Zoot! and Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency

I have been on the board a while and my cat Zoot! just finished his OTJ trial successfully. All is well and good except for poops and weight loss. I wondered if anyone could give me some advice on how to identify and treat EPI.

His has suffered from diarrhea since last May - it was really bad for months and we tried all sorts of ways - antibiotics, probiotics, s. boulardii, psyllium husks, etc. Then tried addressing possible allergies and ultimately changed his diet from chicken to lamb. The change in diet helped in that he no longer has liquid, but his stools remain pinkish and only semi-formed. We had hoped dealing with his diabetes in the past couple of months would resolve the pooping issue, but it has not.

Additionally he has been losing weight at an increasing rate and lost almost a pound in the last two weeks (current weight 17.05 lbs). We have a call into our vet, but with the Pandemic, it is hard to get in to see a vet or even consult.

When I saw how much weight he lost in just two weeks, I restarted a search on his symptoms, and EPI seems a possibility. Can anyone advise me on what we should do to bolster his system while we try to sort this out and get to our vet?

Thanks for any help you can give.

 

Tagging @SheKit & JessKat
Tagging @JL and Chip

I don't know of anyway to know for sure that your cat has EPI unless you test for it. It's usually part of a BG series of blood tests.

Poop color is usually a gray ashy color with EPI. (Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency)

This is going to sound weird, but can you take a picture of one of his poops, and post it here? You may need to break open the poop, so we aren't looking at the litter clinging to the outside.

Thanks.

 

Ha! Yes I can. Probably in the AM, however.

 

I agree, getting a GI blood panel is probably the way to go to see if it's EPI. You definitely want a diagnosis before you start any treatment for it. There are other things that can cause weight loss, hyperthyroidism being one of them, so I'd add that to the GI tests.

 

I have no advice to offer but I can send prayers.
sigh I know its not much help.

 

I agree with both Deb & Wendy - Blood test to know for sure & diagnosis before you start any treatment.

I brought Wes in for weight loss, finicky eating, smelly poops. First round of tests he was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. Thyroid meds not working (that's a whole 'nother story), still loosing weight, still not wanting to eat. Fed him baked chicken breast one night, next morning his poo was pure white. Literally, Chicken in - Chicken out. Further blood tests diagnosed EPI.

I don't remember Wes having diarrhea - just real smelly poo - the clear the house kind.

 

Yes very smelly poo here - he eats 2 times as much as the other cats and still loses weight - basically poops most of it back out. Hopefully we can get a test done asap - waiting for our Vet to get back to use. He is ravenous though. Thanks for the support; hopefully he is treatable since he has energy, plays, eats, drinks.

 

Cinnie, have you tried pure pumpkin?

 

Yes, over the last 10 months we tried pure pumpkin on two separate times - neither time was there any change.

 

I have attached the poop images I took this AM - it is pink, but that is the color of his food. Whatever he eats a lot of the color of the food is retained (like when he ate chicken it looked a lot more ashy light brown.). FYI he has never had ketones and checked that this AM, for what it's worth).

 

'My' for what it's worth - Keep bugging the vet.

 

We have a phone consult with him tomorrow.

 

Hopefully you can convince the vet to get him in for bloodwork sooner rather than later.

Keep us posted!

 

Something going on with the gastrointestinal system. Poops should not be that soft, nor should they be the color of the food that is eaten.

Keep bugging your vet.

p.s. Thanks for posting the pictures.

 

@Deb & Wink @SheKit & JessKat @Sonia & Leo @Wendy&Neko @jt and trouble (GA) FYI - he gets bloodwork including TLI tomorrow AM, should have results within a week. Thanks all for your encouragement.

 

Take a look at this page on EPI.

 

He got his test work done today, but we will not have answers until next week. Zoot! is doing much better today - active, eating, drinking, peeing, pooping all normal - yesterday he seems pretty sedate, so happy to see him a bit more engaged. Thanks for that link answers a number of my questions re EPI.