Pancreatitis and Dusty

Dusty who has diabetes was recently admitted by the Vet. He was a very sick kitty and I had to spoon feed him over the long weekend. His numbers went from incredible high to very low in the course of 24 hours which the vet said was consistent with the diagnosis of Pancreatitis.

He has started treatment and he says he is looking for some sort of improvement in the next 24 hours. My questions to this group is:

What caused this and was there anything I could have done to prevent it? I am feeling kind of guilty even though we used low carb food.

Is 24 hours too short to show signs of improvement? I get the impression that if no improvement is made in that timeframe that he would suggest we pull the plug. If he does not get any worse would you give it more than 24 hours?

What questions should I be asking the Vet about his treatment?

The vet said Dusty will be in the hospital for approx. 4 days. Assuming he get better and recovers what steps can I take to make sure this does not happen again?

The vet has said Dusty's chances of recovery are better than 50/50 but certainly not 90%. Is that an accurate assessment?

As always any help would be appreciated.

 

I'm no expert, but my cat has had pancreatitis. He would have inappetance, never got to me having to spoon feed him. Not sure why they would put that fear in your head about the 24 hours. How was he doing before the weekend? Was he eating then or kinda stubborn? He is probably nauseated and needs some cerenia or ondansetron.

I don't really have an other advice, but I sure hope Dusty comes back home and in new(er) condition!

 

He had lost his appetite a week ago. and I had to spoon feed then. He went to the vet and got liquids and a shot to make him hungry again which worked for a week. He perked right back up again.

 

Does he have ketones or DKA? Or fatty liver from losing weight fast?
I'm wondering why he's only given you the 24 hour window to see improvement.
Is it possible to get a feeding tube while he recovers?
I'm not very familiar with pancreatitis but I didn't think it was a death sentence.

 

I was wondering too whether it was diabetic ketoacidosis or hepatic lipidosis. Pancreatitis is painful but good symptom management gets them feeling well again without time in hospital.

 

OMG please don’t listen these vets. Max had chronic pancreatitis for several years starting when his best friend left us when he was 12. He did become diabetic years later and lived to 19, passing from a combo of heart disease and kidney failure. Hepatic lipidosis is very serious and if that has occurred it will take more than 24 hours to turn that around. Right now he needs to stay hydrated and get food into him.

Please post updates. Once this resolves it’s very important to get enough food into him even when he doesn’t feel well. That means nausea medication, cerenia or ondansetron, and possibly an appetite stimulant like my fave cyproheptadine.

 

Dusty is doing a lot better aand the vet says he is eating now. As well as Pancreatitis he had a bladder infection. To me he looked and acted close to re death. when I picked him up he made sounds have never heard before from him like he was in extreme pain and when I put him down he stayed in whatever position he was put in and did not try to make himself comfortable. He was not reacting at all to sounds or movement around him.

if this makes sense I think his k was less than 10.

One question I wondering about. Did Dusty get Pancreatitis because he did not eat or did he not eat because he had Pancreatitis?

 

Another I would add was 12:00 Sunday his BG reading was 540 and when I took him in Tuesday morning it was 149. Between he had 2 units of insulin every 12 hours. The vet said that such a big change was indicative of pancreatitis and something to be very concerned about.

 

Pancreatitis is painful and many cats become inappetent. That was the first signal with Max. Can you get a copy of the labs and add them to your spreadsheet? Did he also have hepatic lipidosis? If potassium was 10 that is actually high.

 

Have you been testing his glucose at home? It would be good to start a spreadsheet. That is not always true. Max’s BG often increases when experiencing pancreatitis episodes. Not eating can cause a big decrease in BG.

 

Rufus didn't want o eat when his pancreatitus was flaring up. Glad to hear he's doing better! Good to see better numbers on him too!

 

Dusty is doing much better and will be coming home tomorrow. I was looking back at the invoice for the work done and the less than 10 KG was for Cerenia which I understand is a injection for Nausea. So it was not a reading but an injection. He was also given a 15 MG tablet of Mirtazapine.

A few questions come to mind and I would appreciate any help provided. What questions should I ask the Vet when Dusty is released? Second any suggestions or tips on what I can do going forward to prevent this in the future? Lastly should I consider giving him some dry food (even though it is not good for him) and deal with it if needed with increase in Insulin? To put it another way is it better keep his appetite up if needed (to avoid a repeat of this issue) or to keep his blood glucose levels as low as possible.

I just want to do what is best for him so we can have him happy and healthy as long as possible.

 

I would make sure you leave with the medicines he got there. That way you can help keep his appetite up at home. Also maybe some bupe for pain relief if needed.
I would put the question mark symbol on your thread title and add post-hospital advice needed, or something similar. It night get you more answers.
It is possible to feed dry and adjust the insulin as needed but other members with pancreatitis experience can help you more than I can. I'm not sure if it's recommended or not.

 

Ty was recently in hopsital for 6 days following a pancreatitis episode. Two/three weeks later he still tests positive.

Like Dusty, Tyler's BG readings were tailing down and I took that to be a good thing re his diabetes. In reality it was actually a symptom .

Ty left hospital with temgestic (bupe) and after his 2nd stay the weekend before last he also left with vibravet as well as temgesic. You can see by clicking on my spreadsheet.

From what I have gleaned and this is only what feels right for me and Ty , it is better to keep the feeding up . Always keep the feeding up in fact & ensure hydration. I add water to Ty's food everytime , even though he does drink.
The BG levels can be helped to come right later. Of course if the BGs are too high + no feeding then you have the issue of ketones which are dangerous.

No. You did not cause this. The not feeding likely came from Dusty's discomfort and the inflammation of his organs.

Yes. Give him a bit of dry if that is what he will eat. Maybe float it in a bit of water. Or mix it with any sort of wet he will eat. Better to keep his systems working.

When an ER in hospital one would expect the cat to perk up in 24/48hrs whilst on fluids and the like.
Once home , it could take weeks to calm down , if ever and it can flare.

Again. This is me writing from our own personal experience recently.
Tyler is a very old cat & now has multiple issues going on so what is right as it can be for him , may not be a right for for your Dusty.