help Fatty liver failure! :'(

Hi I haven't been able to get my cat into the vet yet. So I have been force feeding her orally. Giving her Natural Balance Cat food, watered down a little bit. she weights 6lbs, and is a petite cat. I have been feeding her every 2 1/2 hours / 3 hours around the clock. She is jaundice, we are on day 4 of force feeding. She is urinating about twice a day. Hasn't pooped in 3-4 days though....  She is going into the vet weds hopefully.

For feeding I have been averaging 8-10 ml of food at a time. so she gets 3 oz of food in a 24 hour period. I've also been giving her a bit of water. I would like to get a feeding tube so its less stressful on her. Feedings take about 15-20 minutes, I talk to her a lot as well. she hates being held or picked up. she is 4/5 years old.

If anyone has any advice please please please help me. My cat saved my life, now its time to return the favor. the thought of losing her brings me to tears. I love my Serafina more then anyone in my life, to me she is my child not a pet.

not one response? Vet in 15 hours..... Thanks for the help.

I'm sorry no one replied. I saw your post yesterday but I had no advice to offer. It sounds like you are doing everything you can to get her through this. She's lucky to have such a caring owner. I hope the vet visit goes well.

I have a cat that survived fatty liver and the main thing is getting food in.  The vet may well suggest a feeding tube, my kitty had one.  If you can afford to have it done then you should.  Also if possible it's a good idea if the kitty stays at the vet to make sure the tube placement is right and the feedings go well.  My vet did that with Patches and I had no issues after he came home.

I do try to catch these when they come in which they do on a pretty regular basis.  However I am human and missed your thread and I am very sorry for that.

Scottg said:

 

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I agree with @Denice if you can afford a feeding tube its much easier to get food in him that way than down his throat.....

I'm so sorry that your cat is not well, @Scottg. How did the vet appointment go?

We are all cat lovers here and know what its like to be sick with worry. Do give us an update.

I am SO sorry I missed this thread also.  I'm guessing by now you've been to the Vet and either had a feeding tube installed, or at the very minimum rec'd some additional meds to give your furbaby.  I have also had a cat with Hepatic Lipidosis albeit it was probably 20 years ago.  His feeding tube was installed directly into his tummy, and nowadays they normally install them into their esophagus, so a little different. 

Anyway, I'm thinking you should ask your Vet for prescription Hills A/D food to use either via syringe feeding or feeding tube.  It is as smooth as it gets, and very high in vitamins and good things a recovering cat needs.  Did they give you some Denamarin to give him, or some Sam-E?  or Milk Thistle?  All of those are good to help the liver repair itself?  Even just plain old Vitamin E, worst case. 

Been to the vet got hills a/d and another type to try her on. got two meds one for her liver to recover faster zemtonil and aventiCLAV antibiotic, and her subq. Cant afford a feeding tube money is so tight right now, any other time we could afford it but, at the moment money is tight for us. cant afford $800 for an ultrasound, $250 for blood test and them not to find anything, that right there is our rent for a month. Feeding tube and staying over night is not a option only thing i can afford is force feeding. I so wish i could because even the feeding tube would make things easier... vet said to give her a week, we see him this week ... he will tell us what he thinks we should do then...

And she is starting to puke every second feeding. Not touching her water, not interested in any water.

Have you looked into Care Credit? Will the Vet work a payment plan with you? The vomiting is worrisome. I am worried about feeding her by syringe for this long as it might make her  avoid food altogether.

Scottg said:

 
Been to the vet got hills a/d and another type to try her on. got two meds one for her liver to recover faster zemtonil and aventiCLAV antibiotic, and her subq. Cant afford a feeding tube money is so tight right now, any other time we could afford it but, at the moment money is tight for us. cant afford $800 for an ultrasound, $250 for blood test and them not to find anything, that right there is our rent for a month. Feeding tube and staying over night is not a option only thing i can afford is force feeding. I so wish i could because even the feeding tube would make things easier... vet said to give her a week, we see him this week ... he will tell us what he thinks we should do then...

And she is starting to puke every second feeding. Not touching her water, not interested in any water.

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could you try giving your girl smaller meals (even) more often? this might be easier for her to handle, digest at one time. and adding (more) water to the hills a/d. you could also try giving her plain (unflavored) pedialyte instead of water.

i'd also keep track of how much of the cans of hill's a/d your girl eats each day.

Yes, you need to give small amounts several times a day.  Too much will make her vomit.  

You should be able to CALL the Vet at no charge and discuss the issue and see what they say to do.  What were your instructions?  How much to feed, how often, etc?  One can of A/D per day? 

yes one can of ad a day but she is a small cat, like maybe was 7lbs at the most... i was giving her 20ml, but have cut back to 15 after she vomited a third time today. i was feeding her 10ml every 2 hours, but this didnt seem like enough... how long does she need to digest something?

Everything I have read says it takes about 2 hours for food to move from the stomach on into the intestines.  One can of A/D that stays down should be enough, it is both nutrient and calorie dense.  It is what my kitty was on when he had fatty liver.  I had to dilute it half and half with water because of the feeding tube and I was feeding 60 mls of the diluted food four times a day, so that would be 30 mls of the food 4 times a day.

Denice said:

 
Everything I have read says it takes about 2 hours for food to move from the stomach on into the intestines.  One can of A/D that stays down should be enough, it is both nutrient and calorie dense.  It is what my kitty was on when he had fatty liver.  I had to dilute it half and half with water because of the feeding tube and I was feeding 60 mls of the diluted food four times a day, so that would be 30 mls of the food 4 times a day.

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See, the difference here is that Denice was feeding a lot more in volume, but there was a lot more time in between so the food could digest.  Scottg, did your Vet give you specific instructions to feed every TWO hours?  When our cat had HL, we were to feed every FOUR hours, but again, his feeding tube was installed directly into his stomach.  Seems like we also fed about the same amount as Denice, but honestly, it's been so long I can't quite remember.  I just know it was two syringes full (each about the size of my index finger), and it seemed to take about 20 minutes per feeding, because it needed to go in really slowly or it would come right back out.  But Bashful was a really  BIG cat...almost 20 pounds. 

Update.

She is on pills to make her hunger over the last two days she has been licking soft food and tonight she ate a few pieces of hard food. We give her sub Q everyday and i force feed her every hour for five hours then she gets a break for about 5-6 hours to see if she will eat then force feed her again for another 5-6 hours every hour. Then sleep at night. She pukes when she needs to go to the bathroom or just after she does, if she has just been force fed. should I be worried?

Scottg said:

 
Update.

She is on pills to make her hunger over the last two days she has been licking soft food and tonight she ate a few pieces of hard food. We give her sub Q everyday and i force feed her every hour for five hours then she gets a break for about 5-6 hours to see if she will eat then force feed her again for another 5-6 hours every hour. Then sleep at night. She pukes when she needs to go to the bathroom or just after she does, if she has just been force fed. should I be worried?

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I'm guessing you are doing the above on the advise of your Vet?  During a full 24 hour period, how much are you ending up feeding...still one can of A/D?  (including what she eats herself?  Is she yellow (between her eyes and ears and or her gums?   Is she less lethargic than before? 

when you say she pukes when she needs to go to the bathroom or just after, are you talking about only if she needs to poop, or if she needs to urinate too?  Is she straining?  Are her poops hard?  (I'm making an assumption that it's only when she needs to poop, and that her stools are hard)...one of my cats does this because she strains so hard to "get it out" that it causes her to throw up.  I give her Miralax to help with it.  If this is what is happening, you might run that by your Vet.  My cat is also tiny, and I give her 1/8 teaspoon dissolved in a little bit of water then mixed into her food.  Since you are force feeding, you should be able to add it right into her syringe.  It's completely tasteless and doesn't gel up.  Also, I use a generic so it's not as pricey. 

So, overall, other than the vomiting while "pottying" if she's just been fed, are things looking up?  Does she seem to be feeling better? 

I am wondering if now you could have the Vet place a feeding tube? I am worried as its been at least 2 weeks you've been force-feeding her. Does the vet know what caused her to have Fatty Liver disease? Because if that has not been addressed its doubtful if you're both making any progress at all.

her color is improving in her ears, and above her eyes. she seems to have more energy, and she wants to go out and lay in the sun a lot. yes i am feeding as per the vets directions, she gets about a half a can of a/d a day, i feed her whatever she lets me feed her. vet said its better for her to keep food down then to over feed her. Still giving her Subq, and she eats very little when she does, but at a few pieces of hard food the other day.

No we haven't done the blood tests, ultrasound, xray, or biopsy. Vet said it would cost about $3,000 for all that to be done. We don't have that kind of money. And no he wont take payments and money upfront. All the vets in town have said the same. And cant get any help because we make too much, but not enough to pay for vet costs. Sighs.

She is improving though, only puking after pooing. And I think its because it puts too much strain on her. Yes the poop is kinda hard, I am thinking of adding Pumpkin to her food again.

OK, so she's improving slightly....that's good (especially since you've having to do this via syringe feeding vs a feeding tube. )  I forgot to ask if she's still getting meds for her liver?  Zentonil?  Are you NOT in the U.S.?  The way you speak about money sounds like you are (saying dollars versus pounds or lira or whatever), but Zentonil is not usually the drug of choice in the U.S. for liver issues, that's why I ask.  (just curious...you don't have to answer if you don't want)

Steady is the course then.  Just be aware that with Liver Failure, it's a long road.  My guy was on a feeding tube for FOUR months!  He may have been the exception to the rule...hard to say.  BUT, at that time he was NOT on any meds to help his liver...maybe it was so long ago there weren't any developed yet .  Anyway, just keep doing what you're doing, and if the pumpkin helped before, then hopefully it'll help again.  If not, them you might check with your Vet about the miralax.  (if you are NOT in the U.S., then it's probably called something else.  The generic name is polyethylene glycol 3350 if that helps.

that she starts eating on her own sooner than later, and that whatever caused this in the first place doesn't rear it's ugly head again. 

we are located in Canada. and the only meds she is on is the appetite stimulant. Thats hard enough to give her she wont swallow pills...

yes i was told it can take 3-6weeks to 3-6 months for them to recover. It sucks that she is sick because I was going to look for work to help with the lack of money then she got sick so working isnt an option at the moment. my other half is on a comp disability but cost of living and vets bills are expensive. already spent $500 we didnt have at the vet, aka didnt pay some bills... sigh have to pay them now though so cant afford any extras  for awhile. and our roomates are moving so costs are going up lol yay