Pancreatitis?

I thought I'd go a little longer without a huge vet bill, but hello all...

Our oldest cat Ane, 9 years, spayed female Siamese was sick Saturday morning. She was vomiting bile, lethargic, and had no appetite. She vomited in bed and then hid in the closet. I thought she was just embarrassed so I changed the sheets and held her for a bit and then we had company coming over so I had to get on with things. After our company had left she was still acting very sick. I stayed up with her through the night to observe her. She would not eat or drink, she didn't use the littler box, and she vomited several more times, so in the morning we went to the emergency vet. They put an IV catheter in to give her fluids and antibiotics, etc. Blood work showed that she was all normal, save the dehydration. Kidneys normal, liver normal, no sign of diabetes, gallbladder working, etc. Xrays showed no blockage.

This morning she went to a specialist who took an ultrasound of her abdomen. It showed no blockage or foreign material either, but it showed some excess fluid in her stomach. She remains on IVs and will have to stay at least another night.

The vet thinks it is likely pancreatitis. I've never heard of this, and so I've been trying to read about it. I've read it's particularly common in Siamese cats, and that it's more common in females. Does anyone have experience with this? How can it be managed? What I am reading seems to indicate a low-fat diet -- but all of my cats already eat a low-fat diet. Or, I think they do? They eat mostly Wellness grain free canned food.

Any advice is appreciated!

Managing pancreatitis can be tricky, just as finding the correct food can be tricky.  Each cat will be different.  But first, you need that diagnosis. 

There are many, many cats here on TCS that have pancreatitis.  WAY too many   It seems that many of them get sub-q fluids, steroids for inflammation, pain killers as needed, anti-emetics as needed, appetite stimulants (as needed), etc.  It really depends on whether or not it's chronic or just a one time thing.  Hopefully this is just a one-time thing and once she gets over it, that'll be it. 

If you do a search at the top of the page under pancreatitis, you will get hit after hit on the subject . 

I have a cat who has chronic pancreatitis.  We are managing it with meds but she still has flare ups.  There are some excellent posts on pancreatitis if you do a search on the forums.  My cat isn't on a low fat diet as she has food allergies so we have to feed her stuff that she's not allergic to.  this link has some excellent points for treatment:  https://www.idexx.com/pdf/en_us/sma...pec-fpl-treatment-for-feline-pancreatitis.pdf

My cat is currently controlled by a 7 day a week anti-emetic (anti nausea) drug called cerenia.  Along with Prednisilone which is for his IBD.  Every cat is different, and pancreatitis is one word for many variations of an illness and so each cat is different.

Thank you all.

The tests came back and pancreas function was normal! Our vet thinks it is NOT pancreatitis! So now we are again without a lead!

Karissima said:

Thank you all.

The tests came back and pancreas function was normal! Our vet thinks it is NOT pancreatitis! So now we are again without a lead!

Click to expand...

Cats usually test negative unless they are in the middle of a pancreatitis flare up or attack.  Was your cat tested with the PLI test during an acute attack?

My cat Ra had severe pancreatitis, complicated by diabetes.  It was very hard to see him suffer.  I do hope you can find a way to stabilize it with your kitty because I know other cat owners who have been able to and their cats have done very well.  *hugs*  You have my empathy.

She was vomiting bile Saturday and Sunday morning we took her in. The test was done on Monday. So I'm not sure if that would be during the attack or not?

She is still not eating or drinking. I took her back to the vet a few hours ago. Her bloodwork was normal again except for being slightly anemic, which is probably because of not eating, and her ultrasound showed nothing unusual. The vet is placing a feeding tube currently and she will keep it for a minimum of two weeks, possibly longer if she doesn't begin eating and drinking on her own in two weeks.

Currently there is no explanation for the mystery. Ane has been healthy her entire life. I am in contact with her breeder, as well, and know her mother and father are still living and in good health so genetic disorder seems unlikely. The vet does not think it is cancer due to the sudden onset of the illness. She eats a wheat-free, high protein diet. She is not allowed outdoors. She does not chew on things and I check toys for loose bits regularly.

I'm just hoping the feeding tube allows her to get the nutrition she needs to bounce back from this. Yesterday she finally showed some interest in playing with one of her toys. She acts cold all the time, she is very clingy and gets anxious when she can't see me or my husband (we've been trading off, I take her to work when he won't be home with her), and she acts very weak/tired. I realize that the weakness could be from not eating, but not sure why she refuses to even drink??

Gosh, I'm so sorry Ane is still not eating or drinking.     The feeding tube will help, but has she really not eaten since 10/13 when you first posted? Such a mystery when bloodwork, x-ray and ultrasound don't show anything abnormal. So the only thing out of range on the blood work was RBC? Was it a full CBC blood test? How are her liver enzymes? Calcium level?

You said they found fluid in her abdomen (also called ascites or abdominal effusion). This could be from a number of things - inflammation, cancer, liver disease, trauma, heart failure, FIP, etc. Here are a few links:

http://www.cat-world.com.au/Cat-Health-Collection/ascites-in-cats.html

http://www.petmd.com/cat/conditions/cardiovascular/c_ct_ascites

Since all other tests are coming out normal, have they checked her heart?

Does she go outdoors?

Have they tried steroids?

One of my cats has a similar problem. She starts throwing up all her food and can't keep anything down.  At first it was random (like once a week), sometimes twice a week.  She seems to sometimes get the hiccups or what my vet thinks is an asthma attack.  I'm not convinced it is asthma, but the vet suggested getting lung X rays. Anyhow, the vomiting completely stopped with prednisolone which I use as needed.

Last week she threw up 3 meals in a row, and I was all set to take her into the vet on Monday.  I started her on prednisolone as soon as she started vomiting, by the next day she was eating again, and she has not thrown up since.

I'm debating about taking her in and getting more tests done, but I'm not sure if it will show anything.  My suspicion is that she has either asthma or inflammatory bowel disease. The vomiting always stops when she goes on steroids and resumes if I take her off.  Since I have started cleaning the house more often (due to my other cats allergies) and I have switched the cats off clay based litter, I have not seen her "hiccup" at all.

 She has never stopped eating though. I keep her on 3 meals a day to try and keep her weight up. If I give her too large a meal she will throw up.  As she is a young cat, I'm not sure whether I should take her in for X rays, and additional bloodwork or not.  She is only 5 yrs old.

GoHolistic: (I like your name, btw) It was a full work up both times. Her liver functions were normal. Her heart is normal. Even her gallbladder is normal... the vet called the results "beautiful". Calcium levels were within normal range.

Xrays showed slightly thickened intestine walls, but ultrasound showed normal. (After the fluid cleared. Obviously the first two showed the fluid. The latest one, done earlier today, was "textbook perfect".)

Siamese can be a little odd, and she definitely has issues with being separated from me. She's nearing ten years old, but none of the usual age related illnesses are showing up. Our vet feels it might be psychological.

Since coming home from her hospital stay she has been very clingy and demanding. She falls into fits of hysteria if we don't keep her with us. I'm using a baby sling and my boss's patience to keep her with me at all times.

She is never allowed out of doors. A few months ago we would allow her out on leash and harness but haven't been taking anyone out for the last three months.

We have not been advised to try steroids. I am nervous to throw medicine at her wildly because of possible allergies or drug interaction, but I will mention it to the vet.

We have the emergency vet and our usual vet working together on this, and still no true explanation which is terrifying.