NEED Information! Feline Pancreatitis (sp?)

Rooney1 · ‎06-23-2010

In a nut shell, I have a two year old kitty that has been diagnosed with feline pancreatitis. She is an outside cat - one of three kittens that showed up two years ago with their Momma. I have been caring for the kittens these two years, having them spayed/neutered/shots/etc.

A couple of weeks ago when I got home I noticed that Purrsilla was looking a bit scraggly and very skinny. I was able to catch her and get her into the vet. Initially, due to a high fever we figured it was an infection and started to treat her with antibiotics.

Long story short, she didn't rebound at all, so I took her back to the vet. We tested her for FeLuk which was negative. After a full blood panel, Doc (my vet) determine it was feline pancreatitis.

Purrsilla is currently at the vets - I will pick her up Monday -for treatment. Doc said she is one very sick little girl, but she has a lot of things going for her.

My question is - do any of you ladies have any experience dealing with this? Thoughts, your experiences, etc.

Thanks you in advance for any information you can provide. I am trying to education myself so I can make good decisions with the vet.

Sammycat1 · ‎03-09-2010

Hi Rooney,

I'm sorry to hear your kitty is hospitalized with pancreatitis. My kitty Schmoo had an acute attack of this many years ago, but he survived it -- and it didn't repeat (as it often does in cats who get an initial attack). Our vet often wondered if he may have had "triad" syndrome, which involves inflammatory bowel disease as well. I do know this: the only definitive way to diagnose pancreatitis is to put the kitty under anesthesia and take a biopsy.

Most vets, including ours, choose not to do this -- depending on the age of the cat. Because Schmoo was a senior, we went with the vet's assessment after physical exam and blood work.

I found many great resources on the web to understand it, but Cornell's Veterinary School has some great info and this link is a great one....especially the tips about diet and enzymes that comes at the end of the article:

http://www.2ndchance.info/pancreatitiscat.htm

Best wishes for a complete recovery for your kitty!! She is young and strong, and those are both in her favor!

thisbe · ‎05-04-2010

I have a 6 or 7 year old cat who had pancreatitis last year. She was super sick and spent a week in the kitty hospital. When she came home, she still was very sick and not eating so, rather than have a feeding tube surgically inserted, I had to force fed her for about a month using a large syringe. Eventually, she began to eat on her own. Now, a year later, she is happy and healthy. I would think you will have to keep your kitty inside during her recovery at home so that she is safe and you can feed her throughout the day. If you have to force feed her with a large syringe, there are videos on you tube showing how to do this. Even though the cats in the videos were much more cooperative than my Zoe was, I found the videos helpful. Good luck!

Rooney1 · ‎06-23-2010

Thanks. My plan is to keep her in from now on. I have 6 house cats and hope they will accept her. I just can't let her loose incase she relapses.

grandkidsrgreat · ‎11-11-2010

Rooney so sorry you are having to deal with this. I've had many cats over many years but thankfully never had experience with this problem. Isn't that what Ms. Scoots has? Maybe her Mom will have some good advice for you. Bless you for being such a good pet Mom and a kind, caring person. Good luck and please keep us posted.

QsZoo · ‎08-21-2010

Oh Rooney, I am so sorry to read this. My only experience with this was a friend and her cat. I just remember lots of vet visits and special food so no real help but LOTS of prayers for you, guidance for her vet, and strength and healing for Purrsilla. (((Hugs))) and positive thoughts too

Rooney1 · ‎06-23-2010

Thanks Q and Grand,

Talked to the vet today. He said she did eat yesterday - about a half can of food on her own. He said the prognosis is guarded. Our treatment plan is to withdraw the IV fluids on Tuesday and see if she rallies on her own. That will have given her a week on them.

From everything I have read, this is an expensive illness. I don't have unlimited funds - I am sad to say.

Doc is not 100% sure that she does have pancreatitis, but with the process of elimination with tests, etc. - and his 40+ years of practice/experience - that is his best educated guess. The only real way to know for sure is to do a biopsy, but he doesn't think it is a good idea at this time.

I guess that the bottom line is that only time will tell.

I will keep you all posted.

Thanks again!

Sammycat1 · ‎03-09-2010

Rooney1,

I pray that your girl rallies -- and wanted to let you know that there's an organization called "Red Rover" that helps people with pets in medical crisis with funding for serious and potentially very expensive treatment. It's like a grant, but they move much more quickly. The group has a number of donors on "standby" that they call on when a pet parent needs a little extra help in a lifesaving situation.

Despite the name, they help cats, too!

Here's the website: http://www.redrover.org/