Understanding the Cat Pancreas: Function, Health, and C

What is the Pancreas?

The pancreas is a pale pink gland situated just beneath the stomach. It serves two primary functions: it produces metabolic hormones (insulin and glucagon, which regulate blood sugar) and digestive enzymes. These enzymes are secreted through the intestinal ducts to aid in the digestion of food. In cats, the pancreatic duct connects with the common bile duct from the liver, meaning bile and pancreatic juices enter the small intestine from the same point. There are also other hormone products from the pancreas that assist in regulating digestion and the movement of food, but this overview captures the pancreas' fundamental roles.

Pancreatic encephalopathy, a form of brain damage, can occur if the fats protecting the central nervous system are digested.

Pancreatitis is a potential metabolic catastrophe. Here's why: A healthy pancreas has protective measures to ensure the safe storage of its digestive enzymes. If these enzymes escape and become active, they can digest other tissues in the body! This is exactly what happens during pancreatitis: enzymes escape and are inappropriately activated, beginning to digest the pancreas itself. The living tissue then becomes further inflamed, and tissue damage quickly spreads to the nearby liver. Toxins released from this violent tissue destruction enter the bloodstream, triggering a systemic inflammatory response. If the pancreas is so affected that it loses its ability to produce insulin, diabetes can result, which can be temporary or permanent.

Complications of pancreatitis can include the destruction of surfactants in lung tissue, which usually prevent tiny airfilled alveoli from collapsing after each breath. Without surfactants, alveoli can collapse, leading to respiratory failure. Additionally, the body's fats can be broken down, a condition known as WeberChristian syndrome.

Pancreatitis is one of the main risk factors for disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), a condition where the normal clotting and clot dissolution mechanisms are excessively uncoupled, leading to abnormal bleeding and clotting throughout the body. Fortunately, such catastrophic events are rare, but it's important to know that if pancreatitis becomes uncontrollable, such disasters are possible. Most often, pancreatitis is confined to the liver and pancreas regions.

Pancreatitis can be acute or chronic, mild or severe (acute cases are usually more severe, with mild cases sometimes not requiring treatment).

What Causes Feline Pancreatitis?

Unfortunately, in 90% of cases, we do not know the cause of feline pancreatitis. However, we are aware of some potential risk factors.

1. It may be associated with pancreatitis and inflammatory bowel disease. There is a theory that abnormal intestinal diseases can lead to overgrowth of bacteria, which can climb up the pancreatic ducts and cause a pancreatic infection.

2. Trauma (being hit by a car or falling from a height).

3. An active feline distemper infection.

4. Toxoplasmosis (a parasitic infection) can affect the pancreas, although it almost always affects other tissues as well.

5. Exposure to organophosphate pesticides. Organophosphates are no longer commonly used in flea control, but they are easily accessible at hardware and garden stores and can be found in some flea collars.

6. Medications. Medications can cause pancreatitis in humans and dogs, but there is no evidence to suggest they can cause pancreatitis in cats. However, it is important to be cautious about using medications associated with pancreatitis in cats with a history of the condition. These include azathioprine (an immunosuppressant), thiazide diuretics (furosemide), tetracycline (an antibiotic), valproic acid (an epilepsy control agent), and procainamide (a heart medication).

The cause of pancreatitis in a particular pet may never be determined.

What Might You Observe at Home If Your Cat Has Pancreatitis?

In dogs and humans, pancreatitis is associated with severe nausea and abdominal pain. However, according to recent research on cats, only 35% of cats with pancreatitis show vomiting, and only 25% experience abdominal pain. Fever is a possible sign, but the temperature often drops. Lethargy and decreased appetite are consistent symptoms. Virtually all cats with pancreatitis will lose their appetite, with about half of those affected for long enough to show signs of weight loss.

About 40% of cats with fatty liver disease have pancreatitis as the underlying cause. Fatty liver is a specific type of liver failure caused by decreased appetite or insufficient calorie intake, making pancreatitis a particularly complex condition.

Tip: Click here to learn more about the treatment methods for feline pancreatitis.