ToddyTiger
Active Member
*Past posts on this:
viewtopic.php?f=28&t=19469
viewtopic.php?f=28&t=21365
So I took Todd in for a 2nd opinion at a cats only vet in the Seattle area. Not that I don't trust our vet office, they have always been good to us, but I wanted fresh eyes on this.
The vet spent 3 hours with us. She was very nice, though seemed a bit confusing to talk with sometimes. She went over all of his records from the other vet, checked him all over, did a rectal and had a couple of the other doctors there check him out. We talked about food options and she told me to check out BinkysPage, which I have in the past and I hate to say, was a bit confused at what I should try from there. She said something about finding a canned food that has 8% calories from carbs? (high protein, low carbs is what she wrote on his paperwork) Maybe someone here can help me with this one. She thinks he needs to be on a canned food only diet and not necessarily D/M or MD. He is really a dry food only kind of guy, so this might be hard.
Without doing extra blood work (just going off of the blood panel our vet did a couple of weeks ago) and without doing an ultrasound (which she seemed to think might not help) she says it could be aggressive Pancreatitis, but she also said she can't tell me that he doesn't maybe have a tumor someplace. Looking at his blood work, she said a few things that would normally be high (or low) with Pacreatitis, is normal.. but then she said, that is the funny thing about Pancreatits. Everything can look fine, but they can still have it. She said even if they did an ultrasound, it may look totally normal, but he could still have it. She also noted that when our vet did an ultrasound on him late last year, that his Pancreas looked inflamed and she was surprised no one did anything about it (it was when he was going in for surgery on his intestines) She said he is full of stool, just by feeling him, but when she did the rectal, she said it was soft and he should be able to pass it. She said he also seemed rather uncomfortable when she was pushing on his belly. I have him set up in our bedroom so I can see what his urine and BM habits are right now. He hates being locked in the bedroom though, but with the other kitties in the house, I can't keep track of who is doing what. I hope that isn't making him feel worse, being locked in the bedroom.
So basically, what she did was give me EXTRA meds, as well as more of what we already have.
Here is the list of meds she gave.. she felt bad giving me so much. I don't know if this is all too much for him though.
Lactated Ringers Sub-Q 150ml once a day
Buprenorphine 0.25 to 0.3 every 12 hours (up from the 0.2 our original vet gave him)
Metronidazole One capsule (62.5mg) once a day. Starts today in the am
Baytril 22.7mg Once a day (started last night)
Mirtazapine 1/4 tab every 72 hours (due again on 8/5)
Tumil-K Gel 3ml twice a day (our original vet suggested holding off on this. But he has low potassium and the new vet thinks this might be why he feels so tired and why he is having trouble having a BM)
0.25 of B12 once a week for now
and she gave him a shot of an anti nausea medication yesterday. I recall that she said if this helped, she could give me some and I can give it at home if need be. I can't tell if it's working though, because he still doesn't want to eat (aside from his treats)
She said to check his BG in the afternoon, maybe 3ish and if it's in the 200's I should give him 1/2 unit of Lantus in the PM with food. She said he needs to eat the equivalent of one can of A/D once a day and if I have to force feed him, do it.
I can't say she felt hopeful.. but I can't say she thinks he is gonna die tomorrow. She said he was a VERY sick cat. She said if he doesn't start looking a bit better by next week, I should let her know and we'll see what we an do from there. she was surprised to hear I was already giving him Sub-Q and that he had just over 100ML 2 hours before we arrived. She thought it was odd that he had already absorbed all of it by then, but was still a bit dehydrated AND is drinking water.
So I just don't know.. this has been going on since roughly July 9th. He has lost weight as well.. back in April he was around 14lbs. On July 9th he was just over 13lbs. One July 21st he was 12 1/2lbs, and yesterday he was still at 12 1/2lbs. I guess it's good that he hasn't lost more weight. But I an REALLY feel his spine and that scares me a ton.
So I don't know how long it usually takes before Pancreatitis starts getting better. Right now he just loafs on the bed. last night that was all he did after I gave him all his meds. He either loafed at the end of the bed or loafed next to me. He cuddled a bit with me during the night, but my husband tends to shift a lot, so he didn't stay next to us too long. I suppose with the pain meds, loafing is probably normal. I wouldn't expect him to be jumping all over the place, but it does scare me to see him just sitting there.. for hours. He still wouldn't eat last night. Well, he will eat those Hill's Hypoallergenic treats, but nothing else last night. I suppose with such a rough day at the vet and all the meds, that is normal. Today I will syringe feed him if he doesn't eat on his own.
I'm super scared... I don't know how long it will take to get better, I don't know if these are the right meds for him, I don't know if how he is acting, is normal for Pancreatitis (he has some of the symptoms, but not all. No vomiting or diarrhea). I'm just so lost and worried.
Oh, side note.. I picked up the ReliOn Micro. The new vet wasn't thrilled with it, because she thinks most of the cheaper ones aren't great. I brought it with me and they tested it against theirs. It was like a 6 number difference. So she seemed to trust it a bit more after that. heh
viewtopic.php?f=28&t=19469
viewtopic.php?f=28&t=21365
So I took Todd in for a 2nd opinion at a cats only vet in the Seattle area. Not that I don't trust our vet office, they have always been good to us, but I wanted fresh eyes on this.
The vet spent 3 hours with us. She was very nice, though seemed a bit confusing to talk with sometimes. She went over all of his records from the other vet, checked him all over, did a rectal and had a couple of the other doctors there check him out. We talked about food options and she told me to check out BinkysPage, which I have in the past and I hate to say, was a bit confused at what I should try from there. She said something about finding a canned food that has 8% calories from carbs? (high protein, low carbs is what she wrote on his paperwork) Maybe someone here can help me with this one. She thinks he needs to be on a canned food only diet and not necessarily D/M or MD. He is really a dry food only kind of guy, so this might be hard.
Without doing extra blood work (just going off of the blood panel our vet did a couple of weeks ago) and without doing an ultrasound (which she seemed to think might not help) she says it could be aggressive Pancreatitis, but she also said she can't tell me that he doesn't maybe have a tumor someplace. Looking at his blood work, she said a few things that would normally be high (or low) with Pacreatitis, is normal.. but then she said, that is the funny thing about Pancreatits. Everything can look fine, but they can still have it. She said even if they did an ultrasound, it may look totally normal, but he could still have it. She also noted that when our vet did an ultrasound on him late last year, that his Pancreas looked inflamed and she was surprised no one did anything about it (it was when he was going in for surgery on his intestines) She said he is full of stool, just by feeling him, but when she did the rectal, she said it was soft and he should be able to pass it. She said he also seemed rather uncomfortable when she was pushing on his belly. I have him set up in our bedroom so I can see what his urine and BM habits are right now. He hates being locked in the bedroom though, but with the other kitties in the house, I can't keep track of who is doing what. I hope that isn't making him feel worse, being locked in the bedroom.

So basically, what she did was give me EXTRA meds, as well as more of what we already have.
Here is the list of meds she gave.. she felt bad giving me so much. I don't know if this is all too much for him though.
Lactated Ringers Sub-Q 150ml once a day
Buprenorphine 0.25 to 0.3 every 12 hours (up from the 0.2 our original vet gave him)
Metronidazole One capsule (62.5mg) once a day. Starts today in the am
Baytril 22.7mg Once a day (started last night)
Mirtazapine 1/4 tab every 72 hours (due again on 8/5)
Tumil-K Gel 3ml twice a day (our original vet suggested holding off on this. But he has low potassium and the new vet thinks this might be why he feels so tired and why he is having trouble having a BM)
0.25 of B12 once a week for now
and she gave him a shot of an anti nausea medication yesterday. I recall that she said if this helped, she could give me some and I can give it at home if need be. I can't tell if it's working though, because he still doesn't want to eat (aside from his treats)
She said to check his BG in the afternoon, maybe 3ish and if it's in the 200's I should give him 1/2 unit of Lantus in the PM with food. She said he needs to eat the equivalent of one can of A/D once a day and if I have to force feed him, do it.
I can't say she felt hopeful.. but I can't say she thinks he is gonna die tomorrow. She said he was a VERY sick cat. She said if he doesn't start looking a bit better by next week, I should let her know and we'll see what we an do from there. she was surprised to hear I was already giving him Sub-Q and that he had just over 100ML 2 hours before we arrived. She thought it was odd that he had already absorbed all of it by then, but was still a bit dehydrated AND is drinking water.
So I just don't know.. this has been going on since roughly July 9th. He has lost weight as well.. back in April he was around 14lbs. On July 9th he was just over 13lbs. One July 21st he was 12 1/2lbs, and yesterday he was still at 12 1/2lbs. I guess it's good that he hasn't lost more weight. But I an REALLY feel his spine and that scares me a ton.
So I don't know how long it usually takes before Pancreatitis starts getting better. Right now he just loafs on the bed. last night that was all he did after I gave him all his meds. He either loafed at the end of the bed or loafed next to me. He cuddled a bit with me during the night, but my husband tends to shift a lot, so he didn't stay next to us too long. I suppose with the pain meds, loafing is probably normal. I wouldn't expect him to be jumping all over the place, but it does scare me to see him just sitting there.. for hours. He still wouldn't eat last night. Well, he will eat those Hill's Hypoallergenic treats, but nothing else last night. I suppose with such a rough day at the vet and all the meds, that is normal. Today I will syringe feed him if he doesn't eat on his own.
I'm super scared... I don't know how long it will take to get better, I don't know if these are the right meds for him, I don't know if how he is acting, is normal for Pancreatitis (he has some of the symptoms, but not all. No vomiting or diarrhea). I'm just so lost and worried.
Oh, side note.. I picked up the ReliOn Micro. The new vet wasn't thrilled with it, because she thinks most of the cheaper ones aren't great. I brought it with me and they tested it against theirs. It was like a 6 number difference. So she seemed to trust it a bit more after that. heh