Relapse? Fighting against fatty liver disease.

Denice said:

 
I didn't change the bandages myself.  I would think if you are going to be doing it that the vet would let you watch when she does it.  I wouldn't think it would be too difficult especially with two of you doing it.  

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Yah if its not really expensive to have them change them then we might go that route. That away if they go to change it and they notice anything odd or wrong we will already be at the vet and they will know for sure if she is ok etc. 

Of course vet costs vary widely depending on the area but it wasn't that expensive for the vet to do it.  It was just the cost of the office call and office calls to recheck an existing medical condition was much cheaper than normal office calls.  I liked the idea of the vet looking at the area where the feeding tube went in as well.  She could see the beginnings of something not being right like an infection much sooner than I could

Denice said:

 
Of course vet costs vary widely depending on the area but it wasn't that expensive for the vet to do it.  It was just the cost of the office call and office calls to recheck an existing medical condition was much cheaper than normal office calls.  I liked the idea of the vet looking at the area where the feeding tube went in as well.  She could see the beginnings of something not being right like an infection much sooner than I could

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Did you bring your baby in every 3 days? The vet recommended that. I want to say she said it was not much to pay them to do it. I will have to reask on Tuesday when I go in. Atleast 3 free ones is good. The 2nd one is on the 1 week follow up visit so that will all be taken care of in one day which will be nice.

This kitty mom just had a bursting in tears of joy moment....



and it was not Critical Care it was Natural Choice Grain Free Chunky Loaf Chicken Dinner!!!! Which she has never eaten before. She actually tried NEW wet food. I seriously burst into tears and started to take photos so I could text them to my husband. 

Love the plate, LOL! 

I'm glad she's trying to eat a bit.

peaches08 said:

 
Love the plate, LOL! 

I'm glad she's trying to eat a bit.

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HA HA.. thanks.. if you couldn't tell by our cat names Sabbath and Ichabod we tend to like Halloween and Horror Movies and things of that nature so everything in our house tends to be a part of the "dark side" ha ha ha ha ha. I was giving them food in cat bowls I got at Pet Smart and they seem to like to eat off these flat skeleton plates from the dollar store better ha ha. To much like Mommy and Daddy ha ha. Also their whiskers stay clean so it's a win win.

I am so happy to see her attempting to eat on her own! I hope she keeps this up!!! Fingers crossed! This is me.........   seriously!

Such positive strides forward today..

first the tiny nibbles of dry food this early morning all on her own from the bowl we set out before we went to bed.

then the chowing down of the wet canned food earlier this evening that I offered to her on a plate

then just a minute ago she got off the couch.. walked into the kitchen and nibbled on more dry food that we had sitting out... all on her own!

and now she is cleaning herself!!!

I am VERY happy right now! I had to share!!

Sounds like she is doing very well, much better than Patches was doing at this stage.

Denice said:

 
Sounds like she is doing very well, much better than Patches was doing at this stage.

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I hope we caught everything in time. When we originally brought her in on 4/30 she was borderline of getting fatty liver disease.. her liver and pancreas levels were up there but the vet seemed to think that she was just about to get fatty liver disease and that we could possibly stop it from progressing because we brought her in just in time. So we started treating her etc. Then she started to lose the battle and became jaundice which is when we brought her back in. I really think time was on our side here. I am not getting my hopes too high because she did relapse before which is why we had to bring her back in to be hospitalized and have the tube surgery. She was doing better and then out of no where got worse. So hopefully things stay on the up and up. She has kept everything down since we brought her in the 2nd time. Fingers crossed it stays this way.

Now if only Ichabod would stop stressing her out by hissing at her every time she sees her. That is driving me crazy. Any advice on what we can do to prepare for Tuesday. We will have to bring Sabbath back to the vet for her bandage change and possibly the whole shaving (depending now if she continues to clean herself). It is going to prolong this hissing I am sure. Or do you think Ichabod can just sense she is sick and is hissing because of that? Cause I do recall her hissing at her before we brought her to the vet too. She hisses at Sabbath sometimes cause Sabbath is usually more playful then she is and she doesn't like to be bothered so she sometimes puts her guard up when Sabbath is around. We usually tell her "no" and she runs off. I remember at one point telling her "no.. sissy is sick ... you be nice" so I know she hissed at her prior to this. But then she also was found laying in the same room or even on the other side of the bed then her. Now she won't come anywhere near her. 

Long update.. ha ha

We are waking up to find her eating some of her food during the night. I set up a little hideaway of sorts for her in the bottom of her closet. Put her cat bed in there, blankets etc. Then a small rug and towels where I continue to put a small bowl of kibble and a small dab of wet food and a bowl of water. We either wake up to hear her crunching or when we get up to do her first feeding notice some is missing. 

She even one time attempted to eat a tiny bit of the dry kibble while I was doing a tube feeding (anyone know if this is ok?). I stopped and let her eat on her own before continuing.

She still continues to clean herself down below. 

As far as the tube feedings....

We were told to tube feed her…
 
- 14cc 4 x a day Saturday. 
Kept all of it down. Didn’t eat any by mouth.

- 28 cc 4 x a day on Sunday. 
Kept it all down. Nibbled on dry and wet food by mouth here and there.

- 55 cc 4 x a day yesterday. 
Kept it all down. Had to stop her morning feeding at 50 cc as I noticed it started to make her gag a tiny bit. Not sure if it was a air bubble or if she was just too full. I figured 50/55 was better then her throwing up so I stopped. I also took into consideration that she has also been eating tiny bits on her own. The second feeding was the 50/55 as well but she didn't gag. This was the feeding where she attempted to eat some dry food that was laying out while I was tube feeding her. She just got up like she had enough so I didn't want to push her since she also ate some on her own. Then her 3rd meal ended up being her last meal of the night and ended up only being around 41 cc. She is very skittish when it storms out and it was making her hide from place to place in the house and it was making her uncomfortable to sit for her feeding. She got bits and bits of the tube feeding over a few hours time when I could see she was a little settled. I did not want to stress her out too much. 

- 73 cc 3 x a day
So far has kept things down today. This morning it appeared she ate almost all of the wet food I left for her in the closet. She took in about 68 cc before appearing to be "done". Then before I left for work I offered her a small amount of wet food again and she ate a small bit of it as well. So I think that makes up for it. We will see how she does when we get home from work.

This of course does not include all the meds mixed with water or the liquids we also have to administer to her through the tube.

She woke us up this morning around 4:00am playing with a cat toy on the bedroom floor ha ha. At first we didn't know if she was ok and then had to laugh and smile that she was attempting to play with anything. She was smacking it around. 

She is suppose to go in and get her bandages changed tonight but if we get another big storm I am hesitant to bring her in. She is already a wreck anytime we take her and now has some rather not so found memories of the place ha ha. If it's storming I could only imagine the stress it would put her through. Playing it by ear. 

Ichabod is still not a happy camper and continues to hiss at her. She is having a hard time adjusting. She sometimes won't even come in rooms that she is not even in. She does let us pet her and is happy when we do. She is my piggy and when Sabbath walked in the room when she was eating she hissed and ran off and wouldn't come back down until she was back upstairs. My husband picked her up and brought her back down and then she ate. 

Yesterday was the first day I left the house this weekend. I have been with the cats all weekend and monitoring everything. We went for a BBQ at my Mother In Law's house. We were gone about 5 hours or so. We didn't leave until we fed her and we came home in time for her next feeding. I had to leave the bedroom door open for her as it got to be warm in there (central air vent doesn't do too well in there). I left a fan on for her incase she wanted to stay in there. It didn't appear that Ichabod went in there and she did come out some. She stayed in there sleeping when we left. So not sure how things were when we were gone but when we came home all looked to be ok. Ichabod has atleast been not wanting to be around her. Makes me wonder if its the vet smell or the smell that she is sick/meds etc. You know the whole survival instinct.

First day back at work.. worried sick ..... 

You're doing a great job! Can you run home at lunch time, or ask a neighbour to look in?

Unfortunately no but thank you. 

Went to the vet today and had Sabbath's bandage changed. Our vet was out so we asked for the one she recommended. They said everything looked good and they said the fact she is progressing so quickly is a very good sign. We are to bring her back Friday for another bandage change and then that will also be her 1 week follow up. Since this was a free visit today I figured I would wait until Friday to have them check her behind and make sure she is cleaning herself enough etc. Plus she will be seeing her regular vet and she is already aware of that concern from me talking to her over the phone when she called to check on her. Now that I have caught her cleaning herself a few times I am not as concerned about is as I was before. 

Out of the 73ccs for dinner she got in 63ccs. Not bad for just coming home from the vet and a storm starting on our ride home. I was actually pretty impressed with how well she did. She actually came into the kitchen when I was preparing everything. When I started the tube feeding she attempted to nibble at her kibble but stopped. I think she may have eaten some wet food that I left for her when we went to work. Just from observing the way the plate looked it was sortof messy and Ichabod usually licks it clean. No guarantees though since we were at work. Will see how she does tonight. 


Dinner time with Mommy!

Well done, both of you! She looks good in purple. (I have that blanket.)

cocheezie said:

 
Well done, both of you! She looks good in purple. (I have that blanket.)

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Your a fan of sun and moons too! Awesome. 

Thank you. You guys have been so supportive through all of this and it has helped greatly!

I am glad she is doing so well.  I think she is going to make a full recovery very soon.

Denice said:

 
I am glad she is doing so well.  I think she is going to make a full recovery very soon.

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She kept down a full 73 cc breakfast this morning. And when I checked the closet she had ate almost all of the wet food I left out for her when we went to bed last night (about a tablespoon or so).

Thank you for the continuous support!

Sabbath still seemed to be a little reserved yesterday. Ever since the vet visit on Tuesday she has been a little reserved and a little less social. Doesn't help that it's been raining and storming on and off and that tends to scare the both of them.  I also think Ichabod is a little intimidating and on edge as well which is making Sabbath nervous. I sprayed the areas Ichabod lays in alot with Sentry Calming Spray and this morning when she was near Sabbath she did not hiss at her. This is the first time she hasn't so I was very happy to see this. Now hopefully it will stay this way, However Friday we have to take Sabbath back in for her 1 week check up. I think I might need to buy stock in this stuff ha ha.

Besides being a little less social she is still attempting to eat in the middle of the night in her little hideaway in the closet. 

When I got home from work yesterday I checked and she had eaten a portion of the wet food I had left out for her. I went off to make her syringes and when I came back into the room she was finishing off what was left of the wet food.The good thing is she is going to the plate and eating it on her own. I am not having to shove food in her face to try to get her to eat it. It is starting to feel like somewhat of a miracle every time she does that. 

We went to Pet Smart to get the calming spray and while we were there I picked up some Blue Buffalo Treats in Chicken and Duck. All grain and junk free. Figured maybe I could get her to eat try them. When I offered them to her at first she didn't seem very interested. But when she saw me breaking them up into tiny pieces she began to nibble at them. When she tasted them she went crazy ha ha. Gobbling up what was left in front of her and sniffing for more. I thought well this is getting her to eat something so I broke up some more. As I was breaking them up I wasn't fast enough for her. She started to sniff my fingers and get them from me as I was breaking them up. Since these treats are not bad for them I gave her more then I normally would treats to get her eating something by mouth but stopped so I would not over do it.

Later in the evening I brought her downstairs. Seeing she was still being less social and I think Ichabod's hissing has started to intimidate her I picked her up and put her downstairs on the couch by us. I knew before we knew it we would be going to bed and then she would be locked in there all night. I wanted her to get out of the room some and enjoy the rest of the house for a little bit. She started to rub her head on me and the couch and roll around a little. Not sure if the calming spray was helping or if she was just happy she was ok to be down there (Ichabod was upstairs). Either way I fell asleep on the couch and my alarm on my phone woke me up cause it was time for her 3rd tube fed meal/late night feeding. I looked around and she wasn't there. That's because she had took it upon herself to go into the kitchen and eat some of the kibble that was out. All on her own again! 

This morning I woke up and half the wet food was gone again. The kibble was still there but she did eat the wet on her own during the night. I left to go make her syringes and came back to her finishing off the plate of wet. I have only been giving her like a spoonful so if she doesn't eat it we don't waste a bunch of food. I gave her a minute before doing her feeding since she just ate. She sat perfectly for me this morning and purred the whole time during the feeding tube meal.

Things have really been going well and the signs of improvement have been everywhere. Fingers crossed that we see some results on her blood work at her 1 week check up tomorrow! 

I'm just now having a chance to catch up. I am absolutely THRILLED with how well Sabbath is doing!    You are great parents and are taking such good care of her. 

On the hissing thing, do you have any Feliway diffusers in the home? Also, Bach's Rescue Remedy for Pets (alcohol-free version) may help.

I know the important thing right now is that Sabbath is eating on her own. If she seems to be going at the wet food pretty good, I would offer her more of that. I know for Sebastian and his pancreatitis, dry food was much harder on his system and I ended up eliminating it entirely. It swells up in the stomach, too, when it absorbs liquids, which is why some cats regurgitate it. This is really a non-issue right now since she seems to be going for the wet food more anyway, but I wanted to mention it.

Your positive updates have been wonderful to read! 

What's interesting is that Sabbath has never been a wet food type of cat ha ha. I would get it for them more as a treat and she would always snub her nose at it. Didn't matter what flavors, what brands, how it was made etc. She would sniff it and always just walk away from it. 

Maybe this experience has made her realize what she had been missing out on. I figured when this was said and done she would hate wet food even more since we were putting a plate in her face all the time and syringe force feeding it. I remember when she ate the a/d critical wet food for the first time I asked the vet what miracle they put in it cause she never wants wet food ha ha. The cool thing is the wet food she has been eating on her own is a grain free good one. I will actually be happy when she is off the a/d as it had corn flour in it.

Right now I am offering her both types of foods at every meal. She gets a choice. Sometimes she chooses the dry and sometimes the wet. I am sure the wet has to be easier to eat with a tube in her too.  

I was hoping when this was done and she is fully recovered that I might be able to do wet in the morning for breakfast. If she keeps enjoying it then I know she will get a good amount in her before I leave for work. Then I was going to do dry kibble when we came home from work.That away I could monitor it more. No more self feeders and I could make sure they are both eating so this doesn't happen again.

I figured if I want to put them on measured timed meals that giving them dry in the morning might not be beneficial as Sabbath likes to nibble at it. If I leave it out Ichabod will eat it and if I take it away she won't have anything in her except the small bit she got. Atleast with the wet being easier to digest and her lapping it up she will most likely get more in her for the rest of the day until I get home. 

I was tempted to try that Instinct dry food with the freeze dried raw bits in it. Seems to get a lot of good reviews. 

Also did anyone else notice their cat breathing a little louder with the tube in? Also did you notice their purring or meows sound a tad different? I would think that would make sense. When I had an NG tube down my nose, throat etc I was not able to eat by mouth, my throat was on sore and scratchy. Hers comes through on the side so hopefully she isn't experiencing any of that. The breathing started after she got her bandage changed. Maybe the other vet made it a little too tight or something. I will ask our regular vet when we go in tomorrow. 

Also yes we have a Feliway diffuser in our most used room.. the living room. Have had one for quite some time now. Doesn't seem to be phasing the hissing issue. Maybe they are use to it.The Sentry Calming Spray we had never used before so maybe that is why it worked. I hope it's still working though by the time I get home. Not really sure how long that stuff lasts. 

Thank you for the kind words. I am praying her levels have gone down when they do the blood work tomorrow. Hoping they will weigh her too.