? Pancreatitis and food

Hi,

Capoo was diagnosed with a pancreatitis yesterday.
During the night from Thursday to Friday, he vomited his food directly on the autofeeder, as if he had eaten too quickly.
On Friday morning, Capoo was eating a lot of grass, and of course, each time he eats grass, he vomits a mix of water and grass. He didn't want to eat anything.
As I have some doubts, I brought him to my vet, where he spent nearly all the day for tests.
And the verdict has been declared : pancreatitis!
Capoo has recently gain some weight : at his time of diagnosis, in November, he weighted 8,2 kg. At this time, he was already over weighted. I loose my dog in December, and she used to play a lot with Capoo.
His ideal weight is around 7 - 7,5 kg.
Yesterday, at the vet, his weight was 9 kg!
My vet told me that his obesity (don't be afraid of the word....) could be a reason for his pancreatitis, and even for his diabetes.
But anyway, he absolutely needs to loose weight.
So, my question is: do you know a wet food for cat, available in France even through Internet, that is low in fat and low in carbohydrates?
I have also done some researches about the calories intakes that Capoo should receive. According to these, it should be around 290 kcal/day. Do you agree, knowing that his ideal body weight is 7 kg, that he is neutered with nearly no activity (he lives in an apartment)?

And just for fun, a remark from my vet when I told him that I was scrutinizing hydrocarbons on food labels. So, he told me that you can have a good label when making cat food with straw, leather and waste oil. What is important is the quality and digestability of raw materials.

 

Oh, so sorry to hear about the pancreatitis... There are quite a few kitties on the forum who also suffer from this.
You may be interested to see this 'Pancreatitis Primer' that Marje wrote:
A Primer on Pancreatitis
And I'm tagging Mogs @Critter Mom , who has had a lot of experience of this in her own kitty.

Do have a look at the (food list) link in my signature. There are many Zooplus foods there, and it's likely some will be suitable. There is a column for calories per 100g of food.
And on the far side of the page you'll find the fat content and moisture content of the foods in the 'typical analysis' percentages: If you want to compare the dry matter fat content across foods you can use this nifty little calculator to work it out using just those two figures: http://fnae.org/dmb.html?inputboxm=77&inputboxi=1.7&button.x=75&button.y=21&button=Click

Hoping Capoo is feeling better soon, (and sending a big hug to his mama...),

Eliz

 

Sorry to hear Capoo has p'titis. I can't help with food for your area and I'm still trying to find food for Smokey. Low fat and low carbs is a tough combo to find. Smokey has been doing better with the novel protein food. Better with the Purina one smartblend line as well as the proplan beef and carrots flavor. Just trying proplan line of True Nature but it's too early yet. He did awful with the fancy feast. I can't seem to get him off the meds yet. Vet says he would probably need to stay on them though, so trying to find a maintenance dose that works. Smokey needs to gain a pound or two so I don't have that added problem.

Good luck, let us know what works.

 

Sophie,
Just had a quick look through my list for lower calorie/fat foods (available from Zooplus), and there are few that jumped out at me as possibilities:
Granatapet 'Symphonie' (nice quality food)
Miamor 'mild meal'; the chicken & ham, and chicken & salmon flavours (all my cats love these....)

And a couple of the Animonda foods that I haven't tried;
Animonda Carny 'exotic'
Animonda Vom Feinsten (neutered)

Wonder if any of these would suit Capoo...?
.

 

Elizabeth,

Have you tried yourself the GranataPet symphony?
Is the composition written on the label the same as the one on Zooplus? (I've recently had a bad experience when ordering food with Zooplus : when the food arrived, the composition written on the label was completely different from the one of the website).

 

Yes I have. But I don't have any in my cupboard at the moment to check the labels...
Oh, and thinking about it, I got the figures from a UK company called The Happy Kitty Company (not Zooplus, because the 'symphonie' food isn't available from Zooplus in the UK, although it is in France...I think...?) The Happy Kitty Co are usually pretty reliable...
.

 

Watch out for the Granatapet foods. They all contain salmon oil which can really irritate the pancreas. Of all the foods I've trialled with Saoirse, Granatapet are far and away the best quality - especially their Symphonie range - and I wish I could feed it to Saoirse but it really disagrees with her. If you want to try it for Capoo just order a small quantity first to make sure that the salmon oil doesn't upset his system.

Avoid foods containing carrageenan like the plague.

I've had success feeding Kattovit Sensitive Chicken food (4.4% kcals from carbs, 0.9% phosphorus DMB). It's quite calorie-dense (1.03 kcal/g as fed) but I add water to it because it's only 79% moisture as-fed. (Good hydration is important for both the pancreas and the kidneys.) I also add pumpkin because there's no added fibre in the Kattovit. Both of my cats tend to eat less of the higher protein foods.

I've also had success with Saoirse feeding Smilla Kitten Food with Chicken (0.7% kcals from carbs, 1.14% phosphorus DMB, 0.96 kcal/g as fed).

Kattovit and Smilla are both available from Zooplus. It might be worth your trialling Bozita foods (also from Zooplus). They're foods that haven't been messed around with (simple ingredient list). It depends on whether Capoo will like the flavours.

With Saoirse I've found that the stronger the smell from the food the more likely it is to disagree with her. One invaluable guide to how well a food agrees with a pancreatitis kitty is to learn the clinical signs of nausea. Here's a helpful resource:

Nausea symptoms and treatments (page on Tanya's Site - if you can't display the linked page straight away try again later because sometimes there can be access hiccups.)

It helps enormously to always have a supply of supportive meds at home to address nausea. Ondansetron is invaluable (Bristol Labs generic if you can get it). An appetite stimulant can help, too. Mirtanapine is popular with vets but it can induce serotonin syndrome (potentially life-threatening) and it's also hard to control the appetite stimulating effect. Cyporheptadine is gentler in action and it is easier to control the level of appetite stimulation because it doesn't last as long in the system. For either med conservative dosing is better; some vets prescribe too large a dose and that opens the door to more pronounced side effects. For other tips on encuraging an inappetent cat to eat see the following link (also from Tanya's Site):

Persuading your cat to eat

A course of vitamin B12 injections can help enormously.

One of the most helpful documents I've used is the following:

IDEXX Pancreatitis Treatment Guidelines

Regardless of what IDEXX says, famotidine can be a very useful adjunct to other anti-nausea treatments.

Try feeding very small, very frequent meals during the peak of a flare. Elevating food and water bowls helps with nausea.

Try to avoid your cat getting constipated as this can make things worse for a pancreatitis kitty. Note that both ondansetron and buprenorphine have a tendency to constipate. Lots of helpful info at www.felineconstipation.org.

I hope that Capoo feels much better very soon.



Mogs
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Thanks a lot, Mogs, for your answer!

Why do I need to avoid carrageenan, and how do I know that food contains it?

I'll try the brands you suggested, as they are available from Zooplus.

The last poo was on Thursday evening, I think that Capoo is a little bit constipated. Do you have a hint to "deblock" him?
I just have a look at the website you mentioned, but I can't insert anything in his anus. I think that I'll try to give him some malt pate (Savorial), normally used for hair balls.
It seems that Capoo has regain a little appetite today, and he hasn't vomitted.

 

I currently feed Capoo with Felix pouches (Les Effilés, no idea of the English translation). Do you know if it contain carrageenan?

 

No idea here about the ingredients in Les Effilés. If you contact the manufacturer they will be able to tell you exactly what goes into it.


Mogs
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It can trigger inflammation. (It is actually used in laboratory research to induce inflammation in test subjects.) It is also allegedly a carcinogen.

How much has Capoo eaten compared to normal in the same time period? If he has eaten less he may not yet need to poop. Before starting any treatment for constipation it is vital to get him examined by your vet to make sure that there is no obstruction first. Ask your vet about slowly introducing tiny amounts of either canned, plain pumpkin or psyllium husk (Metamucil is a product your vet may be familiar with). Another possible is Miralax stool softener. Work out what to do with your vet.

I'm really glad to hear that Capoo is more interested in his grub today!




Mogs
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You're right : he nearly ate anything on Friday. Today, he only ate 2 pouches, knowing that he needs to eat 4 pouches per day to lose weight.
At least, today, he wanted to eat a little. And he also wanted to play, I hope these are good signs.

 

They are very good signs!


Mogs
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What do you think about Sheba, Almo Nature and Bubi Nature?
These brands are available in many shops, and thus you avoid the risk of a late delivery.

 

I feed Saoirse Sheba Fine Flakes in Jelly Poultry selection (only the chicken and turkey flavours). It has been the only food she was able to eat reliably for quite some time but it's not the greatest quality - and it's high in phosphorus (1.9% DMB). I've not tried the other brands. Have a look at Eliz's food list to see if there's information on them.


Mogs
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This morning, I have received a nice present : a big poo.
I have never been so happy to clean the litter box

Capoo has regain a lot of appetite this morning.

 

Yay! POOOOOO!!!!!
I'm sure you've both got a lot of relief from that.....

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From what I can see, 'Bubi Nature' appears to be just fish or chicken with stock added, but I can't find the 'typical analysis' (percentages of protein, fat etc) online to work out any more than that. These look pretty typical of a lot of the foods that are coming out of Thailand at the moment; high protein, very low fat (and usually no vitamins or minerals added.) But if you can get to look at a label you may learn a lot more!
The info I found did say that this is a 'supplementary', ie. incomplete food. But supplementary foods can still be useful sometimes. (They can be used as an addition to the diet, a treat food, or to tempt a kitty who is off her food. (These foods tend to be very palatable)). These foods are usually quite low in calories.

Most of the Almo Nature foods are also 'supplementary' foods. The Almo Nature foods vary a lot in their composition - be aware that some contain rice and/or cereals.

As Mogs suggests above, there are some Sheba foods in the list in my signature. Do take a look.
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I spent a lot of time in a shop this morning, just to read labels.
You're right, Bubi Nature is just a supplementary food.
For Almo Nature, the majority of varieties is also only supplementary food. They have a variety which is complete, named Daily Menu, but the carb content seems high.
Regarding Sheba: I have already had a look at your document, but my main concern is that the varieties are really not the same between countries. Even when you translate, you cannot find the corresponding variety.
It's the same with Fancy Feast Classic, that a lot of members use. In France, this food is branded under the name Gourmet, but I cannot find any Gourmet Classic in France. We have Gourmet Gold, Gourmet A La Carte and Gourmet Perle (which seems interesting in terms of composition).
I saw in your document that you mention Gourmet Pate. Once again, we don't have this. We have Gourmet Gold Terrines, Mousselines or Feuilletines, and the compositions of these 3 varieties doesn't match at all with what is in your document.

I have to spent even more time to read labels

 

Formidable!!!

I look at the litter box as a best friend. 'Twas not always thus, but nowadays I'm grateful for the way it lets Saoirse's body help me know what to do to help her.

Constipation can make a cat feel nauseated (especially a pancreatitis kitty). I'm so glad to hear that Capoo is feeling better, and it's very good to hear you sounding happier today, too.




Mogs
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@Critter Mom :

Mogs, how do you deal with insulin doses when having a flare, and of course, when the appetite of your kitty is lower than usual?
Tonight, the PMPS of Capoo is 102 ( using AT2 meter), so I prefer to skip the shot.
Furthermore, as you suggested, I have given to him Sheba, and he is completely crazy with that! He has eaten one box in 2 hours, (and he is currently continuing to ask for it ) but that didn't rise his numbers (according to my calculation, the carb content in Sheba is smaller than in Felix).

 

Oh wow, a glorious normal number at preshot! And on Caninsulin... This is very good news indeed...... Methinks a pancreas has woken up....
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@Elizabeth and Bertie :
I have switched to Lantus some weeks ago

 

Duh! Silly me!
It's still encouraging news though....
.

 

And I have just tested him, one hour after the usual PM shot, and he is at 109.
I'll definitely skip the PM shot tonight.

 

wow-things are sure looking up!!

 

@Elizabeth and Bertie -

Check out Capoo's spreadsheet and the wonderful response to Lantus; he's doing really well. (Anti-jinx!)

It can take an awful lot of work - and sometimes sleepless nights - to ensure a cat with appetite problems gets enough food and enough insulin. When Saoirse had her really bad flare not long after she was diagnosed I got several timed feeders to dispense very small meals every hour or two for Saoirse during the night. She was also getting anti-nausea meds (ondansetron) and an appetite stimulant (cyproheptadine). She has had milder flares since and depending on her BG status and potential ketone risk there have been times when I've skipped insulin doses if her appetite is off and I can't guarantee being able to monitor her properly (I have chronic health issues). I do check her more often for ketones. (Note: one needs to be much, much more careful when dealing with a cat who is prone to ketones or who has a history of DKA in such circumstances.)


Mogs
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Gosh, yes. And there was a transition to wet food not long after... So, maybe more than one factor changing the state of play here.... It's looking good.... (Anti-jinx!!!)
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