Nutrition for dogs and cats with pancreatic disease
- Ecommercy
- 2026-09-22
- 15:08
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Pancreatic diseases in dogs and cats require a highly individualised nutritional approach. There is no single universal dietary strategy suitable for every patient with acute pancreatitis, chronic pancreatitis or exocrine pancreatic insufficiency. Species, clinical condition, body condition, appetite, body weight, fat tolerance, concurrent diseases and whether the problem primarily affects the pancreas itself or the gastrointestinal tract as a whole must all be considered.
In this material, we discuss the key principles of nutrition for dogs and cats with pancreatic disease and explain when selected Dogs Plate and Cats Plate diets may be considered as part of nutritional support.
Training material for vets
Why is nutrition so important in pancreatic disease?
The pancreas plays an important role in the digestion of nutrients, particularly fats, proteins and carbohydrates. When pancreatitis or exocrine pancreatic insufficiency develops, food may become a factor that exacerbates clinical signs or, conversely, an important part of stabilising the patient.
The purpose of dietary management is not to “treat the pancreas” independently of medical care. Nutrition should help reduce factors that may place additional strain on the gastrointestinal tract, support maintenance of body weight, reduce the risk of recurrence and improve food tolerance. In practice, diet digestibility, fat content, fibre content, protein quality and energy density are particularly important.
Acute pancreatitis in dogs and cats
In acute pancreatitis, stabilising the patient is the priority. This condition requires veterinary management, with nutrition forming only one component of treatment. Current approaches have moved away from routinely withholding food. In both dogs and cats, the aim is to reintroduce nutrition as early as reasonably possible, taking the patient’s clinical condition into account.
This does not mean force-feeding. In severely affected animals with anorexia, significant nausea or severe pain, the vet may decide to use a feeding tube or appetite-supportive treatment. From a nutritional perspective, however, prolonged fasting is undesirable, particularly in cats.
During the initial phase of the disease, the diet should be highly digestible, well accepted and adapted to the current tolerance of the gastrointestinal tract. In dogs, substantial fat restriction is usually considered. The approach in cats is different, as the feline pancreas does not respond to dietary fat in exactly the same way as the canine pancreas, and an excessively low-fat diet may further reduce food intake.
Feeding dogs with pancreatitis
Dogs with acute or chronic pancreatitis are most commonly fed a moderately low-fat, highly digestible and low-fibre diet. The diet does not always need to be extremely low in fat, but fat intake should be controlled, particularly in patients following an episode of acute pancreatitis or those with recurrent disease.
In practice, diets for dogs with pancreatic disease are often considered appropriate when fat content is below approximately 15% on a dry matter basis, and in more sensitive patients even below 12% DM. However, it is important to consider not only the dry matter value but also the actual amount of fat consumed by the dog each day. A food with a very high moisture content and low energy density may require a large portion, which affects the actual nutrient intake.
Protein is another key consideration. Protein should not automatically be restricted in dogs with pancreatic disease unless there are other indications for doing so. On the contrary, many patients require normal or increased levels of highly digestible animal protein to help minimise muscle loss and support recovery of body condition. Particularly in underweight dogs, insufficient protein intake may compromise nutritional recovery.
Fibre content should also be considered. Diets for pancreatic patients should not be high in fibre. Excessive fibre may reduce diet digestibility and impair nutrient utilisation. In many cases, diets containing less than 5% fibre on a dry matter basis may be more appropriate.
Which Dogs Plate diets can be considered for dogs with pancreatitis?
Product selection should always be based on the individual case, but in dogs with pancreatic disease, diets with a lower fat content, high digestibility and simple formulations may be particularly useful.
Within the Dogs Plate range, Gastro diets may be particularly relevant, including the roe deer-based option with a reduced fat content. In patients requiring very low fat levels, Dogs Plate Gastro Plus with kangaroo may also be considered. This can be particularly useful when stronger fat restriction is required or when the patient does not tolerate other protein sources.
In selected cases, Dogs Plate Diabetic, based on highly digestible turkey meat and characterised by a low fat content, may also be considered. For some dogs, Sensitive with cod may also be suitable, although its lower energy density means that portion size should be assessed carefully in patients losing weight.
The key point is not to select a product solely on the basis of its category name. Not every “gastrointestinal” diet will be suitable for a dog with pancreatic disease, as these diets may differ considerably in fat and fibre content, energy density and the proportion of organ meats.
Feeding cats with pancreatitis
The nutritional strategy for cats differs from that used in dogs. There is no need to automatically or drastically restrict dietary fat. The diet should not be excessively high in fat, but for many cats a moderate fat content is preferable to a very low-fat diet.
This is particularly important because cats with pancreatitis frequently experience reduced appetite, nausea and difficulty maintaining body weight. Fat enhances palatability and is an important source of energy, so an excessively low-fat diet may be less appealing and provide insufficient calories. As a result, the cat may eat less, lose weight and become more difficult to stabilise.
In cats, limiting carbohydrate intake is considerably more important, particularly when pancreatitis occurs alongside diabetes. The diet should be highly digestible, based on animal protein and contain a greater proportion of skeletal muscle meat than organ meats. In many cases, complete wet, single-protein diets with a low carbohydrate content and good palatability can be appropriate.
Which Cats Plate diets can be considered for cats with pancreatitis?
Selected Cats Plate diets may be considered for cats with pancreatitis, particularly those with simple formulations, a high proportion of animal-derived ingredients and a low carbohydrate content.
Depending on the individual patient, suitable options may include more easily digestible formulations such as Cats Plate Gastro based on turkey breast, as well as selected everyday diets such as turkey, roe deer, lamb, rabbit, duck or pork. Food acceptance is extremely important in cats, so a moderately fatty food that the cat willingly eats and tolerates well may sometimes be a better choice than a theoretically “safer” diet that the cat refuses to eat.
In cats with concurrent pancreatitis and diabetes, a very low carbohydrate intake is particularly important. In such cases, standard Cats Plate diets based primarily on meat and without a high proportion of starchy ingredients may be a practical option to consider.
Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency – EPI
Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency is characterised by insufficient production of digestive enzymes. It occurs much more frequently in dogs than in cats and requires pancreatic enzyme supplementation with every meal. Appropriately adjusted enzyme supplementation may allow the patient to return to a much more conventional feeding pattern.
In EPI, the diet should not automatically be extremely low in fat. Excessive fat restriction may exacerbate malnutrition and impair the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins. A diet with moderate fat content, highly digestible protein and fat, and a low fibre content is generally preferred.
Fibre is particularly important because high fibre intake may interfere with the activity of pancreatic enzymes and reduce nutrient utilisation. Vitamin B12 levels should also be monitored regularly in patients with EPI, as deficiency is very common and may significantly affect the animal’s condition.
Feeding a dog with EPI in practice
In dogs with EPI, every meal should be planned together with pancreatic enzyme supplementation. This applies not only to main meals but also to larger quantities of treats, for example during training. If a dog consumes food without enzymes, impaired digestion, steatorrhoea and poorer nutrient utilisation may occur.
Initially, particularly while determining the appropriate enzyme dose, a highly digestible and moderately low-fat diet, such as one from the Gastro range, may be considered. Later, if the patient responds well to enzyme supplementation and becomes clinically stable, other complete Dogs Plate diets may gradually be introduced according to intestinal tolerance, body condition and energy requirements.
Some dogs with EPI, particularly those with secondary dysbiosis or a poor response to treatment, require further individual dietary adjustments. In these cases, greater fat restriction may sometimes be necessary, while other patients may benefit from a change in protein source or simultaneous management of intestinal health and nutritional deficiencies.
Supportive supplementation in pancreatic disease
Supplementation should always be tailored to the individual patient, laboratory findings and concurrent diseases. Vitamin B12 may be particularly important in pancreatic disease. Deficiency is common in both dogs and cats with impaired digestion and absorption. In cases of severe deficiency, the vet may recommend injections, while oral supplementation may also be appropriate in some patients.
Depending on the individual case, folic acid, N-acetylcysteine, vitamin E, taurine in cats, probiotics, synbiotics, postbiotics and caprylic acid as a source of medium-chain fatty acids may also be considered. Particularly in malnourished patients, additional readily available calories may have practical value, but each intervention should be adapted to gastrointestinal tolerance.
Not every gastrointestinal diet is suitable for pancreatic disease
This is an important practical consideration. Gastrointestinal diets are primarily formulated to provide nutritional support in digestive disorders. However, this does not mean that every gastrointestinal diet will be appropriate for a patient with pancreatic disease.
Such a diet may contain highly digestible protein and fat while not necessarily having a reduced fat content. It may also contain too much fibre or provide a level of protein that is inappropriate for the individual patient. Therefore, in pancreatic disease, simply choosing a food from the “gastro” category is not enough. The label, analytical composition, energy density and the patient’s actual tolerance all need to be assessed.
Similar caution is required with low-fat diets formulated for overweight or obese dogs. These diets often contain high levels of fibre to increase satiety and reduce calorie intake. This nutritional profile may not be appropriate for a dog with pancreatic disease, particularly if the patient is underweight, has impaired digestion or requires a highly digestible, readily absorbed diet.
When pancreatic disease is not the only problem
In clinical practice, pancreatic disease frequently occurs alongside other conditions. In dogs, these may include chronic enteropathy, dysbiosis, diabetes, hyperlipidaemia or kidney disease. In cats, pancreatitis frequently occurs within the broader context of gastrointestinal, hepatic or biliary disease, diabetes or chronic kidney disease.
When pancreatitis occurs alongside chronic enteropathy, a diet combining features appropriate for both pancreatic and intestinal disease is often required: highly digestible, moderately low in fat, low in fibre and, in some cases, based on a single protein source.
When pancreatic disease and chronic kidney disease occur concurrently, the situation becomes considerably more complex. Nutritional recommendations may partly conflict. In pancreatic disease, highly digestible protein and, in dogs, fat restriction are usually priorities, whereas more advanced kidney disease requires careful control of protein and phosphorus. In such cases, the diet is always a compromise and should address the most clinically significant problem at that particular time.
In dogs with concurrent pancreatic and kidney disease, Dogs Plate Pro Liver may be one possible compromise because it has reduced protein and fat levels and is based on highly digestible ingredients. It is not specifically a “pancreatic diet”, but in some patients it may be a safer option than a conventional renal diet with a high fat content.
In cats with concurrent pancreatic and kidney disease, management depends on the stage of kidney disease. In the early stages, greater emphasis is often placed on supporting the pancreas and restricting phosphorus without excessively reducing protein. In more advanced kidney disease, dietary management requires a highly individualised assessment.
Summary
Nutritional management of pancreatic disease requires more than simply choosing a food from a particular category. In dogs with pancreatitis, a highly digestible, moderately low-fat, low-fibre diet based on high-quality animal protein is generally the most appropriate approach. In cats, drastic fat restriction should not be used routinely. Palatability, adequate energy intake, high digestibility and a low carbohydrate content are more important considerations.
In EPI, appropriately adjusted pancreatic enzyme supplementation with every meal, monitoring of vitamin B12 and avoidance of high-fibre diets are fundamental. In every case, it is important to remember that a gastrointestinal, low-fat or renal diet is not necessarily appropriate simply because its name suggests gastrointestinal support or fat restriction.
The safest approach is to analyse the ingredients, calculate nutrient levels on a dry matter basis, assess energy density and select a product according to the animal’s clinical condition. This is why collaboration between the vet, nutritionist and owner is so important in the nutritional management of pancreatic disease.