Hello--
Is your cat diagnosed with a mild form of the disease, or a severe form? When was he diagnosed?
My cat has had diahrrea since june- over 8lbs to 5lb2oz 3 sets of blood wk only the last
showed possible pancreatitis. diabetes rulled out, thiroid prob ruled out - xray showed tumor - exploritory found no tumor. cat has good appetite. is always hungry - throws up food at times but not routinely. Diagnosis made early Oct. I feed canned salmon or tuna plus good quality dry fool.
Sorry for the delay- had to look up his surg papers in hopes that his blood tests were
attached. No luck on the blood test results but he had his surgey on 10-1-09 & surgery
was expected to confirm suspected idiopathis gastric enteritus w/ accompaying pancreatitus.He felt that the as the cat is himalayan, that the siamese genes in him,
would have increased his chance for pancreatitis. The test results showed only 1 of the
3 enzymes to be out of balance. His note reads Antech diagnosiecs; total body function: superchem, CBC, T4. Don't know if this is the T4 info that you requested, but
I thought I'd better give you the context in which it was noted. In my last reply I did not have the exact names of meds: amoxidrops, pain med, diarrhea gel med, ICC metclopramide, & tube of nutritional supplement. Thank you! M W
I forgot to list another important fact - My cat has a heart murmer diagnosed in Sept
I believe. It had not been noted in visits to the vet this summer or before.
Bland diets are usually the choice for cats with pancreatitis. This gives their body a chance to rest and not have to break down fatty foods....a good choice is boneless chicken breast and rice for a week or 2. The harder the pancreas has to work to break down the food, the more difficult it becomes to get it working again properly.
Since your cat is a himmy, I would also be curious as to the possibitlity of polycystic kidney disease which is very common in some lines of persian/himalyans. An ultrasound will reveal this disease and it can cause weightloss as well as dehydration.
With pancreatitis, usually they don't want to eat much. I would also ask the vet if his T4 results were borderline high....many times hyperthyroidism in cats falls at the high end of 'normal' but treating for it turns the cat around.....something to think about if nothing else.
If your cat is experiencing a severe attack of pancreatitis, withholding food for a few days while having the cat on IV fluids is the suggested treatment, otherwise, feeding a bland diet for a while may be sufficient. I am attaching a link for you that I think will give you a good background on the disease and how it's treated. Please let me know if I can do anything else or if you have further questions.
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/pancreatitis__feline_.html
Feline Healthcare
16 yrs health care mgmt & issues relating to cats, reproductive issues and multicat environments
Cats can live with polycystic kidneys for many years, but you may have to go through supportive care such as fluids, etc. There are great support sites on the web for kitties with chronic renal failure. www.felincrf.com is probably the best on the web.
I am sending this as a request for additional info so you don't get prompted to pay again. Let me know if I can do anything else.
This is very encouraging - Thankyou so much. I'll be starting him on the bland, chicken and rice(brown rice?) diet today.Would it still be the recommendation for the polycystic kidney? I'll also be cking the feline crf website. He lives in a multi cat household - but I'll be sure that he is fed by himself so I can keep track of his intake and appetite. All cats are indoor cats. Thankyou again for going that extra mile & more XXXXXXXXX