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Hello all, I am brand new here and I have come to you desperate for help understanding my beloved Hugo's pancreatitis. This past week has been rough, and think I'm starting to lose it emotionally. I've read everything I can find, including other threads here, but I'm still not sure what to expect.
Hugo is a black 7 1/2 year old male. He and his sister were abandoned by their mother in the back of our garage, so I hand raised them from about a week old. Hugo is a big fella, and we suspect partially Burmese based on appearance and behavior (soft shiny black coat, big golden eyes, just like a panther). Always healthy, confident, very playful. Happy!
On Sunday he started vomiting, a few times in a row, but only just white foam. When he did that several times in just a few hours we rushed him to the ER (only place open on Sunday). They did blood work and xrays, blood work looks "great" but xrays showed that he might be constipated. We mixed pumpkin in his food and thought it would pass.
Monday, no eating. Very lethargic. Alert, but not interested in moving or being around us.
Tuesday we took him to his regular vet. They said they weren't convinced he was constipated, since it looked like things had moved along (though no pooping), but he still wasn't eating. They gave him some anti-vomiting (Cerenia I think) and antacid, with subcutaneous fluids, and kept him overnight. Wednesday was more of the same, and they checked him liver levels to make sure he wasn't starting fatty liver. While the levels were higher than Sunday at the ER, it was still within the normal range. Thursday they did an abdominal ultrasound, and again everything seemed okay. They told us to take him home and try to get him to eat, since he might be more amenable to it in his normal enviroment. In the meantime, they sent our blood work to test for pancreatitis (FPL?). Came back at a 5 (normal range ends at 3), so that is nowhat the working diagnosis.
He tried to eat at home, but it was like he forgot how. He sniffed, licked, but never actually took anything down. So, unfortunately on Friday morning he had a feeding tube put in.
I was not emotionally ready for what it would look like nor how he acted after the sedation. It was terrifying and heartbreaking. We were instructed to give 21 CC food every 5 hours (with 5 CC water before and after to flush the tube). We crush up a quarter pill of antacid with each feeding and give buprenorphine every 7 or 8 hours via his mouth.
Now, the fun context is that we live just north of DC, so we're in the middle of an epic blizzard right now. About 22" of snow, with about a foot more possible. The vet is obviously closed and we couldn't go anywhere if we tried. Probably still can't for the next 2 days.
So now we're at Saturday afternoon. We've completed 3 feeding on our own. No vomiting, which is good I guess, and he is relatively cooperative, though not happy. But he is hardly moving, and mostly so that he can hide under the bed or get away from us. Now that the sedative wore off he seems much more aware and responsive, but not at all happy.
He also is snoring/wheezing. All the time. Breathing sounds like snoring, but he's wide awake. Is that normal?
How long after having the tube placed do cats typically start to behave more lively? I think he wants to eat, I do, but he's just not up for it. I'm guessing because of the pain.
Please, help me understand if this is normal, or if there's something we can do to make him more comfortable. I am really on edge with this, it's not at all what I had hoped for him. He seems so unhappy. Do cats typically pull through, or is there a good chance we'll lose him?
Hugo is a black 7 1/2 year old male. He and his sister were abandoned by their mother in the back of our garage, so I hand raised them from about a week old. Hugo is a big fella, and we suspect partially Burmese based on appearance and behavior (soft shiny black coat, big golden eyes, just like a panther). Always healthy, confident, very playful. Happy!
On Sunday he started vomiting, a few times in a row, but only just white foam. When he did that several times in just a few hours we rushed him to the ER (only place open on Sunday). They did blood work and xrays, blood work looks "great" but xrays showed that he might be constipated. We mixed pumpkin in his food and thought it would pass.
Monday, no eating. Very lethargic. Alert, but not interested in moving or being around us.
Tuesday we took him to his regular vet. They said they weren't convinced he was constipated, since it looked like things had moved along (though no pooping), but he still wasn't eating. They gave him some anti-vomiting (Cerenia I think) and antacid, with subcutaneous fluids, and kept him overnight. Wednesday was more of the same, and they checked him liver levels to make sure he wasn't starting fatty liver. While the levels were higher than Sunday at the ER, it was still within the normal range. Thursday they did an abdominal ultrasound, and again everything seemed okay. They told us to take him home and try to get him to eat, since he might be more amenable to it in his normal enviroment. In the meantime, they sent our blood work to test for pancreatitis (FPL?). Came back at a 5 (normal range ends at 3), so that is nowhat the working diagnosis.
He tried to eat at home, but it was like he forgot how. He sniffed, licked, but never actually took anything down. So, unfortunately on Friday morning he had a feeding tube put in.
I was not emotionally ready for what it would look like nor how he acted after the sedation. It was terrifying and heartbreaking. We were instructed to give 21 CC food every 5 hours (with 5 CC water before and after to flush the tube). We crush up a quarter pill of antacid with each feeding and give buprenorphine every 7 or 8 hours via his mouth.
Now, the fun context is that we live just north of DC, so we're in the middle of an epic blizzard right now. About 22" of snow, with about a foot more possible. The vet is obviously closed and we couldn't go anywhere if we tried. Probably still can't for the next 2 days.
So now we're at Saturday afternoon. We've completed 3 feeding on our own. No vomiting, which is good I guess, and he is relatively cooperative, though not happy. But he is hardly moving, and mostly so that he can hide under the bed or get away from us. Now that the sedative wore off he seems much more aware and responsive, but not at all happy.
He also is snoring/wheezing. All the time. Breathing sounds like snoring, but he's wide awake. Is that normal?
How long after having the tube placed do cats typically start to behave more lively? I think he wants to eat, I do, but he's just not up for it. I'm guessing because of the pain.
Please, help me understand if this is normal, or if there's something we can do to make him more comfortable. I am really on edge with this, it's not at all what I had hoped for him. He seems so unhappy. Do cats typically pull through, or is there a good chance we'll lose him?