from a dental to pancreatitis

My kitty (male 10yrs) was healthy prior his dental cleaning and two extractions. Mar 18th   Around day 4  (mar 22nd) after dental he started to get nauseous I brought him into vet and they gave an injection to stop nausea  in which we stopped the Clavamox . After the shot wore next day the vomiting and now not eating or using the box. March 24th he goes back into vet in morning in which they did exam and they saw he was dehydrated and gave a sub-q fluids and another shot of the nausea meds. Took him home and he was now drooling and was still licking his lips which they say is a sign of them being nauseous. I phone the vet and they said if he did not improve by afternoon to bring him him for supportive monitoring. Which I did and they did an xray to see if there was any blockages causing all this vomiting. Called me back later to say the xray looked fine except he had a thickened pancreas and from the symptoms he was the same as pancreatitis.   I do not know how a dental cleaning and two extractions goes to pancreatitis?? I asked the vet how could he have this and her response was in cats who are on a high fat diet they see issues with the pancreas I explained he was on Hills R/D food which is low calorie. I asked if anything from the anesthesia could have caused this and she doesnt believe so.

Let me go back a bit mar 1st I took him to his regular vet (the one above is his 2nd vet) because he was licking his lips (not vomitting) The vet did an exam and found two of his back teeth to be inflamed and needed to be extracted.  The attempted to get blood from him and was unsuccessful they immediately said he needed an antibiotic and gave him Convenia before I even knew what the heck it was. Told me to come back on Sat to redraw blood and next day I phoned them to see if they could give a kitty xanax and they said they could not and then I was told I should take my cat somewhere else (because they couldn't draw his blood??) The doctor they referred me to was far away and I have no car. I found a vet that was closer and took him there  and they agreed he does need two teeth needed to be extracted.  They gave me burprenex for pain and I told them he already had a shot of antibiotics yesterday. Unfortunately they could not get the dental scheduled til end of the month but had me on a waiting list. March 14th I phoned them because the Convenia shot was done it last two weeks and after reading horror stories I asked if they could give something else and they started him on Clavamox on March 15th. He had no side effects from it I fed him food before giving it. March 18th he does in for dental and everything went down hill. I really don't think the clavamox was causing the vomiting because he was on it for a few days and nothing. I am seriously wondering if the pancreas if a result of the Convenia?? I have to get him ready he has to go back into the vet this morning for supportive monitoring 

You said he first became nauseous on day 4 after his dental, upon which the vet gave him an anti-nausea injection. Cerenia is commonly used as an anti-nausea medication by vets. Convenia (which you mention later was administered at his regular vet) is an antibiotic. Seeing as how the Convenia was given well after he first became nauseous and the concern popped up about his pancreas, I would assume that it was not the cause.

I just don't know where this all came from. My thoughts it was the medications given. Then again thinking back to his regular vet he was seen in beginning of Feb he had some itching in his ear I was concerned of infection or ear mites. They examed his ear and it just had some wax build up they applied drops and cleaned it out. Went back on March 1st and when they did his weight he dropped 2 lbs in less than 2 weeks. I am wondering if they missed the panccreatis (sp) then. I explained he wasn't eating and he was licking his lips - they said it was bc of the teeth issue he was doing that. 

rey spent the day at the hospital they had to give him fluids, nausea med and a appetite stimulate so he would eat. Got him home and he ate close to 3/4 of a can of food - i didn't give that all at once broke it down into small meals. He doesn't have to return to hospital tomorrow for care. I will administer his meds and "try" to get him to eat.  

Which supportive medications did your vet give you? When my kitty Tiger had her first acute pancreatitis attack, we were sent home with Buprenorphine;Cerenia for vomiting; Ondansetron for nausea; Metronidiazole if there was any diarrhea and Clavamox.  If any of your meds are in pill form, you may want to get clear gel caps for easier pilling, as some of the antibiotics are especially nasty tasting. The gelcap can be chased down with a spoonful of meat baby food. 

Your kitty may develop food aversions due to associating previous food with being sick.  So anti-nausea meds are critical to ward off inappetance. Mini meals worked best for us.Be  aware that cats are expert at hiding their pain- if you see your kitty sitting in the meatloaf position staring off into space, he might need more bupe.

How long did it take for your kitty Tiger to start feeling better?  

Rey is on 

Burprenex - pain syringe 

Cerenia - anti-nausea - pill 

no antibiotics

while at hospital yesterday they gave him a appetite stimulant  

I am feeding him small meals throughout the day.  He got probably a full can of food today =)  He is taking water now before I had to add it to the canned food. So worried about him getting dehydrated.  We relaxed all day he laid on my chest and we watched tv all day.  

Sounds like Rey had a good day today!  Eating is so important--just watch for any signs of nausea and don't be too quick to stop Cerenia.  Was Rey given Mirtazapine for his appetite stimulant?  If so, it is usually only good for 2 days.  And watch for any meatloafing. Sending positive healing vibes or him!

It was several days of supportive meds at home before my Tiger really perked up as hers was an acute attack :-(     She had lost weight and was vomiting and not eating and was hospitalized for 2 days.

Rey is feeling better today. Was up and alert seemed like his happy go lucky self so maybe he is starting to feel better =) Yep Rey had the Mirtazphine too. If it lasts two days he is doing pretty good on his own - he had his on Friday.  Using the box more frequently doing both =) I will have to call the vet in morning they only gave me two Cerenia tablets - I will take your advise and get the gelcaps he drools really bad when I give him that one from spitting it out repeatedly.  He hasn't been meatloafing.  If he is in pain he goes to the closet and lays down on his side.

I am glad Tiger pulled through it - it is so scary =) It's hard watching our fur babies goes through all this Has Tiger had a repeat episode ? Have you changed foods?  Rey is on a RX diet Hill's r/d which is to manage his weight and prevent struvite (sp) crystals. He has been on this food for yrs. Only crappy food he gets is his canned he wont touch the hills in the can - he likes friskeys. I am going to try and see what other alternatives there are. My pet doesnt carry hills so I have to get script and order online.

I was thinking too. Rey is overweight and has been for yrs. He has never been tested for diabetes but after this pancreatitis episode and learning how the pancreas has something to do with the insulin I am going to ask if Rey can be screened. I want to make sure everything is being managed so he never has to go through this again.  

I was guessing your vet gave him Mirtz, that seems to be what all the vets use nowadays. Glad to hear Rey had a good day, it sounds like he is making the turn back to full health and that is really good!!! The fact that he ate was a good sign from when you first brought him home.  I had to change all of Tiger's foods as she developed food aversions from being so sick, plus she was diabetic and early stage CKD, so it was a little tricky. She did love Weruva and Wellness though, so that's what she got.  It is hard because you are dealing with struvite crystals, I did not have this to deal with but I always worried about it.   Have you ever looked at Chewy.com? I thought I saw they had some Rx foods, and it is less expensive than buying at your vet.

How old is Rey? If he is a senior, your vet has likely screened him for diabetes, they may have done bloodwork when he was at the vet this last time? If you are curious, you can also get an inexpensive human glucometer from WalMart(Relion) and test him yourself. Testing  isn't as hard as people think. Especially if Rey likes treats. They learn quickly that test time means treat time LOL.

Tiger survived the acute attack quite nicely, but it did turn out that she would get chronic pancreatitis attacks from time to time. I got really good at watching for symptoms and I always had anti-nausea and bupe on hand if needed, catching it early helps.  So she did not ever have too many problems for a year and a half.  Unfortunately, I lost her to probable pancreatic cancer this last July, she was 17 1/2 :-(   But just so you know, many cats die from acute pancreatitis, and it is a super scary thing, but it looks like you got Rey the earliest possible treatment and I do believe that made all the difference in the world!  Great work!

Aww I am so sorry about Tiger That had to be hard on you!! You did a terrific time taking care of her she had a great fur mommy!!!  /hugs from Rey & I both!!!

The vets ofc (nurse) called 1st thing this am to check in on Rey and I said he was doing good. I told them last night he wanted nothing to do with the canned food I was giving him and I offered him his dry Hills R/D food which he did eat a 1/4 cup.  The nurse said we need to keep Rey on a wet food diet and I explained my concerns with the reasons he was on the R/D for weight management and the crystals. I need to talk to doctor on that one bc she wants him on canned only diet which my old vet that followed Rey for many yrs said it's important to have dry food for their teeth.  I also asked the nurse if anywhere in Rey's bloodwork was he screened for diabetes and she said it was fine his glucose levels. She said the urine tests are more accurate ?? I don't get that but ok. Nurse also said to discontinue the anti-nausea meds and see how he does and if he gets sick just go back to ofc for more.  

Today Rey has been doing great. He is able to hold down his food without the anti-nausea meds.   I went out and got him some of the Wellness food (he had some over wknd he enjoyed) just in case he won't eat his regular food I have left and vet and I figure out what food he will be on to manage his various conditions.  From what I read we need to stay away from any of the canned fish foods bc it can trigger the pancreatitis.  He is resting now I just gave him his burprenex. He has one more syringe left.

His pancreas issues seriously came out of no where. After they did the xray to see what was causing the vomiting that is when they saw his pancreas enlarged (kind surprised they did not do blood to confirm) they began the supportive treatment.  Thank goodness for his yearly dental that caught this before it was too late!!!   

How to you know what to look for future attacks? The meatloafing, not eating and vomiting? 

Thanks Nikon71, it was the hardest thing to let her cross the rainbow bridge, but she gave us the sign that she had enough. It is the final act of love that we show for our babies.

At this point, Rey just needs to be eating--and I sure hope you will come back and tell me that he is still eating willingly because that is half the battle with pancreatitis!  I would just watch him real closely for signs of discomfort or most particularly nausea/inappetance.  Most of us who have had a kitty with chronic pancreatitis keep the anti-nausea meds going but try to stop the appetite stimulants.  But I would never ever give an appetite stimulant without first addressing nausea because that will cause food aversions. Just imagine someone trying to force you to eat when you want to vomit!   My vet told us that urine testing is not accurate for treating diabetes, rather, getting a tiny drop of blood from the ear and using a glucometer is the most accurate way to test. They even showed me how at the clinic. 

For me, Tiger's acute pancreatitis attack came out of nowhere- one day she was fine, the next she was so sick we thought we might lose her.  The ER vet saved her life as far as I am concerned. But if Rey's becomes chronic, which I hope and pray will not be the case, watch for sniffing and walki8ng away from food, hunching down near the water bowl, meatloafing and vomiting/diarrhea.  The people at the feline diabetes forum taught me to watch for the 5 P's-- Peeing, Pooping, Purring, Playing and Preening. When one of these elements is missing, the helicopter mom in me starts hovering LOL.  I have 2 kittens now, and they need constant attention just like my Tiger, it never ends LOL!  Keep us posted as to how you are getting along.

I went through the same back in 2005 with a kitty who had chronic renal failure - it broke my heart to let her go but it wasnt fair to her and the pain she was in. We did what was right by her.  

Rey is eating and holding it down. It is day 4 being off the anti-nausea meds and day 3 off being off the pain meds. Hasn't had the appetite stimulant since last Friday. The thing I am confused and tried to get clarification from his vet is what to feed him. She wants him off teh R/D and said she wants him on canned food. Ok but what food do I need to give. I been giving wellness (slices) but then read somewhere and scared myself of the dangers of feeding canned food with carrageenan in it. Not many foods without that in it.  Fancy Feast classics doesn't contain carrageenan so that is what he is on now and enjoys it.  I just want to feed him something that won't  aggravate the pancreatitis.  Any suggestion on foods? 

You know a few days ago Rey began sniffling and goes into sneezing fits. I called the vet and she believes he has potentially and upper respiratory infection. (from hos stay poor guy cant win)  The vet didnt gibe anything as there is no discharge from nose/eyes. She suggested I steam up the bathroom and bring him in there to help breathe better and break up any congestion.  He has the peeing-pooping-purring down - he still very weak to play and no idea what preening is  - he could be doing it but idk lol =) One kitten is a handful couldnt imagine two yikes hehe they will def keep you on your toes hehe =)