring!!! )

As for her meowing and going in circles, could she be dizzy? From either the infection or the medicines?

Gee, I hope you find out what's going on with DeeJay.  

I know you want her to eat, but I would be careful about too many treats, especially if they have grains and preservatives and stuff in them. They could aggravate her GI system. I would recommend something like PureBites instead, which is simply freeze-dried real meat, and easily digestible.

So she was yowling like crazy this morning, so I brought her to work, had some xrays done and her intestines have the pattern of a blockage/obstruction. She was backed up with poop but has since pooped so we are going to take more xrays but its looking like she will have an emergency surgery tonight at my dads/

Oh, no! I'll be thinking of you all tonight! Tons of vibes...  

I know you and the vet were pretty set that DeeJay has chronic pancreatitis, but from my experience and understanding, it is best diagnosed via an ultrasound and the spec fPL test at TAMU. Is it possible that there is something else going on?

I'm so sorry that you have to resort to surgery. 

My dad will be able to look at things during the surgery. Still undetermined as to what exactly is going on with her, hoping to get to the bottom of things tonight. I do worry as she is 14 & 1/2 years old, but we shall see.

Well I have good news and bad news....good news is no surgery (yet), bad news is DeeJay has Megacolon.  I had my dad look at her xrays.   :-(  She had an enema today and I was told to keep giving her some Laxatone several times for the next 24 hours and put her on a high fiber diet.  She has not eaten in over 24 hours now.  We are going to send off for that pancreas test.  Off to do some research and learn all I can about Megacolon, this is a new one for me.

Oh my goodness! Many vibes all goes well tonight! (I also hope you get some answers!)

And for you.

So after my dad looked at her xrays and examined her we decided to hold off on the surgery and see how she does for a couple of days.  She did come home and eat about 3oz of food which is good as she hadn't eaten for 24 hours.  She is walking around crying.  She ate another 2 oz during the night.  I bought some pill pockets and she ate1 with a pill in it then spit out the other 2 :-(  She is on 3 pills and 2 liquids right now.  I started her on Miralax and we are probably going to order some Cisapride for her as well.  She hasn't had a bowel movement although last night I noticed she was in the box 3 or 4 times in a row straining but nothing came out but a drop of stool that was diarrhea.  Which I am guessing is pretty normal following an enema. 

I saw your thread in the nutrition forum and just wanted to echo what has been said there with what my vet has told me.  Patches has constipation with his IBD and I have asked my vet about megacolon.  Patches isn't at that point yet but I was just asking about the possibility.  My vet told me that with a kitty that has mild problems a little extra fiber can help but when it moves into the more serious problems a low fiber diet is the way to go.  She didn't give me any percentages she just said as low fiber diet as possible.  She also recommends the Miralax.  I think it actually works the same way as lactolose but it's easier to give and it's over the counter.

Denice said:

 
I saw your thread in the nutrition forum and just wanted to echo what has been said there with what my vet has told me.  Patches has constipation with his IBD and I have asked my vet about megacolon.  Patches isn't at that point yet but I was just asking about the possibility.  My vet told me that with a kitty that has mild problems a little extra fiber can help but when it moves into the more serious problems a low fiber diet is the way to go.  She didn't give me any percentages she just said as low fiber diet as possible.  She also recommends the Miralax.  I think it actually works the same way as lactolose but it's easier to give and it's over the counter.

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  I would DEFINITELY go with the Miralax vs the Lactulose.  SO much easier to administer because it isn't sticky, and is tasteless.  I was able to mix it right into Sven's food dissolved in just a little water, but on the days he didn't eat well, we syringed it in his mouth and he took it like a champ, UNLIKE the Lactulose, which he fought tooth and claw .  And if they are having trouble passing stools, I don't quite understand how bulking them up will help.  I would think lower fiber would be best. 

If she is in the box pushing and pushing and not much but some drops of liquid are coming out, it could mean there is still a very hard stool in there and the liquid is squishing around it .  Hopefully she'll be able to get it out (if that's what it is).  Poor old girl.  She's been thru the wringer lately   Wonder why all of this is hitting at once

It sure does sound like there's some stool in there that would benefit from Miralax. :nod:

I'm glad she didn't need the surgery - I hope the miralax helps keep it that way.

So good news!  She ate everything I left for her (2.5oz) today while I was at work, and appears to have had 2 bowel movements although they are diarrhea, which is expected for the next few days.  I am holding off on the Miralax for a day or two until she firms up again.  She seems so painful (she is on 2 different pain medications right now), does anyone know if Megacolon is super painful? She cries when I pick her up.

Hi Cheetah, how wonderful that your kitty is doing better!! You must be incredibly relieved.

Sorry, I don't know if Megacolon is painful or not. I would think it might be though, as I would think it would be accompanied by some gas .  So, if not exactly painful. perhaps uncomfortable?

So tonights update, she didn't eat all her food today while I was gone to work, and is currently hiding under my couch and I can't get her out :-(  She wont come out for treats or food, so she has not eaten her dinner.  We have decided to discontinue her pain medications as they can be constipating as well as her Metronidazole.  I just want her back to the same old DeeJay she was.  It is breaking my heart to see her like this, she walks so tenderly and acts like she is in so much pain.  We shall see how she does, if I can ever get her out from under my couch

Okay so she has DEFINITELY had enough of me giving her medicine, she came out from under the couch and I went to pick her up and she tried getting under it again.  She winces if I go to pet her and she wont take treats from me but will take lots of them from my hubby, she doesn't trust me anymore. 

She loves you, just not the medicine, lol. But hat's the price we pay for lovin' our pets, isn't it? They love us when we feed them snackies and times are well, but when we have to get tough they turn into --->

Chin up, it won't be forever.

I really don't know much about megacolon either...at least pain-wise. Are you sure it's pain? Does she have arthritis or anything else not related to megacolon that could cause discomfort? I find many times in senior cats that there is more than one thing going on at the same time.

I'm sorry to hear she's hiding.      I don't know if you started to use the gel caps, yet, but they really do help in that they are tasteless and scentless (great if you have a nauseous cat), and completely disguise the medicine.

I would keep a log of what you are giving her and when (food, medicines, etc.), and also her bowel movements (when and consistency).

Oh, I'm sorry she's hiding. Could it be that her tummy is really sore from all she's had to push out? I would imagine it would be uncomfortable. And hard to watch. Best wishes that DeeJay heads down the right path, and soon.

She does have arthritis in her spine, her front and back legs/hips.  She is on cosequin for that.  We let her sleep with us, she spent most of the night curled up on a heating pad (on lowest setting).  She wasn't as grumpy last night as she was last weekend when she slept with us.  She is still moving very tenderly, but I think part of that is her arthritis.  I am looking into Zeel and Traumeel which are holistic remedies for pain & arthritis.   I think she is feeling a little bit better today, I did not give her any pills this morning.  She isn't hiding and actually let my cat Mini Dee clean her.  For the last week or so she has been super grumpy and growling and hissing at Mini when she lays by her, so I think this is a good sing.  Her appearance is still rough looking but she looks more alert and better today.   Her stools are back to normal.  Right now she is just getting the Miralax.  We may add the Cisapride if the Miralax doesn't work on it's own, but so far I think it is. 

Here's a picture of Mini Dee cleaning her and then one of them snuggling together, DeeJay is the one on the left in the first picture and the right on the 2nd picture.