After many vet trips, diagnosed with Pancreatitis

[goholistic]

I don't want to jinx our situation, but our sweet girl is doing pretty well still. I'm used to her cycling quickly between good and bad, so I feel like I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop.

She is still getting 2.5mg prednisolone per day, and half a cerenia tablet. She has stopped taking them in her food, so I've had to grind them both up and mix with a tiny bit of water (which makes them dissolve), and then I sneak attack her and give her the syringe of meds once per day. The vet said this was fine.

She has not vomited since her initial flare up on May 18. That's about 2.5 weeks. She has had softer stool than normal today, and I hope it's just because she snuck two bites of her brother's chicken based food, and she's supposed to be having only rabbit these days.

She has an appt on Thursday with the vet to test her pancreatitis level again. Then we'll make decisions about the meds, and I'll get them to give her some sub-q fluids again.

She's got energy, and while she isn't quite as playful as she was 5 months ago when we got her, she is not lethargic.

Fingers crossed.

Great to hear! I hope she's still doing well. 

  How did it go today at the vet?

Does she do better with syringing than with pills? I found it so much easier to buy empty gel caps, put all the meds in one gel cap, and pill it.

 

[munch64]

I have an update. After two weeks of half a cerenia tab and 2.5mg prednisolone per day, I took my girl back to the vet to be tested. They called yesterday with blood test results, and fPL test was great! She went from 30 something back into the normal range at 1.9.

They are having me wean her off the pred by doing that same dose every other day for three days. So she gets it today, Monday, and Wednesday, then she's done. They said cerenia can be stopped without weaning.

Of concern is that her glucose levels were 275 in this last test. They asked me to continue her usual feeding, etc, with her new novel protein food and then to bring her back in two weeks to check the glucose again.

So now I'm researching diabetes in cats to get an idea of how that treatment works in case it ends up that she develops it.

She does seem to be feeling better, and I'm grateful for that! She's been eating a lot, and she's been playful and affectionate. I just hope that weaning off the pred is OK and there isn't a relapse of the pancreatitis.

 

[jennyr]

Excellent news! I am so happy to read these results. Here's hoping that she continues to do well. My daughter's cat has not had any relapses of pancreatitis, not has she developed diabetes, after three years, though she is rushed to the vet every time she seems even slightly off-colour. I guess after a scare like that, you never cease to worry.

 

[munch64]

goholistic for some reason, I didn't see your last post before I posted that update. Sorry! She's a punk about pills. I have to be able to give her meds alone, and when I've tried pilling her, she doesn't swallow them, she waits and then spits it out. She seems to do better with my syringe sneak attacks.

She has vomited twice on two separate days since I started the weaning process. Included in the weaning has been taking her off the half cerenia tablet each day. So I suspect she may still need to get that periodically. The vet sent me home with some extra and said I can give it to her when needed.

In the meantime, our other cat, a 10 yr old male orange tabby, had to go to the vet because he'd become constipated, and they gave him an enema and kept him over night. He's feeling better now, and we're changing his diet. There's always something going on with these two!

 

[munch64]

Thanks, jennyr ! I agree with you. I feel like I have eagle eyes now, watching for any signs of trouble.