Is it the end? (Please help - Fatty Liver Disease)

I know I haven't been around all that much lately, but I would greatly appreciate any insight or experiences you've had that could help Inky and I out.

Inky is an obese, 14 year old DSH (for those who don't remember us). This past week or so I noticed that Inky wasn't eating well and took him into the vets on Saturday where he was diagnosed with fatty liver disease. He came home yesterday with instructions to force feed him (trying to get 1/4 of a can in him a day) and he is on 4 different pills (2 antibiotics, 1 nutritional supplement, and 1 appetite stimulant).

My vet let me know that it wouldn't be a quick turn around and that within a few weeks if he wasn't improving that it would be time to "think about what's best for Inky" (aka put him to sleep), however right now it seems as though the time to help him across the bridge might be now. My vet made it sound like his liver has shut down and that food will help to kind of jumpstart it and get it working again.

Right now I can't feed him more than about 3 dime sized, 1 inch thick balls of food at a time or he vomits it right back up, so I've been trying to feed him every 2 hours when I am up, to me this doesn't seem as though it could sustain him at all, but more like keep him alive while he's starving. He has went to the bathroom 3 times since coming home yesterday and all 3 times it was an olive green mess, he's not trying to cover it in his litterbox and he's not trying to clean it off of himself (though he is cleaning his paws where the IV was). He will still come to snuggle with me and he's purring, but he isn't lifting up his back end when I pet him like he usually does. He's been spending most of his time against the heater (I turned up the heat for him) and hunched up. He is still extremely jaundiced and he's wobbling when he walks (he lost a lot of muscle mass on his back legs).

I don't know if this is normal when recovering from the disease, or if it sounds more like the ending stages of it?

If anyone has any experience or suggestions, I would appreciate it more than anything, I am sitting on the fence as to whether to keep fighting or to make the appointment to let him go

Thank you,
Lauren and Inky

Fatty liver is a hard one but it can be dealt with and quality of life given.... I will send you a pm in a bit

I'm sorry that you and Inky are dealing with this.

Hepatic Lipidosis used to be a virtual death sentence, but now there is a good chance of survival if caught early. Syringe feeding can be very stressful and difficult. Has your vet mentioned the possibility of putting in a temporary feeding tube?

Here is a link from a vet that specializes in diseases related to feline obesity:

http://www.catinfo.org/feedingtubes.htm

Im so sorry your kitty is sick! I wish I could give you some advice but I know nothing about fatty liver disease! I did want to say good luck to ya and let us know how its going!

Please treat Inky aggressively. My soul kitty Fletcher died at age two of HL. I think if we would have placed a feeding tube right away that he would have lived.

Each day you don't get enough food into Inky is another day that makes the HL worse. Inky has to have the calories to get better. She has to stop burning fat.

Also, search Imunsie's recent threads. Her kitty Kismet just survived a very serious battle with HL. Again, it was aggressive treatment that was the key.


Sending lots of healing vibes for Inky and to help you cope. HL is a very horrible disease that is difficult and very physically and emotionally draining to treat. Stay positive and treat aggressively

My Angel kitty, Spooky, had a bout of hepatic lipidosis. I assist fed her for nearly 3 months before she started eating on her own again. My (retired) parents came over and fed her hourly, while I was at work. We started out about 1 cc every 15 minutes or so. It got to the point eventually, where we could syringe nearly 30 cc's at each feeding, so don't despair, it will get better. Spooky lived another 3 or 4 years post HL, and eventually succumbed to renal failure at the ripe age of 17. I will keep your sweet Inky in my prayers.

Hills a/d is a very palatable, high calorie food that is soft and liquidy and very easy to syringe. Talk to your vet and see if it would be appropriate for Inky. Good luck!!!

Sorry I don't have any advice for you but I wanted to send you some get well vibes for Inky.

I dont have any experience, but could your vet board him and tube feed him? Or, could you do something similar at home? I have read a lot of stuff on this, and I do hope you can beat this - it is treatable in 70% of cats, I will pray he is in that 70%.

My Freinds Cat had it last year and is ok now.

I personally have not had any experience with this so I can't give any advice, but I just wanted you to know I'm sending good vibes your way.

~KK~

My cat just recovered from an 8 week battle with HL I will PM you. It isn't necessarily the end.....

also.......the symptoms you are describing are normal. even once kismet was eating again she had the very symptoms you described. It took about a month for her to gain her strength back. You just have to take it one day at a time.....unfortunatly it takes weeks - months for them to get their appetite back. But don't despair yet!! Although the prognosis is guarded.......you will get tons of support here.

Thank you everyone for all of your vibes and advice, it means a lot to both Inky and I. He looked noticeably better yesterday, less jaundiced and walking a little better, though still quite wobbly. His spirits seem to be a little better, if he's under the bed and I lay down for a while he'll come out instead of me having to move the bed to get to him. I've moved his feeding up to every hour and he did not vomit at all yesterday or yet today. I'm trying not to get my hopes up, but I feel very optimistic right now.

Syringe feeding can be very stressful and difficult. Has your vet mentioned the possibility of putting in a temporary feeding tube?

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Right now I'm using a tongue depresser and just sliding the food against the roof of his mouth and he eats it. My vet said that the next step would be a feeding tube, but that he would prefer that I try it this way first, especially because Inky was so easy to force feed.
At first I was worried that I wouldn't be able to get enough into Inky or that it would be too stressful for him, but he does very well with it and actually tries to eat the food instead of spitting it out (like he tries with the pills ). My mom (who feeds him while I'm at school) said that yesterday and today when some of the food fell off the stick that he actually ate it willingly off her hand, though he will not eat off a plate by himself and he hasn't tried to eat it from my hand yet.

Hills a/d is a very palatable, high calorie food that is soft and liquidy and very easy to syringe. Talk to your vet and see if it would be appropriate for Inky.

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That's what the vet sent home with us, thanks.

I dont have any experience, but could your vet board him and tube feed him?

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I think staying at the vets was very stressful for him, he's been doing a little better since he came home, so I'd rather keep him here.

Again, thank you all so very much!

This report sounds like Inky is making forward strides. Not vomiting in an HL cat is HUGE . Anything coming out the rear end is a good thing

Voluntarily eating any piece of food is a milestone

Good job to you, your mom and Inky.

Of course lots and lots of vibes coming for continued progress. Things sound very good so and going in the right direction.

Okay, not sure if this is good or bad!
Inky has gone to the bathroom quite a bit since coming home from the vets, up to this point it's always been large piles of dull/olive green (almost looks jellyish) substance. I just checked the box becuase I saw him come out of it, and in addition to the green stuff, there is now a rusty colored liquid??
Any thoughts? I'm freaking out a little...

I'd call the vet again. The rusty colored liquid may very well be blood. IF it is blood, the rusty color would mean that it is not fresh blood, so not from his large bowel - maybe from his tummy or small bowel? They may want the sample to determine what it is. Easier to get it to the vet than to have to take Inky.



Laurie

I don't know about hte bathroom issues......that is def. something for the vet. However the fact that he would hand feed is excellent!! Kismet took to hand feeding a bit for a week or two before she got better (and eats like a little glutton on her own now). So maybe that is a good sign!! You're doing so great though!!

Keep it up and please keep us posted!

Oh and as for jandice.......the fact that you can notice a difference is huge!! that means the liver is recovering, even if he doesn't go back to normal colour for quite some time, don't worry, it takes the yellow awhile to titrate out even once they get better (this freaked me out)

Well, I called the vet yesterday about the rusty stool and he said that he isn't suprised and that if it isn't clear by later today to bring in a sample. He said that the reason Inky stopped eating was because his urinary tract was blocked, so he isn't suprised that it's a little bloody at first. He went again today and it was a little pink, but definitally a lot better than yesterday. If it doesn't go away I'll have to take him to the e-vet as my vet closed today for the holidays.

Inky also seems to be doing better today, his color is almost normal (it seems really fast for it to be back so soon, but I'm not complaining! ), while I was petting him he rolled on his side for the first time instead of staying all haunched up. \\

Im so glad he is feeling better today!! YAY!!!
Its always so nice to hear that someones kitty is getting better and Im so happy for you!!

Good luck on everything and please still keep us updated!!

-Amber

The vet might have warned you about the blood! I'm glad it was old from the blockage - and it sounds like it's healing as there's just a little.

I'm sooooo glad to hear Inky's doing - and feeling - so much better!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Laurie