Why is my cat still grouchy and has diarrhea after pancreatitis?

Hi and thanks for posting on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Diarrhea can be a common occurrence with pancreatitis patients. Metronidazole can help but there are also other medications and supplements that can be of benefit as well. The addition of probiotics are very helpful at reestablishing the good gut bacteria- usually this is given as a powder or capsule you can break open and place on the food daily. A couple great ones are Fortiflora and Proviable. Changing the diet to one that is more easily digestible can help to prevent diarrhea and firm up the stool. Foods I'd recommend would be Hill's I/D or Royal Canin's Low Fat Gastrointestinal diet. A B-vitamin complex is usually essential as this vitamin is typically deficient in patients that have problems with their pancreas. Medications such as Famotidine or Omeprazole which are gastric acid reducers an also help. You may want to ask your veterinarian about the above medications and supplements to see if any of these would be of benefit for Ricky.

Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Pancreatitis in cats is often a chronic problem with occasional flare-ups. Treatment usually consist of pain relief and low fat diet. In more severe cases iv fluids, intravenous pain relief and appetite stimulants are necessary. In that respect the treatment Mahji received sounds appropriate. Antibiotics are not necessary in most of cases of pancreatitis but it is a common practice to use them. It is hard to make comments on the problem with oedema. I assume that the oedema was caused by overzealous intravenous fluids therapy and Mahji has fully recovered after a course of diuretic. The key in long-term management of pancreatitis is low fat diet. There are prescription diets for cats with pancreatitis but this type of food can be easily prepared at home (cooked lean meat with some vegetables). Using appetite stimulants should be only short term, however some cats require longer therapy with anti-sickness medications to treat nausea (metoclopramide or maropintant are the most commonly used). I hope that will help and I wish all the best for Mahji

I'm sorry to hear your cat is having GI issues. How was your cat diagnosed with pancreatitis? If the remainder of bloodwork was normal and the fPLI was positive, I would consider X-rays and possibly an abdominal ultrasound for more information. Pancreatitis can be a chronic condition that requires diet changes, B12 supplementation and long-term medications. Pancreatitis can be concurrent with another underlying GI issue, such as IBD or lymphoma. Ultrasound can give more information, but these conditions can only be definitively diagnosed with intestinal biopsies. As the issue isn't resolving, I would recommend your cat be re-evaluated and further diagnostics potentially fine, either by your regular veterinarian or an internal medicine specialist. Good luck!

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Sage. I'm sorry to hear about his ongoing issues with pancreatitis. Continue giving the fluids as you do not want him to become dehydrated. I typically include pain medication as well as an anti-nausea medication in my treatment plan. Pancreatitis can cause abdominal pain and he may not be eating due to nausea. It is also a good idea to have his cobalamin (vitamin B12) level measured in his blood. If this is cost prohibitive, most veterinarians will give an injection of this vitamin. It can help a lot. I hope these options help Sage. Good luck!

I'm so glad that Mr B is feeling better. A prescription diet would be ideal, if he will eat it. However, it is more important that he be consistently eating something. Regular food intake and meals keeps the pancreas working at a steady pace to help digest food, rather than going from 0 to 60 so to speak; meaning not needing to work, then working really hard. Since he is an older guy, he is just more likely to start to have health problems. If he does have a recurrence of pancreatitis, it would be a good idea to talk to your vet about an abdominal ultrasound (sonogram of the abdomen) if that was not preformed yet, to see if there are any other issues going on, such as an obvious tumor, etc. I hope that information is helpful. Thank you for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Poutcha. His blood work appears fairly unremarkable. His blood sugar is a bit high, but his fructosamine level is normal. Is he diabetic or was this just a screening test? Since he is not improving, I recommend a urine sample be tested and bloodwork for pancreatitis. X-rays of his chest to look for cancer are always a good idea as well. Based on these results, additional bloodwork or even an abdominal ultrasound by a radiologist might be warranted. I hope this information helps!

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Watson. The ultrasound should be able to give you valuable information as will the pancreatic test. He could have inflammatory bowel disease or even intestinal cancer. Another test I perform in cases of chronic gastrointestinal disease is testing cobalamin, folate and TLI levels. This tests for pancreatic exocrine insufficiency as well as vitamin deficiencies. I hope you get some answers soon!