My senior cat had pancreatitis. How can I prevent it from coming back?

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

Pancreatitis rarely completely resolve, it can be managed (food is the most important part of the treatment) and your cat might often have relapses such as this one, every time he does he will need similar treatment, in cats i find pain killers important with pancreatitis as well as anti nausea drugs such as cerenia.

Poor Quinton! Pancreatitis can become a chronic issue. Switching the diet to the Low Fat food may help. You will also need to make sure he does not eat ANY human food or get into the garbage. Any treats need to be extremely low fat. Some dogs with chronic pancreatitis benefit from daily antioxidants for dogs. Some may need a daily steroid but most don't. Make sure Quinton drinks lots of water daily. Here is a link about pancreatitis: https://www.petcoach.co/article/pancreatitis-inflammation-in-dogs/ If this trend continues, your vet may want to look for an underlying condition such as Cushing's Disease. I hope this helps and that he starts feeling better quickly.

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.

Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Episodes of acute vomiting like these can be related to pancreatitis, bile ducts and gall bladder infection, gastritis, food indiscretion and more. It would be worth to do a blood test to check Louie's pancreas and liver function. If the test for pancreas is positive, Louie's would definitely benefit from low fat diet.

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!

Hello, thank you for your question about Abu. Based on your description of Abu's episode and current intermittent diarrhea I would be suspicious that he may have a mild underlying GI problem. Generally, cat's GI systems are very sensitive, and often when they go through a bout of pancreatitis it can sometimes become a chronic issue leading to occasional diarrhea/vomiting. Some cats have a condition called triaditis, where they experience pancreatitis and concurrent inflammation in their intestines. This would explain Abu's moodiness and his diarrhea. Cats with this condition often need to have anti-nausea and anti-diarrheal medication intermittently to help them cope with their symptoms. It is often challenging to completely cure this condition. I would recommend having Abu reevaluated by your veterinarian to ensure that he is still comfortable and not experiencing a full re-lapse. Your veterinarian can then discuss potential medication options for your to have at home. Hope this helps, good luck!