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- May 25, 2015
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Hello All,
New to this site and have found loads of useful information and support but was wondering if anyone who has gone through pancreatitis with their cats could give us some advice.
Our 13 year old cat Sergio was diagnosed through radiographs and ultrasound at the emergency clinic with pancreatitis and possible IBD a little over two weeks ago. His illness seemed to come out of nowhere! He was fine one minute and then critically ill the next.
After an overnight stay in the hospital and trips everyday to our regular vet for sub q fluids, appetite stimulants (that didnt work) and pain medicine (that made him VERY LETHARGIC, so scary) and anti-nausea medicine (that helped) he is now down to just taking 5mg of prednisolone (tablet, given by the worst cat pillers in the world, me & my husband) prescribed by the emergency room vet who is also an internist.
We will be discussing the the next step today which is a feeding tube because he just doesn't seem to be eating enough now that his appetite has come back a tiny bit. The vet said to stop syringe feeding him as he had started to eat a little FF canned a couple of times a day/night....whenever he steps in to the kitchen I whip it all out and he will start licking and eating.... and I have also heard him rooting around the kibble (that he used to LOVE) at about 3 a.m. or so crunching a few times but mostly he just sniffs at the dry and walks away. He is drinking on his own but even that looks tentative to me sometimes. He seems uncertain, but then starts lapping it up after a few tries.
Anyway, my question is that I am wondering if other cat moms and dads have experienced the highs and lows or ups and down of this disease?? It seems like every day we are taking one step forward in his recovery but then the very next hour we have taken two steps back. It is heartbreaking and I feel so terrible for him and we are hoping that we are making the right decisions for his care. Sometimes I think he is going to be okay because he shows interest in an old habits, playing, watching out the window alertly, jumping up to his favorite piano bench, etc. But then sometimes he seems lethargic and "out of it" and disoriented...going in rooms he never goes in, sleeping in a strange position, NOT sleeping during his normal sleeping hours....etc. He used to "talk" to me all the time, now he hasn't meowed at all since this all started! He's been pretty clingy too, sitting on my lap a lot more than he ever did before. He used to be content to lie next to me. Now he will head right for my lap and want to sit there for hours. Which is okay by me but I am hoping that doesn't mean he's in pain since it is kind of a new thing. He has been grooming himself but seems a lot more jumpy then he ever was. Sorry, don't mean to go off on a tangent.
So, yes, I came here to see what others have experienced with their kitties to see if we just need to be more patient and he will start to feel better and act like his old self or if he should be feeling better by now and we should try another form of treatment. The vet and clinic are being very helpful but I was hoping to get some feedback from all the cat lovers out here that have actually gone through this. Every time we think he has turned the corner and is getting better, it seems like a couple of hours later we are right back to where we started. Is this normal for cats that have pancreatitis and IBD?
THANK YOU for reading this and thank you for any input, support, ideas, etc.
Alan, Kim and Sergio
New to this site and have found loads of useful information and support but was wondering if anyone who has gone through pancreatitis with their cats could give us some advice.
Our 13 year old cat Sergio was diagnosed through radiographs and ultrasound at the emergency clinic with pancreatitis and possible IBD a little over two weeks ago. His illness seemed to come out of nowhere! He was fine one minute and then critically ill the next.
After an overnight stay in the hospital and trips everyday to our regular vet for sub q fluids, appetite stimulants (that didnt work) and pain medicine (that made him VERY LETHARGIC, so scary) and anti-nausea medicine (that helped) he is now down to just taking 5mg of prednisolone (tablet, given by the worst cat pillers in the world, me & my husband) prescribed by the emergency room vet who is also an internist.
We will be discussing the the next step today which is a feeding tube because he just doesn't seem to be eating enough now that his appetite has come back a tiny bit. The vet said to stop syringe feeding him as he had started to eat a little FF canned a couple of times a day/night....whenever he steps in to the kitchen I whip it all out and he will start licking and eating.... and I have also heard him rooting around the kibble (that he used to LOVE) at about 3 a.m. or so crunching a few times but mostly he just sniffs at the dry and walks away. He is drinking on his own but even that looks tentative to me sometimes. He seems uncertain, but then starts lapping it up after a few tries.
Anyway, my question is that I am wondering if other cat moms and dads have experienced the highs and lows or ups and down of this disease?? It seems like every day we are taking one step forward in his recovery but then the very next hour we have taken two steps back. It is heartbreaking and I feel so terrible for him and we are hoping that we are making the right decisions for his care. Sometimes I think he is going to be okay because he shows interest in an old habits, playing, watching out the window alertly, jumping up to his favorite piano bench, etc. But then sometimes he seems lethargic and "out of it" and disoriented...going in rooms he never goes in, sleeping in a strange position, NOT sleeping during his normal sleeping hours....etc. He used to "talk" to me all the time, now he hasn't meowed at all since this all started! He's been pretty clingy too, sitting on my lap a lot more than he ever did before. He used to be content to lie next to me. Now he will head right for my lap and want to sit there for hours. Which is okay by me but I am hoping that doesn't mean he's in pain since it is kind of a new thing. He has been grooming himself but seems a lot more jumpy then he ever was. Sorry, don't mean to go off on a tangent.
So, yes, I came here to see what others have experienced with their kitties to see if we just need to be more patient and he will start to feel better and act like his old self or if he should be feeling better by now and we should try another form of treatment. The vet and clinic are being very helpful but I was hoping to get some feedback from all the cat lovers out here that have actually gone through this. Every time we think he has turned the corner and is getting better, it seems like a couple of hours later we are right back to where we started. Is this normal for cats that have pancreatitis and IBD?
THANK YOU for reading this and thank you for any input, support, ideas, etc.
Alan, Kim and Sergio