Foods to stimulate appetite?

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Buffy may have pancreatitis but we won't know for possibly a week.

She's had diarrhea for 20 days now. After trying several antibiotics, she's now doing okay with Albon.

I'm giving subq fluids and she has been on 1/4 tablet mirtazapine every 72 hours to aid in appetite stimulation, but she's only eating very small amounts. I'm also force-feeding her once or twice a day. Vet is calling in something to give twice/day so that may help boost her appetite, but I'd like to find a food that is okay to give her at this point, low in fat, yet will appeal to her.

Does anyone have experience with nursing through pancreatitis? Any help and ideas are greatly appreciated.
 
Just a comment: If the vet is calling in Cyproheptadine, I think you might not want to give it, if you just gave Mirtazapine. I don't know this for sure, so let others comment. A long time ago I had both appetite stimulants with me on vacation, and I called my vet regarding whether I could give Cypro before the 3 days were up after the last Mirtz dose, and he told me to wait the 3 days after giving the Mirtz, before replacing it with Cypro.

I'm glad she's getting fluids and you're getting enough food into her.

I think I have heard that you need pain meds, too, if she has pancreatitis, but I may be wrong. I have never experienced this first hand, only what I've read on the FDMB, and I've been here a looooong time. My memory is just not 100%, so please verify and confirm with others who have experience. If so, you'll need to talk to your vet about that.

Sending feel all better very soon vines to Buffy.
 
Just for information. One side effect of Mirtazapine:

Serotonin syndrome is a potential side effect should brain levels of serotonin get too high but this syndrome generally requires a combination of serotonin-increasing medications. Elevated heart rate, tremors/shivering, dilated pupils, difficulty breathing, elevated body temperature, or high blood pressure can all be signs of serotonin syndrome. Animals with serotonin syndrome sometimes demonstrate general hyperactivity. If there is any question that serotonin syndrome is occurring, cyproheptadine can be used as an antidote.

Above from:
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=2552
 
Try heating the food, which increases odor. Top w/ tuna juice or bacon grease. Crumble freeze dried chickwn, shrimp, or liver on top. Add parmesian chese. Supplement w/ boiled chicken breast or liver. KFC w/ skin removed.

They sent Cass home on mirtazapene (sp?) but it made him act drunk and I never gave him the second dose.
 
if you are dealing with pancreatitis, it's quite painful, so a pain med should be given. Most common is buprenex. One vet gave me a transdermal codeine gel to rub on inner ear flap but Shadoe HATED it.
Also, you can give Pepcid AC 10mg - 1/4 tab twice a day, max per day is 5mg.
Shadoe has had frequent pancreatitis issues in the past and she is able to eat once she has had her pain meds and pepcid.

Before starting her on daily pain meds, I gave her pepcid BID and it helped to keep her gas down and manageable.
If you have an upset stomach, are gassy, and/or in pain, you likely don't feel like eating much.

Pain meds, pepcid, and fluids are the 3 things that will help a great deal in pancreatitis problems.
 
Dyana said:
Just a comment: If the vet is calling in Cyproheptadine, I think you might not want to give it, if you just gave Mirtazapine. I don't know this for sure, so let others comment. A long time ago I had both appetite stimulants with me on vacation, and I called my vet regarding whether I could give Cypro before the 3 days were up after the last Mirtz dose, and he told me to wait the 3 days after giving the Mirtz, before replacing it with Cypro.

I'm glad she's getting fluids and you're getting enough food into her.

I think I have heard that you need pain meds, too, if she has pancreatitis, but I may be wrong. I have never experienced this first hand, only what I've read on the FDMB, and I've been here a looooong time. My memory is just not 100%, so please verify and confirm with others who have experience. If so, you'll need to talk to your vet about that.

Sending feel all better very soon vines to Buffy.

Hi Dyana. She was due for the mirtazapine at 9:00pm tonight. I just gave her the cyproheptadine at 4:30pm. I think it will be okay. The mirtazapine is an antidepressant, which I didn't like giving it to her. The cyproheptadine of course is a antihistamine. I was surprised that this is used as an appetite stimulant.

I feel she is in pain as she crouches in that position, though in all my vet visits, they've never offered to give pain meds. She is also in pain with her sore bottom and I'm doing my best to keep a barrier of Vaseline or olive oil on it.
 
Larry and Kitties said:
Just for information. One side effect of Mirtazapine:

Serotonin syndrome is a potential side effect should brain levels of serotonin get too high but this syndrome generally requires a combination of serotonin-increasing medications. Elevated heart rate, tremors/shivering, dilated pupils, difficulty breathing, elevated body temperature, or high blood pressure can all be signs of serotonin syndrome. Animals with serotonin syndrome sometimes demonstrate general hyperactivity. If there is any question that serotonin syndrome is occurring, cyproheptadine can be used as an antidote.

Above from:
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=2552

Thanks for listing potential side effects, good to know for others who may be considering the mirtazapine. I couldn't tell if she had any of those side effects, but I don't like the thought, which is why I requested her GI vet to prescribe something mild. Her regular vet would not prescribe mirtazapine when I requested a refill, which is understandable, but she didn't offer a substitute either. I didn't realize that about cyproheptadine but that makes me feel better about giving it to her before the full 72 hours after the mirtazapine. Thanks!
 
bookw0rm said:
Try heating the food, which increases odor. Top w/ tuna juice or bacon grease. Crumble freeze dried chickwn, shrimp, or liver on top. Add parmesian chese. Supplement w/ boiled chicken breast or liver. KFC w/ skin removed.

They sent Cass home on mirtazapene (sp?) but it made him act drunk and I never gave him the second dose.

Hi bookworm. I've been heating the syringe food slightly but not when I put it on a plate for her, so I should try that. She doesn't like to be force-fed but she takes it pretty well and at least she's getting something.

I've tried the crumble thing and it works at times. Other times she walks away and leaves me feeling defeated. But she always comes sniffing around when the smell of bacon fills the air, so this morning I offered her some very tiny pieces of the lean part. She gobbled them, as if to say, "I'll be glad to eat if you'll stop with the bland stuff already."

Anyway, is it okay to give bacon grease? Asking because her regular vet said don't give her bacon at all and her GI vet was telling me I should look for foods with low fat [hard to find]. I'm going to try the KFC, anything to get some food into her without liquifying it - thanks!
 
Gayle and Shadoe said:
if you are dealing with pancreatitis, it's quite painful, so a pain med should be given. Most common is buprenex. One vet gave me a transdermal codeine gel to rub on inner ear flap but Shadoe HATED it.
Also, you can give Pepcid AC 10mg - 1/4 tab twice a day, max per day is 5mg.
Shadoe has had frequent pancreatitis issues in the past and she is able to eat once she has had her pain meds and pepcid.

Before starting her on daily pain meds, I gave her pepcid BID and it helped to keep her gas down and manageable.
If you have an upset stomach, are gassy, and/or in pain, you likely don't feel like eating much.

Pain meds, pepcid, and fluids are the 3 things that will help a great deal in pancreatitis problems.

I've been giving 1/2 tab per day of the Pepcid. Good to know she can have it twice a day, thank you for telling me. I'll ask about the bupronex as I'm sure she's in pain. Interesting that you mentioned "gassy" because her x-rays at the E-vet showed nothing significant except a lot of gas floating around, everywhere. I'm very frustrated that I've had so many tests run, and the last one mentioned was for pancreatitis. I would have rather had that one done first so they could be treating her for that. As it is, we won't know the results for another week!

How long did it take Shadoe to get well?
 
Buffy has my Heart said:
Gayle and Shadoe said:
if you are dealing with pancreatitis, it's quite painful, so a pain med should be given. Most common is buprenex. One vet gave me a transdermal codeine gel to rub on inner ear flap but Shadoe HATED it.
Also, you can give Pepcid AC 10mg - 1/4 tab twice a day, max per day is 5mg.
Shadoe has had frequent pancreatitis issues in the past and she is able to eat once she has had her pain meds and pepcid.

Before starting her on daily pain meds, I gave her pepcid BID and it helped to keep her gas down and manageable.
If you have an upset stomach, are gassy, and/or in pain, you likely don't feel like eating much.

Pain meds, pepcid, and fluids are the 3 things that will help a great deal in pancreatitis problems.

I've been giving 1/2 tab per day of the Pepcid. Good to know she can have it twice a day, thank you for telling me. I'll ask about the bupronex as I'm sure she's in pain. Interesting that you mentioned "gassy" because her x-rays at the E-vet showed nothing significant except a lot of gas floating around, everywhere. I'm very frustrated that I've had so many tests run, and the last one mentioned was for pancreatitis. I would have rather had that one done first so they could be treating her for that. As it is, we won't know the results for another week!

How long did it take Shadoe to get well?

I watched Shadoe all the time. I think you may be giving too much pepcid at one time.... just like insulin BID - you would not give a day's worth in one shot .... you need to cut the tabs into 1/4 as it is better to give 2.5mg twice a day instead of 5mg once a day.

Pancreatitis is quite painful. Don't ask your vet for pain meds; tell your vet that you want to get something to give along with fluids and pepcid.

It is hard to say how long Shadoe took to recover fully because she was given bupe for pain BID, so she had some of the pain numbed.

Now, I have a newer vet and we have been giving her B12 shots weekly plus a maint pain med gabapentin, and she has not had any more pancreatitis issues since starting the B12 shots which were specifically to see if her inflammation could be lessened or eliminated.

My Oliver also had constant low level pancreatitis issues, testing always around 3.8 - 4 and the max for negative is 3.5
I have been giving him the shots and pain meds and have seen a great improvement in both.
 
Gayle and Shadoe said:
Buffy has my Heart said:
Gayle and Shadoe said:
if you are dealing with pancreatitis, it's quite painful, so a pain med should be given. Most common is buprenex. One vet gave me a transdermal codeine gel to rub on inner ear flap but Shadoe HATED it.
Also, you can give Pepcid AC 10mg - 1/4 tab twice a day, max per day is 5mg.
Shadoe has had frequent pancreatitis issues in the past and she is able to eat once she has had her pain meds and pepcid.

Before starting her on daily pain meds, I gave her pepcid BID and it helped to keep her gas down and manageable.
If you have an upset stomach, are gassy, and/or in pain, you likely don't feel like eating much.

Pain meds, pepcid, and fluids are the 3 things that will help a great deal in pancreatitis problems.

I've been giving 1/2 tab per day of the Pepcid. Good to know she can have it twice a day, thank you for telling me. I'll ask about the bupronex as I'm sure she's in pain. Interesting that you mentioned "gassy" because her x-rays at the E-vet showed nothing significant except a lot of gas floating around, everywhere. I'm very frustrated that I've had so many tests run, and the last one mentioned was for pancreatitis. I would have rather had that one done first so they could be treating her for that. As it is, we won't know the results for another week!

How long did it take Shadoe to get well?

I watched Shadoe all the time. I think you may be giving too much pepcid at one time.... just like insulin BID - you would not give a day's worth in one shot .... you need to cut the tabs into 1/4 as it is better to give 2.5mg twice a day instead of 5mg once a day.

Pancreatitis is quite painful. Don't ask your vet for pain meds; tell your vet that you want to get something to give along with fluids and pepcid.

It is hard to say how long Shadoe took to recover fully because she was given bupe for pain BID, so she had some of the pain numbed.

Now, I have a newer vet and we have been giving her B12 shots weekly plus a maint pain med gabapentin, and she has not had any more pancreatitis issues since starting the B12 shots which were specifically to see if her inflammation could be lessened or eliminated.

My Oliver also had constant low level pancreatitis issues, testing always around 3.8 - 4 and the max for negative is 3.5
I have been giving him the shots and pain meds and have seen a great improvement in both.

Whoops - I miss-typed. I am giving 1/4 tablet of the famotidine once daily, so I'm okay there. The med she started today is 1/2 twice/day and I have that on my mind - thanks for catching that!

I'll get the GI vet to give a pain med. I like the idea of the maintenance with gabapentin. That's a great one for neuropathic pain that a diabetic can have anyway, so I'll ask about it and the bupe.

Is the B12 helping with the inflammation? I started Buffy on it yesterday and I'm sure hoping it will help her.
 
i sent a message to someone with a ton of experience with assist feeding (syringe) and getting cats to start eating again. hopefully she'll be around to check in with you. Karrie's about the best and has just helped another cat through a DKA episode, tube feeding, the whole works.

your little Buffy must be feeling horrid. what kind of insulin is she on and how has her blood sugar been recently?
 
Pancreatitis is also nauseating on top of being extremely painful. There is a great yahoo board to help you through pancreatitis. They will walk you through the medications and treatments to best manage pancreatitis. They help hundreds of cats a year recover. http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Feli ... s_Support/ A lot of vets are not up to speed in treating cats for pancreatitis. Mirtz has a mild antinausea effect on some cats but we highly recommend ondasetron or dolasetron for nausea (vomiting is different). A lot of vets just throw reglan/metoclopromide at cats even though it works on dogs but not cats for nausea.

An appetite stimulant without addressing pain and nausea - can cause food aversion. They can help you with both the pancreatits as well as getting your cat eating aggain.

But the most important thing is assist feeding enough for her to maintain her weight. If you don't do this she can get feline hepatic lipidosis on top of everything else. This is liver failure - a cat's body can't process body fat for energy like ours does. Their liver clogs. At least a 5.5oz can of food a day. Do you have a baby scale or a shipping scale that weighs to the ounce?

Please look up the group Feline Assisted Feeding on Yahoo. There is great advice on assist feeding and also help getting an ill cat eating again. Focus on the assist feeding for now.

Please don't think of it as forced feeding. Attitude makes a difference. It is like assisting a child with the flu to eat chicken soup.
 
julie1220 said:
i sent a message to someone with a ton of experience with assist feeding (syringe) and getting cats to start eating again. hopefully she'll be around to check in with you. Karrie's about the best and has just helped another cat through a DKA episode, tube feeding, the whole works.

your little Buffy must be feeling horrid. what kind of insulin is she on and how has her blood sugar been recently?

Thanks!

Buffy is on ProZinc, 1 unit twice a day [normally], and right now her BGs are looking good, considering all things. They aren't going much above 200 and have pretty much been well below 200. With her not eating as much I'm being careful about her dose and hope I'm doing right by her. The vet at the emergency clinic didn't want her to have insulin at all if she was under 200, as 1 unit has been known to drop her 200 points rather quickly. But I've been giving her 0.5 unit as long as she's above 150, and I'm watching her closely.
 
Karrie and Maverick said:
Pancreatitis is also nauseating on top of being extremely painful. There is a great yahoo board to help you through pancreatitis. They will walk you through the medications and treatments to best manage pancreatitis. They help hundreds of cats a year recover. http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Feli ... s_Support/ A lot of vets are not up to speed in treating cats for pancreatitis. Mirtz has a mild antinausea effect on some cats but we highly recommend ondasetron or dolasetron for nausea (vomiting is different). A lot of vets just throw reglan/metoclopromide at cats even though it works on dogs but not cats for nausea.

An appetite stimulant without addressing pain and nausea - can cause food aversion. They can help you with both the pancreatits as well as getting your cat eating aggain.

But the most important thing is assist feeding enough for her to maintain her weight. If you don't do this she can get feline hepatic lipidosis on top of everything else. This is liver failure - a cat's body can't process body fat for energy like ours does. Their liver clogs. At least a 5.5oz can of food a day. Do you have a baby scale or a shipping scale that weighs to the ounce?

Please look up the group Feline Assisted Feeding on Yahoo. There is great advice on assist feeding and also help getting an ill cat eating again. Focus on the assist feeding for now.

Please don't think of it as forced feeding. Attitude makes a difference. It is like assisting a child with the flu to eat chicken soup.

Thank you. I hope I haven't harmed her. I don't believe she's been getting that much food. What should I do? I have some odansetron but she didn't like it at all so I stopped it. I don't have a scale. Do you mean to weigh her? I'll look up the yahoo group now.
 
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