# Pancreatitis in cats



## Michele11969 (May 24, 2021)

Hi everyone, I took my cat to the emergency vet the evening of May 12th for a diagnosis of Pancreatitis. He is 8 years old and has not needed to go to a vet since nurtured at 5 months old. It started with noticing bright yellow diarrhea and I thought maybe it was from too many evening wet treats I was giving my cats. They also have all-day access to dry food. I monitored him for the next 3 days in which he acted fine and on the evening of the 3rd day, he started to vomit and couldn't stop so I took him in to the vet. They ran all the tests and determined it is Pancreatitis. I was given Cerenia for the nausea and 7 days of Metronidazole in syringes twice a day, 12 hours apart in which the last dose was given the evening of May 19. My cat is acting just fine and not vomiting but I am still concerned about his fecal matter. It is browner but still soft and still has some diarrhea smell to it. I spent 7 days transitioning from Blue Buffalo (which the vet said she sees more cats come in with digestive issues eating that food) to Chicken Soup for the Soul Weight and Mature Care which claims to be better for digestion. I have not given him any wet treats yet for fear of adding too much change to his stomach at once until adjusted to the new dry food. He is also drinking plenty of water out of the kitchen sink daily like he always has. Can anyone shed some light on where my cat's healing is from here based on his fecal matter and if you have experienced a similar situation what you did about it? The vet told me if his issue continues then he will need an ultrasound. I will do that if necessary but I would like to know if his body just needs more time to heal before jumping the gun on further tests.


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## StanAndAlf (May 16, 2021)

That's a tricky situation... hope he's ok. 

So if I'm understanding correctly, he has been off medication for nearly a week. And its been 7 days since you changed his food? So two weeks since he was diagnosed? 

It sounds like his fecal matter is improving, and though I'm glad you followed your vet's advice it is possible the change in food could be prolonging his fecal issues. It's completely up to you, and I'm sure others would say different, but as long as he isn't vomiting and is still acting bright and alert, I wouldn't worry too much yet. If it still hasn't cleared or improved much in the next week, then I would take him in. 

Are you able to give your clinic a call? They may be able to give you some advice over the phone about whether you should still be concerned. Some boiled chicken if he'll eat it might help settle his tummy too. Best of luck!


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## Michele11969 (May 24, 2021)

Thanks so much for the reply. I actually called and luckily got into a regular vet today because his diarrhea was becoming runnier again. He said the Metronidazole was only to help with the symptoms of diarrhea but was not helping the pancreas itself so he gave me a steroid called Prednisolone to help with the inflammation. He did provide more Metronidazole as well to keep helping with diarrhea since the first batch did start to help. The vet said changing his food was not the issue but that the pancreas needs a little more help in this situation than the first treatment route the emergency vet tried. He also prescribed Hills Prescription Diet Gastrointestinal Biome, Digestive/Fiber Care kibble cat food. He said to go ahead and change out the food immediately with no transition needed and that all 4 cats can eat it since it's impossible to feed them separately (unless locked in separate rooms). Hopefully, this will do the trick and get his fecal matter back to normal which is the main goal. He said if this works out, we will discuss his future diet then that doesn't require a prescription. Hope my posts makes sense. I have been so stressed over this and I am exhausted right now and can hardly think straight. I hope more people posts their experiences with feline Pancreatitis to help educate others. This has definitely been a new and unexpected experience for me.


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