To assist feed or not? Worried about Hepatic Lipidosis...

Hi Everyone, 

This is kind of a long story but I will try to condense it as much as possible. Basically I have a very sick cat on my hands right now and I don't really know what to do for him.

Basically, he threw up three times on Thursday (mostly mucusy bile and some foam) and ate and drank only a little bit. On Friday morning he was refusing to eat and drink altogether and had some diarrhea. I took him into the vet that afternoon and they gave him sub q fluids and a vitamin B12 shot and also did a full blood work up on him. He was a feral, hand raised and bottle fed by me since he was 2 weeks old so the vet also tested for Feline leukemia and FIV just in case I guess, as well as did a CBC on him. She then sent me home with him. The blood results came back about an hour later and she said everything looked good. He was negative for Felv/FIV and all his blood chemistry looked fine. The only thing was that he had a slightly lowered white blood cell count and at that time, she mentioned it might be a virus. He was doing okay last night, up and about and laying in his favorite spots but still not eating or drinking. 

Then, he threw up twice more last night and had more diarrhea. This morning he was still refusing to eat and drink. I was worried about dehydration etc, so I called the vet back this morning and took him in once more. She said he was fine with fluids because of the sub Q yesterday. She gave him an injection for nausea and Metronidazole for his diarrhea. She told me not to force feed him because it could make him want to eat even less than he already does and she said not to worry about him for the next 24 hours (this was at 11am this morning and it's almost 8pm now and if I wait until tomorrow afternoon it will basically be 3 days with no food or water) she also said he didn't have a fever and was looking a bit more perky. And it's true, he was looking sort of okay this morning. Then she said she actually didn't think it was a viral infection after all and that she was more worried about pancreatitis and advised me to get a blood test for that and change his diet and put him on a novel protein source.   

We came home and he's been really lethargic ever since then. He hasn't eaten or drank anything at all since Thursday night (so it's approaching 48 hours now) and he's getting pretty weak from what I can tell. I didn't know the Metronidazole can affect their appetite and that you shouldn't give it on an empty stomach until after I already gave him his first dose. Now I am wondering if I should dose him again or just leave it until after he starts eating. He hasn't thrown up or had diarrhea that I am aware of since last night. But after doing much reading on this forum and other sites, I am starting to get concerned about Hepatic Lipidosis... and wondering if I should assist feed him even though the vet said I shouldn't.

I called the emergency vet but she can't get back to me for another 3 hours and he can't be seen by his normal vet until Tuesday. The vet I took him to over the last few days is one we've never seen before and only went to her because there was no one else to go to. And I don't know if it's worth mentioning or not, but last month and into early this month he was suffering from megacolon and had to be on laxatives. He's been off the laxatives for 2-3 weeks now though, and was having normal bowel movements with no blood in his stool. He seemed fine until this thing hit. Also he's an indoor only kitty so I have no idea how he would have caught a virus or anything. 

Anyway I am basically at my wits end. I have no idea what to do for him and I am scared for him. He's looking pretty bad tonight. Do you think I should try to assist feed him at this point or wait until tomorrow or wait to talk to the emergency vet? I just don't know what to do. Any advice at all would be much appreciated! 

Wow..poor baby. I have had to assist feed before but mostly in cats and kittens that had respiratory infection and clogged up nose. If the diarrhea and nausea is gone and she gave him fluids SQ I might try assist feeding some cooked deboned chicken or broth from the chicken (not a can too much salt). He gets both liquids and some protein that way, only small amounts see how he does. Get him back to vet asap...Keep us updated.

I'm really sorry your kitty isn't feeling well.

I don't know if I'm gonna be much help but I've read here on TCS people suggest offering cooked chicken breast or chicken or turkey baby food (the ones with just meat and no veggies or anything else in it) to the cats with digestive issues or to entice them to eat. Try offering it from your hand or finger, maybe he'll eat it this way. If not, I would syringe feed the baby food. 

I hope your kitty will get better soon!

Do you have any jars of baby food such as the plain chicken or turkey? Kitties that won't eat cat food will sometimes find that very palatable and it helps get them to eat on their own. I try to have several jars on hand just in case.

You mentioned that he had been on laxatives but off of them with normal bowel movements. Did he have one in the past couple of days? My cat Booberry who is on cisapride won't eat until he goes to the litter box. And if he hasn't gone for a couple of days, he's not interested in food until he's been able to go.

The emergency vet might be able to offer you more advice as to why he is lethargic and so sick given his blood test results. But it may be that he feels queasy right now because of the medication on an empty tummy.  See if your vet can get you a couple of cans of Hills A/D. It's palatable to cats not eager to eat and its high calorie--food for urgent care. It's something that is often good for cats to get them used to eating again after a period of not eating.

Thank you so much for your replies everyone. I just got off the phone with the emergency vet and she also warned me against "force feeding" with a syringe because it can create an aversion to food and make things even worse. That being said, she also told me that if he's a cooperative cat I can try to give him a tiny bit of food and see if he will take it (as long as I am not forcing it) and she did recommend a different type of food than his normal stuff or baby food because he may have developed an aversion to his normal food after all that vomiting. Unfortunately I don't have any baby food on hand and the stores are all closed here in town, and I am a vegetarian so I don't have any meat in the house to grind up for him either :x But, I will try to put some of his regular canned food on my finger and see if he will take to that, and first thing tomorrow I will go to the store and get him some baby food or something. 

She also told me that in the grand scheme of things his anorexia hasn't lasted that long and that I shouldn't be too worried about the HL for now. But in the same breath she also said she wasn't sure he'd even make it til Monday. She said it's hard to tell at this point if he will get worse or make a turn around and get better, so to just keep an eye on him for now. I have an appointment with his normal vet on Tuesday afternoon but if I need to I can take him back to the other clinic on Monday when they open, so now all I have to do is get through the rest of today and tomorrow I guess. 

@Laura Mae  The last time he went to the bathroom was last night (about 24 hours ago now I guess) and it was really watery diarrhea, but he's also not eaten anything so I figured he might just not have to go. Usually though, this guy eats a ton and has always had a very big appetite regardless of bowel movements.  And thanks for the advice about Hills A/D I will be sure to ask the vet about that. 

He has been up and about a little bit the last hour or so, watching out the window and walking around a bit but still refusing food and water and still moving slow. Anyway I will keep you updated. Thanks so much for your replies and advice. 

I am sorry you are going this over the weekend, that is the worst having to wait for a Monday or Tue vet appt! I just wanted to tell you that I did read somewhere to be sure when you feed cats baby food that it doesn't have onions in it so check the ingredients. I hope your cat gets better soon!!

I just wanted to say thank you again everyone for your replies and advice. Last night I was able to get him to lick a little juice from the cat food can off my finger but that was it. But, I went to the store this morning and bought some baby food (it only has turkey, water, and cornstarch in it... is cornstarch okay to feed to cats?). Anyway he ate about 1/3 of the jar all on his own and he even drink a little water this morning so that's a HUGE improvement. But as this is his first time eating since Thursday, does anyone know how much food should I offer him and how often should I offer it? I don't want him to eat so much that he vomits again And the anti nausea meds they gave him yesterday will be wearing off right about now so it's hard to tell if he's going to be okay later on. Sorry, so many questions... but *over protective over worrying cat mom* what can one do? lol 

SweetieBelle said:

 
I just wanted to say thank you again everyone for your replies and advice. Last night I was able to get him to lick a little juice from the cat food can off my finger but that was it. But, I went to the store this morning and bought some baby food (it only has turkey, water, and cornstarch in it... is cornstarch okay to feed to cats?). Anyway he ate about 1/3 of the jar all on his own and he even drink a little water this morning so that's a HUGE improvement. But as this is his first time eating since Thursday, does anyone know how much food should I offer him and how often should I offer it? I don't want him to eat so much that he vomits again And the anti nausea meds they gave him yesterday will be wearing off right about now so it's hard to tell if he's going to be okay later on. Sorry, so many questions... but *over protective over worrying cat mom* what can one do? lol 

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Yay!  I'd feed him if he asks for food.  The cornstarch is okay. Maybe having some food in his tummy will decrease the acids that lead to the nausea and he won't throw up again. If he asks for food I'd give him the rest of the jar.

SweetieBelle said:

 
I just wanted to say thank you again everyone for your replies and advice. Last night I was able to get him to lick a little juice from the cat food can off my finger but that was it. But, I went to the store this morning and bought some baby food (it only has turkey, water, and cornstarch in it... is cornstarch okay to feed to cats?). Anyway he ate about 1/3 of the jar all on his own and he even drink a little water this morning so that's a HUGE improvement. But as this is his first time eating since Thursday, does anyone know how much food should I offer him and how often should I offer it? I don't want him to eat so much that he vomits again And the anti nausea meds they gave him yesterday will be wearing off right about now so it's hard to tell if he's going to be okay later on. Sorry, so many questions... but *over protective over worrying cat mom* what can one do? lol 

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I'm so glad to hear your kitty is eating and drinking! This is great news! 

How is your cat? What did the vet say today?

Nebs said:

 
How is your cat? What did the vet say today?

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Zico is doing much better! He's still not eating as much as before, but he's probably getting around 75% of his daily calorie needs and he is improving more and more each day. However, he will still only eat baby food and a little bit of canned food that's not his regular brand. He won't touch his regular brand of food but that's okay... I mean he's getting enough regular cat food to keep up with his taurine and other vitamin needs etc and I am slowly weaning him off the baby food since I know it's not good for a long term thing. He's pretty much back to acting like his normal self. He has a lot more energy and hasn't been vomiting or having diarrhea. Although, he hasn't had any bowel movement since Saturday but then he wasn't eating anything so I am not too worried about that just yet. I will keep a close eye on it though.  I actually called the vet this morning to ask if they still wanted to see him because he is doing better, so I wasn't sure if I should bother taking him. He said since he's eating on his own now, to not stress him out more by bringing him in, and to just keep an eye on him over the next few days. I will still bring him in a bit later on though for a check-up, because the other vet had mentioned the possibility of it being something more serious like pancreatitis instead of a virus, so I'd just like him to see his normal vet and maybe get a blood test or something to be sure. 

Anyway, I think we're mostly out of the woods now. It was a long and scary weekend Thank you so much everyone for all your replies and advice. Me and Zico really, really appreciate it!