Oh, poor little girl! On the plus side of it, it sounds like while it's a serious problem, it's not as bad as it could've been. At least it's treatable to an extent. Hopefully everything will work out, and don't do anything drastic -- if it comes to it, start a GoFundMe here, I'm sure you'll get lots of help.
I believe, too that is's good there is a diagnosis now for Claire, then something can be done. My Willi also had pancreatitis, when I read your post then I could hear my vet again, telling me exactly the same besides Willi got enzyme and antibiotic ( when he had very bad flare-ups) in addition to the pain killers and the diet. First the enzyme didn't show any effects but then the vet told me I should put the enzyme into Willis food 20,30 minutes before he eats it because then the the enzyme predigest the food what makes it easier for the pancreas. And surpise, Willi was much better. Oh, and he got Vitamin B12. Willi lived well for years with this treatment, flare ups and bed days only every 6 weeks - 6 months.
I hate this news. I'm sorry she has this condition but hopefully it can be treated through diet. I can't say I've heard of a cat with pancreatitas but then we probably wouldn't have know what the problem was in the "old days" I'm sorry she has this problem and hope the treatment works well. I'm rooting for her.
Well the verdict is in, Claire has pancreatitis. The exam, and ultrasound backed up what the blood tests hinted at. Her pancreas is enlarged, and not the smooth shape that a healthy pancreas should be. Her "bad" days are attributed to flare ups of the organ. The specialist says these are milder, non-necrotic bouts of the disease. Harder to treat in cats than dogs, the only thing to be done now is to switch her to a low fat diet, which may, or may not eventually lessen the frequency of the attacks, and keep a supply of the narcotic pain killer on hand to help her during a flare up. On the good side, they saw zero evidence of any mass in the pancreas to indicate cancer is the culprit. I was warned of the possibility of a very serious case of necrotizing pancreatitis developing that would require hospitalization. Fingers crossed this doesn't happen, because that would be the end of the line for my little buddy. I don't have thousands of dollars to pay for that kind of treatment, and even if I did, it seems her quality of life would be miserable, and I won't put her through that