How safe are IV fluids for a dog with pancreatitis and a heart murmur?

Hello. IV fluids can be harmful to cats if they are in heart failure, or given at too high of a rate or if they are given and not supervised. Otherwise IV fluids are a wonderful tool in making sick cats feel better, especially in conditions of pancreatitis, kidney disease, toxicities, diabetes, etc. I would discuss these with your vet, but used properly IV fluids are great, and a very important part of medical therapy.

Hi there! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! So sorry to hear that Tasha is not feeling well. If she is on medications that were prescribed by your veterinarian for treatment of pancreatitis, then yes she should continue to receive her medications as long as she is eating. Pancreatitis is generally a painful condition so it is recommended to ensure that she receives pain control medications while her pancreas improves. Keeping my fingers crossed for a speedy recovery!

IV fluids are definitely recommended for a young puppy who is vomiting and is having diarrhea because it's the best way to keep them from getting dehydrated. Getting an IV catheter put in is not very painful at all, and once the needle is in the vein, giving the fluids is painless. This is the best option for keeping dehydration at bay. Dora could be subcutaneous fluids (fluids infected under the skin), but that involves a needle as well and it does not rehydrate the dog as quickly as IV fluids. I highly recommend letting the vet give her IV fluids.

Dietary management is key for reducing the severity of both IBD and pancreatitis but it is not always easy to find a food which suits both conditions. A restricted, low fat diet such as royal canin gastrointestinal low fat or hills i/d low fat can be very helpful in such cases. Depending on the degree of the heart disease, your vet may wish to prescribe heart medication or continue to monitor closely for any changes

He should stay in the hospital as long as possible on IV fluids/medications. Sometimes it takes a week or longer before they start getting better. Was an abdominal ultrasound done? That would be a good idea. He should be held off food until he is better. At the hospital the vet can feed him nutritionally through the IV catheter with something called TPN. He should be given food orally. This would be my suggestions. Pancreatitis cannot really be treated at home.

If a dog has heart problems and is unable to utilize the volume of fluids that is given, those fluids can end up in the lungs and cause an increase in breathing. This is most common with large amounts of fluids given IV quickly, but can occur with SubQ fluids. However, it takes time to develop, so it would have occured a number of hours after fluids were given - not immediately after. And when Memi was hospitalized, the IV fluids should have made her worse, not better. The most likely explanation is that the breathing was due to her kidney disease, and the fluids were coincidentally given at the same time. Giving enough fluids (IV or SubQ) is very important to making a kidney failure patient feel good, so continuing her SubQ fuids is important. Good luck! I hope that answered your question. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

For most pets with a history of pancreatitis, most flea preventives are considered safe. Frontline is likely a good option but remember that individual sensitives can always happen but are unexpected. You may double check with your normal veterinarian as well just to play it safe. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.