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- #81
Knocking on wood, she has almost finished 2.5oz that I leave out when I go to bed.....hoping this trend continues, although pretty sure it's due to the increased appetite stimulant.
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My Old kitties issues, chronic pancreatitis?
- Thread starter cprcheetah
- Start Date
Chow down, DeeJay. 
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- #83
We have a diagnosis! My vet just called, DeeJay has pancreatitis, chronic based on all the bloodwork. We did the specific fPL test at Texas university She didn't say how high it was (I will get that tomorrow at work) but her test came back high. So now we have a direction of treatment. She is going to put her on steroids (due to inflammation), antibiotics again, an anti-nausea (she suggested that could be why she isn't wanting to eat even though she isn't vomiting) and then I am going to get Denamarin as an antioxidant. We are also going to put her back on the buprenex and add digestive/pancreatic enzymes. Also going to take her in tomorrow for a Vitamin B injection. Boy is she going to hate me once we start all these pills again. But at least we have figured out what may be causing her to act the way she is. She ate about 1/2 her breakfast before I gave her an appetite stimulant.
Well, I'm sorry to hear she has pancreatitis, but I'm glad that you have a diagnosis and can start proper treatment.
Sebastian has chronic pancreatitis and suspected IBD (I think you know this).
Lots of vibes that DeeJay starts feeling better soon with the new plan of action!
Lots of vibes that DeeJay starts feeling better soon with the new plan of action!
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- #85
So here is our plan of attack:
Antibiotics (Baytril 22.7mg) once a day
Steroid Vetalog .5mg 1 tablet twice a day for 1 week, then 1 tablet daily for 1 week, then every other day for 1 week, then may keep her on a once or twice weekly dosage depending on how she responds.
Pancreatic Enzyme: Prozyme from the vet 1/8-1/4 teaspoon per feeding
Anti-nausea: Cerenia 1/4 tablet daily for 5 days then see how she is feeling.
Denamarin 1 tablet daily
Buprenex 1/2 cc twice a day (it is diluted down in VAL Syrup)
Vitamin B injections weekly for 4-6 weeks then every other week for a month then once a month
Continue with
Traumeel Drops (5 drops 3x day)
Lysine: 1 scoop twice a day (500mg daily)
Miralax 1/4 tsp twice a day
Zeel 1 tablet 3 x day
Cyproheptadine (app stimulant) 1/4-1 tab twice daily as needed
Wish me luck, she is going to HATE me! She is already hiding under the couch from me just giving her an appetite stimulant. Poor baby. We are going to try to keep her food under 1-1.5% fiber for now. Oh also told to give her baby gas drops as her belly is quite gassy right now. She is bloated.
Antibiotics (Baytril 22.7mg) once a day
Steroid Vetalog .5mg 1 tablet twice a day for 1 week, then 1 tablet daily for 1 week, then every other day for 1 week, then may keep her on a once or twice weekly dosage depending on how she responds.
Pancreatic Enzyme: Prozyme from the vet 1/8-1/4 teaspoon per feeding
Anti-nausea: Cerenia 1/4 tablet daily for 5 days then see how she is feeling.
Denamarin 1 tablet daily
Buprenex 1/2 cc twice a day (it is diluted down in VAL Syrup)
Vitamin B injections weekly for 4-6 weeks then every other week for a month then once a month
Continue with
Traumeel Drops (5 drops 3x day)
Lysine: 1 scoop twice a day (500mg daily)
Miralax 1/4 tsp twice a day
Zeel 1 tablet 3 x day
Cyproheptadine (app stimulant) 1/4-1 tab twice daily as needed
Wish me luck, she is going to HATE me! She is already hiding under the couch from me just giving her an appetite stimulant. Poor baby. We are going to try to keep her food under 1-1.5% fiber for now. Oh also told to give her baby gas drops as her belly is quite gassy right now. She is bloated.
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Sebastian was on Flagyl (metronidazole) antibiotic, which has anti-inflammatory properties, and he is still on that at a low dose. It seems metro is popular among pancreatitis and IBD kitties. I have never heard of Vetalog (triamcinolone). In my experience, prednisolone was the steroid of choice, but I know that is hard to get nowadays. Sebastian is still on this. Others have had success with budesonide or dexamethasone. I did not give Sebastian enzymes because there are mixed opinions on that and can either help or make things worse. The Cerenia will really help DeeJay's nausea. Sebastian is still on this, too, but at 1/4 tablet, 5 days on 2 days off. Fluid therapy really helps Sebastian. I know you are already doing so much to help DeeJay and this would just add to the stress. I'm lucky in that Sebastian is easy and lets me do it. I give him fluids every 2-3 days. He also gets Pepcid AC morning and night, which helps with nausea caused by excess stomach acid.
I can fit all of Sebastian's pills in the gel caps. In the mornings, I put 1/4 tab Pepcid AC, 1/8 tab metro, and 1/4 tab Cerenia in one # 3 gel cap. In the evenings, I put 1/4 tab Pepcid AC, 1/8 tab metro, and 5 mg prednisolone (one whole pill) in a # 3 gel cap. He gets l-lysine powder in his wet food AM and PM, and a probiotic powder in a little wet food at night 2-3 hours after receiving the antibiotic.
I can fit all of Sebastian's pills in the gel caps. In the mornings, I put 1/4 tab Pepcid AC, 1/8 tab metro, and 1/4 tab Cerenia in one # 3 gel cap. In the evenings, I put 1/4 tab Pepcid AC, 1/8 tab metro, and 5 mg prednisolone (one whole pill) in a # 3 gel cap. He gets l-lysine powder in his wet food AM and PM, and a probiotic powder in a little wet food at night 2-3 hours after receiving the antibiotic.
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- #87
She got subq fluids at the vets the last time she was there and she was pretty good for it, so I think if I need to I can do that. I have done it before on my bridge baby who had kidney disease and thyroid. I still have a fresh bag and set up from Tabitha. I have ordered some Gelcaps, hopefully it will help. I will ask about the Metro (I have some in my fridge right now) and she HATES it, but maybe if I can sneak a tablet into her gelcap she will take it better. I have decided she prefers to eat multiple small meals during the day. She was hiding under the couch for a while, then came out and 'pawed' at me so I gave her the plate of food, she ate maybe 1oz or so and then walked off, then she came back a few hours later and wanted more, ate another 1oz and walked off. The rest of my cats are mad at me cause they only get fed 3x a day. Forgot to mention, she is also on a probiotic, I give it to her in the meal I leave for her at night.
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Glad you have a diagnosis. I was going to suggest putting as many pills as you possibly CAN in a gel cap to cut down on the number of pillings.
that you can get all this stuff in her without too much drama, and that she starts feeling a LOT better very soon. Keep us posted on how she's coming along. Her and YOU both
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- #89
Holy cow. My eyes are sore from all the research I have been doing about her condition today. She finally at about 3:30 finished her 3oz can of breakfast. I have a call into a homeopathic vet for her advice on what I should treat DeeJay with holistically. She helped me detox my chihuahua from years of medications and vaccinosis, so I know she can help DeeJay. DeeJay is more friendly today, she keeps coming in the office where I am and has sat in my lap for a while a few times so that makes me feel better.
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- #90
So I heard back from the Homeopathic Vet. We are going to add a few homeopathic treatments for her. Iris Versacolor, Ferrum Phosphoricum, Yarrow & Burdock as well as Aloe Vera. We are also going to add some Bach Remedies to help ease her stress levels.
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- #91
Just thought I would add another picture of DeeJay n Mini Dee snuggling...Tiggles is the tabby in the corner. I do think DeeJay is feeling somewhat better today, she is more affectionate, eating better (slightly) and hasn't grumped at any of the other kitties. Fingers crossed we are on the uphill way with her issues. She seems to be moving better too. Maybe the Zeel is already working. The steroid probably helped with that too.
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- #92
That is great news!
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Congrats! I think there is nothing more gratifying than seeing a beloved pet eating or pooping again!
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Congrats in finding out what's been going on! Not that pancreatitis is nice but thank god you know how to treat it!!
And congrTs on getting her to eat! I agree, when you see your cat eating it's like watching a baby eat lol. She's already eating more canned than my cat eats so trust me she's doing great!!
Wish I had some helpful hints for the meds though... :0 oh boy. You'll figure it out. You have so far! At some point she may realize you're helping her.. Right? There's that "How to give a pill to your cat" humor article ... Have you read it ? Sometimes you just have to laugh at these things.
Keep up the good work!
And congrTs on getting her to eat! I agree, when you see your cat eating it's like watching a baby eat lol. She's already eating more canned than my cat eats so trust me she's doing great!!
Wish I had some helpful hints for the meds though... :0 oh boy. You'll figure it out. You have so far! At some point she may realize you're helping her.. Right? There's that "How to give a pill to your cat" humor article ... Have you read it ? Sometimes you just have to laugh at these things.
Keep up the good work!
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- #96
The trend continues. She ate her breakfast all gone this morning before I left for work (she has been leaving most of it), she ate 1/2 of her 'during the day' meal so far. She has been really 'chatty' with both my hubby and I today. By chatty she meow/purrs does this sort of meowrrr/rarrrrrr noises, so I know she is feeling better as she hasn't been super chatty lately. All we have to do is say her name and she meow/purrs at us. I'm finally feeling like we are getting somewhere with her and it's making me extremely happy. She hasn't been grumpy with me (other than when I give her the pills) for several days now. Doing a happy dance. I think the combo of new meds and the addition of the Zeel for her arthritis is really helping her.
@sillywabbit yes I have seen that and it describes DeeJay to a tee, she is a monster about pills. Although I have discovered if I lay her on her back it's easier to get them into her, I can just open her mouth with one hand (she clamps it shut) and drop the pill pocket covered pill down the hatch. I was excited as she ate one pill pocket with a pill in it, then quickly discovered my trick and wouldn't touch them.
@oneandahalfcats Yes it is SOOOOOOOOO gratifying, not only is she eating, her pooping is normal too! I am a happy momma
@GoHolistic Thank-you
@sillywabbit yes I have seen that and it describes DeeJay to a tee, she is a monster about pills. Although I have discovered if I lay her on her back it's easier to get them into her, I can just open her mouth with one hand (she clamps it shut) and drop the pill pocket covered pill down the hatch. I was excited as she ate one pill pocket with a pill in it, then quickly discovered my trick and wouldn't touch them.
@oneandahalfcats Yes it is SOOOOOOOOO gratifying, not only is she eating, her pooping is normal too! I am a happy momma
@GoHolistic Thank-you
That is awesome! Go DeeJay!
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- #98
So as an experiment am not giving the appetite stimulant tonight and she took 2 licks of her dinner and walked off. I was talking to the other vet I work for (she owns the practice) and was asking her how much an Ultrasound would cost me since I am an employee, and we talked about DeeJay's issues (she hasn't seen DeeJay only the associate vet has), and she suggested having her tested for Thyroid. Which is one thing we haven't done. I am taking her back to work with me tomorrow to get her opinion on DeeJay. She said it's possible the pancreatitis is making her not want to eat, but she thinks there may be another underlying issue. She asked how fast DeeJay eats, and I told her when she has the Cyprohyeptadine she finishes her food lickity split, without it she hardly touches it. She has about 26 years experience so I will be interested to hear her take on DeeJay. She wants to palpate her abdomen and possible take additional xrays now that she is pottying regularly.
I hope the other vet has some answers for you and DeeJay. Matt and I are thinking of you today.
Well, that's a bummer.
I, too, hope that the other vet can offer some insight. It might be good to get some fresh eyes on all of this.
Sebastian has been in and out of the vet so many times in the last few months that he became almost like a case study for the practice. All six doctors, plus the nurse and vet tech staff, were aware of his case and learning from him. They even did a couple in-house ultrasounds for free so that they apply what they just learned at a radiology conference.
