Swollen liver, weight loss and clumping clay litter

Hi there, our wee girl Misty who has just turned ten is at times a nervous cat. We moved from New Zealand to Australia in Feb and she has taken a long time to settle. We bought litter for the litter tray, not realising it was s greay clumping litter. This became evident on cleaning up the tray, it was thick snd vrry sticky. I hsd also noticed she would nibble at it. She vomited a few times with it too. We tried to source natural zeolite which is what we used in New Zealand but have only just managed to find some in recent weeks. She is also eating this!
We noticed over the last month that she seemed to be losing weight and not eating alot ( she has always been a picky eater) she was also drinking more.
This last Monday we took her to a vet, on palpation, he said she had a very swollen liver. He did blood tests and x-ray later that day. I had read about clumping clay litters being toxic to cats but he said he had never heard of it. Sodium bentonite in clumping clay litter is used as a sealant amongst other things!! The blood tests showed high bilirubin levels, low potassium, white cells low (I think) her red cells were low and she is not making enough. Iron a little low, mild anemia (tongue and gums pink though) He booked her for an ultrasound on Tuesday morning. Ultrasound showed abnormally large liver, didnt show tumours, slthough vet reckons its probably one big tumourous liver! Kidneys and pacreas normal, dpleen mildly inflamed, heart and lungs fine. No sign of tumours in that area. He has given her antibiotics and cortisone and we have to do bloods in ten days again.
the ultrasound suggests possible leukemia but slso cholangiohepatitis which, to me seems more likely as it can come from and infection in the GI tract. I thought that there was a tie up with the toxic clay litter? I have read about milk thistle liquid drops being excellent for liver disease so have started her on that (alcohol and sugar free) her appetite is better and she is not as lethargic and depressed as she was but Im sure we're a long way from being out of the woods yet. I would appreciate any advice

Since she hasn't been eating well for the past month it could actually be a chicken or egg first thing.  Taking in two little calories can cause liver issues.  Milk thistle does help.  In the U.S. there is a supplement called Denamarin, it is a mix of an extract of the ingredient in milk thistle that helps the liver and SamE.  She does need to take in enough calories to protect her liver even if it means syringe feeding. 

Thank you Denice
she has always been a slow and fussy eater. She has had a decent breakfast today and she seems to like regular little meals. The vet csnt give a difinitive prognosis because her liver is too swollen for a biopsy and her blood issue means that she would keep bleeding. They gave her an enema on Tuesday which finally worked early Wed morning. She hss only done one smsll poop overnight which is an orangey colour and is primarily made up of the zeolite pieces. What is samE?

Sam E is another product that is good for the liver.  Or you can just use Vitamin E.  IF you can find Vitamin E in 100 iu capsules, use just a couple of drops (maybe 1/4 capsule) per day, mixed into her food.  I can't find it in 100 iu, so use the 400 iu capsules and just add 1 drop to my Callie's food. 

So Misty is eating the Milk Thistle fairly well.  It's pretty bitter, so I'm kind of surprised.  I bought a product with it in there, for pets, and I couldn't get Callie to take it, even when I just put a drop or two on her favorite treats and let them soak in.  Mixed in her food, she refused to eat, and since she desperately needs to eat, that was NOT a good option.  We never got a Liver Biopsy on our furbaby, mainly because my hubby had a liver biopsy once and said he STILL remembers how much it hurt, and doesn't want to put his "little princess" thru that

FYI, when a cat starts eating litter, or licking bricks or anything clay, that's a sign of anemia, which is what Misty has, thank goodness it's only mild. 

Did they give her anything for the low potassium?  How about the anemia...anything for that?  The antibiotics and cortisone are good for the liver to try to bring down the inflammation, but I would think the other issues need resolving as well.  The potassium is easily resolved. 

So you use zeolite for litter?  We use zeolite in liquid form as a health aid to take internally (snake oil some would say ).  I give it to our cats as well.  I or 2 drops in their food, when i remember. 

that she the antibiotics and supplements work on her issues.  I know they help Callie.  Her ALT will go back down, then once in awhile it will rise again, we'll get another antibiotic, and it'll go to normal again for awhile.  Not sure why, but we're just happy that it does.  She's a kidney cat, so we have other issues to deal with . 

Thanks mrsgreenjeens, the milk thistle drops are alcohol and sugar free, she takes from a dropper. She is due back at the vet this Friday. There is a lovely holistic vet here that specializes in acupuncture and chinese medicine so will be contacting her next week to see if it will be helpful for Misty. She is alit brighter and went outside yesterday (under supervision) and lay in the sun. She eats small meals throughout the day as well as a fortified cat milk and water. We stopped using the zeolite because she was eating that too. We have paper pellets which as far as I know, she hasn't eaten. I am concerned that the vet did not give her any supplements to help with low iron, low potassium as well as mild dehydration. I am going to ask him for a copy of her bloods so that I can take them with me to Kaori Kanematsu, the holistic vet.

So she's not having a problem holding her head up or anything like that is she.  Or trouble breathing?  Does she walk like she's drunk?  All of these are signs of low potassium...so low that potassium pills are usually needed.  Maybe her potassium was just barely below normal?  Or maybe there is some contraindication with giving her anything else right now if her liver isn't functioning properly. 

I love the idea of seeing a Holistic Vet.  After all, Chinese medicine has been around for centuries .  I know another member here using chinese herbs quite extensively. 

No, she is sometimes a little unsteady on her feet. Today, she did a HUGE pee that was red with blood, the vet had said she hsd a low grade UTI do took her back with a sample. The UTI has all but gone. They did a blood test and her RBC has dropped further from 4.9 to 4.18. The vet ( different one) thinks its leukemia which is why her liver doesn't show any tumours. Im heartbroken, they are upping her steroids again but theyre saying probably a couple of weeks or so and she will pass away.

I'm so sorry .  So, was she never immunized against FeLV (Feline Leukemia)?  I don't know what the protocol is over there where you live.  Over here, the FeLV vaccine is part of the core kitten vaccines.   Doesn't mean all kittens get it, but if adopted from a reputable breeder, or shelter, they SHOULD. 

Are you still going to see the holistic vet?  I wouldn't give up yet

Did they do full bloodwork? Thyroid, glucose, kidneys, etc? Make sure she is eating Ok. Also, did you look into FLUTD? Are you still on antibiotics? Zeniquin/clavomox for UTI?

I rang our vet in New Zealand because both our cats are up to date with vaccinations and they also had to have a full check up and vaccination before leaving for Australia, where we have been living since Feb. Shesaid that the FelV is not in New Zealand sothey don't vaccinate for it unless they are being shipped to a country that has it. She did say there are other leukemias that they can get.
I am still going to contact the holistic vet when shes back on Monday. I still don't feel that its leukemia. Not sure why leukemia would give her a swollen liver. She peed last night and it was normal, no blood! She ate and drank reasonably well.
I was shocked when the vet said a couple of weeks, I expexted months as opposed to weeks. she also said that majority of cats would be flat out on the floor with results luke Misty's yet she still numps up and down on the furnture, she comes into the kitchen wanting tidbits when Im preparing dinner etc. I don't know what else would give her such a low RBC.Her other labs had improved, WBC had increased from below range to over the lowest range, potassium back up so Im just very perplexed.

When I looked up Leukemia in cats, NOTHING came up except FeLV .  Did she get this vaccine while in Australia?  If she did, then she may have built up enough immunities that she wouldn't have needed it with the move anyway, since she's 10.

I've asked another member to take a look at your thread, as she as had a couple (3) cats with Anemia, so she's kind of an expert .  Hopefully she'll be available soon to give you her opinions on what might be going on.  She's the one I mentioned uses Chinese Herbs quite a lot.

1) Elevated bilirubin is from 2 things: liver problems or bile duct blockage. Why are they not prescribing antibiotics and prednisone to see if this is a bad infection and to treat the inflammation?????

2) Yes, use the liver support!

3) They can analyze the blood to learn more about the anemia. Here is information on doing this. It applies to all cats, not just FIV cats, it just happens to be posted on the FIV cat site:

http://www.fivtherapy.com/fiv_cbc.htm

4) Eating litter is a pica that almost always means anemia (in adult cats). The problem is not toxic litter. The litter eating is a symptom.

5) Imaging has been done? How do they know there aren't tumors?

This isn't consistent with FeLV. I hope the holistic vet has Yunnan Baiyao to rule out regenerative anemia, which it can help address.

Yes, she had a mild UTI when we first took her in, she is on Baytril. The urine sample yesterday was tested but no sign of UTI. Vet said platelets are being broken down and filtered out through kidneys. Her original tests and ultrasound showed that kidneys and pancreas were fine. Spleen in New Zealandlightly enlarged. The liver is very large ( cant understand how that relates to leukemia. Her potassium and iron were down. No signs of actual tumours so Im confused. I still feel its tied up with her ingesting that awful clumping cat litter with sodium bentonite in it

Hi LDG
She is on prednisone and Baytril antibiotics. Earlier this week the prednisone was reduced from 1x tablet twice a day to one tablet once per day, it was only a couple of days of that change that she had the bloody urine and was eati g less again. Tested for UTI but nothing. Felv Is not in New Zealand or Australia.
She has had blood work done twice, once when we first took her in, she also had an x-ray. The bloods showed raised ALT and one other beginning with A
slight dehydration, low potassium, low WBC and RBC Her RBC was at 4.9 with the range being 5-10 her iron was low also. Kidneys and pancreas were fine her spleen had very slight inflammation. Heart and lungs clear.
when I took her back a couple of days ago her WBC was up but just over The low of the range, iron and potassium back up but RBC had dropped again to 4.18. Weight up a little from 4.12kg to 4.19 kg. This girl who turned ten in July has never been sick the only things that have happened since January are our move to Australia, her stress since leaving New Zealand a fair few vaccinations required for entry into Australia including full worming and flea treatment and the other was heartworm medication

If she wasn't eating her liver could be enlarged due to fatty liver setting in. Make sure she is eating enough. Stress from moving may have contributed to her not eating. You can also get something called FLUTD which resolves on its own which would cause blood in urine/discomfort and could possibly cause your cat to not eat. The main thing is just ensure your cat is eating enough food so if it is fatty liver, it doesn't get worse.

Thanks for your reply. The bloody urine yezterday was tested by the vet, the mild UTI she had has cleared. Thete were broken down platelets in the blood apparently. The vet is telling me that she has very low RBC but also, dhe is not producing eniugh new ones. They are saying she has a blood cancer as opposed to one with tumours

Bleeding can cause RBC count to be low as well. If she was bleeding internally via the UTI, this could have contributed to a low count. Work on the liver and eating and get re-tested once she is a bit more stable. I wouldn't jump to a blood cancer diagnosis so fast when clearly there are other issues going on that may have contributed to this. Malnutrition, lack of iron, and bleeding all cause RBC to be low. Your cat is not eating and has had blood in the urine. Make sure she is getting enough food each day and keep an eye on her urine. You can buy dipsticks for urine at home to check. It is like $20 shipped for 50-100 strips. The human strips work fine for cats and can identify blood in the urine as well as a slew of other things.

Thanks. I honeztly dont feel its cancer, this is what the vet thinks. The ultrasound operator put down a few possibles including cancer and cholangiohepatitis but vet says with that she would be having destroyed platelets in her urine. The huge bloody pee she did day before yesterday was the one and only! That afternoon it was fine! She is eating reasonably ok and drinking but nit as much as she was initially. Her tummy is obviously sore. I would have thought her liver would have reduced in size with her being on the prednisone and milk thistle. She is quiet but still jumps up on the bed or comes into the kitchen looking for tidbits while Im preparing dinner