Cat gets sick about every 5-6 months.

Hi all,

I'm hoping someone can shed some light on my cat's condition.  For the past 2 years or so, my cat has been getting sick about every 5-6 months.  She throws up foamy clear liquid, can barely walk, tries to eat, has a fever, etc.  She's also had an ear infection since she was a baby (she's 8 years old now) that has been treated numerous times by numerous vets and always comes back.

The first two vet visits, we figured it was just the ear flaring up and causing her to be off balance.  She got some fluids and antibiotics and was fine.  The last time she was sick, she nearly died.  After running a bunch of tests, the vet diagnosed her with a liver problem that the vet said could have been caused by anything (i.e. new food, she ate something she shouldn't have, etc).  She stayed on IVs for a few days at the vet and returned to full health.

Last night she started throwing up again and has been down all day.  She can barely walk (she made it to the litter box bless her heart) and is showing symptoms again.  She hasn't shown any interest in food or water, which is a bit different than other times when she is sick.  Is there a such thing as a recurring liver condition?  I don't see any jaundice this time around.

What else could be going on?

Except for the ear infections it sounds like what my cat went through including a flareup involving his liver.  I went through several vets and finally took him to a cats only vet clinic and he is now being treated for IBD.  It's a chronic inflammatory condition which can't be cured only controlled.  Many times it does involve a food trigger but I never did figure out a food trigger with Patches.  He would have a flareup with no change in food.  Cats can develop a liver problem called fatty liver disease caused by not eating.  A cat's liver does not metabolize fat very well.  When they quit eating they start trying to use their fat stores too quickly and they develop fat deposits in their liver.  The only way to prevent it or cure it is by basically overfeeding the cat to stop them from using their fat stores.  Patches ended up with a feeding tube to get him over it.  He is on a permanent small dose of steroid to keep down the inflammation.

Gosh, I think maybe you should try to do what Denice did and take her to a feline only specialist!  No more guessing by the Vet..you need to get to the bottom of this, especially if the last time it nearly killed your little one .  And I'm thinking the sooner the better since she's stopped eating.  Ad Denice mentioned that liver issue created by them not eating is bad news, and it can start up pretty quickly.

Hopefully you're already at the (new)  Vet