My cat has pancreatitis. Can digestive enzymes help with weight loss?

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I would not give Binx any additional medications or supplements as medications can cause pancreatitis. The pancreas aids in digestion by releasing digestive enzymes in to the duodenum (first segment of the small intestine). It also makes and releases insulin. Pancreatitis means inflammation of the pancreas. The digestive enzymes that are normally excreted in to the small intestine are activated to early with in the pancreas, in a sense causing digestion of the pancreas. Pancreatitis can be caused from medications, obesity, high fat foods or getting in to high fat foods and underlying diseases can be a risk factor. I hope this helps!

Hello. I am so sorry for your worries with Maggie. There are other gastrointestinal diets for cats, like those made by Hill's & Purina that you can try. She may like a wet vs a dry diet, too. But the important thing is just to keep her eating. Cats tolerate dietary fats better than dogs, so while she recovers, you might even talk to your vet about introducing her to a hydrolyzed protein diet ( also used for pets with food sensitivities ) as this is highly digestible, too. As for asking about Mirataz, definitely do ask as this it can help as an antiemetic & appetite stimulant. I hope Maggie is feeling better soon & thanks for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

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

There are a number of pancreatic supplements on the market. Some of the really inexpensive ones do not seem to work as well as the more expensive ones and since we don't yet have a diagnosis on Dexter, I would start with a proven product first to see if it works. (If it does, you could consider changing to a less expensive product later to see if it works as well.) The least expensive company I have found that has a good quality product is Enzyme Diane. http://www.enzymediane.com/ordersusa.htm The dosage instruction is based on the amount of food fed because you mix the enzymes into each meal. So, I would follow their recommendations for dosing instructions. If you go with a different product, I normally recommend dosing a dog at their ideal body weight, so I would dose Dexter at a 70 pound dose. Good luck with Dexter! I hope that helps! Thanks for using PetCoach.

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!

You do not mention her current symptoms so it is difficult to address these. A probiotic such as fortiflora, antioxidants, liver aids such as zentonil or milk thistle, pain medications and frequent small meals of low fat or hydrolyzed diets can all help recovery. Repeat bloods to ensure stable or reducing white blood count is useful