Hi,
First post, but I think I've read everything ever written in the history of words on cats and their livers - a good part of it here on this site.
I'm not really looking for advice so much as commiseration and support, but I am, of course, open to advice.
My darling Miss Moneypenny, who has moved with me through three states and been my surrogate child and best friend through the last three years (she's five now - I adopted her at 2) is at the vet's office for the next three days. I am very sad.
I came back from a week out of town for spring break to find that she had lost a significant amount of weight and wasn't eating. I had a friend caring for her while I was gone, but he isn't a cat person and isn't to blame for not noticing that anything was wrong. Went to the vet the day after I came back, and she'd lost FOUR pounds since her last vet visit. Clearly she didn't lose this in a week - I must have just not noticed it before I left. Her lab results were absolutely abysmal, with ALP/ALT through the roof, low WBC, a small bladder and ketones in her urine (but a perfect blood glucose, so we're not looking at diabetes at this point.) It seems she had an infection of some kind (probably urinary) and that plus the stress of my being gone pushed her into liver disease - unconfirmed conclusively, but she was very jaundiced and we're looking at hepatic lipidosis as the most likely culprit.
Due to being a full time student on a very limited income, I elected to take the middle route in treatment first to see if we could get her eating on her own. I am not totally unexperienced with cats, and realized that this was not likely going to be our final solution, but I had enough hope to at least try some homecare first. $500 later (including all the tests and medications), she had some subq fluids, an antibiotic shot, and came home with some further oral antibiotics and demosyl to boost her liver. For four days, we kept up that regimen, but by Saturday I'd resorted to supplementing her VERY light eating with some syringe feeding (which she takes like a champ, she's not easily stressed by that sort of thing) and on Sunday night she vomited bile. So..... off to the e-vet we went. Another $400 for IV fluids overnight and medication. I didn't sleep much without her here.
This morning I picked her up from the e-vet and he said the fluids had really perked her up and she looked much better than she had when she came in. Off we go to the regular vet, and she is now staying with him for 3 days to continue flushing out her system with IV fluids - then we'll see where we go next. I'm scrounging up all funds that I can get my hands on, as just this is going to be at LEAST another $300 - and who knows where we will be after that. I feel a gastric tube in her future, and I have absolutely no idea how to get the money for that. My vet knows my situation, and is an absolute gem of a man who is working with me to the best of his ability. As a former vet assistant, I've offered to volunteer my feeding/watering/cleaning skills, but the economy has him OVERstaffed, so no dice. We will work something out. I have some things I am gathering to sell, and in contact with my parents to do everything financially possible at this point - but I'm scared and sad that I am going to lose my sidekick.
People who are completely clueless as to how TREATABLE liver disease is are breaking my heart even more by trying to tell me to just let her go. I know they mean well, but I don't understand why people would even presume that sort of thing is ok to say!
So, people of thecatsite, I turn to you.
Can I have an e-hug?
First post, but I think I've read everything ever written in the history of words on cats and their livers - a good part of it here on this site.
I'm not really looking for advice so much as commiseration and support, but I am, of course, open to advice.
My darling Miss Moneypenny, who has moved with me through three states and been my surrogate child and best friend through the last three years (she's five now - I adopted her at 2) is at the vet's office for the next three days. I am very sad.
I came back from a week out of town for spring break to find that she had lost a significant amount of weight and wasn't eating. I had a friend caring for her while I was gone, but he isn't a cat person and isn't to blame for not noticing that anything was wrong. Went to the vet the day after I came back, and she'd lost FOUR pounds since her last vet visit. Clearly she didn't lose this in a week - I must have just not noticed it before I left. Her lab results were absolutely abysmal, with ALP/ALT through the roof, low WBC, a small bladder and ketones in her urine (but a perfect blood glucose, so we're not looking at diabetes at this point.) It seems she had an infection of some kind (probably urinary) and that plus the stress of my being gone pushed her into liver disease - unconfirmed conclusively, but she was very jaundiced and we're looking at hepatic lipidosis as the most likely culprit.
Due to being a full time student on a very limited income, I elected to take the middle route in treatment first to see if we could get her eating on her own. I am not totally unexperienced with cats, and realized that this was not likely going to be our final solution, but I had enough hope to at least try some homecare first. $500 later (including all the tests and medications), she had some subq fluids, an antibiotic shot, and came home with some further oral antibiotics and demosyl to boost her liver. For four days, we kept up that regimen, but by Saturday I'd resorted to supplementing her VERY light eating with some syringe feeding (which she takes like a champ, she's not easily stressed by that sort of thing) and on Sunday night she vomited bile. So..... off to the e-vet we went. Another $400 for IV fluids overnight and medication. I didn't sleep much without her here.
This morning I picked her up from the e-vet and he said the fluids had really perked her up and she looked much better than she had when she came in. Off we go to the regular vet, and she is now staying with him for 3 days to continue flushing out her system with IV fluids - then we'll see where we go next. I'm scrounging up all funds that I can get my hands on, as just this is going to be at LEAST another $300 - and who knows where we will be after that. I feel a gastric tube in her future, and I have absolutely no idea how to get the money for that. My vet knows my situation, and is an absolute gem of a man who is working with me to the best of his ability. As a former vet assistant, I've offered to volunteer my feeding/watering/cleaning skills, but the economy has him OVERstaffed, so no dice.
We will work something out. I have some things I am gathering to sell, and in contact with my parents to do everything financially possible at this point - but I'm scared and sad that I am going to lose my sidekick.People who are completely clueless as to how TREATABLE liver disease is are breaking my heart even more by trying to tell me to just let her go. I know they mean well, but I don't understand why people would even presume that sort of thing is ok to say!
So, people of thecatsite, I turn to you.
Can I have an e-hug?
Those emergency vets can do a major job on the savings account (we all know we need them! 
) but it sounds like you're getting the best available care for her.
I didn't share much about this, but with a few people here, but just before Christmas I nearly lost my JinJin to hepatic lipidosis. Why she had not eaten enough is still a mystery. Because she is semi-feral, I opted for home treatment. Every other day I gave her steroid/antibiotic injections, and fed her whatever I thought she would eat. A local pet store was nice enough to give my an array of samples, and we finally found a food she loved. She did pull through, and is right now playing with a puff ball at my feet. 
