My 16-year-year old sweetie has pancreatitis

Hi everyone, 

A while back, my sweet cat, Turtle (16 years old), was diagnosed with pancreatitis and maybe some bowel issues as well. I thought we had found a good solution to keeping her on an even keel (prednilosone, Hills w/d dry, and SD OTC canned) but the manufacturer changed the formula in the Science Diet w/d prescription dry, and now she won't eat it. So I had to switch her to something else, but obviously didn't work very well with her system because after a couple of weeks we were back at the vet's office with another horrible pancreatitis flare (this was yesterday).

One thing that confuses me is what should she be eating? She WILL NOT eat entirely canned. She will eat some canned and some dry. The question I have is I get my vet's office telling me one thing about what type of fat vs carb content and I keep reading the exact opposite on Internet cat sites that include veterinarians sites. My vet's office says as low fat as you can get, low protein, and high carb. Stuff I'm reading says no, that's the way you treat dogs and humans with pancreatitis, not cats. I will add that it looks like her kidneys are starting to have problems (according to blood work), but they're not too concerned about it at this point. So far she's not diabetic. (And, BTW, the stories the vet told me about people feeding their pets with pacreatitis high fat foods with disastrous results were all DOG stories.)

Anybody here with experience in feeding a cat with pancreatitis?  What did you do with this fat/protein/carb stuff?

(Since her flare and vet visit yesterday, she's eaten a bit of tuna, tuna juice, and two licks of canned food. (She did have IV fluids, anti-nausea meds, and antibiotic at the vet yesterday.)

Thank you!!

So sorry to hear that your girl has pancreatitis. It's awful. I have been managing Sebastian's chronic pancreatitis and IBD for the past two years, and what a rollercoaster it has been.

We've pretty much tried every type of food there is - prescription canned, commercial canned, commercial raw (frozen and freeze dried), homemade raw, and homecooked - always transitioned very slowly of course. He doesn't get dry food. It's incredibly difficult for him to process and digest, especially with inflammation preventing it from passing through effectively. It just sits there like little pebbles, which, in turn, can further irritate things.

The short story of it is, there isn't one magic food that Sebastian will do well on forever. Last year we had a good long stretch of about six months that he did really well on a rotation of 70% quality canned and 30% homecooked (supplemented with Balance It). That menu is outlined here: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/274500/best-rotation-to-prevent-food-allergies/60#post_3572252. Perhaps this is something to consider for your kitty?

I, personally, would definitely not recommend a low protein and high carb diet for an obligate carnivore. That just seems silly, IMHO. It needs to be easily digestible, and for most cats, this means high protein, low carb, grain free, and as limited ingredients as possible. Generally speaking, you're correct that we don't need to worry too much about fat content for cats with pancreatitis as much as we do for dogs. However, there are some cats that will be sensitive to high fat foods. Sebastian is one of these cats. I keep his diet at about 20% fat on a dry matter basis and no more than 25%. Over 25% can send him off into a flare.

Have you tried a novel protein?

Thank you for your reply!  I haven't tried novel protein; I'm not even sure what that it, actually. And what is Balance It? (I'm assuming it's something to balance out a cat's nutrition if what they're eating isn't the right balance!)

Right now she's eating stewed chicken and tuna. The vet suggested stewed chicken or turkey with rice and some of the broth that the meat was cooked in, at least for now.  Haven't tried the rice yet, but am cooking some right now. We'll see how that goes.

Do you just buy at a regular grocery store all the different types of meat that you mention at that link, or do they sell them as a raw food at certain pet stores? Those canned cat foods you list sound good!

I would be interested to know more about the novel protein and Balance It.

Thanks again!

A novel protein is something new and different that your kitty has never had before, such as rabbit, lamb, venison, or pork. Duck and turkey are novel for some cats, but for others all poultry is a problem. So many commercial foods are made with chicken, beef, fish and grains, that cats become almost allergic or intolerant from eating them over a long period of time. Commonly used grains and carbohydrate sources in commercial cat food include corn, wheat, gluten, and rice. If they are reacting negatively to these kinds of things, then it starts an inflammatory response in the body, which can lead to conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease, pancreatitis, etc. This is one type of thinking. Genetics, environmental factors, and trauma can also play a role in chronic conditions.

Nature's Variety Instinct has a line of "limited ingredient" canned foods for kitties with sensitivities: http://www.instinctpetfood.com/instinct-limited-canned-natural-healthy-foods-pets. You saw the list I already linked to. There's also a short list of prescription canned foods that are okay (not the ones everybody thinks of that are loaded with grains). Sebastian is allergic to guar gum, which really limits our options. It's in almost everything!

Yes, exactly. Balance It is a powder supplement used specifically for homecooked diets to ensure they are getting the nutrients they need. There are other supplements available for this purpose, as well. You can read more about both raw and cooked diets in our dedicated forum. Here's the link to our Home-Cooked Cat Food Resources. If you need more help with this, you'll have to create a separate thread in the Raw & Home-Cooked Cat Food forum. And yes, most of those meats I bought at a regular grocery store. The others I purchased from Hare Today.

It's okay to feed a bland diet (as you are doing now) for a short time to calm her system and try to get her stabilized. But since it does not contain essential nutrients, it cannot be fed long term. You'd have to start supplementing it.

Diet is not the end all be all for Sebastian. He's also on medications and supplements that help keep inflammation at bay. You just have to find a combination of things that work best for Turtle.

Thanks again for all the great information!

I'm going to try ground turkey tomorrow and then look around for some of the other meats you suggested. She's always eaten chicken cat food, do maybe a chance to turkey and other meats will help.