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- Dec 1, 2015
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Hi folks,
This will be long. Apologies in advance.
A few months ago I lost my three year old Himalayan mix to Hepatic Lipidosis and subsequent liver failure. I need some feedback regarding the treatment provided by my vet. I have another pet (a dog) I still take to the same vet, and this incident seriously shook my trust in him. I need to know whether I'm being paranoid and am overreacting, or there's something to my suspicion. My primary concern is whether I should be continuing to place my trust in him for the care of my dog, and any other pets I may have in the future.
The story:
My cat and dog have always been on a commercial raw diet. The cat has always had a good appetite, but never really cleaned the plate - she always left food behind after eating her fill - and was very healthy. I had her spayed at about 6 months of age, and she had been very healthy all her life.
Sometime in the summer she started eating poorly. Had I noticed this earlier, perhaps things could have been different. By late August she had lost a significant amount of weight (she was a tiny thing - even as far as cats go - to begin with), and I picked up that her eating was off. I monitored her very closely and she didn't touch a drop of food in a ~36 hour period (I offered her everything in the world), so I took her to the vet the next morning (this was a Tuesday).
At this point I should note that the cat was very active, playful, and in good spirits. She drank some water, too.
The vet took a urine sample via a syringe, and the urine was a very dark red/orange colour. The vet instantly diagnosed Hepatic Lipidosis, suggested that the liver is in very bad shape, and we discussed treatment.
The invoice contains the following procedures/medicines, which were performed on the spot:
- Consultation / Examination
- Feline screen
- Spec fPL add on
- Urinalysis w/ Exam
- Vitamin B Complex Injection
- Sub Q Fluid Therapy
- MCRC Recovery 165g
In addition, I was given the following medicine & directions:
- Clavamox Suspension 15mL - Give 1mL every 12 hours with food for 7 days.
- Famotidine 10mg/mL PL - Give 0.5mL every 12 hours for 7 days.
- Mirtazapine 15mg tablet - Crush 1/4 tablet and give with food every 48 hours until finished.
The vet explained that getting food into her was the #1 priority, and was to be accomplished by any means necessary. He gave me a syringe for force-feeding a mixture of warm water and Medical Royal Canin Recovery wet food. He showed me how to force her mouth open and inject small bits of the food mixture, and I followed these directions later that night. It was an incredibly stressful process for both the cat and I, but she ended up eating a 1/4 of the can of cat food over several "meals" that evening. Things seemed to be going well.
The next day (Wednesday) I got a call from the vet. He had received results of the various tests, and wanted to put a feeding tube into her to make feeding easier over the next few weeks. I agreed, and we scheduled the operation for the next day (Thursday). Throughout this day I force-fed her the food mixture, per the vet's instructions. She wasn't having any of it, and put up an insane fight every time, but did get some food down.
By the next morning she was much more lethargic than when we started treatment on Tuesday. She didn't move around much, was way less vocal in the car ride, etc. I dropped her off for surgery, and later that day got a call saying she was ready to be picked up. The vet said the surgery went great, showed me how the feeding tube works, showed me how to do an IV at home, and sent me home with an invoice containing the following:
- Esophageal Surgery 20min
- Cold sterile
- Anaesthetic - Local
- Esophagostomy tube
- Bandage small
- Hospitalization < 10 hrs
- Sedation (F) - iv
- Radiographs - set up & initial 2 views
- Radiographs - additional
- Metronidazole 100mg/mL chik PL
- Cerena injection per mL
- Lactated ringer 1000mL
- IV administration set (SQ Line)
- Needle BD 18x1
- Sub Q Fluid Demo-Tech
- Ursodiol 20mg Capsules PL
The cat acted like she was still under anesthesia - moving slow, seemingly drowsy.
We got home after an uneventful 10min drive, and I gently took her out of the cat carrier and placed her on the floor.
She laid still, and a minute later violently crawled forward while giving out a horrible screech. Then laid still again. Then the crawl and screech again. All I could do was helplessly try to comfort her. After the third such crawl & screech I picked up the phone to call the vet, and hit their voicemail just 2 minutes after closing time. In the next minute the same thing happened again, except she also threw up and her bladder let go. It took me twenty minutes to accept that she was no longer breathing. I emailed the vet three words: [name] has died.
The next day I received several phone calls and emails from the vet and his clinic. They extended their condolences. What instantly threw me off was the vet's insistence to cremate her at their expense. The vet also convinced me to do a "small dissection" to look for the original cause with the hope of preventing such things from happening in other animals. I was distraught and didn't want my cat experimented on, but agreed.
Over the subsequent few days I got a few more calls from the vet. He made very strong efforts to convince me that he did everything correct, including mentions of several consultations with other vets, who all supposedly confirmed that he did everything perfectly. These efforts had the opposite effect, and I've been meaning to post this thread ever since.
He had sent a sample of post-mortem liver to a clinic for analysis, and couldn't tell me anything more than what he had explained in the very initial visit - buildup of bilirubin, liver failure. I'm not happy with this explanation.
I've done some research online and numerous articles suggested that with Hepatic Lipidosis, it is imperative to minimize stress, both emotional and on the body (via antibiotics and other medicines). What the vet did, and what I did under his directions was the opposite - the stress was insane.
Perhaps I'm grasping at straws and am looking for an explanation where there is none, but I have to ask.
Was this a coincidence of the liver giving out right as the vet care took place?
Was the liver giving out expedited/caused by the treatment?
Was it something else?
Feedback would be very appreciated.
This was her in better times:
This will be long. Apologies in advance.
A few months ago I lost my three year old Himalayan mix to Hepatic Lipidosis and subsequent liver failure. I need some feedback regarding the treatment provided by my vet. I have another pet (a dog) I still take to the same vet, and this incident seriously shook my trust in him. I need to know whether I'm being paranoid and am overreacting, or there's something to my suspicion. My primary concern is whether I should be continuing to place my trust in him for the care of my dog, and any other pets I may have in the future.
The story:
My cat and dog have always been on a commercial raw diet. The cat has always had a good appetite, but never really cleaned the plate - she always left food behind after eating her fill - and was very healthy. I had her spayed at about 6 months of age, and she had been very healthy all her life.
Sometime in the summer she started eating poorly. Had I noticed this earlier, perhaps things could have been different. By late August she had lost a significant amount of weight (she was a tiny thing - even as far as cats go - to begin with), and I picked up that her eating was off. I monitored her very closely and she didn't touch a drop of food in a ~36 hour period (I offered her everything in the world), so I took her to the vet the next morning (this was a Tuesday).
At this point I should note that the cat was very active, playful, and in good spirits. She drank some water, too.
The vet took a urine sample via a syringe, and the urine was a very dark red/orange colour. The vet instantly diagnosed Hepatic Lipidosis, suggested that the liver is in very bad shape, and we discussed treatment.
The invoice contains the following procedures/medicines, which were performed on the spot:
- Consultation / Examination
- Feline screen
- Spec fPL add on
- Urinalysis w/ Exam
- Vitamin B Complex Injection
- Sub Q Fluid Therapy
- MCRC Recovery 165g
In addition, I was given the following medicine & directions:
- Clavamox Suspension 15mL - Give 1mL every 12 hours with food for 7 days.
- Famotidine 10mg/mL PL - Give 0.5mL every 12 hours for 7 days.
- Mirtazapine 15mg tablet - Crush 1/4 tablet and give with food every 48 hours until finished.
The vet explained that getting food into her was the #1 priority, and was to be accomplished by any means necessary. He gave me a syringe for force-feeding a mixture of warm water and Medical Royal Canin Recovery wet food. He showed me how to force her mouth open and inject small bits of the food mixture, and I followed these directions later that night. It was an incredibly stressful process for both the cat and I, but she ended up eating a 1/4 of the can of cat food over several "meals" that evening. Things seemed to be going well.
The next day (Wednesday) I got a call from the vet. He had received results of the various tests, and wanted to put a feeding tube into her to make feeding easier over the next few weeks. I agreed, and we scheduled the operation for the next day (Thursday). Throughout this day I force-fed her the food mixture, per the vet's instructions. She wasn't having any of it, and put up an insane fight every time, but did get some food down.
By the next morning she was much more lethargic than when we started treatment on Tuesday. She didn't move around much, was way less vocal in the car ride, etc. I dropped her off for surgery, and later that day got a call saying she was ready to be picked up. The vet said the surgery went great, showed me how the feeding tube works, showed me how to do an IV at home, and sent me home with an invoice containing the following:
- Esophageal Surgery 20min
- Cold sterile
- Anaesthetic - Local
- Esophagostomy tube
- Bandage small
- Hospitalization < 10 hrs
- Sedation (F) - iv
- Radiographs - set up & initial 2 views
- Radiographs - additional
- Metronidazole 100mg/mL chik PL
- Cerena injection per mL
- Lactated ringer 1000mL
- IV administration set (SQ Line)
- Needle BD 18x1
- Sub Q Fluid Demo-Tech
- Ursodiol 20mg Capsules PL
The cat acted like she was still under anesthesia - moving slow, seemingly drowsy.
We got home after an uneventful 10min drive, and I gently took her out of the cat carrier and placed her on the floor.
She laid still, and a minute later violently crawled forward while giving out a horrible screech. Then laid still again. Then the crawl and screech again. All I could do was helplessly try to comfort her. After the third such crawl & screech I picked up the phone to call the vet, and hit their voicemail just 2 minutes after closing time. In the next minute the same thing happened again, except she also threw up and her bladder let go. It took me twenty minutes to accept that she was no longer breathing. I emailed the vet three words: [name] has died.
The next day I received several phone calls and emails from the vet and his clinic. They extended their condolences. What instantly threw me off was the vet's insistence to cremate her at their expense. The vet also convinced me to do a "small dissection" to look for the original cause with the hope of preventing such things from happening in other animals. I was distraught and didn't want my cat experimented on, but agreed.
Over the subsequent few days I got a few more calls from the vet. He made very strong efforts to convince me that he did everything correct, including mentions of several consultations with other vets, who all supposedly confirmed that he did everything perfectly. These efforts had the opposite effect, and I've been meaning to post this thread ever since.
He had sent a sample of post-mortem liver to a clinic for analysis, and couldn't tell me anything more than what he had explained in the very initial visit - buildup of bilirubin, liver failure. I'm not happy with this explanation.
I've done some research online and numerous articles suggested that with Hepatic Lipidosis, it is imperative to minimize stress, both emotional and on the body (via antibiotics and other medicines). What the vet did, and what I did under his directions was the opposite - the stress was insane.
Perhaps I'm grasping at straws and am looking for an explanation where there is none, but I have to ask.
Was this a coincidence of the liver giving out right as the vet care took place?
Was the liver giving out expedited/caused by the treatment?
Was it something else?
Feedback would be very appreciated.
This was her in better times:
