Pancreatitis questions - cat in hospital now

Hello, my name is Lee Ann.  One of my cats has been sick, off and on, since the beginning of August.  In August, he had extended blood work, x-rays, and they found nothing out of the ordinary.  I was sent home with my cat getting a cerenia shot for nausea, and an appetite stimulant.  He bounced back, but he never quite bounced back to before all of this.  Before, he would eat any and everything you gave him, beg for food, he was a good eater.  He then started to eat less and less......still eating, but not like he had.  He would then go about 3 weeks, and be fine.  Eat, play with the other cats, he seemed great, no medications needed, he was doing OK.  So he has since had this pattern of 3 weeks being fine, and then a day or two where he would throw up, once or twice, pick at his food, barely eat any of it in the morning, but then by night he would eat enough to not have me running off to the vet with him.  This has been his pattern since August. 

This past weekend, he threw up again, and refused to eat.  We were prepared to force feed him the next day, but he woke up and ate a little food, and drank, and did not throw up.  We were at the vet first thing Monday morning.  More blood work, and urinalysis.  This time, the blood work showed his WBC to be way off, very high, like 38,000.  There was another part of that test, that I cannot recall, that was also very high.  Vet said his kidneys were fine, liver, all of the things in the super chem, 23 things that they check, all seemed normal. Just the WBC way high.  He also has gone from 11 pounds to right under 9.  We knew he had lost, I attributed it to him eating way less than he was, but I didn't realize it was that bad.  He is a big fuzzy main coon, so hard to tell.  My regular vet is out til Monday, I have seen two different vets with two different opinions.  One believes that he may have cancer, but without ultrasound, possible endoscopy, we won't know for sure.  He does feel like that it is probably some form of cancer.  However, the vet today, who I tend to not agree as much with her, she thinks maybe we should go to a specialist, have the tests done, that it could be his diet, pancreatitis.  My vet and I had discussed it possibly being pancreatitis or IBD, and discussed having the blood panel that is sent of to Texas A & M, but since he bounced back, we held off on it. 

So my dilemma is this now.  Should I have the test done and sent of to Texas, and can anyone here who has been through this give me any advice on the validity of the test?  I think we are going to go ahead and do it.  My cat is at the vet until 5:00, having IV fluids, buprenex for pain and another cerenia shot for nausea.  I want him home with me tonight, they want him back tomorrow for more fluids.  I am just wondering, does this sound like it could be pancreatitis?  He has not had a single day of diarrhea, his urine was perfectly clear and fine, he has always been on a wet food diet of grain free, high quality foods.  Since his ordeal in August, we started to feed him a lower fat food, thinking if it is pancreatitis, that a lower fat food would be better for him.  He did seem to tolerate it better.  But he has gradually eaten less and less.  Also, since August, what little food he has in his bowl.....it can take him 20 minutes to eat it.  For a while, I was pureeing it in the blender, making it like a slushy, and he did better with that consistency of food.  Then he started to not like that.  I have been trying different foods, and have managed to keep him interested in food, until this past weekend.  He does not have hepatic lipidosis, I have been vigilant in making sure he does not go more than one day of not eating, and until now, he hasn't.  But now, he barely picks at anything. 

So, back to the dilemma.  Can someone who has a cat with severe pancreatitis, can you tell me how it is managed?  I have read so much, and I'm a little confused about what all is done for a cat that has this really bad.  At this point, yes, it could be cancer, but I think we are going to get that blood test sent off to Texas just to see what they think.  I want to rule that out before we come to our decision to let him go.  I do not want to keep him alive if it is cancer.  I don't want to just let him go if it is possibly pancreatitis or IBD.  I am prepared to do those expensive tests to determine what it is, but part of me is not so sure that I want to put him through this.  He is so stressed out, and he is failing pretty fast right now.  I feel like I'm doing all of these things to him, and maybe I shouldn't be.  Maybe I should just let him go.  But we are all are heartbroken, and not so sure what to do.  I just thought I would ask someone who deals with severe pancreatitis, what do you do for a cat with that condition?  How often do they need fluids, nausea meds, etc? 

I know I am brand new to this particular forum.  I'm just desperate for someone to tell me something about dealing with pancreatitis, if it ends up being that.  He is only 7.  He is so young.  Thank you for reading this long post. 

I'm so sorry you're going through this with your cat. It sounds all too familiar.  

My Sebastian has chronic pancreatitis and his flares vary in severity. It waxes and wanes, and I would say overall that his pancreas is quite angry.     I'll spare you the long details of our journey with this since July 2013, but will try to answer your specific questions. Or, you are welcome to read Sebastian's threads:

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/262314/sebastian-hospitalized-has-pancreatitis-seeking-input

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/264363/sebastian-is-back-at-the-vet-suspected-pancreatitis-again

I wanted to know what the heck was going on, so I got the test done. I wanted to know (or rule things out) so that treatment could be more specific and focused. We got the "GI Panel 2" done. It includes Spec fPL (to check for pancreatitis), TLI (to check for exocrine pancreatic insuffiency), and cobalamin (B12) and folate levels. We also got an ultrasound. I'm glad I got both done because while the test came back positive for pancreatitis, the ultrasound revealed nothing too alarming other than an inflamed pancreas. An abdominal ultrasound would find any masses or significant inflammation/thickening in the GI tract.

As far as how it is managed, this was my go-to document for a long time: https://www.idexx.com/files/small-a...pec-fpl-treatment-for-feline-pancreatitis.pdf. Sebastian is on a pretty complicated regime to manage his pancreatitis, but I do think his case is stubborn and every cat is different. His daily medications include prednisolone, Cerenia, Pepcid AC, quercetin, two Chinese herbal formulas, and probiotics, as well as sub-q fluids every other day, B12 injections every other week, and special considerations on his diet. During more severe flares, we will add buprenorphine (for pain) and Zofran (another anti-nausea, but it is super expensive). We have also used metronidazole during flares if GI bacterial overgrowth is suspected. He gets only purified water, too (no tap). I think that's it, but I always manage to forget something.

I hope you get some answers soon. 

Oh wow, thank you SO much for all of that. I am going to read everything you have about what you have gone through with your poor baby. I Only have my phone right now or I'd be reading everything now.....stupid internet is down, grrrr.

Just wow, all that you have done for Sebastian, it almost makes me cry, because I can tell how much you love him. It's funny, I expect everyone to be like that, because I am, and they are every bit my children and family that my mom-fur kids are. So always shocked when people don't treat their pets as a family member, and do everything they can.

One of my vets, he also does nutritional counseling and he takes on cats and dogs of people who have already spent thousands at specialists. And he is highly recommended and has helped many people. He is quick to tell me that he cannot diagnose my cat from blood work alone, but there are many things that make him lean toward this being cancer and not pancreatitis. I can't even remember all that I wrote in my initial post, but his WBC was 39,000, which the vet said a bacterial infection could make it be that high, but he has had no fever at all. He say's that usually you would almost always see a very high fever if it was infection. We tried to give Taffy Clavamox, but he would not keep it down. So we opted for the covenia shot, which I am usually not fond of, but in this case I thought that it was worth a try. He had the shot once before when he was younger, and had no side effects from it, that we could see, so we did that shot yesterday. Then we were going to check his blood again on Monday, and see if the WBC went down at all. He thinks that if it does not come down, that we can probably rule out infection. So if the WBC does go down, then we plan to do the GI panel that is sent to Texas A & M, and then schedule an ultra sound. The vet does not think we will find anything though. So I'm so confused.

We were so optimistic until tonight. He woke up hungry, ate more than he has in months, did all of his normal things he does, and was great. A few hours later he was even sitting at his bowl wanting more, so I gave him more, he ate that too. Then at dinner time, which is 4:00 for my cats, he ate really well again, but immediately after, I saw him trying to drink lots of water, which is what he was doing when he was really feeling bad. I knew he would throw up if he kept drinking, so I stopped him. Then I could tell he was in pain, he was crouched, and he was purring, so I gave him some more of his pain meds, buprenex. Then he just stayed in his chair for the rest of the night until bedtime. At bedtime, he sleeps in my daughter's room with another one of our cats, and we had to coax him into the room, which he did walk in on his own steam, but did not eat his bedtime meal. So we are all heartbroken and thinking a trip back to the vet in the morning is likely. They didn't want to do another cerenia shot, they said he shouldn't have one for more than 4 days, but at this point, I think it is the only thing that will help him feel better. I gave him pepcid this morning, but I don't think the pepcid is enough.

I'm so sorry to ramble. I'm going now to read the links you have put here about what your poor Sebastian has been through. Thank you so much for answering me. I am trying to keep optimistic, but I really think what is going on with him is in fact way worse than just pancreatitis, unfortunately. My husband and I are devastated. My 16 year old daughter, who this is her baby, is in denial and thinks he is going to feel better soon. Other than a dog that I lost 7 years ago, I have never had to think of one of my kitties getting to this point of me having to make decisions like one I will likely, possibly have to come to soon.

So thanks again. I'm off to read your links.

Lee Ann

I have been reading about Sebastian's ordeal.  Oh boy, has he been through the ringer.  I have not read all of the posts yet, still reading them.  I am reading parts about where he was given pred.  One of the vets gave me some prednisone pills, but told me to hold off on them for a bit.  I'm thinking because he has so much other stuff going on?  I don't really know his reason, but he is out of town until Tuesday and I don't really care for the vet who is in the office today.  I had to practically beg for buprenex and she would not give me more cerenia, but gave me reglan instead.  He has not tried reglan yet, so we will see how he does on that.  He took his last dose of cerenia today though.  He did eat a few nasty cat treats, I really didn't want to give them to him, but he wouldn't even eat fancy feast.....which as you know is usually like crack to them.  I just got back from the vet, gave him a dose of buprenex and will check on him in a half hour or so to see if between the cerenia and buprenex he might eat.  I left the food near him, and I think he's interested a little, but hasn't made a move for it.  He just wants to lay in his "hidey hole", the place we call underneath my daughter's makeup table, his safe place.  He is there and wants to stay.  The vet I do not care for was trying to get me to do more blood work on him today to see if his WBC went down at all, but I told her I wanted to wait until Monday or Tuesday (when my regular vets will be back).  She is rough with him, and I don't like it.  I had to beg her for pain meds the first time, and it was CLEAR he was in pain.  Then she tousled his head, pretty roughly, like you would a dog, which irritated me, I'm thinking "you are a vet and not concerned about his CLEAR pain?"  She thought it was just nausea more than pain, but after trying one without the other....clearly it is both.  

We are trying to enjoy our weekend with him, re check blood on Tuesday and go from there.  My 16 year old daughter is a wreck. This is her baby.  We kind of all are a wreck really.  It is awful when your babies are sick and you can't make it all better. 

Thank you for your response.

Lee Ann

I commend you for trying to read through Sebastian's threads. The second one is really long. And if you haven't notice from my posts, I am the problem-solving type. I want to know how to FIX something. So for a long time I tried to figure out why this is happening. While I've able to pinpoint things that aggravate his pancreas and do my best to eliminate them, I'm still left with the same conclusion as to the cause....we don't know. 

I could go on-and-on about pancreatitis, but at this point I suppose you don't even know if this is the problem with your cat. I will say, though, that he has had a few occasions where he'd act like you describe above. He doesn't feel so well and skip a meal. Then because he skipped a meal, he's feel better and acts like he is starving. So I'd feed him, he'd eat well, and then he wouldn't feel well again. Every time a cat eats, their pancreas goes to work. So my conclusion was that during a pancreatitis flare, eating can be an aggravator in of itself because it makes an already inflammed pancreas have to work. BUT, they have to eat, so it's a matter of getting over that hump with supportive care. I also consult with an integrative vet who specializes in traditional Chinese medicine, and she advised me not to overfeed Sebastian. It's a fine balance.

It sounds like your vet has a preliminary plan. My vet is diagnostic heavy. She wants as much information as possible to make informed decisions. She has brought up the worst case scenarios early in the process - cancer, FIP, etc. - which, of course, is so devastating. I suppose she'd rather be on the more cautious side so as not to get my hopes up if something went terribly wrong.  However, cancer is still always a possibility as chronic pancreatitis could eventually turn into pancreatic cancer.

What are you referring to when you say your your vet doesn't think you will find anything? My opinion about the T&M panel is that what you will "find" is that your cat has pancreatitis or he doesn't. I, personally, find that to be helpful information. I understand that an ultrasound is expensive, but it, too, can be helpful. Just be sure it is performed and read by some with lots of experience, preferably a specialist. The ultrasound is only as good as the person doing it.

Sebastian is on Cerenia long-term (Monday through Friday only). I don't know what we'd do without it. If you think it helps, have another [serious] talk with your vet about getting more. Sebastian has been getting it Monday through Friday for over a year with no issues.

I'm glad you are sensitive to the possibility that your cat could be in pain. This is one of those topics I feel pretty strongly about, and, generally speaking, sometimes I don't think pain management is given enough consideration.

Good luck on Monday. Sending lots of vibes that the WBC count has gone down! 

My vet does think the GI panel at T A&M will be telling, he just seemed to think that a endoscopy and ultrasound would reveal much.  He didn't say not to do them, he just seemed to think it would not reveal anything, maybe at this point.  I''m so confused now.  

He has had a very good past two days.  He only had a dose of cerenia and buprinex on Saturday morning, and nothing since then.  He was fine that evening, ate very well, didn't throw up, didn't gulp water, and was perky and walked around.  I bought several different kinds of food, trying to find something to interest him.  I had a can of Soulistic chicken, and he loved it.  I have never tried that one before.  Today I bought some Weruva chicken, TIkki Cat chicken and Fussie Cat, and he seems to be very fond of this shredded chicken type of food.  It is lower in fat, and I have read that lower fat is better with either IBD or pancreatitis.  

I wanted to ask you about the Cerenia.  One of the vets (that I don't really like) did not want to give him too much cerenia, and the other vet said we don't like to give it more than 4 days in a row (I think), and Taffy had it 3 times in a week.  So she gave us reglan, which we have not had to try yet, because he has not seemed nauseated.  Do you have good results with reglan?  And I guess it would not be best not to have to give the cerenia too often, but when it becomes necessary, they go ahead and let them have it?  

I don't know if the covenia shot has caused him to perk up.  I guess we will see when we run the blood work again on Tuesday and see what his WBC is.  And we will send the blood for the GI panel on Tuesday also.  The vet is still perplexed that he has not run a fever through all of this, with a WBC that high.  

Sorry I am rambling.  I am so very confused right now, and just want to figure out what is wrong with my sweet boy so that we can start helping him properly.  

Oh, another thing, what do you feed Sebastian?  What does he like and what do you think he tolerates the best?  I am wondering what food do these cats do best on.  Sometimes I wish that I had started all of my cats on raw food, and wonder if they would have been better off without food that is processed and full of stuff they don't need.  But even though my vet is fine with raw feeding, he does not think it would be a good idea to change him at this point.  He has pretty much been on Wellness chicken and turkey most of his life (canned) and he only gets kibble a few pieces a day, as a treat.  When he started getting sick, I put him on Natural Balance, and he seemed to tolerate it better than the Wellness.  But since he has been eating less and less, I have tried many different kinds of food to keep him interested.  I also used to puree his food in a blender for a while, when he was struggling with any kind of food that was not almost soupy.  Then he didn't want that any longer, so I've tried other kinds, just to keep him interested.  I even gave him some fancy feast at one point when he didn't want to eat anything.  But he seems to like the Weruva chicken, so we will stick with this one for a while.  

Thank you for all of your information.  It has been very helpful.  

Ugh, my cat seems to have the same symptoms as both of your cats (little to no appetite for days, but then eats a normal amount, but then has no appetite again). We already did the test that needs to be sent off to Texas for pancreatitis and it came back negative.

Every time we take her in there seems to be no problems other than her WBC is high, so they always just say "It's an inflammation give her this low-GI food + nausea shot + sometimes fluids." Before this we were rotating her protein everyday and that helped for a long time. So before after vet visits we have given her the low-GI dry food and then gradually transition her back to  grain free low fat wet food (nature's variety, wild calling, hound & gatos), she's fine for 3 - 4 weeks, but then stops eating again. So then we give her crappy food (Fancy Feast), since that's all she will eat + dry food but then eventually she stops eating that too. This time we have been giving her the low-gi dry food for awhile and so I don't know what the vet will do when we take her in tomorrow. It's super frustrating because it doesn't seem like an underlying cause has been discovered yet. 

We have had these problems with her since we got her (at 3 months) for just over a year now. She will sometimes go for a couple of months no problems and then she gradually stops eating again. I think we are going to try and get her referred to a specialist. I think it is some kind of gastro issue since she is kind of runty (her parents we big cats but she's just about 5lbs).

On the other hand or other cat who did have an inflamed pancreas, got better straight away when we began switching his protein source everyday (and making sure it was a LI low fat food).  The vet diagnosed it as pancreatitis but he wasn't given any medication other than antibiotics.

@howsefrau32, I'm glad that he's had a good two days. Does make one wonder if the Convenia is doing something.    Just watch with those lower fat foods. They are also pretty low in calories, so you'll likely need to feed more of it.

My understanding about Cerenia is that there just needs to be a break at some point. We do 5 days on, 2 days off. Some vets recommend 4 days on, 1 day off. Some prefer to go every other day. Cerenia depletes "Substance P" in the brain, so that day or two break allows it to replenish. Long-term use of Cerenia without a break and continual depletion of Substance P could possibly result in tremors. Sebastian has never been on Reglan. Our vet felt that Cerenia was a better antiemetic drug for his condition and it has helped tremendously. We tried Reglan for a temporary condition in one of my other cats and it did not help. My understanding of Reglan is that it functions better as a prokinetic rather than an antiemetic. As a prokinetic, it works by increasing stomach contractions and stimulating intestinal motility in an effort to help push food and hair through more effectively.

For awhile, Sebastian did well on a diet consisting of 70% premium canned and 30% supplemented home-cooked meat. The canned food was grain free with limited ingredients and few fillers. I found out he is allergic to guar gum, so he was not able to have any canned foods with guar gum. However, after his last couple of flare-ups, I decided to try him on a 100% home-cooked diet. We are still working out the kinks with this. He didn't have an issue with fat until recently. Now he doesn't seem to tolerate it well, so I've been trying to keep the meats I feed him fairly lean. I've been where you are now with offering various foods and I even had to do the soupy thing for awhile! It may take some trial and error to find what foods work best for your cat. The important thing is to keep them eating, as difficult as it may be sometimes. Hepatic lipidosis on top of pancreatitis is not something I want to experience.

@mio-nozawa, it does sound like perhaps you need a fresh pair of eyes on your kitty's condition. These continuous cycles of anorexia and high WBC are probably doing a number on her little body. You may get some more tailored responses to your situation if you start a new thread.

@mia-nozawa think you for your response too. It does sound like your cat has the same pattern as mine, with being fine for weeks and then not eating again.

I was thinking with your cat having these problems straight away at three months old, I would think a food allergy. I have a cat who is so highly allergic to beef she will projectile vomit it after 2 minutes after eating any beef. It took me a long time to figure this out actually, because she pretty much vomited several times a week, but we were feeding her several varieties of the same Wellness canned. One day when I realized she had not eaten the beef and chicken, because they had been out when I got the food, it dawned on me that she had not vomited for 3 weeks. The cat who threw up 3-4 times a week. I then suspected the beef. We tried giving it to her again, and sure enough, it came right back up. My husband even gave her a tiny piece of steak one day, not thinking of the allergy, and same thing, she threw it up. I just feel like with your cat, it sounds like a food allergy, which they are the hardest to figure out. It could be chicken, turkey, beef, or one of the ingredients in most cat foods, like carageenan. If I were you, if you have not already done this, I would try one particular food and stick with only that one for at least three weeks. Weruva and Tikki cat are one of the few foods that do not have many of those additives in it that cause problems. They are also lower in fat, so you may have to feed more of it, but most cats love it. Even my fancy feast addict will eat it.

Thank you for your input. I'm sitting in the waiting room right now while they draw taffy's blood and give him a cerenia shot. My poor boy

My vet called me today to discuss Taffy's GI panel from Texas A & M.  He said that it looks like he does not have pancreatitis.  I do not have copies of the paperwork yet, so I'm just trying to remember what he told me, but he said that either his B-12 is low or that he needs B-12.....something was very low.  He recommended that we bring him in for injections, not sure how often yet.  

The vet had wanted me to cut back on his prednisone, cut it to every other day, but I did it for one day, and he immediately went down hill, so now we are up to 1/2 a pill daily.  He is only getting 2.5 mg of prednisone, I'm thinking maybe it's not enough.  Today, even though he did have a dose of the pred, he did not eat very much, but he did eat some and drink. I thought he looked uncomfortable, and maybe in pain, so I gave him some buprinex.  And then tonight he vomited again, a few hours after the pain meds.   He had not done that for about a week, I think.  So it was pretty upsetting to see him doing this again.  So we will be headed to the vet tomorrow for the B-12 injection, cerenia injection, plus hopefully he will let me have some of the pills as well, so that I don't have to keep dragging him in there, and possibly IV fluids, or maybe just Sub-Q, depending on how he looks tomorrow.  My 16 year old daughter just started crying when she saw him throw up, because she knows that he is still very sick.  

We found Taffy in our back yard one day, sitting in the rain, traumatized and shell shocked looking, not attempting to move out of the rain.  I fed him a can of food, and he began to come back twice daily for the food, but would not get close to us.  It took 3 months before he would finally stay near us while he ate.  And then one day we decided that we must trap this cat and get her fixed before she had kittens, and surprise, surprise, when we got him to the vet, he was a boy, LOL! We couldn't get close enough to tell.  It's so funny, because to this day, every one calls poor Taffy a girl, refers to him as she.  Because he is such a sweetheart.  We lured him into the crate on my daughter's birthday in early August, and she insisted he would be her cat, since my older daughter had a cat that she called her own.  We tried to get her to rethink his name, thinking he needed something a little boy sounding, but she was stuck on Taffy, so that was it.  He has been the most perfect, sweetest, gets along with any other cat, is my doberman's best friend, he grooms her all the time, just the best cat.  He has never been a lap cat, but he will sit near you, but is not really a snuggler.  He does like to be held and have his chin scratched, but if you try to sit down with him, he just squirms away.  

He is resting comfortably now, with my 2 year old black cat, Stephano, who he is very bonded to.  (My daughter named that cat too, have you ever heard such a silly name for a cat, lol).  Stephano and Pippy, my other female, they can tell something is wrong with him.  They keep walking up to him, looking at him funny, and smelling him all over.  They know something that we have not quite figured out yet.  

The vet did mention that he thought he could have IBD, but I would think he would have had diarrhea, and he has not ever had that and has always tolderated his food, I don't know, i guess it could be, I don't know enough about IBD, but I do know that it can only be diagnosed by a biopsy from being scoped.  

Sorry to ramble.  I am just worried about my little guy tonight.  Hopefully they shots tomorrow will perk him up for a while again.

I pushed for x rays today, and it's a good thing.  They found what appears to be a squeaker from a dog toy, in his small intestine.  Looks like it is totally blocking things from moving, which is why he has been vomiting.  They did not see this back in August, so I don't know if he just recently did this, or if it's been in there a while and they just missed it.  They said it could have been in his stomach with food, or somewhere where stool was blocking it and it wasn't visible in August when he had his first x rays and when he first got sick.  They let me bring him home.  He had fluids, cerenia, x rays, the boy had quite a day.  They let me bring him home, so he didn't have to sleep up there all alone, and I am getting him back at 8:00 tomorrow morning for the surgery. They are hoping it will be a simple removal but if not they may have to resect the intestine.  The vet doesn't think this is the only thing going on, that there still may be something else, but they are going to be able to do biopsies tomorrow and they should know if it's cancer from that.  The radiologists did not see any evidence of lymphoma in his organs, from what they could tell.  Just gas and the squeaker.  If that's what it is, which I believe it is. I recall my dog removing one a few months ago, and I thought it was in the trash, but I guess he got it.  He used to eat things before when he was young, but I have not seen him do that in years, but I guess he has been.  Maybe he has been doing this for a long time and it has caused him to have IBD?  I am hoping that's all it is.  Now I have to keep him from pulling out his catheter that they left in his arm for tomorrow.  He is not messing with it now.  He has been to the litter box 20 times and can't go, so I'm guessing it is now blocking him from going completely now.  The weird thing is....I saw him poop a few days ago, and have seen him several times go, but I guess it must have shifted and is now blocking anything from getting through.  

Thank you for the kind words and everything.  I will let you know how the surgery goes tomorrow.  

Aww, your poor baby.    I'm always freaking out everytime I see my 2 young kitties with something in their mouth that is not their toys.   They always manage to find the smallest things!

I will pray its only the toy in there and things will be okay for your baby.  

Good luck 

The surgery went well, they were able to get the object out of his intestine without having to fully cut it and resect it, so that was good.  They took a bunch of biopsies to send off, but said the tissue looked good and healthy and not damaged from the blockage.  They had me bring him home, but keep contained in a crate, which I bought a larger one so he's not cramped.  In the 2 minutes we left the room when we got home, he got the e-collar off that THEY put on, pulled out his catheter that they wanted left in because he has to go back tomorrow so they can observe him and try to feed him small bits of food and see how he does with it.  When we took him out to put the collar back on, he had peed all in his cage, so we had to clean it.  We tried another e collar that I thought was more secure, he got it off three times, and the last notch I tried, it was way too tight, you couldn't even turn it or barely get a finger under it at all, so we went back to the original one from the vet, that is tied on with gauze.  He is back in his cage, hopefully he will keep this one on, but I have my doubts.  They gave him burprinex at 5 and said to give him more at 9, which we just did, and he is not as drowsy as I hoped he would be, so he would rest.  It's going to be a long night.