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

[portia]

I checked with the vet about switching her to NB or NV until the IAMS came in but the vet felt that changing food within a short period of time can also trigger inflammation and recommended that I continue to give her BFF till the IAMS arrives. Her appetite seems to have dropped again over the last few days. If it continues to decrease, we may decrease the pred. We need all the vibes we can get. 

 

[finnlacey]

 I don't agree, especially if her appetite is decreasing. She needs to eat. But sending you vibes for sure! 

 

[spencers mom]

Vibes your way Portia!!

 

[kimberlou]

Well wishes to you and your girl, Portia

I have also been through a similar case with my cat; I totally second finnlacey's comments.

[N.B. Contrary to most cases i've read about, my cat was not given steroids despite the level of inflammation etc.
She stayed in the hospital for roughly a week (heartbreaking times) on an IV with antibiotic and vitamin injections. Upon discharge, The doc dispensed broad spectrum antibiotics as expected and cyproheptadine off-label (called Periactin here) to stimulate appetite only when necessary. She also included vitamin supplements for the liver repair long-term.

Anyhooz, since getting her acute symptoms treated and the tummy function and diet sorted out, she's like a new cat! But yes, with my cat, her food was changed in an instant and she has been great since. Her novel protein of choice is wild rabbit.]

It is all so distressing for us, for painfully long, but with time your baby will be herself again. Cats often go and find their little sanctuary to rest and recover. Then one day, she's back in your face demanding food and sexy time!

I just hope Portia's fur grows back faster than Olympia's... As soon as the poor thing gets her tummy fur back, it gets shaved off for another ultrasound! Small price to pay to see her playing and feasting I suppose. And it does get her the sympathy 'awws' from visitors, which she loves.




I truly wish you all the best. Lots of love to you and Portia from Olympia and Kimberlou

 

[portia]

UPDATE:

Portia had her 2 week follow up blood work a few days back. Her cholestrol, triglycerides and amylase levels were sky high. CHolesterol was  880 (normal 75-220), triglycerides was 270 (normal 26-160) and amylase was 1218 (normal 100-1200). We dont have spec fPL as yet but has any one else seen this in theri cat with pancreatitis. Any input on additional testing or treatments would be greatly appreciated!!

The good news is her total bili is downn to normal. Her liver enzyme continue to climb (not drastically) but they are gradually increasing and her blood sugar was also alittle high 220 (normal <170). The vet feels that this may be related to anxiety and food rather than diabetes.

Im so confused as to what to do. 

Thanks

Portia

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Isn't the Vet giving you any guidance?  Wow, her cholesterol is really high,but I did read that high cholesteral in animals is not like it is in humans, so that might be some relief.  And at least her bilirubin is normal, huh? 

Poor Portia

.   Is she eating ok these days.  Wish I had some answers for you as far as the pancreatitis goes, but I'm sorry, I don't.  That's why I asked if your Vet didn't offer some help there.

 

[finnlacey]

I still say she should be on Ursodiol! Especially at this point. Yes, is she eating? And what is she eating now? That Iams? 

 

[portia]

Hi all,

The vet is as stumped at this point. She is consulting with an internist to figure out what to do. Im going to talk to her today about ursodiol or denamarin. She was on a very high dose of pred (5mg, 2x daily). The vet feels that its possible that is causing some liver damage which in turn may be affecting her fat levels. I think she is likely going to reduce her pred dose. Any thoughts on pred and high cholesterol?

Shes eating as long as she takes appetite stimulants. She was on cypro and Im not trying to transition her over to mirtazapine since the cypro was really making her feel down. If mirtazapine doesnt work, then Ill switch back to cypro. She is well hydrated and eating well so HL is not a concern this time around (knock on wood). Shes unfortantely still on the IAMS diet. I looked at the product label for NB and NV and fat content seems much higher (8-10%) compared to IAMS (3%). This is all wet weight. I was hoping to switch her over to the other brand today but with her cholesterol and triglycerides as high as they are, Im not sure thats the best thing to do.

Why is this getting harder and harder? I thought she would be better by now(

 

[finnlacey]

The difference is in the KIND of fat! NB and NV have much healthier fats. Also I still think it's worth it to try budesonide (entocort) instead of pred. Denamarin is all natural, which I'm all for. But at this point in the game you need something stronger and that's Ursodiol. 

 

[portia]

I see. So Ill talk to her about ursodiol instead of denamarin. I spoke to the vet about budesonide and she was reluctant to change anything. This was before the we got the blood work back. I will ask her again now that we know. Also, is it possible for her liver to being doing badly and still have good bilirubin levels? I guess what Im getting at is, are the high cholestero,l, triglycerides and live enzymes indicative of poor liver function even if her bilirubin has improved? 

 

[finnlacey]

Yes I would say so. The pred may indeed have something to do with that as it may be making the liver work too hard. At least that's my belief but I'm not a vet. But the pancreatitis doesn't help any of those issues and the pancreas and liver work closely together. 

 

[portia]

Thats good to know. I value your opinion since you've had so much experience. That in my book counts almost as much as vets opinion. Hopefully, I can touch base with her today or tomorrow.We're still waiting to hear back about her fPL. Im eager to change things right now because I dont want her to get some other disease secondary to the high fat in her blood. What are your thoughts on things like statins to reduce her cholesterol right now? As a temporary solution I mean. I know vets dont usuallly concern themselves with high cholesterol in cats but I wonder if there is something we can do till her liver recovers. 

 

[finnlacey]

Thank you, I appreciate that. As far as statins, I can't be sure they're used in dogs and cats. I've not had any experience with that and my feeling is usually diet and proper treatment of the diseases themselves takes care of it. I think that's what this article is saying: http://veterinarymedicine.dvm360.com/vetmed/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=456193&sk=&date=&pageID=7

Have you considered another food like Wellness which I believe has a lower fat level then the other ones?

 

[portia]

I tried wellness when I first found Portia. She dint like it very much. Thanks for the article. Ill look into it

 

[finnlacey]

What about Weruva?

 

[portia]

I also tried Weruva with the floating pieces of shredded chicken. Portia ate the broth and left all the pieces behind

. However, I tried this in Dec when she wasnt eating well and had probably developed pancreatitis by then. Its worth re-trying it since her appetite is better now (thanks to all her medication)

 

[portia]

Starting her on ursodiol today. Still dont have her fPL back 

. The vet wont change anything till we get those results back so I guess we'll just have to wait till monday to see about the rest!!

 

[finnlacey]

Ugh! Well at least you're starting the Ursodiol. I hope the vet goes along with changing to Entocort. I don't really understand why the fPL makes a difference on that though. Very frustrating.