Senior male cat - cholangeohepatitis recovery / nutrition problems

Hi all

My girlfriend's senior tom, Leo, was diagnosed with cholangiohepatitis (Liver inflammation / bacterial infection / supporative) - due to a complete lack of appetite, he stopped eating entirely and after a few days of syringing food she made the decision to put in an esophagal tube to allow easier feeding and medicating. He's doing very well and put weight back on up to almost his previous side, eating on his own now (for the most part) and his doctor thinks we can get him off medications by next week.

The problem we're running into now is that he is snubbing almost every food other than salmon and tuna based wet food. Everything else, he may eat once and only a little of it, then not again. This is a cat that used to eat anything given to him - beef, chicken, turkey, duck, etc, etc.  Any ideas of what we could try next? She doesn't want to keep feeding him nothing but fish, and I agree, don't want him to end up with too high mercury levels or kidney issues after his illness is sorted out.

Thanks in advance!

Boy, been there, done that. I took Mr Grimsby's left-over food to the humane shelter today. He'd love a food one day; hate it the next. They were impressed by the sheer variety of canned foods I handed over (I had to put Mr. G. down last Friday).

One vet suggested sprinkling Fortiflora on his food to increase Mr. G's appetite. He didn't like it, so it may not work for Leo. I've heard that  crumbling cat treats over canned food can entice a picky eater. And I've also heard of giving them baby food - just be sure it doesn't have garlic in it.

If you're just looking to put weight on Leo, you might consider feeding him kitten food. Mr. G. really liked Royal Canin Recover (sold only at the vet's I think, so it's pretty pricey). Anything that has a high caloric content is usually pretty tasty.

Good luck with Leo. He's a lucky fellow to have two such caring, loving parents.

Best regards.

i agree you don't want too much mercury but salmon is not a problem in that regard. mercury is a problem in larger fish. you can feed smaller fish-based cat food -- sardine, anchovy, etc.

how old is your cat? i understand you don't want your cat to eat only fish-based cat food, but eating is the most important thing. 

Thank you - I'll let my girl know about the Royal Canin Recover food to try out. My condolences for your Mr. Grimsby

detmut - Leo is 12 years old, give or take. He was originally a stray that was taken in.

I personally wouldn't worry about mercury in a 12 year old cat at all, and assuming he doesn't have other medical issues I wouldn't even worry about what i was feeding him unless he wasn't eating it and then i would worry a lot.  Your cat's biggest medical concern - the one in front of you right now - is a prior history of hepatic lipidosis, fatty liver disease and this condition which your cat s survived with your excellent medical care can be fatal, even when treated.  I would think of food as medicine for your cat and i would feed him the most tempting stuff, what ever he wants to keep him eating.  One of the stinkiest foods, 9 Lives tuna, which i would normally never recommend is the ultimate in fishy foods that we use medicinally in cats who won't eat (along with other slightly less stinky foods).  The point is to establish a healthy eating regimen that is designed to keep him alive now, in the present, and then in time see if you can slowly wean him back to something better.

I have never seen a cat with mercury poisoning but i have seen plenty of cats die or come close to it from hepatic lipidosis.  And while I wouldn't feed a low quality "yummy" food to a healthy cat who will eat something better, i would never  hesitate to feed an ill or recently ill cat something that will help him now.  He's 12 years old and should be allowed to eat what he wants given his prior condition, and even if he lives to be a very old and fat cat he will still get to cat heaven before mercury becomes an issue.

Also, short term, Hill's A/D from your vet is one of the most tempting foods out there.

Thank you, Stephen.  To clarify, Leo does not have fatty liver issues, it was a bacterial infection that was within the liver and bile ducts caused by e. coli that somehow migrated up from the small intestinal tract. He is eating, so progression to hepatic lipidosis is not likely at this point -  the worry was mainly over what he was willing to eat.

If my girl stuck with his current favourite, salmon, have you ever run into urinary tract crystals / stones as a result of too much fish based food? That was her other worry - he would be getting over his current illness just to get hit with another.

A/D has been a bit of a staple during recovery - if he doesn't eat it, it can be pureed easily and pushed in through his e-tube.

FredMcSteve said:

 
Thank you, Stephen.  To clarify, Leo does not have fatty liver issues, it was a bacterial infection that was within the liver and bile ducts caused by e. coli that somehow migrated up from the small intestinal tract. He is eating, so progression to hepatic lipidosis is not likely at this point -  the worry was mainly over what he was willing to eat.

If my girl stuck with his current favourite, salmon, have you ever run into urinary tract crystals / stones as a result of too much fish based food? That was her other worry - he would be getting over his current illness just to get hit with another.

A/D has been a bit of a staple during recovery - if he doesn't eat it, it can be pureed easily and pushed in through his e-tube.

Click to expand...

Fred

I apologize for miss-interpreting your cat's liver issue, and i'm glad it was't lipidosis.  We do see cats where seafood could be a contributing causative factor in crystal formation, and generally at our shelter when a cat has had an active blockage we take them off any seafood and usually try to change them to a prescription diet.  But if my cat had no history of crystals and otherwise tolerated seafood, i'm not sure I would worry, but it's a personal call.  Cat's first job is to eat.  Second job is to eat well and healthily for their species.

Best,

Stephen

Great that he's eating, even if it only seafood. I do a dance when an inappetant cat finally starts eating. It's no small accomplishment!

Keeping him well hydrated helps limit crystals forming in the bladder. As well as not holding his urine too long, providing as stress free litterbox areas as possible, private from other cats, options in at least 2 areas of the home.

Angry gallbladder and liver due to bacterial infection is a difficult recovery for cats. Some get it secondary to other disease or inflammatory process, such as pancreatitis, or a liver/GI mass.

Leo will eventually recover more of his usual appetite for variety. The gallbladder, especially, takes time to heal enough that such strong odors as fish aren't needed to entice his appetite.

You can mix salmon with the Hill's a/d, Royal Canin Recovery, or other canned cat food to tempt him with a buffet of options that are calorie dense and stinky enough with the added fish and oils/water from the can/package well incorporated, and warmed for 8 or 9 seconds in the microwave, to make it really waft to his brain ;b