| Tributes - Purr Panther H. |
| Sir Purr Panther Hale - Kingston, Arkansas Male, Domestic short hair February 9, 1999 - January 18, 2009 Diagnosed with Pancreatitis in February 2004 |
Purr Panther was about six months to one year old when a friend found him as a stray and gave him to us.
We were feeding him Science Diet kibble when he started to get diarrhea and vomiting. He was losing weight
and kept having these symptoms for about three weeks to one month before
we took him in to see the vet in November of 2003.
Then we tried raw ground beef, raw chicken, liver and gizzards. He refused all of that. The vet put him on
Baytril and amoxicillin for two weeks and canned food instead of dry. We took him back in a week later as he
was getting worse and the vet gave him some lactated ringer solutions (IV fluids) because he was dehydrated,
and some Thorazine.
They took some x-rays and it showed that his small intestines appeared to be bunched so they
gave him a barium enema series but it didn’t change much. Then they put him on Reglan, Flagyl and Baytril.
He seemed to be doing well on this combination, was eating and drinking better and not vomiting. He did start
having a reaction in his nervous system to the Flagyl though and that had to be stopped.
In December of 2003 we kept him on the Baytril and amoxicillin and added famotadine (Pepcid AC) and he
seemed to do well on this combination of medications. By early February of 2004 he was not eating again, his
stools were loose and smelling bad. We didn’t want to have a biopsy done but by the end of the month it
became clear we didn’t have a choice as he was becoming severely anemic. On February 19, 2004 they did the
exploratory surgery and took a biopsy of his stomach, liver and pancreas. His mesenteric lymph nodes were
inflamed and his liver looked nutmeg in appearance. There weren’t any obvious tumors or thickened loops of
bowel found. Then they added buprenorphine and cyproheptadine to his medications.
On February 23, 2004 he was diagnosed with chronic interstitial pancreatitis.
He was put on 2.5 mg of prednisone for two weeks and pancreatic enzymes.
In early March his prednisone dose was raised to 5 mg for two weeks and seemed to do well on it.
He continued to do well until about September of 2004 when he was very lethargic and not eating again.
The vet put him back on the 5 mg of prednisone for another two weeks.
By mid October 2004 he was losing a lot of weight due to his pancreas. We had read about using B12 in
animals and asked the vet about it. He agreed to start Purr Panther on B12 injections.
Also gave him Nutrical and Felovite.
By this time we were feeding him water and chicken broth by syringe, as he seemed to be near death.
He had lost 3 or 4 lbs. within 6 months.
Within 24 hours after his first B12 injection, he started improving.
Now he gets 1cc of B12 monthly and Pancreyzyme Tabs, ½ tab before each meal.
Eats also eats Purina UR because he tends to have blood in his urine.
He now weighs a healthy 10lb 4oz. and has no other health conditions than the
chronic pancreatitis which is currently under control.
We believe he was suffering from serious malabsorption syndrome and
without the B12 injections he would be dead right now.
Update: January 18, 2009
PurrPanther passed away very suddenly at 1:30 a.m. this morning. He wasn't sick, showed no signs of distress
or illness whatsoever, it was a complete shock. He just closed his eyes and passed away. The vet said it could
have been his heart, we'll never know. He didn't have any obvious heart problems. If he did, they went
undetected. He lived a long, healthy and happy life with a disease that is very hard to treat.
We believe that because of the supplements, treatments and of course the love and good care we gave him, he
was free of the pain and usual downfalls that come with pancreatitis and IBD. He was a true miracle who will
continue to be an inspiration and a guardian angel helping other cats with this disease, from the other side
May he have a good rest now until we meet again someday. We love you PurrPanther!
We were feeding him Science Diet kibble when he started to get diarrhea and vomiting. He was losing weight
and kept having these symptoms for about three weeks to one month before
we took him in to see the vet in November of 2003.
Then we tried raw ground beef, raw chicken, liver and gizzards. He refused all of that. The vet put him on
Baytril and amoxicillin for two weeks and canned food instead of dry. We took him back in a week later as he
was getting worse and the vet gave him some lactated ringer solutions (IV fluids) because he was dehydrated,
and some Thorazine.
They took some x-rays and it showed that his small intestines appeared to be bunched so they
gave him a barium enema series but it didn’t change much. Then they put him on Reglan, Flagyl and Baytril.
He seemed to be doing well on this combination, was eating and drinking better and not vomiting. He did start
having a reaction in his nervous system to the Flagyl though and that had to be stopped.
In December of 2003 we kept him on the Baytril and amoxicillin and added famotadine (Pepcid AC) and he
seemed to do well on this combination of medications. By early February of 2004 he was not eating again, his
stools were loose and smelling bad. We didn’t want to have a biopsy done but by the end of the month it
became clear we didn’t have a choice as he was becoming severely anemic. On February 19, 2004 they did the
exploratory surgery and took a biopsy of his stomach, liver and pancreas. His mesenteric lymph nodes were
inflamed and his liver looked nutmeg in appearance. There weren’t any obvious tumors or thickened loops of
bowel found. Then they added buprenorphine and cyproheptadine to his medications.
On February 23, 2004 he was diagnosed with chronic interstitial pancreatitis.
He was put on 2.5 mg of prednisone for two weeks and pancreatic enzymes.
In early March his prednisone dose was raised to 5 mg for two weeks and seemed to do well on it.
He continued to do well until about September of 2004 when he was very lethargic and not eating again.
The vet put him back on the 5 mg of prednisone for another two weeks.
By mid October 2004 he was losing a lot of weight due to his pancreas. We had read about using B12 in
animals and asked the vet about it. He agreed to start Purr Panther on B12 injections.
Also gave him Nutrical and Felovite.
By this time we were feeding him water and chicken broth by syringe, as he seemed to be near death.
He had lost 3 or 4 lbs. within 6 months.
Within 24 hours after his first B12 injection, he started improving.
Now he gets 1cc of B12 monthly and Pancreyzyme Tabs, ½ tab before each meal.
Eats also eats Purina UR because he tends to have blood in his urine.
He now weighs a healthy 10lb 4oz. and has no other health conditions than the
chronic pancreatitis which is currently under control.
We believe he was suffering from serious malabsorption syndrome and
without the B12 injections he would be dead right now.
Update: January 18, 2009
PurrPanther passed away very suddenly at 1:30 a.m. this morning. He wasn't sick, showed no signs of distress
or illness whatsoever, it was a complete shock. He just closed his eyes and passed away. The vet said it could
have been his heart, we'll never know. He didn't have any obvious heart problems. If he did, they went
undetected. He lived a long, healthy and happy life with a disease that is very hard to treat.
We believe that because of the supplements, treatments and of course the love and good care we gave him, he
was free of the pain and usual downfalls that come with pancreatitis and IBD. He was a true miracle who will
continue to be an inspiration and a guardian angel helping other cats with this disease, from the other side
May he have a good rest now until we meet again someday. We love you PurrPanther!
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