Feline Hepatic Lipidosis ("Fatty Liver")

I posted on here a couple of weeks ago about my big kitty Thor not eating or drinking. It turns out that he has something called Feline Hepatic Lipidosis. Thankfully, we got him to the vet in time, and after a few nights in the hospital with some fluids and A/D critical care 'stew" in a feeding tube, his numbers were going down.

Fast-forward a week, and today we take him back to the vet for another liver check. Keep in mind we've been tube feeding him and following the doc's directions to the letter. She checked his blood again today and the numbers are higher than when we brought him in the first time! 

Needless to say, I'm an absolute wreck :~(  My husband and I both thought he was making good progress. He seemed more alert, less yellow. The vet asked us to keep doing what we're doing and come back in another week.

I definitely don't want them to fill us up with false hope. Has anyone had a kitty with this disease? How long did it take for their numbers to come down? I don't want to give up hope on the big guy. He's staying at 20 lbs. and keeping his food down for the most part, but that's about it. He tried to eat some treats this evening but they just fell out of his mouth. Almost like he's forgotten how to eat!

I am beside myself with worry... Really hoping I can hear from someone who has experienced this first-hand (first-paw?) and can give some advice or direction.

Lots of love,

Sherice and Thor 

I am so sorry you are going through this.  Is your kitty on a liver aid like S-Adenosyl?  Milk Thistle?  They really do help bring the numbers down.

I kept a notebook of feeding times and quantities. I also logged drinking water, litter box deposits, vomiting and behaviors as well. I fed my cat a mix of Wellness chicken and supplements- milk thistle, SAM-e, laxative, calorie supplement, vitamin E, pumpkin all fed through a syringe. But she was a lot smaller than your kitty, only about 4lbs. Unfortunately it was my kitty's time.

But, on a more positive note.. I did a lot of research during that time and some kitties can be returned to heath with nutritional therapy. Also, make sure your kitty stays hydrated. If necessary ask your vet for subcutaneous injections of fluids ( aka Sub-Q).

When my kitty had fatty liver his number continued to rise even after he started eating well on his own.  When they started dropping they dropped really fast.  A supplement with sam-E and milk thistle did help.  The pills have to be swallowed whole, they have a protective coating on them so they break down in the intestines rather than the stomach.

The first vet we saw gave him something called Denosyl which apparently has that SAMe in it. Like you said, it has to be taken whole in a capsule, and getting Thor to take anything by mouth right now is pretty much impossible, otherwise I would absolutely do it.  I guess there's not a version of it that would work with a feeding tube?

If/when Thor starts eating on his own (keep in mind, this is a cat that prior to this, LOVED to eat!), I will absolutely give him these supplements - although the pill the vet gave us is rather big and the current vet said it was meant for dogs! Is there a smaller version that you can get without a prescription?

Angela, so sorry to hear about your kitty   I am hoping and praying we don't lose Thor. He's our family cat and so very, very loved!

I don't know if it's smaller or not but there is a supplement called Denamarin.  The smallest size is for cats and small dogs and I know it's sold on Amazon.  I think all the supplements like this have to be swallowed whole.  They need to break down in the intestines rather than the stomach to be effective.

Oh that's great! If Thor starts eating on his own, I'm definitely going to try this.

Love his heart, he's so lethargic now. It's breaking my heart that I can't do anything else for him

As a side note, Thor is now throwing up almost every other meal - even with the feeding tube in.  Does that mean his prognosis isn't looking good?

You may want to cut down the amount at each feeding and feed more meals if possible.  Also you need to go really slow with the feeding, going real slow helps with the vomiting.  You could also ask the vet about an anti-nausea medication called Cerenia.  I don't think it has a protective coating so it can be crushed, mixed with the food and put through the feeding tube.  Recovery from this is really slow and there is nothing that can be done to speed things up.

Yep, we're up to 6 feedings a day (Thank goodness my husband and I both work from home!).

But after Thor throws up, should we wait maybe 15-20 minutes and give him that same dosage again? I don't want to aggravate his stomach but at the same time, I want him to get the nutrition he so desperately needs!

I will ask the vet tomorrow about Cerenia. He was on this liquid medicine called "Reglan" (not sure how it's spelled) but it didn't do much for him.

I probably wouldn't try feeding him again right after vomiting.  I would ask the vet though.  I would maybe try cutting the size of the feedings more and feeding even more often.  

Our cat Molly also threw up, but not always after every meal. Yes, smaller more frequent feedings does help with the nausea and you can get nausea medicine from your vet.  Also, our vet said that they could develop acid reflux as well. You may want to ask about it.