My cat has pancreatitis and now has a feeding tube-please help

[finnlacey]

Ask for B12 injections to help with absorption of nutrients so she can get her vitamin levels back up. It helps a lot with these conditions! It's non toxic and water soluble, the vet shouldn't have a problem with doing it but make sure to ask. It also naturally enhances hunger levels. 

 

[portia]

Ask for B12 injections to help with absorption of nutrients so she can get her vitamin levels back up. It helps a lot with these conditions! It's non toxic and water soluble, the vet shouldn't have a problem with doing it but make sure to ask. It also naturally enhances hunger levels. 

Great! Thanks. Ill check with her on that. Think good thoughts for Portia. Ill let you know what happens tomorrow !!

 

[portia]

Good news!! the vet said Portia was no longer jaundiced. There was no yellow anywhere.Although she had lost about 0.2lbs from her last visit (probably because shes only been eating about 1/2 a can a day), the vet was very happy and said that we can probably hold off on putting the feeding tube in. Portia ate about 6oz of food on friday and almost 9 oz yesterday 

. Today she's been a little less active and has been hiding under the bed for the most part. Hasnt eaten very well either (only about 2 oz so far). I gave her the pain meds although she hasnt taken it in about  2 days now. Im hoping she'll improve in a few hours and resume eating! But all in all, things are looking up!!

The vet agreed about the denomarin so I bought the pills. She said she dint need B12 injections since her B12 levels were normal (a little high if anything). 

Anyway, just thought i would share the good  news. Hopefully, Portia feels better today but from reading about everybody else's experience it seems like its normal to have some good days and some bad!! Anyway, will keep you all posted. Please keep the good thoughts and vibes coming!

 

[finnlacey]

This is very good news! Glad she's doing better, that's excellent. and yes, you can expect bad days along with the good for a little while longer. 

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Very good  news indeed

, And, WOW

...9 oz yesterday!  That's fantastic!!!!!  It's no wonder she hasn't eaten much today.   She's probably still full from yesterday

 

[portia]

Hi all,

Just an update about Portia. Shes been off the tube for about 2 weeks now. Shes eating ok. About 4.5-6 oz a day. She seems quite healthy otherwise and her bilirubin is down to 0.9 and her liver enzyme levels have begun to drop as well 

.  The doctor feels that shes still not eating enough and that remains a cause for concern. She recommended I meet the specialist again this week to better understand why she hasnt regained her appetite fully. I think Ill wait another week and see if she improves. If her appetite doesnt improve or begins to get worse, then Ill take her next week for sure.  Other than that, shes doing quite well. Shes active (relatively speaking ofcourse) and has gone back to being her cuddly cute self!! Ill let you know her status in a few days.Hope we wont need to reinsert that feeding tube. How long did it take your cats to regain their appeitte fully? Its been 4 weeks since the tube was first inserted about 2 weeks since she pulled it out!!!  They underlying cause for her HL was pancreatitis so im sure how that changes things.

 

[tjcarst]

Glad to hear Portia is doing so much better!

I have two female cats (8 lbs and 10 lbs) and neither eats 6 oz of canned food a day.  They do get mostly canned, but a small amount of dry as treats.  

How much did Portia eat before she bacame ill?  

 

[portia]

She used to eat about 3 oz of wet food and about 1/4-1/2 cup of dry food. Thats the equivalent of maybe 7-8 oz of canned food a day. Now, that was probably too much because she was a little over wieght (around 12 lbs). The vet said  about 6oz of canned food was good enough for her. How much do your cats eat?  She seemed to really like the fancy feast I was giving her but maybe I need to change the flavor again. Shes become very picky and wont eat any of the good canned food she was eating before. 

 

[spencers mom]

HI I'm glad Portia is feeling better!

How did it take for her to start eating on her own again - even a little bit? I've been syringe-feeding Spencer for 8 days and he still hasn't eaten on his own.

 

[portia]

Hi there. Im very sorry to hear about Spencer. It took Portia about 10 days before she started eating a little. I bought her fancy feast because I heard cats like that brand. She ate only a little at a time and by two weeks she was eating a little under 3oz by herself in addition to what I was feeding her through the tube. Her blood work also got worse (much worse) before it got better. Its been about 4 weeks now and even though she doesnt have the tube, she still isnt eating her full recommended amount so m guess is, it will take some time. Why did Spencer have to have a feeding tube placed?

 

[spencers mom]

Thanks for the reply Spencer doesn't have a feeding tube. I feed him by mouth with a syringe. He wasn't too weak to eat and he's not fighting me back either, so the syringe works for him. It probably brought on by a urinary blockage he had back in December. He's recovered fully from that, but he never started eating again like he used to, and lost 6 lbs (from 21 lbs to 15 lbs) very quickly because of the blockage, which the vet thinks might have caused HL.

He was tested for pancreatitis btw and it came back negative.

It's just so hard, I know I have to be strong for him but I'm so worried he'll never recover Especially since yesterday he threw up for the first time since all this started, it really freaked me out

 

[finnlacey]

I don't know why Spencer doesn't have a feeding tube but I highly recommend it. It doesn't sound like he's going to start eating on his own anytime soon and that's A LOT of weight to lose! 

 

[denice]

I have been through this two years ago.  Patches had the feeding tube but if assisted feeding works that's fine as long as kitty gets enough food.  It's takes a long time for them to recover and there are ups and downs.  Patches recovered and has been fine since.  Patches liver enzymes continued to climb even after he started eating well on his own and then finally started to drop.

 

[portia]

I know what you mean. Its really hard espeically when you dont know if they'll recover, which is where I am with Portia. Are his liver functions improving? bilirubin, enzymes,etc coming down? If they are, thats a good sign. It may take sometime to come completely back down to normal. ITs been 4 weeks and Portias levels are much improved but not yet normal. Ive seen on some other threads that cats can throw up when they strain too hard because of constipation. I gave Portia miralax twice a day. You can check with your vet if you think Spencer is constipated. Is he on mirtazapine or a similar appetite stimulant?

 

[spencers mom]

Finnlacey, I am assist feeding him with a syringe and he is getting 1 can and a half a day. The weight loss is from before. The vet says as long as I can handle assist feeding, no tube required, if I cannot anymore they will put a tube.

Thank you Denice it's so nice to hear that some cats do get better

 

[spencers mom]

Yes he's on the mirt... thingy, the appetite stimulant. I did a complete blood work on the 17th, at the emergency vet, and the only thing they found was slightly elevated bilirubin. I don't remember the number but I remember the E-vet said it wasn't really critical. My regular vet reviewed the blood work the day after (the 18th), and as Spencer still wasn't eating on his own she said it looks like HL (they also did x-rays, FIV, FIP, pancreatitis test... couldn't find anything) and they started assist-feeding with a syringe at the vet. I brought him home on the 20th and I continue assist-feeding. I did call the vet about the vomiting and she said it's normal to vomit with HL, and to give him cerenia (which so far seems to work).

 

[finnlacey]

Good, I'm glad he's getting Cerenia. Cerenia helps not only with vomiting but with pain and inflammation so it may do him a lot of good! 

 

[spencers mom]

Yes, I only started giving it to him yesterday, but hopefully it will make a difference!

 

[portia]

Ive had a very frustrating day trying to get hold of the specialist today!!! My vet was concerned that Portia's appetite had gone down again and had recommended talking to the specialist about possible treatment options. Apparently, the specialist wont talk to me directly and will only talk to the vet whos been seeing portia, who is now on vacation. So I had to ask another vet to call him to find out what to do!!! If I want to get an appointment with the specialist that will be another $130  even thought I've already paid $200 for the first appointment. Sooo frustrating!!!

In the meanwhile the vet suggested i try another appetite stimulant-cyproheptadine so Im really hoping that'll work! She only ate about 3 oz yesterday and about 2 oz today. Im starting to reallly get worried. She should be getting better by now. I just wish I knew what was happening! 

 

[finnlacey]

How maddening! Well Cyproheptadine is a good appetite stimulant so hopefully it does help. Sending good vibes 

 she definitely needs to eat more than that!