My cat with Hepatic Lipidosis is spitting out her food while being force fed

Hello everyone,

I've been force feeding buttons, my cat suffering from HL for a few days now. While I'm able to get the food into her mouth, she just keeps it in there and it very slowly seeps out. I don't know if she's getting much in her at all, even though I'm using a whole can of A/D every day. I think most of it ends up on paper towels =/

Does anyone have any ideas on how I get her to swallow her food? I cannot afford the costs of veterinary care.

Thank you

Are you syringing the food in? If so, try adding water to make the A/D easier to swallow and eat. Have you tried adding FortiFlora to the A/D to make it yummier? FortiFlora is irresistable to many cats. You can buy this online or from the vet. Crushed up freeze dried food or treats or even canned food gravy may make the A/D tastier.

The vet can nprescribe an appetite stimulant. If your cat won't eat on her own, a feeding tube is needed. The vet would have to put the tube in and show you how to feed and admininster any medicine through the tube.

llmercll said:

 
Hello everyone,

I've been force feeding buttons, my cat suffering from HL for a few days now. While I'm able to get the food into her mouth, she just keeps it in there and it very slowly seeps out. I don't know if she's getting much in her at all, even though I'm using a whole can of A/D every day. I think most of it ends up on paper towels =/

Does anyone have any ideas on how I get her to swallow her food? I cannot afford the costs of veterinary care.

Thank you

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so, hepatic lipidosis was diagnosed by your vet? but you can't afford the cost of placing a feeding tube? was an underlying cause of the initial non-eating determined? 

Yes, and yes. We changed her food and she lost weight too quickly =(

will she eat her old cat food? or any cat food? this link may help:

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=1455

Not only does she need to eat, as I'm sure you are aware, but she also should be getting some medications to aid her liver in recovering.  Are you giving her Denamarin or any form of liver "repair" supplements?  We give ours a few drops of Vitamin E mixed into her food since she's impossible to pill.  Our girl doesn't have HL, but she does have liver issues. 

Back to the spitting her food out issues, I wonder if you could rub her throat to make her swallow?  That's what people do after giving a pill to make sure them swallow.  Would that help?  But I do agree that a feeding tube is probably your best bet.  Perhaps you could work a deal with your Vet as far as the cost?  Do you know about Care Credit?  Also, different Vets charge vastly different amounts.  Try calling different ones to see what they charge.  If you find one that's quite a bit less, then you could have your current Vet send over her records so they know what's happening and get it done there. 

I brought her to the vet today, I couldn't keep going with something I knew wasn't working and letting her suffer. They drew blood and will let me know tomorrow if surgery to install a tube is feasible at this point. I will have to use my college deposit fund, but so be it...

One thing I noticed is that my siamese was snuggled up next to her today, even though lately she's been avoiding her. I fear the worst, as cats can often sense when death is near. 

Hoping for the best

Oh no! I hope things are getting better. I helped force feed my brother's cat and it's NOT easy. We had no idea what we were doing. I wish you and your cat all the luck!! <3

We had a feeding tube put in today. It's a breeze compared to syringe feeding and actually works, now just to wait and see if it isn't too late. Her bilirubin was 17.

I'm feeding her Hill's A/D, and giving her an anti-vomiting injection and dose of ursodiol for her liver.

Are there any other supplements or medicines worth considering? Through my reading I've heard people mention a few, but am really short on time and have a lot of studying to catch up on so can't spend any more time researching. I also wonder if it's worth trying Hill's Max Calorie.

Thanks for the support!

Did the Vet say her chances of recovery were good? Did they tell you that Bilirubin can rise if the patient is dehydrated?  And I think your little one probably IS.   What caused her liver issues in the first place?  Was she given any antibiotics in case it was caused by some sort of infection?  When my girl recently had liver issues, the first thing they did was give her an antibiotic, in case it was from an infection.  That did seem to help, as her liver values improved without much other intervention (although they weren't nearly as bad) 

the Ursodial is a good medication for her liver, AND, I think Hills A/D is the best food right now as it's specifically for cats recovering or trying to recover from a major illness.  It's chock full of nutrients that they desperately need at this juncture, plus it really works well in a feeding tube.

Here is a list of meds another cat here on TCS was on during his crisis.  This was cut and pasted directly from this very long thread:  http://www.thecatsite.com/t/215150/bear-is-at-the-vet-hes-very-sick-liver-looks-horrible/210

"He is on:
Ursodiol 50mg/once a day
Famotidine (I think this is Pepcid) 5mg/once a day
Metronidazole 1/4 of a 250mg tab/ twice a day
Pred 2.5mg/once a day
Amox liquid 1cc/twice a day
SubQ fluids/100 units per day, if he is vomiting I give him 200 units.

And I give him about 200mg of Milk Thistle per day, if he is not vomiting. I try to divide it up, I read that it's best if you divide the dose into 4 times a day."

BTW, the above cat's Bilirubin got as high as 14.7. 

Along with the meds and supplements mentioned above, our Vet recently mentioned we should try adding a1/4 capsule of a 100 IU Vitamin E to Callie's food once a day to help heal her liver. This was an alternative to Denamarin, which must be given in pill form, and we just can't give her pills.  Plus, the Denamarin contains Milk Thistle, so if you give that, then skip the separate Milk Thistle. 

HL is NOT an easy road to travel.  There will be many ups and downs, and even when she starts eating on her own again, you cannot let your guard down.  You will still need to assist feed her to make sure she gets enough food to prevent a backslide, possibly for several weeks after she starts eating on her own.  My own Bashful was on a feeding tube for FOUR months and needed to be fed every four hours during that time.  We did and because that's what he needed.  (this was years ago when feeding tubes were installed directly into their tummies vs into their necks)  After a week or two he would purr as he got his food

.  Please keep us posted as things progress

"A number of metabolic supplements have improved recovery of affected cats: taurine (250–500 mg/cat/day), medical grade liquid oral l-carnitine (250–500 mg/cat/day), vitamin E (10 IU/kg/day), and potassium gluconate if hypokalemia is resistant to repletion."

"If the cat tolerates oral medications, SAMe at 40 mg/kg/day is given between meals once N-acetylcysteine treatment is completed. SAMe supplementation must be accompanied by sufficient B₁₂, folate, and other water-soluble vitamins to ensure optimal metabolic benefit (metabolism to glutathione and methyl group donation for transmethylation reactions). Use of ursodeoxycholate in HL may be detrimental because TSBA are extraordinarily high in these cats and bile acid profiles (by HPLC) resemble those associated with EHBDO (increased secondary bile acids). All bile acids are toxic to cells in high concentrations and in HL, bile acids are seemingly trapped by canalicular compression."

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/d...n_small_animals/feline_hepatic_lipidosis.html

llmercll said:

 
We had a feeding tube put in today. It's a breeze compared to syringe feeding and actually works, now just to wait and see if it isn't too late. Her bilirubin was 17.

I'm feeding her Hill's A/D, and giving her an anti-vomiting injection and dose of ursodiol for her liver.

Are there any other supplements or medicines worth considering? Through my reading I've heard people mention a few, but am really short on time and have a lot of studying to catch up on so can't spend any more time researching. I also wonder if it's worth trying Hill's Max Calorie.

Thanks for the support!

Click to expand...

http://www.nutramaxlabs.com/cat/cat-liver-health

http://www.nutramaxlabs.com/cat/cat-liver-health/liver-product-selector

detmut said:

. Use of ursodeoxycholate in HL may be detrimental because TSBA are extraordinarily high in these cats and bile acid profiles (by HPLC) resemble those associated with EHBDO (increased secondary bile acids). All bile acids are toxic to cells in high concentrations and in HL, bile acids are seemingly trapped by canalicular compression."
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/d...n_small_animals/feline_hepatic_lipidosis.html

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Detmut, could you "dumb down" the above comment for me please?  I don't understand what you're saying here, as many cats with HL have been prescribed Ursodiol.  Is that the same thing you are talking about?  What is TSBA anyway?  Sorry, I'm just not grasping what you're saying here

mrsgreenjeens said:

 
Detmut, could you "dumb down" the above comment for me please?  I don't understand what you're saying here, as many cats with HL have been prescribed Ursodiol.  Is that the same thing you are talking about?  What is TSBA anyway?  Sorry, I'm just not grasping what you're saying here

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total serum bile acids. and yes, ursodiol is the same thing. 

just passing along info that might want to be discussed with the vet. the section was written by  Sharon A. Center, DVM, DACVIM. she is board-certified vet in internal medicine. not saying she is right or wrong. no 2 vets agree on everything. 

I'm afraid she's beginning to develop hepatic encephalopathy =/ She's been staring at a wall a lot today and burying her head in the sheets.

Any ideas on what to do? I've called my vet but have yet to hear back.

Did you ever hear back from your Vet?  How's she doing today?  Those symptoms you describe don't really sound like HE to me, but I'm not a Vet. 

As I mentioned HL is a difficult road to travel, with many ups and downs.  Hopefully yesterday was just a bad day for her

She's not doing good, head on the floor, can barely stand...I think these are her last moments 

llmercll said:

 
She's not doing good, head on the floor, can barely stand...I think these are her last moments 

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Oh dear!  Doesn't sound good.  Have you been able to get food and supplements into her?  What did your Vet say?

Sending vibes: