Horrible News on Chloe

[heidiv]

We have been dealing with Chloe continuously ripping her hair out....For the last year and 1/2 she has been going through stages which she would continuously do this. We have repeatedly taken her to the vet trying to come to a conclution as to why she was doing this because she also would just totally freak out also so not finding anything we attributed it her anixiety because she always would freak out for reason at all.

The week while my husband was home with her she vomited again only this time it contained no food just a clear bloody looking substance.(Sorry for description) BIG RED FLAG! So we took her in and they ran a series of tests mainly cause the vet suspected Pancreatitis. And Chloe would be the first cat she has ever had to treat. The tests were sent off and yesterday the results came back a HUGE postive. MY POOR BABY HAS BEEN IN PAIN FOR OVER A YEAR!!! I am so devested....I am such a bad mommy... Its not fair she has been in pain for to long for such a sweet little girl...She made pet of the day for being my saving grace when I lost my siamese Pricilla and my husband is devestated she adores him. As he does her, he cant stand that she has been in pain for so long. Her hair pulling has been totally related to all the pain she has been enduring.

Is there anyone on this forum that has a cat with Pancreatitis? And how are they doing? And how are they being treated? I have to stay on top of this I no longer want my little girl to suffer. She doesn't deserve it...She is our life..

[Catty1]

HUGS!

As many have said, our kitties are good at hiding how sick they are. A few years ago, my Oscar had a chronic UTI - and he also licked his tummy fur off around where his bladder was.

As far as I know, it is manageable.

Here is some treatment info, and a link to the whole page:

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=1+1329&aid=334


The goal of treatment is to rest the pancreas, provide supportive care and control complications. Treatment always begins with a withholding of food, water, and oral medications for at least 24 hours. The lack of oral intake stops the stimulation of the pancreas to produce digestive enzymes. Depending upon the animal's response, food intake can be started again after a few days. The cat is generally fed small meals of a bland, easily digestible, low-fat food. Over the course of a week or more, the size of meals and quantity of food fed are increased. The cat may need to stay on the special diet for life, or it may be possible to gradually reintroduce the former diet.

The second major component of treatment is fluid therapy. Dehydration and electrolyte imbalances are common in cats with acute pancreatitis, and water intake is often restricted so fluid therapy is usually needed. Fluids are either given subcutaneously or intravenous.

Cats who are experiencing severe pain can be treated with pain relievers such as meperidine or butorphanol. Antibiotics are often administered prophylactically to protect against infection...Pancreatitis can be a very unpredictable disease. In most cases, if the pancreatitis was mild and the pet only had one episode, chances of recovery are good and avoiding high fat foods may be all that is necessary to prevent recurrence or complications. In other cases, what appears to be a mild case may progress, or may be treated successfully only to have recurrences, sometimes severe.


Hugs to you and hubby! Don't be too hard on yourselves...if the vets didn't discover it before now, chances are it was a milder case.And hey, it is their job to find it - though they are only human.

I am sure your Chloe will feel more comfortable soon, even if she can't be cured. Give her a snuggle for me.:love:

[kb2yjx]

FIRST!!! DO NOT BEAT UP YOURSELF!!! Second, I have had several cats that had pancreatitis. They all did nicely with the meds and special food. My question(and I am not being funny), how did Chloe survive a year with pancreatitis?? When she went to the vet in the past year, did not the vet take a general chemistry to check enzymes??? Just curious....I hope Chloe will be fine and I will light a candle for her...

[heidiv]

I have read several sources on the internet and it said something about several cats can have reoccuring episodes of this and a lot of the time their humans don't even know it? The only reason we think that this is something that has been going on for over a year is that she has been ripping her hair out for over a year at some points over grooming being much more intense. I think this last episode must have been much worse She no longer has hair left to remove. So she somehow started to pull from her legs and shoulder bones? I don't know how?? Something in my mind was going on I just didn't know what? I have to add that this is the same cat that resently had to go to the University of Minnesota for her eyes. We couldn't figure it out? They found that she had Chlamidia in her eyes. Then little over a month ago she was taken in for a urinary tract infection. The vet thinks she has a chronic condition and this is a flair up? We all just hope and pray that we can at least start controlling her symptoms so she can have a MUCH more comfortable life..... Thanks for the info Catty one!!

[krazyaboutkatz]

I'm so sorry to hear this:( but at least now you know why she's been over grooming and pulling her fur out. I hope that she'll start feeling better soon.

[wolflady]

Don't feel bad dear. At least the vet was finally able to diagnose her and now you'll be able to treat her. Hopefully your vet can set you up with the right meds and diet to help with her condition.
I noticed you mentioned she had Chlamidia in her eyes. My vet seemed to think this is what my little kitten has so I was curious to know how you treated Chloe for it and did she ever have bloody discharge from her eyes with it? Did it clear up for her or does she still have recurrances?
**hugs** to you and Chloe

[lvpets2002]

:( I am sorry to read this about your Sweet Baby Chloe.. Well now you can get her on proper Meds & on the right foods.. Get Well soon wittle baby Chloe.. Huggss & Lots of Prayers being Sent..

[Medusa]

I'm sorry to read about Chloe's pancreatitis but given how cats are so good at hiding illness, there's no way you could've known. Now that you do, you'll see to it that she gets the best of care and I'm sure she'll be feeling better in no time. I hope that you will, too. :)

[GILL]

We are so sorry to hear this. I know how painful it can be. It put me in the hospital for over a week. But DO NOT blame yourself These kids are real good at not letting us know when some thing is wrong.

[heidiv]

Don't feel bad dear. At least the vet was finally able to diagnose her and now you'll be able to treat her. Hopefully your vet can set you up with the right meds and diet to help with her condition.
I noticed you mentioned she had Chlamidia in her eyes. My vet seemed to think this is what my little kitten has so I was curious to know how you treated Chloe for it and did she ever have bloody discharge from her eyes with it? Did it clear up for her or does she still have recurrances?
**hugs** to you and Chloe

Yes she has had that in both of her eyes we had to take her to the University of Minnesota to ulimately have her diagnosed. There are 2 to 3 different things that she could have had one being the herpies virus, Chlamidia and then one other thing. She never had a bloody discharge from her eyes but they always looked like they hurt to her.(Another symptom is sneezing it kind of acts like an upper respritory infection) Luckily its gone we were given an oral medication that made it go away. She is doing very well as far as that goes. If your little kitty has this I would be sure to have them get you a prescription for medication I feel so bad I can not rememeber the name of the medication but it had to be ordered from a pharmacy that makes special medicine for animals they were even willing to make it chicken flavored for her. It was pretty inexpensive concidering it didn't take much to get her back to normal. I would talk to your vet and see what kinds of meds they prescribe because your kittie could be really uncomfortable they gave us meds to lubricate her eyes better. Best of luck I hope that meds helps your kitty!! Hugs!