Long time no post.. Pancreatitis?

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Kitties Momma

Kitties Momma

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hello all,
Julius is still OTJ.... I am happy to say! Thanks in large part to this board. My other kitty Cairo who is almost 13 was diagnosed with pancreatitis last week. I left a message for the vet to fax me the test results. They kept him overnite and hydrated him, one of his levels (I can not remember which ) was 2300 which is apparently very high. He was on a course of antibiotics and is home now. My vet knows I make my food (dr. lisa's recipe) which I have modified to 1/2 boneless skinless breasts and 1/2 thighs most without skin, as I understand fat is a no no. There does not seem to be much encouraging news on the web about it and I do not want to spend my savings at the vet. I got Julius better with your help and I am hoping someone on here has experience with pancreatitis and management? My vet said I should include zucchini in there diet (25%) so I did, steamed. Also he recommended an enzyme that they have that I can add. I understand that the idea is to take the stress off the pancreas so that it can heal. They are not totally thrilled with the new food but getting used to it (tuna doesn't hurt either) I have 3 kitties, Julius 5, Cairo, and Kona 6 months... any advice or thoughts would be great, thank you so much!!
Tiffany
 
pancreatitis needs 3 things to treat.

1. pepcid - get the Pepcid AC regular 10mg strength, daily max for a cat is 5mg. Cut pill into 4 and give 1/4 am and pm.
2. pain meds - pancreatitis is very painful, so get some buprenex from the vet.
3. fluids - Instead of wasting your money on fluids at the vet, just get a fluids kit and give them yourself at home.
 
Thank you.... I know my vet will not give me a standing prescription for buprenex, when Cheesecake was dealing with bone cancer I gave him buprenex and it constipated him so bad he had to have an enema.... I definitely do not want him to be in pain but once again can't do a $300 vet visit for side effects either. I don't think he would sit for me to do sub q fluids. He loves his fountain and I had unplugged it so that my kitten wouldn't chew on the cord. I think Kona has grown out of that and seems to be more fascinated with the water so I am hoping that Cairo will drink more fluids this way.
Thanks for the tips.
Tiffany
 
I have gotten Beau thru several attacks of p-titis without pain meds or sub-qs (didn't know any better). I also have done it with and without pepcid. Using pepcid helps quite a bit.

I give pepcid (pilling him) and then offer a few tsps of plain Greek lowfat (but not fatfree) yogurt gently warmed to room temp or slightly above. 20-30 mins later I offer food. A lot of times they won't eat so you have to syringe feed them as it is dangerous for them to not eat. You want to try for at least 50% of their daily calorie needs. The trick is getting creative with food. At the worst points all Beau would eat is baby food. He liked ham, chicken and turkey flavors - again, gently warm it just as if you were feeding a baby. If you have to syringe feed it is easy to thin it with a little water, but you might not need to. I also mix babyfood and canned cat food. Usually, the first solid food he will eat is boiled, skinless chicken. You can cut it up and boil in plain water, then use the cooled broth to get him to drink more.

No cat likes being syringe feed, but it is necessary. Just do small, frequent amounts. I would try every couple of hours with Beau. Obviously, if the cat is eating on their own you don't need to syringe feed, but you will probably need to feed every couple of hours because they won't eat much at a time.
 
Thank you so much!! I have been doing a little pepcid in with his food once a day and feeding smaller amounts more often. He threw up yesterday but I think I gave him too much food. I mix salmon or tuna in with every meal so he eats, and funny like you said he likes it warmed up a little bit! I also got an antiinflammatory from the vet I put a little of that in too..... Thanks again for the feedback!!
 
Is he eating on his own? That is a good sign. You might try the pepcid 20-30 mins before feeding so it has a chance to work. It is an antacid so it should help with the nausea and vomiting. I don't think it will do much mixed with food. Beau never threw up (in fact, I had him some 6-7 years before he ever threw up - not even a hairball), but he did stop eating.
 
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