Cat with gallbladder/liver problems. What is a good food/what should I be looking for in a food?

[VelvetStar]

Hey all! I have a beautiful ten year old feline who we suspect has gallbladder and/or liver issues. My vet started her on antibiotics which helped. Now that I'm out she's not feeling well again. I just found out today that I'm at medium/high risk for the new virus and have possibly been exposed to it. Since I have a sore throat I've decided to stay home out of caution. Even if it's just a cold I don't want to add to the panic.

Meanwhile my kitty isn't happy. She will stare at the food dish for up to an hour and meow at me when I go by. She's taken up vomiting now and then after she eats. Tuna and such doesn't make her sick, so I suspect the food isn't agreeing with her. It's Meow Mix which I now know isn't great for her. I would like to buy her something she can handle off Amazon until I can get her to the vet. But I have no idea what to look for! Maybe sensitive stomach? Should I avoid specific ingredients? Or make sure the food has it? She's drinking just fine so dry food is okay.

Any ideas of something I can order online that she could keep down? She's lost a lot of weight and needs to be plumped back up. I'll have her back to the vet as soon as I'm sure I'm not sharing a nasty virus.

 

[mentat]

I had 2 kitties with "cholangiohepatitis" aka inflammation of the biliary system and liver. Their internist and criticalist at the time (3 years ago) emphasize moisture and bland, low fat diet after we pulled their e-tubes. You can ask your vet to send a prescription to you via email you can use to order veterinary prescription diet, targeting gastrointestinal low or moderate fat nutrition. Oliver, RIP, did very well on Royal Canin Gastrointestinal varieties of tinned and dry. Julian will still get reflux and vomit due to biliary inflammation (cholangitis, cholecystitis per radiologist when last symptomatic and measuring size of his biliary tree) if we don't keep stomach contents consistent every 6-8 hours. For him, as long as it's not too rich (straight up sardines, tuna, ham, beef) and it's moist, he is symptom-free. My friend's liver surgery kitty did well on the Veterinary Pro Plan HP (hepatic) and EN (enteric) diets in the UK; all these Rx feline diets also have St/Ox index, accounting for urine crystal formation and preventing this other common issue to our male kitties. The failure was when we didn't keep one on IV fluids and supportive care with B12, antiemetics, and plasma (only once was this severe) long enough, and had to return to ER within 12 hours; luckily, they didn't "start over" with fees, just emergent admission fee and restarted hospitalization, despite warning us the risk of taking him home is anorexia and dehydration, starting over with ER exam, treatment care plan, and initiating hosp again ($300 additional they could've charged).

The last time my boy was acute and hospitalized, I was too, ironically, with cholangitis myself. My ill health would always affect my critters though; try to prevent their acute ill health by preventing my own, so sensitive to change and stressors. We slept with each other once discharged, post "banana bag" IVF and multitude of injections. Note, I had repeated abdominal ultrasounds and MRIs to effectively treat, while my boy only needed one thorough ultrasound for the radiologist and internist to know what was up have him twisting up his IV line within 8 hrs he was so active and recovered. Veterinary medicine treats multiple species, faster, effectively, in comparison to human medicine, esp waiting for a human medical specialist consult or acute followup.

 

[mentat]

Also, many clinics now have online stores of pharmacy and food supplies; perhaps you can order through your clinic's online store and have shipped after vet approves.

Vomiting is a symptom that must be treated in a gallbladder, bile ducts, or liver disease kitty. While asking your vet about shipping prescription food, inquire about antiemetics such as ondansetron (zofran) and Cerenia. Appetite stimulants are normal when coping with such disease, also, considering her inappetance; check with vet about mirtazapine for this. Since you just had a regimen of antibiotics, they may ship you these or confirm digital prescriptions from online pharmacy since you had recent exam and diagnostics done.

If nausea and anorexia persist, she may still need supportive care and fluid therapy in hospital. We must stay ahead of such symptoms or a cat becomes critical fast as their liver metabolizes body fat to a toxic degree, inducing hepatic lipidosis and liver/bile duct inflammation and compounds dehydration.

If she normally likes wet, canned, tinned food, the added moisture is important while vomiting, inappetant, and/or lethargic. If not going to get prescription food from your vet, Royal Canin Digestive is a good option. Pro Plan Sensitive Skin and Stomach is a second choice, only if she refuses the RC Digestive. But the prescription diets are more palatable and better formula for hepatic and gallbladder patients, especially reduced appetite and symptomatically vomiting patients like your kitty. Autoimmune cholangiopathy is emerging as a common diagnosis in cats that was previously diagnosed as "just IBD" or hepatitis; stress and diet are triggers for it. Discuss this with her vet at that next visit you planned.
Cholangitis/Cholangiohepatitis Syndrome in Cats