Help my cat has pancreatitus. Anyone else ever experienced this with their pets?

[applegrove]

[Odin2005]

1. No, but it killed my stepdad.

get it to the vet NOW.

[applegrove]

3. He is under a vets care. He had a shot of antibiotics today, they gave

him fluids, and they are ordering special Medi-cal digestive food for Monster. They just got the blood results back yesterday. He hasn't been sick in three days so I hope hope hope it won't come back.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. I had a cat with pancreatitis.

To complicate matters, he was also diabetic. He did recover, but he was at the vet's for at least a week, as I recall. It can be pretty serious, get the kitty to the vet ASAP.

[applegrove]

4. Yes. He was at the vet's today.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

5. Good! He should be OK with good vet care.

My cat threw up a lot and had to be hydrated. He stayed at the vet's until he stopped puking, then they sent him home with some special food. I had to be really careful with his diet because I had to treat his diabetes, too -- if he threw up his food, he'd get too much insulin. That's why I rushed him to the vet the first time (in a blizzard, of course); he was having an insulin reaction, and that's when they discovered he had pancreatitis, which was why he threw up. He was a mess for awhile. But he got better and lived several more years, finally passed away from cancer at the age of 17. RIP, Teddy.

[applegrove]

6. Thank you. That is what I really wanted to hear..that your cat lived for a while after that.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

7. He did. Never got pancreatitis again, either.

In fact, his health was pretty good after that, even with the diabetes, until he got pretty old and got cancer of the jaw. He was a nice cat; I still miss him. I hope your Monster gets better soon.

[applegrove]

13. Thanks.

:hi:

[kedrys]

8. Evie had pancreatitis and liver problems this summer

What finally gave it away was the jaundice - she's pitch black, but the inside of her ears was bright yellow. In retrospect, she was fluorescent when the doctor first saw her. We were lucky - the big clinic on the south shore has some of the best vets in the country, and all they do on Saturdays is emergency work, so we got an appointment right away.

Evie spent a little more than a week in the hospital, made a near-miracle recovery, and has been her sunny self ever since. We had to give her a pile of meds 3 times a day for 3 weeks before taking her back for a final checkup (Pill Pockets are your friends!), and the vet was very happy - they had given her a 50-50 chance when we brought her in. The vet gave us pointers on modifying her diet slightly, so now the entire horde is on a reduced-fat regime.

It wiped out my measly savings, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat. She's the happiest kitty in the world.

[Sanity Claws]

9. What are the symptoms?

I have a cat with indigestion problems. I took him to the vet back in October who couldn't find anything wrong.

[applegrove]

10. My cat was getting sick every so often. I bought him a high end bag off food and he seemed to get

better. Then I got a new bag of food from the vet's and he started to get sick again. Then there was a tiny amount of blood in what he threw up. Apparently eating fatty food can do it to some cats. So he's been given antibiotics and will be on some special digestive food by Tuesday. He hasn't been sick since I took him to the vet the first time. So hopefully it won't be a chronic issue with him.

[Sanity Claws]

11. why I asked

I have a cat who seems to have digestive issues and wondering whether pancreatis was a possibility. I explained his problem in this thread, http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=243x43764

My cat has not vomited blood. Did your cat burp or seem to have a hairball that he couldn't throw up or pass?

[applegrove]

12. No there was no burping. Here is a website that goes into detail about Pancreatitus.

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=1+2135&aid=334

My parents have a cat that used to get sick and suffered from fur balls. She has been on a mineral oil ointment, that looks like molasses, for a month almost. She's hardly gotten sick from hairballs at all since she started on the daily treatment.

But you really could tell that there was fur in what she threw up whereas with my monster he was only throwing up food. I should have taken him to the vet sooner than I did.

Good luck.

[applegrove]

14. The vet did say to me that a little blood in the cat puke could be caused by 200 different things.

A blood test found the pancreatitus in my cat. That cost about $170.

[meow2u3]

15. Pancreatitis killed my brother's dog about 25 years ago

My late cat Bonaparte (he thought he was Napoleon Bonaparte!), who actually became my mom's when I went off to college (I was an adult student), knocked down a raw turkey, which the dog ate. The dog, whose name was Mousey because he was such a coward with a thunder phobia, suffered pancreatitis and had to be euthanized.

[hamsterjill]

16. Yes, and the cat recovered.

Please ask your vet about the need for the cat to have something for pain. Pancreatitis is very painful, and as the cat recovers, he may still not want to eat - not from the actual pancreatitis, but from the fact that he is in pain.

You should, of course, always follow your vet's recommendation on this, but it is important to ask about this.

Best of luck to you and your kitty!

[Hell Hath No Fury]

17. My Mom's 16 year old cat had/has it..

He had been suffering from it for awhile before being diagnosed, so he had some pretty severe permenant damage from it. He has lasted an additional two years plus so far. Thin as a rail and he does go off his food periodically, but he's hanging tough. Age may get him before the pancreatitis does.

[applegrove]

18. Thank you all for sharing your pets' stories. I feel much more optimistic about Monster's health.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

19. Fantastic.

:hi:

[TZ]

20. Yes. And it came back several times

though the antibiotics helped. She also developed cancer about 2 years later, in the liver area. But she was 17 when I put her to sleep. So its survivable...for awhile.