Feline Pancreatitis

Pancreatitis is inflammation of the pancreas, the organ that produces both digestive enzymes and insulin. When it becomes inflamed, those powerful digestive enzymes can begin to activate prematurely and effectively start to digest the pancreas itself and the surrounding tissue, driving a cycle of further inflammation. In cats the disease is notoriously difficult to recognise because feline signs are so non-specific — rarely the dramatic vomiting and abdominal pain seen in dogs, and far more often just a quiet, slightly off-colour cat that has lost interest in food.

There are two broad forms. Acute pancreatitis comes on suddenly and can range from mild to fatal. Chronic pancreatitis smoulders at a low level over months or years, sometimes flaring into acute episodes; studies examining the pancreas of apparently healthy cats have found that low-grade chronic inflammation is surprisingly common. A particularly important feline feature is how often pancreatitis occurs together with inflammatory bowel disease and inflammation of the bile ducts — a combination known as 'triaditis' that complicates both diagnosis and treatment.

Diagnosis usually combines a feline-specific blood test (fPLI), abdominal ultrasound, and the cat's clinical picture, because no single test is perfect. Treatment is supportive rather than curative: the priorities are rehydration with intravenous fluids, controlling nausea and pain, and — crucially — getting the cat eating again as soon as possible. The old approach of resting the gut by withholding food has been abandoned in cats, because a cat that does not eat is at high risk of developing hepatic lipidosis, turning one serious illness into two. With prompt, attentive care the majority of cats recover well, though chronic cases need ongoing management.