Pancreatitis advice needed please

I've come here for some advice as I can see from previous threads that everyone here is very knowledgeable and helpful!

Apologies in advance for the essay:

Our approximately 10 year old moggie, Sooty, has recently had some health issues. We adopted him on 25th August last year from our local cat charity. His previous owner was murdered and the family didn't want him, so the charity stepped in and took him. He was up for adoption for 3 years! He is black, older and shy, so not an attention grabber to most.

We adore him though, and he gets on with our other two cats well. He came to us at 7.6kgs - this was confirmed by his vet not to be fat but just muscle. He is a very large cat in frame so he doesn't look overweight and he has always been very active.

We live next to a school and a graveyard, so there is plenty of space for him to explore. He started to lose a bit of weight when he came to us, which we put down to how much exercise he was getting (he'd be out 14+ hours a day and wouldn't come back for food until he was desperate).

His weight loss seemed to become more severe this summer. He also appeared to be drinking more and began urinating around the house. We took him to the vets for tests as he was beginning to look thin, which had never happened before. His weight had dropped to 5.6kg. They ran standard blood panels with a T4 test also, all came back fine. Urine tests came back fine, so I asked them to do imaging to rule out anything more sinister.

They did x-rays and ultrasounds, which appeared to show a mass in his abdomen. They said it was almost certainly cancer but they couldn't say with any certainty where it was coming from or how advanced it was. We were obviously devastated as everything you read about feline abdominal cancer is fairly grim. They suggested that they open him up and get a closer look at what was going on and if it could be removed, how advanced, etc. We discussed chemo and other options.

The day came and they opened him up and there was nothing there. They said his pancreas was very inflammed and sore looking, with the associated lymph nodes being the same. His liver also appeared to be leathery and old. They took biopsies anyway, which confirmed pancreatitis as the issue.

They were very surprised, as he has had very few symptoms of pancreatitis apart from the weight loss. He had shown no pain, vomiting or diarrhoea, appetite was fine! But that's the confirmed diagnosis. They can't tell me whether it was chronic or acute, or whether it may happen again.

They suggested a vet diet but from research that doesn't seem to help either way. What can I do to prevent this from impacting his potential quality of life, and life span itself? He seems very happy and has been through-out the whole process. He has been steadily gaining weight back, now back to 6kgs and looking less boney. We are simply feeding him more to get the weight back on.

Does anyone have anything that may help him long term? Literally anything would be so appreciated.

Thank you, and sorry for the essay!

 

Im so glad you adopted Sooty! I don’t have experience with pancreatitis, but several others here do and I’m sure they will chime in soon. In the meantime, here is some info
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/a-primer-on-pancreatitis.83108/

 

What a lucky kitty to come into your care when he did! Pancreatitis is a scary diagnosis but is definitely manageable... and much less dire than abdominal cancer
What did they do for him to get him feeling better after they confirmed the diagnosis?
If it ends up being chronic (which you can’t know until it happens again), pancreatitis is all about controlling the symptoms when they pop up... making sure he’s comfortable and eating enough. Not eating enough can cause other issues, like hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver), that can be deadly. Controlling symptoms will mean pain and anti nausea meds, an appetite stimulant and subcutaneous fluids. When Spot has an episode, he gets oral buprenorphine for pain, famotidine & Cerenia for nausea/vomiting & cyproheptadine for appetite. In addition, I give him CBD oil daily that seems to have shortened the duration of episodes and helps with appetite on all but the worst days.
You do not need to feed a prescription diet, but all cats can benefit from a low carb wet diet. Wet food will help keep him hydrated, which is very important for keeping him healthy. I even add extra water to Spot’s pate just to make sure he gets enough. Fat content, while a concern for dogs and humans, is not a concern for cats with pancreatitis.
It might also be worth getting a baby scale to weigh him every once in a while. Weight is the best indicator of whether he’s getting the right amount of food or not. If he’s losing weight, feed him more.
I’m glad to hear he’s gaining weight as that probably means he’s on the mend. I hope for your sake that the pancreatitis ends up being acute and you never have to worry about this again

 

There are some supplementals that can help; they won't prevent a flare if he has one, but they can add to his general well being. Digestive enzymes like ProZyme can help aid nutrients being absorbed from his food. CBD oils can aid with inflammation, pain, anxiety, depression, and can supposedly help prevent cancers- I don't know about that, but a lot of people on the pancreatitis boards swear by it for their kitties. Adding milk thistle is supposed to be good for cats liver function, slippery elm bark for their digestive systems, and probiotics like fortiflora are also helpful with digestive issues if they crop up.

 

Thank you all for the replies! I've got some CBD on hand for my partners IBS so will start using that for Soots too. Looking into some Milk Thistle drops as well, Holland and Barrett only had capsules

My main challenge now seems to be to get him chunky again. He is steadily gaining weight but the muscle wastage was quite severe, so I'm trying to build him back up to heavy-weight status!

 

They did nothing after diagnosing him, as I think he was out of the worst of it really. They've given me Buprecare and Zantac if he takes a bad turn due to another flare up, but apart from that we've not had any additional support. They've been helpful, but I think they've run out of advice to give me! I also hope it was an acute flare up, although he didn't show any symptoms other than weight loss!