My cat has pancreatitis. Are fish oil, olive oil, or tuna safe?

Pancreatitis in cats more commonly occurs due to concurrent diseases (such as inflammatory bowel disease, cholangitis, cholangiohepatitis, diabetes mellitus, etc.) than due to high fat diets. Dogs commonly develop pancreatitis after eating high fat diets, but this not been shown to be the case with cats. There are also many other cats that develop pancreatitis idiopathically (i.e. we never determine why it happens). One guess to try to associate Bella's pancreatitis with the diet change would be that she may have developed vomiting from a fairly rapid diet transition. The vomiting may have caused a back flow of bile into the common bile duct, which also empties into the pancreatic duct. When back flow of bile occurs, it can introduce bacteria through the shared duct to the pancreas. This may be a stretch of a theory, but is possible. Before changing Bella back to her old diet, I would recommend waiting for further test results to determine if other diseases are present and indicating the need for a different prescription based diet. Since she has been ill, I would also recommend discussing her diet with her vet and taking a full 5-7 days to slowly transition to any new diet. I hope that she does well!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This I will tell you from a medical standpoint but also from experience as my Golden Retriever has a history of chronic pancreatitis. When it comes to it, it is really hard to know what may trigger an episode of pancreatitis. For that reason, I would encourage you to avoid this. The reason is that fish oil can be a bit hard on the gastrointestinal system especially for a dog like ours that is a bit sensitive. I have been debating about starting my dog on fish oil and have decided not to for this reason. It is possible that he will be fine though I would suggest you avoid it. Good luck!

Olive oil is safe to give to cats, so a small amount may help, however if there is a severe intestinal obstruction it likely won't clear it. If the oil doesn't help, or the vomiting continues, veterinary care is unfortunately needed, and many emergency clinics are still open for services. Other things to try can include feeding smaller meals more often so that Mama isn't eating a huge amount in one meal, which may help her better keep down what she is eating.

Giving a small amount twice daily is good for the skin and joints. I feed a cat supplement and follow the label instructions. It reduces inflammation and helps with arthritis. As long as you limit the amount I’ve not seen pancreatitis from omega3 supplementation. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Kitty.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding your cat. I do not like to institute a diet change until a cat is healthy if at all possible. They should be eating and drinking on their own. If you offer a new food when they are still ill, it is easy for them to develop a food aversion. So I would feed him his regular diet or the tuna until he is eating drinking well. Then slowly try very small amounts of the z/d. It may need to be a very gradual transition for him. I hope this information helps!

Usually I recommend a low fat gastrointestinal food for pancreatitis as it is easily digested with minimum fat content. Royal canin does a feline wet GI food. Hills and specific do a similar option. You can get these from your vet. If your cat also has deficiency in pancreatic enzymes these may need supplemented.

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.