Question about diet and pancreatitis

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tpr

tpr

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Hello everyone,

I just switched my cat Ella over from dry food to a complete low carb canned diet. Leading up to the big switch, I had given her a bit over a week to help get her used to it. This weekend we pretty much switched her cold turkey to the wellness chicken recipe. We did the cold turkey switch and started on a low dose of insulin to ensure she wouldn't hypo. Prior to the canned she was on m/d dry and was being given 3 units twice a day. Since she's been on the canned she is now on 1.25 units and is giving me better numbers:)

Prior to getting diabetes, she had a bout of acute pancreatits which hospitalized her for four days. When she was diagnosed with diabetes she was put on m/d but nothing was mentioned about a special diet for cats who have pancreatitis. Can anyone enlighten me on the foods you feed your cat who has had pancreaitis in the past?
Should I be concerned about overloading her system with a higher fat and protein content?

Thanks so much!
Tamara
 
here's a little "light" reading.
Merck Veterinary Manual 9th ed Pancreatitis: Overview
and
Mild Chronic Pancreatitis

You may need to look up some terms in a medical dictionary, although I have found web searches to do pretty well at finding definitions.

What I have read and what my vet has said is that cats with pancreatitis have not demonstrated the same reactivity to dietary fats as dogs have. To be cautions, this probably translates to finding a diet that is higher in protein than fat ... so long as your cat will eat it!
 
Tamara,
My Shadoe was having frequent pancreatitis issues. I did not change her food in any way; everybody ate the Friskies wet food.
I did need to give her pepcid twice a day, and I kept pain meds on hand (buprenex), plus had fluids on hand as well. That's about all you really need to keep any attacks in line: pepcid for upset stomach, bupe for pain because it's very painful, and fluids.

My vet had me start her on B12 shots at home weekly and it seemed to have cleared her pancreas inflammation issues. You may want to keep it in mind if you find that Ella has repeated pancreatitis issues.

I am so glad to hear that you are way down in dose and getting better numbers.... changing food truly makes a difference to all cats.
 
Thanks for the tips Gayle!
Ella had acute pancreatitis and I hope it never happens ever again!!!!
 
I hope you don't have any further problems as well!
Just the same, it would be a good idea to have some Pepcid AC 10mg in the house.... watch for any signs of lip licking, and give 1/4 tab (2.5mg). Hopefully you should see Ella more interested in food once her stomach settles down. The daily max for pepcid is 5mg; I was giving Shadoe 1/4tab am and pm, and it helped her a great deal.
 
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