A death sentence.

Seven years ago one of our cats had problems with struvite crystals. So the vets took him in to sort the problem out. Sadly while he was in the vets hospital they put a large collar on him to prevent him from interfearing with his stitching. ??? Because he couldn't eat with it on, poor Stella ended up with a problem with his liver which turned against his body (I don't remember what it's called). He had received a death sentance. We almost lost him. We had to force feed him by hand in order to save his life. Yes he got over it and recovered well.
Recently he went off his food and seemed very lethargic and lost a lot of weight. So we took him to the vets. They recommended that he had a full blood test so they could check his vital organs. Despite the cost of £184 pounds a go we gave the go ahead. On the return visit the vets told us he had a serious problem with his liver which had turned against his body. (Oh no not again) and also high glucose which they diagnosed as diabeties. They suggested that he should be left in their hospital and forced fed with a tube. Since his first spell in hospital he had developed a fear of vets. And another spell in there would stress him out emencely. The vet suggested we try to get his liver going before treating the diabeties.So we took him home and forced fed him ourselves for a few days then took a urine sample to be analysed. To our and the vets surprise there was no sign of keystones or glucose in his urine. so it was suggested we take him home and get as much food into him as possible then return for a further blood test.
But after 4 days he still will not eat or just has a mouthful or two on his own so we still have to force feed him. And to add to that his breath has a sweet smell about it ( which could be a symptom of diabetics) Apart from his droopy lethargic look and the fact that he doesn't want to eat, he looks healthy and still enjoys sitting in the garden surveying his domain. Seeing that all our cats are just around ten years old, it's a bit worrying.
We have four cats and love avery single one of them. It would be heart breaking to loss any one of our feline family. Has any one out there experienced anything like this with their cats that would be prepared to shed a bit of advise. Could it be something different that's ailing him?. The vets say every thing else is healthy (kidneys, heart, no tumers) and his coat and eyes look normal. I hope some one could throw a bit of light on the subject as life is hard enough with out having this to cope with. Thank you,

Having to force feed him is not a good sign. I'm sure he doesn't like it. I know it's hard not knowing exactly what is going on. What is the vet saying the real problem with him is? If he has out of control diabetes it will show as ketones in the urine. You can get the strips at the pharmacy to check yourself. How is his color does he look jaundice?

The term for the liver disease is feline hepatic lipidosis, also known as fatty liver disease. Cats are unique in that they can't properly process fat stores when they don't get their required calories, so the liver gets overwhelmed and starts storing fat in it. This causes the liver to shut down.

It's unusual but not unknown for a cat to go through this more than once. I'm finishing nursing my own cat through a serious bout right now, and he's had it before (but not nearly as seriously as this time). My cat also has diabetes. I strongly suggest you read up on FHL, ad I have found what the vets say does not match what is out there or my own experiences. I had three vets tell me to euthanize my cat. Yet here he is, sitting on my feet recovering just fine.

First of all, he may or may not have diabetes. FHL throws everything in the body out of whack, including blood sugars. FHL can also cause ketones to be released into the system. Ketones are serious no matter what the cause and need to be addressed, but it may not mean long term diabetes.

Even if he has diabetes, it's manageable for most cats. I give mine a shot twice a day and test his blood occasionally. I feed him wet food that is high in protein and low in carbohydrates. And with proper management, many cats go into remission and no longer have diabetes at all.

Second, FHL is not necessarily a death sentence at all. I know multiple vets have told me it is, but two bouts later mine is still kicking, even with complications. The key to curing FHL is feeding. You need to get the number of calories into your cat daily that he should have. There is a good prescription food, but one vet told me that high quality grain free kitten food was just as good and cheaper, so we used that with good results. Some cats you can syringe feed. Wrap him in towels like a kitty burrito, or buy one of those cat wrap things if you go this route. Expect a mess. Break the feedings into 4-6 a day at first. As kitty seems hungrier, you can feed more at a sitting.

Some cats simply won't tolerate syringe feedings and need a feeding tube. Be sure to ask how your cat will hold up to the anesthesia for it. Mine had complications that would have made it dangerous, yet only one vet of three decided to mention that to me. But if it's feasible and the best way, don't be afraid to do it.

The other things you want to watch for with FHL is low potassium and dehydration. Low potassium, or hypokalemia, happens in 30% of FHL cases. Vets say it gives a "poor prognosis," but I am questioning if this is because it is not being treated properly. Mine had hypokalemia, but with sub q fluids and oral supplements we got his levels back up.

Dehydration can be taken care of at home with sub-cutaneous (sub q) fluids. Basically you stick a needle under the skin at the scruff and put in a certain amount of fluid at a time from an IV bag. Sounds terrible, but it isn't bad. Mine was twice a day at 100ml per. If the cat had low potassium, they will add some to these fluids as well.

Antibiotics are also important, as kitty's immune system will be weakened and sometimes an infection is what set off the issue to begin with. Denamarin is a liver support supplement that is amazing for this as well. You can probably buy it much cheaper on Amazon than the vet, and it doesn't need a prescription.

No matter what or how, start getting food into him immediately. This can turn extremely bad extremely fast. Grab some kitten food (we used Blue Buffalo grain free and Wellness grain free), mix it with enough water to make it a slurry, wrap that cat in a towel, and pop it in. Make sure you don't overfeed in any one sitting; you don't want him to start vomiting. Ask your vet about his potassium; hopefully it isn't a concern. And keep at it. FHL takes time to resolve, but it is treatable and the liver can regenerate completely. Good luck.

Nobody thought Bear would make it and he did. Fluids, medication and syringe feeding brought him through. Takes some effort, but it can be done!!!

I    I understand your situation because my youngest cat was diagnosed as suspected FIP, which is also a 99.9% percent death-causing illness. I cried and cried, then I realized it wouldn't be helpful. So we changed all her food into human grade, such as all meat baby food (it works great for sick cats, just be sure there has no salt or onion in it). And guess what, she is recovered! Although she didn't show up with any real FIP symptoms, but she was pretty sick and didn't eat or drink. I know long time without eating could do huge damage to cats' liver, so I tried everything I could try to let her eat. I use a syringe to squeeze some canned food into her mouth, though she hated that. And we did try some high-calorie nutrition supplement to keep her organs work. You shouldn't give up at this point. I believe everything can be better if you take good care of your cat... GOOD LUCK!!!

Nutri-Cal and other high-calorie supplements are available at pet supply stores and are easily administered by syringe if the cat won't eat it themselves. Both

Wellness and Natural Balance cat foods syringe-feed easily without having to be diluted. Get larger syringes, take the plunger out, fill them from the back, and replace the plunger.

First of all thank you all for your replies, especially 'arthursmommy'. There is obviously a lot of caring experienced cat owners out there. We have been force feeding him for over a week now and this morning I woke up to the sound of purring. Both me and the wife rushed down to prepare his (and the other three cats) breakfast. What a surprise we got when Stella decided to help himself. He didn't eat a lot, but it was a start. It may be just a glitch, but it's a positive start to the day. Because of the amount of good advice and information provided by you guys out there we have decided to take a fresh look at what we feed the other cats and how much we feed them. We have often been told by our vets that they are a bit over weight. The last thing we want is to kill them with love. We will also keep you up to date on any progress. And one thing we want to say is because of this episode with Stella we shall continue to visit this site for as long as we have cats at home. Thank you all caring. And thank you for a lovely cat site.

Great update!

I always get sad when I read that some people don't take hepatic lipidosis seriously and don't syringe feed their cats. Good for you for sticking through it and helping him make it through that life threatening illness.

I think it's fantastic that you're interested in feeding your little monsters a better diet and trimming them down a bit. Overweight cats have a much greater risk of developing HL than thin cats because the have more fat to store in their liver. Just remember to help them lose weight SLOWLY (to avoid hepatic lipidosis, of course). You might want to invest in a baby scale and weigh them once a week to make sure they're only losing a few ounces at a time

Having to force feed a cat is always a very bad sign.

Cats must eat at least every 24 hours or they will develop Feline Hepatic Lipid sis.

Clarke once had FL and almost died.

Billy has FIP.

I recommend giving Nutri-Cal.

Thanks for the update!

I'm so glad your kitty is doing better! It's definitely true that not enough people realize how serious it is when their cat stops eating properly. But I think it's just as concerning that so many vets declare cats with FHL a lost cause, as you and I both experienced. I wonder how many cat owners have put their beloved pets to sleep on the horrifically bad advice of their vets because they didn't know any better? Certainly not all cats with FHL make it, even with the best care. But most can if cared for properly.

Yesterday we took Stella down to the vets for another blood test and this was the result. They said the FHL had not got worse, but he still has keytones in his blood and they're not sure if his liver started off the diabetes which is a little worse than the previouse blood test or the diabetes started off the liver problem. He now eats about a quarter of what we put down for him on his own but we still need to force feed him as much of the rest as we can. There is an upside, he seems to be getting used to us force feeding him. The vet recommends we try to increase his weight as soon as possible. Also the vet has put him on a tiny dosage of insalin, which we have to administer in a hope that we turn the diabetes around.. Due to us changing his food to one with higher protein and lower carbs, he has lost weight and it's beginning to tell. He feels a bit boney. Even so he does look healthier than before . No more droopy head or sleepy look ,and he seems a lot more cheerful than before.
We have decided, me and the wife, that if he doesn't show a sound change of direction in his health after a month, we would have to reconsider what we would do 'with or for him'. The reason for this is not only the cost of his treatment for the long haul is expensive but also that the wife and I are living on my state pension. Plus the fact that we still have three other cats to think of. My eyes well up each time I think of that. But we are continually praying for a positive outcome. Oh by the way, the vet said that giving him ' denamarin' was an excellent idea to streanthen his liver. Thanks' arthursmommy'.

What insulin is he on? Mine is on Lantus, which works really well for cats but can be expensive. I managed to cut a ton of costs using the Lantus pen instead of the vial (but I still inject it the same way, just use the pen as a vial) and getting the Lantus Savings Card. It limits the pen to $25 each, and the pens are good for a month. Vets may tell you the vials are good for up to 6 months, but I found them to be pretty unstable after a couple months. In fact, ours went bad and it landed Arthur in the hospital with ketoacidosis once before.

Anyway, the savings card can be found here: https://www.lantus.com/sign-up/offers

Just put your cat as a dependent. You get the "card" immediately, which you can print out and show to the pharmacy. If he's on a different insulin, you can talk to your vet about it. If it's significantly more cost effective for you and allows you to keep your cat, it might be worthwhile to switch.

Hi 'Arthersmommy' the insulin that we were sold is called ' caninsulin ' and comes in a small glass vial. We have been online and can buy it for half the price from a place called 'Viovets' which is only twenty minutes drive from us. But we need a prescription from the vets to buy it. Not sure if that would be possible, after all they have a business to run and money is important . And we still need the vets to diagnose how far or not Stella has improved. So at the moment we are tied to the vets for a while. The other thing was, as we were told that the file of insulin would only last a month once opened it would be pointless buying elsewhere to save money, if at the end of the month Stella was no better than he is now.
At the vets the insulin and needles for the month, cost us £50.00. If you convert that into dollars you will see it's quite expensive buying from them every month. Especially when we can buy the insulin online for £5.00 per months supply and the needles for £10 per box of 30. But if Stella gets past the next month and we decide to treat him on a long term basis we would have to go for the cheapest option. ie. 'Violets'
I'm not sure if we can get the pens over here, sadly. I would have to do some research online to see if I can, because if I bought from the US, it would likely be out of my reach (financially) due to the added postage cost.
Some good news thought, yesterday Stella ate three food pouches of cat food mostly on his own plus some chicken. It appears he doesn't want to give up yet. Not only that, but we have ordered the 'denamarin' online and expect it sometime tomorrow. As you can see it is not all doom and gloom and at the moment we are not giving up yet as well.
Anyway, both me and the wife appreciate the advise you and other members of this site have given and we're very glad that we joind it. I will keep everyone in touch with any progress Stella makes. Thank you all.

It's been over a month since we learned about Stella's liver and diabetes problems. It's has also been a roller coaster of a month emotional wise and I hope we never have another one like it again. But since his diagnosis we have learned a lot about cats, cat food and cat health. We have also become aware of how the cats body works and what it needs. Therefore we have been shocked (and almost angry) by the fact that some cat food manufacturers have put profits before cat health. We have learned how to shop around on the Internet and locally to find better deals for cat food and medicine. This has resulted in large savings for us and has eleaviated us of the anxiety that comes with dealing with a sick cat and vet bills while living on a pension. Some people have wondered why we didn't put Stella down to save money. But these people, although nice people in their own right, don't have pets. And they, unlike all of us on this site and others, have never taken in a living creature as a member of there family. Therefore would never have experienced the bond between man and animals, and the pain of losing them.
As far as Stella's liver is concerned, he has now been given a clean bill of health. But will have to put up with diabetes for a while until we can wean him off the insulin (under vet supervision). The storm is settling. We can cope with diabetes. One thing I do want to say is "thank you all for your comments and advise" it helped me and the wife to get through this episode. Thank you.

So glad you are all doing well!

It's been a while since we have updated our thread. Stella is still alive and kicking. He doesn't appear to be putting on any weight, but also he hasn't lost any either. Each time we weigh him he come out at 4.3kg despite how much we feed him. He now is (or is still on) caninsulin twice a day. But lately he started to eat as if he was starving, plus he started to steal food from wherever he could find it. Then he wet on our bed three times and now is banned from going in there. As he was appearing to make progress with his diabetes our vet recomended about eight days ago that we should stop giving him denamarin, so we did. Sadly he started to go down hill. He moped about the place and started to go off his food. I have to admit I prefered him stealing rather than the latter. So yesterday we put him back on the denamarin and today he is eating better. Is this a coincidence or is the denamarin keeping his appetite working? Has any one heard of this happening before with other cats?
Someone on DCC said his eating like a starved cat, might be due to not having anough insulin, because his diabetes is preventing the nourishment from being absorbed into his cells. We are due to return to the vet soon, so we will reveal all to her, along with a urine sample. But we just wondered if this has accured before with other people.

If the denamarin seems to keep him feeling better and eating, I would continue until you get the next round of bloodwork back.

I too wonder how his diabetes is doing and also, if maybe he is developing hyperthyroidism. The latter can also cause a rampant appetite, but without the cat gaining weight. Has his thyroid levels been checked? What about a free T4?

Hi 'cat pack' thanks for your reply. :lol3:As we want Stella (a boy cat)? to be well, we're beginning to worry if this will prove to be a bit like a 'pandora's box'. A bit hard to get our heads around. By the way ' what is a 'T4? [emoji]128522[/emoji]

Sorry 'catpack' I forgot to mention that his thyroids have not been checked.

T4 is the hormone released by the thyroid. A "free T4" test (blood test) gives a more accurate picture of how the thyroid is functioning.

I would ask your vet about checking his thyroid at his next follow-up appt.