E Coli ???!! Exocrine Pancreatic Insuff. ??

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Chippy

Member Since 2012
My cat Schmitty has been off insulin for over a week...numbers are under 80. However, he is still starving all the time and poops a lot.(usually pretty soft and smelly).

I was looking on the Internet and saw a condition call Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency...Schmitty seems to have all the symptoms: loss of weight, always eating, diarrhea and it can lead to diabetes.

Is anyone familiar with this? It says it's not common in cats but I would think Schmitty's appetite would have slowed down by now since his numbers are pretty good.

Thanks!

Mary
 
Re: Cat still starving!! Exocrine Pancreatic Insuff. ??

It is not that common. You vet can get tests done that will determine if Schmitty has it.
It could be one of many illnesses. I would make a vet appointment.
 
Re: Cat still starving!! Exocrine Pancreatic Insuff. ??

Hi Mary, Larry is right, Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency is pretty rare in cats but that doesn't mean your kitty doesn't have it. Still, you should take Shmitty to the vet as other diseases can mimic it. Inflamatory Bowel Disease (IBD) and hyperthryroidism in cats can mimic the symptoms of EPI so you definitely want to get bloodwork done before starting to treat.

The closest thing to a deffinative test for EPI is the fTLI test and Shmitty will have to fast for 12 hours prior to having his blood drawn. Any number below 8 is considered diagnostic for EPI but if you repeat the test over time and the result is over 8 but your cat is symptomatic and the number keeps falling, you may have caught it early. My civvie, Princess, is suspected EPI because she is symptomatic and her fTLI was originally 11 but fell to 10 in 1 month at the end of last year. She also lost 1.5 pounds at the same time and had light tan foul smelling paint-peeling liquid poo. We tried multiple antibiotics, probiotics, fiber in her diet and prednisolone - nothing alleviated her symptoms.

The treatment for Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency is to add digestive enzymes to all your kitty's meals for the rest of his life. It's easier to do if he's already eating a soft food diet. The gold standard is to add raw chopped beef pancreas to the food, but my Princess refused to eat the beef pancreas and it just went to waste. So we use Viokase powder instead and she is stable and maintaining weight. We'll repeat the fTLI test in a few months. Ideally, I'd repeat the test a lot sooner but I've got my hands full with juggling vet bills for multiple sick kitties right now.

Hope this helps!
 
Re: Cat still starving!! Exocrine Pancreatic Insuff. ??

Thanks Laura,

My vet has put him on B12 right now....the diarrhea isn't as much, but he still has a soft, grayish smelly poop. He looks so skinny and eats so much!

I'm just trying to figure out what's going on with him...

I guess the next thing to do will be blood work! It's never ending! :o

Mary
 
Re: Cat still starving!! Exocrine Pancreatic Insuff. ??

Hi Mary,

Yes, our fur kids like to keep us on our toes. ;-) Your kitty's symptoms put me in mind of another member's kitty, MommaOfMuse, who had a kitty with similar symptoms last year and it turned out to be e. coli. If your vet has not done so already, running a PCR fecal panel would be a good place to start to rule out any bacteria or parasites.

My IBD kitty sometimes has poops that are covered in shiny grey mucus. If the stool is pure grey through and through then there is an absence of bilirubin (the stuff that gives poop its brown color). In that case you'd be looking at the liver, gallbladder and bile duct.

So much stuff to check - the fTLI test for Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency should be a last resort.

Good luck!
 
Re: E-Coli ?!! Exocrine Pancreatic Insuff. ??

If my cat had a fecal...and also was put on precationary antibiotics...would that rule out e-coli?

His poop was orangy brown until I started him on Probiotics....then turned grayish, green...(I forgot about that!!)

I guess I just see him poop 3 times a day and constantly eating...and gaining no weight....so I'm trying to figure it out! Vet said next step was to run a blood panel to send off to TX A&M for pancreas info.

I guess I'm hoping someone out there has an answer for me :razz:
 
If your kitty is indoor/outdoor, Giardia is a possibility and it is becoming increasingly antibiotic resistant.
Good luck.
 
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