Ok, so my 13wk old kitten may have Pancreatic Insufficiency.... Does your cat have it too and how does it affect his/her quality of life ? *** Caution - potential TMI ***

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I took him to the vets this am for his first round of innoculations and happened to mention a recent change in the appearance and texture of his faeces (tmi, sorry). They are very wet and concrete grey coloured, he also passes a small amount of mucous occassionally. He is also producing them very frequently (5 a day!!).

According to the vet these are "textbook symptoms of Pancreatic Insufficiency", and if he is found to have the condition then he will have to take enzymes for the rest of his life to enable him to digest food properly. I have to take him back to the vet next Fri for blood tests, so, as yet, we do not know for sure that he has PI.

Does your cat have the condition and how does it affect him/her ?

Thankfully, we have pet insurance so any costly medical bills should be covered by that .

Anyone ?

Not exactly the same but I remember our family dog's pancreas 'stopped working' and had to have pills every day from then on. He managed fine - pills along with a low fat diet iirc.

It is pretty unusual in cats - I personally would ask for a stool sample to be sent off and then if all ok there start looking at trying different diets for the cat as dietary sensitivity is much more likely here. Ask for a sensitive tummy diet from the vets first of all like Hills i/d or the RCW sensitivity control initially. If things are ok on that for a while then start trying other pet shop type foods again very gradually mixed in with the sensitive diets and see how that goes.
The stool sample should give some clues to a pancreatic insufficiency if present as foods will not be digested properly in that case and be found in the sample - then further testing if necessary can be done.
If your cat has not had a good quality wormer (eg milbemax, drontal cat or panacur) then make sure you ask your vet to supply some of that and get that done too as heavy parasite burdens can sometimes cause problems like this too.
Good luck

Thanks for your posts.

My vet gave me a worming paste in a tube, I think it is panacur, and his stools are much improved ! Still a little more loose than I would like and a little mucous, but at least they are now brown.

He was wormed by the CPL when we got him, 3 weeks ago, but that is it. He wasn't any hungrier and wasn't losing weight (as our older cat does if he has worms) so I didn't really think that was problem. It appears I was wrong (thank goodness).

I have to say though, administering the paste is a bloody nightmare ! I have to swaddle him up in a tea towel and force the syringe into his mouth, he's a little menace. My 9yr old cat is much better at taking meds.

[can't beleive i am happy about cat sh*t emoticon]

are you a vet, beautifulgirls ?

yep! Glad things seem a bit better. Mucus can be a sign of colitis - hence the suggestion that it may be dietary sensitivity. That could be a temporary thing especially in young kittens where stress can also play a role, or may be a longer term thing. I'd not do too much more at the moment except monitor things and if the mucus persists over the next week or two then consider a diet trial. Really runny poo ongoing may be other issues to consider but seems most sensible to try the easily done and cheaper option first if the kitten is otherwise doing well, then start the whole testing thing if you are having ongoing concerns really.
Panacur paste is good but I think it is a pain to give too. The vets may have granules if you find those easier, or from here ask if they do milbemax and use that as it is a one tablet treatment rather than three days of meds needed.

He (very reluctantly) took his last dose of panacur this morning. We normally use drontal tablets ground into food for our other cat, but I didn't like to question the vet on the paste vs pills because I assumed that, as a vet, she would not be prescribing a drug that was v awkward to administer without good reason.

I'll keep an eye on the mucous, as I said I have an appt with the vet on Fri morning so I'll tell her that the colour has changed but he is still loose and producing a degree of mucous. Assuming that it is most likely to be a dietary issue, can I buy the Hill i/d from anywhere (pet stores, supermarkets etc) or is something I can only buy from my vet ?

Thanks for your time, btw

The Hills i/d or RCW sensitivity control are veterinary only diets I'm afraid - sorry. The best plan would be to have a few tins or some dry version for a few days and if that is looking ok get them to order you in a larger quanitity to collect. Hills do a guarantee that your pet will eat the diet too - so if the kitten will not touch it go back to the vet and ask for a refund there and they can then contact their area rep to get the company to refund them.
Milbemax does the same as drontal cat but the tablets are smaller and a lot easier to administer I think.
How loose are the stools - soft but shaped or runny chocolate? Any problem with the kitten controlling the ability to go or is it "leaking out" at all? Sorry to ask such a graphic question!

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I would get a 2nd opinion tbh.

I had something similar with my dog (when a puppy) she had blood in her stools, quite muscusy too. I went to a local vet who wanting all sorts of tests done (which would have cost a fortune, not that money is important) but i decided to get a 2nd opinion, and all she needed was some antibiotics, and a injection and was fine.

Always get a 2nd opinion imo.

Hope your kitten is ok.

thanks all for these extra posts

His stools are firming up a little now, still wet but at least there is a degree of shape there. I would liken the consistency to hair conditioner . They are definitely brown now. and he doesn't seem to be suffering the indignity of leakage (!). His stools were absolutely fine when we got him btw. They just suddenly went funny about 10 days ago.

Ooops, he came from the Cat's Protection League at our local Dog's Trust centre. He had been wormed and checked over by the vet the week before we got him. He hadn't had his immunisations as the vet felt he was too little.

He was eating Royal Canin BabyCat at the CPL, we did buy a small bag and we were advised to slowly phase it out and introduce wet food (or the food of our choice). He eats Whiskas kitten food atm (the wet type) and seems to love it, although maybe it doesn't love him !

We have never given him milk, he has water and seems happy enough with that. I knoew that cows milk was not a good idea for cats.

(The smelly little so-so and so has just parked himself on the desk in front of me and proceeded to wash his bum. Nice)

He was also producing a small amout of vomit, in fact it was more regurgitated food (undigested) than actual vomit. He seems to have settled with that too.

It is worth considering asking your vet for some protexin pro-kolin paste to help firm up the stools. It contains Kaolin that helps to thicken it all up a bit, and some live bacteria that are good for the tummy in general. If that and a special diet settle things then all well and good. If not then faecal samples are definately the next thing to be needed.

Can I not just come to your practice instead, beautifulgirls ?

South East of the country - if you are we'll talk more about where I am!

My cat had pancreatic insufficiency (along with a raft of other ailments - lovely lovely rescue cat, but rather poorly) and ate the granules very happily on her food; might be worth trying these. Fab that you have insurance!

Thanks again all.

Beautifulgirls, i'm afraid you are too far south for me, hey-ho can't blame a girl for trying !

I own and run a cattery, we have had a siamese cat in with us that has confirmed pancreatic insufficiency, he eats 'james Wellbeloved' kibble biscuits with a sprinkling of 'Dorwest Herbs' on top, he eats very well and his stools are excellent, when he first came to us he was on chicken and rice (home cooked). Just google dorwest herbs for info and mail order. Hope this is helpful