Bear is at the vet. He's very sick, liver looks horrible.

[mews2much]

My phone does not like TCS also.
That is why I always post from the shows on fb. the
What time will you be going to vets?

 

[farleyv]

Bear is a beautiful kitty.

You are a strong, caring person for all you do for your guy.

God Bless you and Bear and many

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Hoping and praying for good numbers tomorrow at the Vet.

 

[katkisses]

I will be going sometime after 12pm, they seem less busy in the afternoon. In the mornings you can barely find a parking space, lol.

He is about the same today. He pooped again, I think the pred has him constipated. Going to ask the vet if he needs anything for that.

I just mixed up another batch of a/d & l/d for him, I put a small amount of tuna in it for flavor. Maybe he will like it a little better. As gross as Bears food smells and looks (the l/d is yellowish, ew) the other cats love it. I let them taste some, to see if they would eat it. Apparently it's not as bad as Bear acts like, lol.

Thanks for the well wishes everyone.

 

[mews2much]

What about trying the Univ of North Carolina?
Maybe they would have advice about Bear.

 

[katkisses]

I highly doubt that they would take Care Credit... I don't even have $1 in my pocket right now. BUT! My vets call them all of the time when they are stumped or need info. In fact one fo the vets was on the phone with someone at NC State the last time we were there.

Here is some info about what we think Bear has. The only way to know for sure is liver biopsy, but the vet wants to see if the meds keep working. Bear is pretty weak to go through surgery right now. There is fine needle biopsy where they woudn't have to knock him out, but it is not too good at diagnosing this. The best way is wedge biopsy through surgery so the vet can see the liver and pick the worst parts of the liver to get biopsys from. The vet doesn't reccomend it right now. If the bilirubin is the same tomorrow we will schedule the ultrasound.



Here is the info:

The next most common cause of feline liver failure is “cholangiohepatitis,” which amounts to a bacterial infection and prognosis is generally fair. The other two common causes carry a much poorer outlook so obviously it is important to distinguish them and this can only be done with some sort of tissue sampling of the liver, ideally a biopsy.

The cat in liver failure will require hospitalization, fluid therapy, and some kind of nutritional support (force-feeding, syringe feeding of a liquid diet or whatever is necessary) regardless of the cause of the liver disease.

Antibiotics are helpful in any liver failure case as they help reduce the intestinal bacterial populations (any noxious substances they produce are normally detoxified by the healthy liver but a sick liver will not be so efficient). Antibiotics also clear the liver of invading bacteria, which is what cholangiohepatitis is all about. Expect the cat to require 3-6 months of antibiotics after recovery.

This may seen intuitively inappropriate for a condition that involves a bacterial infection, but some patients simply cannot get better until their immune system is suppressed. Why is this? For many cats, the problem started with Inflammatory Bowel Disease: infiltration of the intestinal lining with inflammatory cells. Immune suppression is the cornerstone of therapy for this condition. Once the immune reaction is suppressed, the lining of the GI tract regains normal thickness and function, the bacterial bloom subsides, the invasion of the liver and pancreas ceases. In some cases, immune suppression is simply needed to relieve the inflammation inherent to cholangiohepatitis. Typical medications include prednisone (or prednisolone depending on how severe the liver failure is). More aggressively, chlorambucil, a chemotherapy drug, is used.

All from here: http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body...hepatitis.html

 

[mews2much]

The link does not work.
I hope he will not need the biopsy.
Do they think he had some kind of infection that is causing it?

 

[katkisses]

It works for me... Can anyone else see if it works for them?

I think I will do the biopsy as a last resort... he would have to fast over night (not good for his problem), there is added risk since he is not healthy, and his levels are still going down so far.

The vet suspects a GI tract infection is what damaged his liver, and that his pancreas is invloved. It's called Cholangiohepatitis and Pancratitis. The liver & pancreas are connected so when ones messes up, the other usually is too. Some cats have to be force fed for months before they eat on their own.

 

[katkisses]

Oh, did you copy and paste the link? If so that is why, click it and it will open in another window.

 

[xocats]

Originally Posted by KatKisses

Oh, did you copy and paste the link? If so that is why, click it and it will open in another window.

The link opened for me...
thanks for sharing the info.
I am keeping Bear in my thoughts.

 

[mews2much]

No I clicked it.

 

[katkisses]

Thanks everyone

I don't know why it won't work... Just google "feline cholangiohepatitis" the first link is the one I got the quotes from.

 

[icklemiss21]

It worked for me but seemed to hang for a bit before it loaded

 

[ut0pia]

Waiting to hear some news about Bear's blood work today
that it's much better!!

 

[mews2much]

I hope bears tests are ok.
There is no update on fb yet.

 

[katkisses]

His levels were a little worse

.......

ALT 573
AMY 1152
TBIL 13.8

His weight was almost the same as last time. He got fluids, and we got some Ursodiol. The vet said Bear is in Liver failure, and the levels do not look good right now but he still has a chance. From what I have read, once a certain % of the live is gone, then their chances of recovery are not so great. My heart is breaking.

He was more yellow today, from the high bilirubin. Took 2 xrays to check for gal stones, he doesn't have any. The vet only charged me for one xray (on purpose).

I just don't understand... Bear is feeling better, he actually washed his face and legs last night, he was even washing his back leg at the vets. He reacts when I talk to him, he begs for lovins after i get done feeding him.

The vet has been trying to get ahold of the ultrasound lady and can't. I am going to call around and see if I can find a vet that can do it, and get a referral or something.

We go back Thrusday for bloodwork.

 

[ut0pia]

I am so sorry for the bad news

Come on Bear please get better
So many of us are thinking of you

 

[mews2much]

Amelia.
Here is what my friend had to say.
Whew! That was some reading. I think you should point out that this Amylase and ALT are BOTH better...the only thing worse is TBIL, which CAN be artificially elevated because of dehydration. If he's not getting water in his body to flush out the bilirubin, it's going to collect inside the body and the TBIL levels will be elevated. I'm not saying that drinking a ton is going to help a lot, but that can be part of the reason why it's higher today and he's acting better than before. That being said:

It sounds like your friend is doing all she can for Bear. Right now, I agree that Pancreatitis/Cholangeohepatits are both very likely. His Amylase levels are elevated, which is to be rather expected. I'll bet that the TBIL is elevated because he's not drinking like he should. Personally, I'd still have him hospitalized on fluids if it were financially possible. That's one of the only things that will bring the TBIL down with gusto...it's a slow battle when the pet is still jaundiced and home. As far as the ALT being elevated, the liver is certainly pissed off but not as bad as it once was! Right now, they're doing all that they can. I can't add a bunch more to recommendations aside from hospitalization on fluids. They might even consider parenteral nutrition because of the severity of the case if the pet starts vomiting again. The main thing right now is getting him to eat and drink like a champion. I agree with the vet, he's in liver failure. The good news is that the liver can take a beating and keep going...it just all depends on how much of the liver is affected and how badly.

If he's feeling pretty good, that's a great sign. She'll just have to stick it out until he either continues to get better or he starts getting worse. There's really nothing more that can be done, he's taking the right medications and supplements. A/D is one of the best foods that can be given to these types of cases (although I think the butter is going a bit overboard and can often lead to vomiting in a cat that has a sensitive stomach. It's a better idea to slowly add it in AFTER the cat has 2-3 days of not vomiting on A/D, at least then the stomach isn't upset).

I'll say a prayer for Bear and cross my fingers. Keep me posted, let me know the turnout

Sami

 

[booktigger]

Sorry that his levels aren't great, but the liver can regenerate, and they can manage quite well with reduced liver function, so hopefully he will turn a corner.

 

[denali]

The values are not bad - it is positive that the ALT (liver value) is not going back up. Did your vet tell you that some cats recover in as little as 2 weeks but that some cats take up to 6-8 weeks to recover from liver disease? Please do not get discouraged. I know it is scary to see his numbers not coming down but if you keep on persisting the way you are I feel they will come down. I hope you can get in for an ultrasound soon. This will be very helpful. It is positive that Bear is more alert. Is Bear dehydrated? If he is then getting fluids into him will be important. Either your vet can administer Sub Q fluids when you bring him in or your vet can set you up to do them at home.

Are you giving both an antibiotic and steroid still? Or just the antibiotic?