Food options for a cat with pancreatitis

Q. My cat, aged 6, has pancreatitis. He has had a course of tablets and is now on vitamin injections which were once a week, then once a fortnight and now once a month. Although Ally has put some of his weight back on, he is still thin and very fussy about his food - the vet advised I feed him only Royal Canin Sensitivity. Ally only eats very small quantities at frequent intervals but really wants to eat his sister's 'normal' food. I have tried him on Royal Canin wet and dry foods but it is obvious he is bored and wants to try something different. Can you recommend another 'sensitivity' food that would be okay for him. Thank you Linzi Brigden

I need to begin this answer by saying that you must check with your vet before changing from the diet that has been recommended. Pancreatitis is a complicated disease and a detailed amount of knowledge is needed about your cat’s clinical condition before a particular diet can be said to be exactly the right one. In answering your question I have had to make a number of assumptions that might not all be true.

If a cat has pancreatitis it is important to differentiate if this is pancreatitis with hyperlipidaemia (high levels of fat in the bloodstream) or without hyperlipidaemia. I am assuming because of the diet your cat is on now that there is no hyperlipidaemia as normally a higher fibre diet would be recommended in this case. If the disease is more chronic (ie longer lasting) then it’s possible that your cat is still experiencing some discomfort so as well as the diet being low fat, it must also be tasty to tempt a poor appetite. Some success has been reported with adding pancreatic enzymes to the food as they are thought to reduce abdominal pain. If you want to try another brand of food then Hill’s Precription Diet Feline i/d might be a good choice. It contains reduced levels of fat and higher levels of soluble fibre that help restore intestinal flora. There are additional B vitamins in this food and it is highly digestible. This diet is suitable for cats with pancreatitis without hyperlipidaemia, in recovery from debilitating illness and in exocrine pancreatic insufficiency when the pancreas cannot produce enough enzymes to digest food. Do check with your vet first though and make any changes gradually.