My cat has pancreatitis and stopped eating. Will it resolve?

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 would expect for your vet to either prescribe or offer injectable antibiotics and anti-nausea medicine for a few days in a row. I love to use cerenia as the anti-nausea medicine as it is also a pain reliever. Your vet may choose this or something else and add in a different pain reliever if necessary. A lot of specialists don't believe antibiotics are necessary, but since a small percentage do get an infection in the pancreas, a lot of vets treat with antibiotics to cover their basis. Also you will want to make sure Coquine is staying hydrated. If he is well enough to be treated at home then your vet may want to have you come in daily for a few days to get some subcutaneous (under the skin) fluids to help keep him hydrated. If he simply has just pancreatitis and no other complicating factors then they usually improve quickly and do really well. I hope this helps!

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 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!

I am so sorry to hear about your kitty! Pancreatitis in cats is very serious, and can cause significant discomfort. If your cat isn't eating or drinking much, he may not urinate or defecate much. If you don't think the medication is helping, I recommend you chat with your veterinarian for other options. If your cat is lifeless and not responding to you at all, then you should take him to an emergency vet right away. Best wishes for you and your cat.

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.

Yes, pancreatitis can cause ileus in cats and yes, ileus frequently happens as a sequela to pancreatitis. The best way to treat ileus is with fluids (intravenous would be best) and motility drugs like metoclopramide. If the cat is eating motility should start to get back to normal. Since I don't know the timeline of all of this it is hard for me to say much else. If you have more questions feel free to post agin. I hope this helps!