chronic pancreatitis

Does anyone have experience with chronic feline pancreatitis?
Seamus was diagnosed by ultrasound Feb 1, and has been on torbutrol
for the pain since then. He is no better when I have tried to wean
him off the pain med. He has a great appetite, no vomiting or
diarrhea (soft stools when the torb is decreased), just the signs of
pain - hunching, very quiet, not running or playing (he is normally
*very* active). This is his first bout with this, and it is a long
time to have to see him like this. He is getting 1/2 of a torb once
or twice a day before meals, then he will play. I am also concerned
about keeping him on the opoid that long. When will he feel better?
Teri

teri wrote:
Does anyone have experience with chronic feline pancreatitis?
Seamus was diagnosed by ultrasound Feb 1, and has been on torbutrol
for the pain since then. He is no better when I have tried to wean
him off the pain med. He has a great appetite, no vomiting or
diarrhea (soft stools when the torb is decreased), just the signs of
pain - hunching, very quiet, not running or playing (he is normally
*very* active). This is his first bout with this, and it is a long
time to have to see him like this. He is getting 1/2 of a torb once
or twice a day before meals, then he will play. I am also concerned
about keeping him on the opoid that long. When will he feel better?
Teri

Pancreatitis is hard to diagnose and often seems to resolve by itself
no matter what you do. Our cat had the symptoms you describe (although
the vet did not do ultrasound) and on a hunch the vet sent out for a
pancreatic enzyme assay (called TLI). Unfortunately this kind of test
takes 3-4 weeks to get results and by the time the results did come
back, my cat had completely recovered. But the vet said the test did
show evidence of pancreatitis. I think this test is not certain either,
but the best test currently available. While our cat did show signs of
pain (hunching, walking very slowly) she was also not eating. Thinking
it might be some kind of infection the vet also prescribed an
antibiotic and he gave us an appetite stimulant. Once she started on
the antibiotic, it only took one dose of the appetite stimulant and she
started eating again. After that she began to recover.

I guess my point is that it's hard to be sure that a cat has
pancreatitis--the vet isn't even sure that our cat really had it
despite the assay. However, if your cat has been in pain from
pancreatitis for a month, I'd think I'd want the vet to see if anything
more can be done. It is a painful condition and I think sometimes vets
prescribe Fentanyl patches to control the pain. But it seems to me that
in a month it would have started to heal and become less painful.
-Yngver

Hi Teri,

Sorry your cat is not feeling so well. Our cat, Bob, also had chronic
pancreatitus. I'll tell you some of his story to see if it helps.

His started six months after his diabetes diagnosis (which happened
right after a steroid shot for allergies...)

Bob would throw up, have diarrhea, a high fever and just be listless. He
was in pain and would yowl if we picked him up. During his first six
months after diagnosis, he probably had about three major attacks that
sent him to the hospital, some for a week at a time. He was always
treated by an internist vet, a specialist. He was on an IV and his fever
watched carefully. He usually had to be force fed. The internist said
anti-nausea drugs do not work with cats. The treatment was basically
supportive care to get him through the episode. They also always sent
him home with metronidizole (sp?).

The vet said once a cat has pancreatitus, it changes the lining inside
of the pancreas which is why it often becomes a chronic problem. She
also said that the way to treat it in dogs is to fast them and rest the
pancreas. Because of the way cats are built, they cannot be fasted
without possible liver damage -- so treating it gets more complicated.

At the end of that six months, we were frazzled and a few thousand
dollars shorter. At Christmas, we found Bob again in pain and we didn't
know what to do. My sig. other thought maybe it was time to let him go
because this was no way to live, but I told him I could not think of
letting Bob go yet. We took him to the hospital again, he got better and
voila! No more attacks for a year!

Bob had a wonderful, pain-free year, relaxing on his window. I told you
all of this because watching your cat go through such pain can be
harrowing, plus the expense and the vet trips -- but they can have long
periods of a wonderful life.

In case you're wondering, Bob died that next year of cancer. It was not
related to his pancreas problems.

Good luck with your cat,

Rhonda


teri wrote:

Does anyone have experience with chronic feline pancreatitis?
Seamus was diagnosed by ultrasound Feb 1, and has been on torbutrol
for the pain since then. He is no better when I have tried to wean
him off the pain med. He has a great appetite, no vomiting or
diarrhea (soft stools when the torb is decreased), just the signs of
pain - hunching, very quiet, not running or playing (he is normally
*very* active). This is his first bout with this, and it is a long
time to have to see him like this. He is getting 1/2 of a torb once
or twice a day before meals, then he will play. I am also concerned
about keeping him on the opoid that long. When will he feel better?
Teri

"teri" wrote in message
...


I am going to start with the small frequent feedings, but every three
hours is not going to work on weekdays.

I don't think that's such a good idea. I've had the best results by spacing
the feedings no less than 12 hours apart- gives the pancreas time to rest
and heal between meals. Feeding stimulates pancreatic secretions which tend
to aggravate the condition.