Help with Hepatic Lipidosis

Hi everyone!

I'm new to this site and have been reading a lot of the comments regarding hepatic lipidosis.  

My kitty, Homer was just diagnosed Monday  He's in pretty rough shape as I didn't catch it when I started noticing him acting funny and not seeing him eat (not strange though because he's more of a grazer than a meal eater).

Spent all of Sunday night/Monday morning at the emergency vet trying to figure out what was wrong and after blood work the doc said there's really nothing we can do at this point and we should put him down...they gave him some fluids and sent us home with an antibiotic and a HUGE bill.  I cried for HOURS and brought him to my vet first thing in the morning when it opened.  

Three days later and he's still with us!!!  Vet has given him more fluids, he's been on Denamarin since Monday and got a small dose of Mirtazapine to help with his appetite Tuesday (yesterday).  

He ate like a horse for about 3 hours after the Mirtazapine and drank a ton of water but seems to not be as interested in food again this morning.  So, I'm coming to you all for suggestions on syringe feeding techniques. 

Homer is a VERY relaxed kitty and shouldn't struggle too much with the feeding, but if you have any tips or tricks, I'd greatly appreciate them!

Please pray for my little boy...he's my everything and I can't imagine him not being with me anymore...it's killing me seeing him sick like this.

Thanks everyone!

When our cat had HL, I found it really helpful for my fiance to wrap her in a "kitty burrito" (basically a swaddle) while I fed her. I made a slurry consisting of wet food + water so the syringe could easily suck it up, and even fed her bland baby foods that weren't seasoned with onion, garlic, etc. I offered her all kinds of foods and treats, from high quality to grocery store stuff, and whatever she ate on her own (which was very little) I kept offering. At this point, it's less important *what* he eats and more important *how much* and *how often* he eats. We also found the high-calorie gels and pastes pretty invaluable, although they're quite sticky and therefore pretty messy, especially if your cat happens to be long-haired.

My thoughts are with you and your kitty! It's a terrible illness.

In syringe feeding my cat who had anorexia from an adverse reaction to thyroid medication, I mixed Hills Science AD which is an emergency type of canned food that is highly palatable with enough warmed water to make a slurry that would go through a good sized feeding syringe (that the vet should have along with the AD) Then I sat my cat in my lap and fed him a little at a time with the syringe until the portion of food mixed with water was gone.

Because he is a big cat (15 pounds) my goal was to get him 1 5.5oz can a day through the syringe feeding until he started eating on his own. I aimed for 3 feedings. 1 in the morning, 1 in the evening and 1 near my own bedtime. It takes longer than it seems like it should to syringe feed a 1/3 of a can mixed with water. And you have to do it so that the kitty doesn't choke or vomit because it's too quick.

It took a few days, but it was enough of a stimulant that he started eating on his own. I fed him the AD in the plate for a couple more meals because he was enjoying it and then back on his regular canned diet after he was able to eat on his own.

It was the same formula and process when in the 1980s I had a cat with HP. Only then it was through a gastro tube she had in her. That was weeks long process because of her HP and involved surgery to put the tube in and then remove it once she started eating again.

I have a cat who survived hepatic lipidosis with a feeding tube.  There has to be an underlying condition which caused the anorexia but first things first getting through this.

Either your kitty didn't have full blown fatty liver or it is a misdiagnosis.  Cats with hepatic lipidosis will not eat at all even with an appetite stimulant much less eat like a horse.  Have you taken him to your regular vet?  If so I would consider a second opinion.  I don't believe that a vet should immediately wright off a cat with hepatic lipidosis.  It is a serious illness but cats do survive it.  The main thing is getting in enough calories.

The main thing to remember with syringe feeding is to go slow.  Use the side of the mouth.  Give a little give him a chance to swallow it and then give a little more.  Only thin out the food with just enough water so that it will go through the syringe.  There is an excellent prescription food for this called Hill's A/D, it is what I used for my kitty.  It should go through a syringe with no dilution.

I haven't dealt with this yet but wanted to send you positive thoughts and vibes

Everything I have read about this is it can be painful. Make sure that they sent you home with pain meds. Buprenorphine and not metacam. It could also be pancreatitis which is painful and has similar symptoms. The main thing is food fluids pain meds and antibiotics if there is some kind of infection. Unfortunately unless its someone experienced with ultrasound this is very hard to see via ultrasound but they getting better at detecting thism

Another thing is something called triaditis which is a three way itis which is inflammation-liver-pancreatitis and one other but I can't remember the part. This too is same treatment. Pain management. Fluids. Feedings and meds to control nausea. Cerenia or zofran. Sometimes an addition of injection of pepcid helps. If your cat is pillable that would be the cheapest way. Unfortunately my old cat who is currently being treated for some unknown illness that caused her to stop eating and have pain has to get meds via injection or transdermal. She will only tolerate very small syringe of liquid. She growls and bites. Very independent.

Try to make sure nausea is treated before doing an appetite stimulant.

Thanks everyone for your help!

I started feeding Homer with a syringe yesterday afternoon.  Got two feedings in before bed time, and just had another this morning.  He isn't thrilled with being force fed, and doesn't want to open up his mouth so I'm hoping that he gets used to it with time...I have to wrap him up in a towel and feed him while my boyfriend holds him still and opens his mouth.  Positive note is that he has kept all of the food down!  And this morning he actually got out of his chair to eat a tiny bit of food by himself that I put on a plate!  He was also purring quite a bit after the feeding which he didn't do last night so that was nice to hear

I'm feeding him the Science Diet A/D and it is easy to force through the syringe without dilution.  Thanks for the tip!  He seems to tolerate it fine, but is more interested in the fishy smelling foods I have purchased.

I know that there is most likely an underlying reason for the HL, but I just want to get him through this first.  He was an extremely overweight cat and I was trying different things with his diet to help him lose weight...I'm hoping that this didn't push him over the edge :/

I have another vet appointment with him next Wednesday to do his blood work again to see if there has been any response to the meds and the force feeding...hopefully we see a turn for the better!

Such great news! Underlying issues for HP could be that he didn't feel well with a passing virus and failed to eat just long enough to cause the HL. That he ate a bit on his own is evidence that you caught it very early which is a great thing.  My cat from the 1980s that had it, the apartment building where I lived sprayed for bugs and it put Hazel off food long enough that when she felt like eating, she could not. THat was when she was 3 and she lived to 19 with no more issues with anything like HL, or other digestive issues. 

What did the blood work say? If they didn't give you those records at the Emergency vet, ask them to pass along to you or to your regular vet. If there are other underlying issues it would be there.

when syringe feeding-you just have to put it at the side corner of the mouth-make sure head is not up so they don't get it in the lungs-squirt a bit in and let them swallow. rinse and repeat=yes some cats don't mind and others do. Just don't rush it-let them swallow and breathe. This sounds promising!

Excellent news! It was several days before we got our kitty to eat anything on her own. Wonderful!