Anyone want to help with this mystery? (mild pancreatitis??)

[Pine]

Since Feb, she was getting either Rawz Turkey or Holistic Select Chicken, I attempted to add the Hound and Gatos Chicken, then turkey as Holistic ran out...and she started shunning HG without toppers, also had manageable bouts of constipation that I attributed to increased shedding/hair ingestion since whenever things did pass, hair wads every time. In April she was thoroughly displeased with HG, I like you, I started trying other foods. She's never before had issues changing foods, but I did used to use Mercola probiotics then stopped after this first bout of "whats going on??". Tiki after dark is liked. It's high moisture, low carb low fat. Downside is it lacks caloric density and is $$$. Their regular succulent chicken was "meh", but she likes both After Dark flavors tried so far. I even tried Purina (gasp) which she liked and hey, eating is eating. I hear friskies pate is highly palatable and some are decent ingredients for the price point. I don't know if her inappetence was pickiness or truly inappetence. With your boy, it sounds more definitively inappetence. But warming her meals made a difference with Echo and she got more gusto for meal time again. Worth trying. Aside from Tiki, the others mentioned are higher fat foods. I've read in other threads that lowering fat has helped some others with pancreatitis. So Tiki and Weruva are good ones for lower fat, high moisture, low carb (some Weruva are higher carb). But if their appetite is really decreased, whatever you can get into them is worthwhile.

Is he eating close to his daily amount? Have you asked vet about probiotic? Fortiflora is a really basic-bi*** probiotic as it is single strain, but, it also has animal digest which is apparently a very affective appetite stimulant. It might help both diarrhea and getting him to eat if your vet thinks its worth a try.

It has been a long time since I've raised a kitten into adulthood (my cats have all been adults for over a decade until this guy), but I recall them just being less frisky, though still really enjoying their toys, but perhaps maybe not for as long of durations. I don't think I have seen any adult zoomies in mine, but I don't recall mine being zoomers. They did grow out of the toe biting at night though!

If you offer Echo her old food or her usual favorite food in her picky spells, does she gulp all of that down or does she get picky about that as well? Perhaps that can shed some light on whether it is related to her not liking the food or not. Yeah mine defintely has no appetite. I have been trying every cat food under the sun (that is readily available in my area anyways), and thankfully I had some very small success today with some food toppers someone had mentioned on here. He is not eating anywhere close to his daily estimated amount, and has lost 2 lbs in 2 months. He is now at a healthy weight but I am very concerned about how rapid his weightloss was, and he's still not getting enough calories. His labs a month ago were fine but I'm worried his follow up labs next week will show fatty liver. The vet gave me some Fortiflora last night, he seemed mildly interested in it. We've suspected for a while that he has some allergies so I need to figure out how to find out what he's allergic to in order to minimaze any aggravation of what's currently going on with him. Even though he's not eating a lot, he chirruped today for the first time in weeks which made me happy. This house has been way too quiet.

In February, I brought her to the regular vet we used for x-ray when she hurt her leg one morning. She was in pain and isn't fond of vet visits, so they had to sedate her then. I guess since then, the vet decided she needs sedation. But in my mind, she had sprained leg and was in certain pain, so yes, she was "fractious" being lame and scared.

Yeah, the biggest, fanciest most up-talked hospital in my state killed our dog last year. Their reviews had warnings though, saw them too late. But, it looked like such a high scale, state of the art place. Looks and reviews can be decieving. And it really sucks to indefinitely not be able to get face time with vets now to both see what they are doing in exam room and "meet" them if new. I hope clinics consider video chatting as part of exams and will be offering that feedback to the clinic we went to recently.

Yes, she was understandably hurting and scared! Did any of the vets mention gabapentin or something to calm her down a little? We have to do that now before every appointment, but the vet no longer says she needs to sedate him to examine him or obtain labs which is a plus.

I am so, so sorry to hear about your dog, that is awful that happened to you guys, and I can absolutely understand never wanting to go back there. I also hate not being able to be there during the exam, even in the old days when vets would "take them to the back" for labs and stuff, I always hated it. Video chatting would a great thing for vets to implement, just to get to have more of a real interaction with your vet, especially if you haven'y met before. It's so hard to hand your baby over to a stranger. I will definitely ask mine at the next trip for guidance on how much water to add.

 

[Time 2 Recognize]

I have heard it can be a challenge switching cats' food, so that may indeed be a factor! That is interesting feedback from the Royal Canin vet, and it definitely makes sense to correlate the findings with the whole clinical picture and other laboratory findings.

It's so hard to tell whether a behavior is different or concerningly different, and I have questioned my sanity several times throughout this process! I think it's worth mentioning any behavior changes to your vet, even if its a new sleeping place. I've always been told any behavioral changes in cats can potentially be a warning sign since like you said they don't often overtly show pain, and I figure it's good for the vet to have as much information as possible so they can sort out what they think is important.

Yeah I could have sworn she liked either chicken or turkey hound and gatos before, but sometimes when I buy a case or maybe the btch is different...suddenly a "like" becomes a "nope".

I also read an article that discussed Omega 3 supplimentation might impact (lower) neutrophils, but I believe this was seen more at high doses. I do put additional salmon or smaller fish oil in her food most of the time.

It's hard to discern kitties, but today my Echo was her normal self and it affirms for me that she was off before. I don't know if for her it was digestive upset, or what may have been going on...but you know your kitty and I trust that you senses are in tuned with when he is "off". The vet we went to did kind of make me feel like nothing was wrong, and I do appreciate that her perspective from examining and the blood work gives her that conclusion. But as the kitty mama, I know something was off -just not something that the physical exam or blood work could definitively show to a clinician. So do trust yourself. You see your kitty in his home and know his normal, the vet(s) see the patient in a different context and evaluate in their own way, not knowing the animal as intimately as we do living with them. I also know its hard to know normal when it's been a while! Keeping daily notes has really helped me feel less crazy even though to some I'm crazy for keeping notes And like you said, then its more info to be able to share with vet, written down so you don't have to try and remember it all the time/in the moment when you might be stressed on phone with vet

 

[Time 2 Recognize]

If you offer Echo her old food or her usual favorite food in her picky spells, does she gulp all of that down or does she get picky about that as well? Perhaps that can shed some light on whether it is related to her not liking the food or not. Yeah mine defintely has no appetite. I have been trying every cat food under the sun (that is readily available in my area anyways), and thankfully I had some very small success today with some food toppers someone had mentioned on here. He is not eating anywhere close to his daily estimated amount, and has lost 2 lbs in 2 months. He is now at a healthy weight but I am very concerned about how rapid his weightloss was, and he's still not getting enough calories. His labs a month ago were fine but I'm worried his follow up labs next week will show fatty liver. The vet gave me some Fortiflora last night, he seemed mildly interested in it. We've suspected for a while that he has some allergies so I need to figure out how to find out what he's allergic to in order to minimaze any aggravation of what's currently going on with him. Even though he's not eating a lot, he chirruped today for the first time in weeks which made me happy. This house has been way too quiet.

I'm so glad some of the topper ideas helped! I know chicken and beef are some of the most common protein allergies, but they can be allergic to other ingredients in food sometimes...for now though, Whatever he will eat keep giving. The other thing to maybe ask vet, if it seems this is very linked to digestion/pancreas for your boy, is about adding digestive enzymes to his food. If his pancreas is flared, it could take some of the load off and make it easier for him to digest food which could hopefully help his appetite start to come back. So something that my echo finds to be absolutely irresistible is anything with yeast in it. I have these hairball treats called Vets Best and it has yeast in it (also liver but I'm certain it's the yeast that makes Echo nuts for it). I crush the treats into a powder, and it also has enzymes in it. While Echo was overall herself today, I'm still noticing after she eats it seems like she right away is slightly uncomfortable afterwords. She wet burps sometimes a good 30 minutes after a meal I notice. So I think something digestive is going on for her just don't know what

Is it still suspected pancreatitis as main cause of all this for him? I hope he perks up as he eats more. If there is any treat he likes whatsoever, crushing and sprinkling it on food is something else to try (don't remember if that was mentioned). Hugs to you. Its tough.

Did any of the vets mention gabapentin or something to calm her down a little? We have to do that now before every appointment, but the vet no longer says she needs to sedate him to examine him or obtain labs which is a plus.

Yes, which is why I was surprised she brought up sedating because she prescribed gaba once before. We had used it one time, but ended up not needing to go in...I forget why now, but at any rate it most definitely relaxed her and made her pretty amenable. I trimmed her nails and played with her adorable polydactyl paws (she normally has a very short time limit for such things).

Keep updating, I don't know if I can be of any help but I know how hard/scary things are. I hope tomorrow is better day and bit by bit he eats more and more. Keeping him in my thoughts. What is his name by the way?

 

[Pine]

I'm so glad some of the topper ideas helped! I know chicken and beef are some of the most common protein allergies, but they can be allergic to other ingredients in food sometimes...for now though, Whatever he will eat keep giving. The other thing to maybe ask vet, if it seems this is very linked to digestion/pancreas for your boy, is about adding digestive enzymes to his food. If his pancreas is flared, it could take some of the load off and make it easier for him to digest food which could hopefully help his appetite start to come back. So something that my echo finds to be absolutely irresistible is anything with yeast in it. I have these hairball treats called Vets Best and it has yeast in it (also liver but I'm certain it's the yeast that makes Echo nuts for it). I crush the treats into a powder, and it also has enzymes in it. While Echo was overall herself today, I'm still noticing after she eats it seems like she right away is slightly uncomfortable afterwords. She wet burps sometimes a good 30 minutes after a meal I notice. So I think something digestive is going on for her just don't know what

Is it still suspected pancreatitis as main cause of all this for him? I hope he perks up as he eats more. If there is any treat he likes whatsoever, crushing and sprinkling it on food is something else to try (don't remember if that was mentioned). Hugs to you. Its tough.



Yes, which is why I was surprised she brought up sedating because she prescribed gaba once before. We had used it one time, but ended up not needing to go in...I forget why now, but at any rate it most definitely relaxed her and made her pretty amenable. I trimmed her nails and played with her adorable polydactyl paws (she normally has a very short time limit for such things).

Keep updating, I don't know if I can be of any help but I know how hard/scary things are. I hope tomorrow is better day and bit by bit he eats more and more. Keeping him in my thoughts.
Sorry it took me so long to answer! It's been a busy time. How is Echo doing now?

Digestive enzymes is a great idea, thanks for the suggestion! My baby is starting to get better (appetite is back to normal, yay!) but still has song lingering moments of "offness" sometimes. That's interesting about the yeast as well! I've been witnessing the discomfort after eating and almost some sort of a gag in my kitty as well, which also makes me think something in digestion is involved. His GI panel all came back normal, so unless the FLP was a false negative for mild pancreatitis we don't know much more now. The vet wants to try an anti-anxiety med to see if stress is a component of his flare ups so we'll see how that goes.

Oh my gosh that is so cute she has polydactyl paws!

Hugs to you too, I hope both our babies can be back to their sweet selves soon!