hepatic lipidosis

My cat, Ginnie was diagnosed with hepatic lipidosis. She had her feeding tube put in last Wednesday and I took her home from the vet the Friday off the following week. She isn't showing any interest in food I am feeding 45ml every 6 hours or 60 ml if it is going to be more than 6 hours until her next feeding. She will sniff some fancy feast but won't eat it. When should she start showing some interest? What should I do to spike her appetite. She is on an appetite stimulant that I give one every 3 days. She just lays in her spot I know we are early in this journey but I feel like she should be showing some interest.

What a difficult situation. I've never experienced this, but I wanted to send my sympathies to you.

It's still very early.  When Patches had it he stayed at the vets for 1 week and was home for about a week before he started nibbling at his food. When I say nibbling I mean nibbling.   It was 3 or 4 weeks before he started eating normally.  I think from what I have read here Patches actually recovered a little quicker than average.  There is nothing more you can do, it just takes time.

Do you know why she stopped eating?

No idea why she stopped eating. We did an ultrasound and an aspiration/biopsy which we are still waiting on results for. . but doc thinks it will most likely just be fat that shows up. What food did your cat start nibbling on? Ginnie was originally eating c/d for her uti but doc thinks it's best not to go back on that since that is what she stopped eating and the grit in her bladder had cleared. I purchased wellness dry. The other cats seem to like it but Ginnie has showed no interest. .

Today will be one week since Ginnie has been home. She stayed 5 nights at the vet before I brought her home.

Patches started nibbling a little kibble which I just left out for him.  You can try things like meat baby food that doesn't have onions in it, Beechnut is supposed to be the best because it also doesn't contain cornstarch.  You can also try Fancy Feast wet.  Since she is getting everything she needs through the feeding tube I wouldn't stress out about it.  Just keep the kibble down for her and  offer the foods that cats really like like the baby food.

From what I have seen it can take several weeks for them to even start showing an interest in food when they have Hepatic Lipidosis

She nibbled on some food and a treat she won't do it in front of me though!

That is great.  I think kitties do things like not eating in front of someone when they are sick, it's part of the survival instinct.  In the wild they felt more vulnerable when they were sick.

catwoman87 said:

She nibbled on some food and a treat

she won't do it in front of me though!

Click to expand...

That's great!

She is eating treats that I leave in the bowl and is NIBBLING her food. I think I'm going to buy royal canin. I attached the link. Maybe she will eat more of that. She has wellness now. She loves dry food (I wish she didn't)

http://www.royalcanin.us/products/p...th-nutrition/selective-31-aromatic-attraction

The vet originally wanted her to take denamarin once a day.i had trouble pilling her and wanted to wait until she felt better. I didn't want to overwhelm her and the vet agreed. I wish there was more I could do for her.

I know it's hard to be patient but it takes time.  The Denamarin will help.  Patches enzymes took a long time to start coming down even after he was eating well on his own.  The vet had me start him on the Denamarin and his numbers started dropping.  I know it could've been coincidence but I think the Denamarin did help.

She just threw up. The er vet (internal medicine specialist is on maternity leave)told me to take away the dry food for a couple of days. There was chunks in the puke (from dry).

I'll try the denamarin tomorrow.

She threw up again after her 10:00 pm feeding

Oh no! I'm so sorry she vomited twice.     Perhaps try a lesser amount at the next feeding? If she keeps that down, can you try smaller amounts more frequently until you can work your way back to normal feeding amounts? If she was eating dry food, and then had a feeding, perhaps it all expanded in her stomach too much. Even healthy cats will vomit up dry food because of how it expands in the stomach. 

I checked out the Royal Canin food that you mentioned. I'll have to be honest; the ingredients are terrible. And since she's now vomiting, I'd be hesitant to introduce anything new or a food like this that has a lot aggravating ingredients. Either could upset her tummy. I understand you want her to eat on her own. What is wrong with the Wellness? Is it Wellness Core?

Continued vibes! 

The vet started her on reglan today. So far, it has helped and she has not puked. (Keeping fingers crossed). Yes, it is wellness core. I also have the indoor formula. The food I posted about would not be for long term use. I just want to stimulate her to eat on her own. I am waiting a few days on that since she threw up yesterday. I'd also like to try some better quality foods. Ugh. .I really wish she was a wet food eater but she loves her dry.

ps.i think you're right about the food expanding in her stomach. She was starting to eat more on her own and then this happened. I am hoping the reglan will help with that.

I did 20 ml every 3-4 hours. I did about a ml a min while feeding her. She still threw up. She wasn't throwing up at all last week or while she was in hospital. I feel so awful. Does it take a while for the reglan to start working? I've read it takes a week or 2 but I've also read it should work the day you start it. I give 30 min before feedings. She actually threw up the reglan after I administered it through the tube before her first feeding.

I really don't know anything about reglan.  Has your vet tried Cerenia?  It was developed for motion sickness in dogs but it does seem to help nausea in cats.  It is strange that she has started vomiting after not vomiting for over a week.  I am wondering if this is part of what made her stop eating.  Treatment for hepatic lipidosis is really just supportive care while the liver heals rather than treating the primary cause.  I would definitely call the vet this morning and let him know what is going on.  

Oh man. I'm sorry she still vomited, even with the smaller feedings. 

Reglan used to be prescribed often for vomiting, but that was before Cerenia was discovered. My vet primarily uses Cerenia now. It's important to get that vomiting under control. If Reglan is not working, I would ask your vet about Cerenia. They could give her one dose via an injection to get her vomiting/nausea under control, and thereafter you could administer the pill. It takes effect within 30 minutes to an hour and lasts for 24 hours. Because Cerenia depletes Substance P in the central nervous system, they have to get a break from it in order for Substance P to replenish itself. My Sebastian is still on Cerenia for his chronic pancreatitis / IBD, and he gets it Monday through Friday (5 days on, 2 days off).

If she threw up the Reglan before you even fed her, I would definitely be concerned. Did you get the results back from the ultrasound and biopsy?