Hepatic Lipodosis???

lisasha3

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Hey guys! Long time since I've posted, but helping out our local rescue and we have a darling little lady named Haley who has been diagnosed with this Hepatic Lipodosis (Sp??). Anybody have any experience or history with this? We are still having trouble getting her to eat on her own. Good thing is she has gained 9oz, but still is not eating on her own. Still have to syringe feed. Any suggestions? Experience? Vet Techs? Vets? Help!!
 
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lisasha3

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Just to add something - she has been to the vets - many many times. They've done biopsies, blood work, and she's on many medications all day long. I just wanted to make that clear so you guys didn't think I was trying to diagnose her or "fix" her without the help of a professional. I just was wondering if I could find out more information on this at all because it's fairly new to us.
 

kittymonsters

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Hepatic Lipidosis has been discussed here several times. Here are just a few of the threads

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...atic+lipidosis

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...atic+lipidosis

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...atic+lipidosis

I have dealt with it once and even with aggressive treatment with a surgically implanted feeding tube I lost my dear boy.

Do you know they underlying cause that started the Hepatic lipidosis? That will need to be identified if you are going to be able to suscessfully treat her.

The best course of action is have a feeding tube implante surgically. this is far less stressful on the cat than forces syringe feedings. In some cases it takes up to six months for a cat to want to start eating on their own again. Tube feedings need to continue until she is eating enough calories on her own.

The survival rates for HL are not encouraging, however, the fact she actually gained weight is a good sign. Is she vomiting or keeping her food down? Again if she isn't vomiting, you have another thing going in your favor. I am keeping my fingers crossed you can get your girl over this. Stay determined.
 
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lisasha3

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Originally Posted by kittymonsters

Hepatic Lipidosis has been discussed here several times. Here are just a few of the threads

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...atic+lipidosis

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...atic+lipidosis

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...atic+lipidosis

I have dealt with it once and even with aggressive treatment with a surgically implanted feeding tube I lost my dear boy.

Do you know they underlying cause that started the Hepatic lipidosis? That will need to be identified if you are going to be able to suscessfully treat her.

The best course of action is have a feeding tube implante surgically. this is far less stressful on the cat than forces syringe feedings. In some cases it takes up to six months for a cat to want to start eating on their own again. Tube feedings need to continue until she is eating enough calories on her own.

The survival rates for HL are not encouraging, however, the fact she actually gained weight is a good sign. Is she vomiting or keeping her food down? Again if she isn't vomiting, you have another thing going in your favor. I am keeping my fingers crossed you can get your girl over this. Stay determined.
Thank you for the threads. I will read through them. She is NOT vomitting. She was in the beginning, but not anymore which I suppose is good. The other good thing is that she is up and walking around which she was NOT this past weekend. She still is not eating and we are feeding her on a very regular schedule suggested by the vet. I have not heard of a feeding tube, but will definitely suggest it to the rescue and the vet and see what they have to say. We have no idea where she got this or how. She's a beautiful girl, but some idiot had her declawed and then threw her out of the house. She was found as a stray starving. We know nothing of her background. I will pass along the information though.
Thank you again.
 

lsulover

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Sending hugs and prayers from Mississippi that she soon starts eating on her own.





Please keep us posted on how she is doing.


By the way, it is good to see you here again.
 

kittymonsters

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I am so glad to read your update, it is really encouraging that she is not vomiting and is getting up. These are big improvements in an HL kitty.

Since she was a stray and did not have a consistent food source, it is very likely starvation is the only contributing factore. ( I know this sounds horrible but it is actually a good thing).

Thank you for taking the time to save this girl. She is very lucky to have you and your rescue.
 

batgirl2good

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I got some Gatorade and Pedialyte and fed 1 ml thru an eye dropper to my cat Humble when he refused to eat. It helped with his ebergy and kept him from getting dehydrated. The vet said that the Gatorade might also help with his appetite. I am praying for your darling.
 
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lisasha3

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Originally Posted by LSULOVER

Sending hugs and prayers from Mississippi that she soon starts eating on her own.





Please keep us posted on how she is doing.


By the way, it is good to see you here again.
Thanks!
It's good to see you guys too. I kept telling our rescue that you guys were a great source for information and to answer questions. There's a lot of experience on here with regular folks that have experienced some of the same problems and while although we are not all experts, many of us who have had experiences with certain problems have gotten the input of our experts along the way - the vets. All that combined is a great source of knowledge.
Originally Posted by kittymonsters

I am so glad to read your update, it is really encouraging that she is not vomiting and is getting up. These are big improvements in an HL kitty.

Since she was a stray and did not have a consistent food source, it is very likely starvation is the only contributing factore. ( I know this sounds horrible but it is actually a good thing).

Thank you for taking the time to save this girl. She is very lucky to have you and your rescue.
Let's hope you are right with this. I haven't talked to her at all since Wednesday when I brought the cat in to the vet again, so I don't know what's going on over there. What I do know though is that I did receive an e-mail from the rescue asking me for one of her photos. She's going to post it in the paper with a reward "Missing Cat Found". Her intent is to try to locate the previous owners and as she puts it "nail their a** to the wall". She loves these kitties so much that she's willing to offer a reward just to find the person who did this to her. We are very close to both the animal control officers in this town and the neighboring one, so that helps too. How can you throw a declawed house cat outside? What the hell is wrong with people!!


Originally Posted by batgirl2good

I got some Gatorade and Pedialyte and fed 1 ml thru an eye dropper to my cat Humble when he refused to eat. It helped with his ebergy and kept him from getting dehydrated. The vet said that the Gatorade might also help with his appetite. I am praying for your darling.
Gatorade I had not heard, but Pedialyte I believe is part of the mixture she's feeding her. I'll check. Thanks.
 
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lisasha3

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Just wanted to let you guys know I passed along the information from you all here and the lady at our rescue has told me that she is in fact on anti-nauseau medication. She was concerned about "constipation" as a result after hearing what you guys had to say, but she did go on her own a few hours later so we're ok in that department. She also called the vet to ask about a feeding tube and the vet has agreed that that route is a good idea. She will be undergoing surgery tomorrow morning to have that put in place and hopefully that will be less stressful for both the rescue and the poor kitty. She is still up and walking around the room, she winds around your feet, loves to be pet and picked up and held - she just won't eat. All these are good signs (her demeaner), lets cross our fingers now that she eventually starts to eat on her own.
 

batgirl2good

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I am praying for that, Nad thanks for telling us!


Originally Posted by lisasha3

Just wanted to let you guys know I passed along the information from you all here and the lady at our rescue has told me that she is in fact on anti-nauseau medication. She was concerned about "constipation" as a result after hearing what you guys had to say, but she did go on her own a few hours later so we're ok in that department. She also called the vet to ask about a feeding tube and the vet has agreed that that route is a good idea. She will be undergoing surgery tomorrow morning to have that put in place and hopefully that will be less stressful for both the rescue and the poor kitty. She is still up and walking around the room, she winds around your feet, loves to be pet and picked up and held - she just won't eat. All these are good signs (her demeaner), lets cross our fingers now that she eventually starts to eat on her own.
 

kittymonsters

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I am actually really excited about your news today. Up and about, attention seeking and she pooped!


The feeding tube will be much less stressful for all. She is more likely to eat on her own if she isn't consistantly haveing food forced down her.

it would be awesome to find her former owners and have them charged!
 
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lisasha3

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Originally Posted by kittymonsters

I am actually really excited about your news today. Up and about, attention seeking and she pooped!


The feeding tube will be much less stressful for all. She is more likely to eat on her own if she isn't consistantly haveing food forced down her.

it would be awesome to find her former owners and have them charged!
I know! We're workin on it!

By the way - these are a couple of pictures I took of Haley. These were actually taken right after she was rescued. I'd like to think we rescued her just in time because she didn't look too bad overall when we got her in, but then noticed she wasn't eating and got her right to the vet. Unfortunately it did take it's tole on her and she had that downward spiral last weekend where she was very lethargic and not getting up at all, but now she's up and about as I've said and she actually is walking around a small room she has to herself at the rescue. She's the sweetest girl ever! She just wants to be held all the time.
 

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The essential part of treatment for hepatic lipidosis is that they must eat - but since their liver is so sick, they are nauseus and have no appetite - thus they need to be force fed. I had a cat that died of it before we could get the feeding tube in. Force feedings are the key!
 
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lisasha3

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Originally Posted by sangria14

The essential part of treatment for hepatic lipidosis is that they must eat - but since their liver is so sick, they are nauseus and have no appetite - thus they need to be force fed. I had a cat that died of it before we could get the feeding tube in. Force feedings are the key!
The feeding tube was suppose to be put in yesterday. I'm assuming it was, but I haven't talked to the rescue at all today. That will make things much less stressful on Haley. Prior to the tube though - she was getting force fed. Believe me - this lady at the rescue had her life revolving around the feeding and medication schedule of this darling little girl. She even tried a bunch of foods in the cage with her on top of the force feedings. She also tried stimulating her appetite with tons of different foods and even tried rubbing a tiny bit on her feet hoping she would clean it off. She's tried everything and she isn't giving up, so this little girl is getting plenty of nutrients. The key will be getting her to eat it on her own.
 
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lisasha3

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Just wanted to let you guys know that the feeding tube was put in Haley as planned and it is still there. It has made life a lot less stressful for both Haley and the poor lady feeding her every day. That said though, Haley is still not eating on her own.
We're still hoping and keeping our fingers crossed and know it will probably be a long road. The good news is she did put on a whole pound at her last vet visit!
I just wish she would eat something.....anything.
 
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