Hepatic lipidosis--anyone have experience with tube feeding?

[monkey brewster]

I think the whole family is excited. I still believe the tube hindered how much he could eat of the wet food because he enjoyed two big scoops in one setting after returning from the vet office.
His incision has scabed over and he asked for dinner before his sisters, as well as woke me up at 4am for a snack. I worked from home Today. He is sprawled out asleep next to me now.

Sounds like all good things from you and MyTyson! Monkey ate a full serving of wet food the other day, and I do think she'll eat even better without the tube. It looked like finely shredded gumbo, which she likes better than Fancy Feast's rubbery chunks. I'll have to get more of it -- Never heard of the "Fortis" brand before. I only had to give her one full tube feeding last night because her eating slowed down toward the end of the day. This morning was tough again; with her newfound energy, she refuses to sit down and take her medicine. I mix a crushed pill with water, rinse it down the tube with a tiny bit more water, and wait almost an hour for food. This morning I barely finished the pill before Monkey coughed and vomited up the 1 or 2 cc's I'd just put in. Maybe the water was still a bit cool. Either way, the taste of the medicine in her mouth made her VERY unhappy, and she ran away foaming at the mouth, dragging medicine slobber all over the floor and stairs like she did when I tried to give her antibiotics by mouth before the tube went in. I might ask the vet how much of a huge deal it would be if I mixed her denamarin with food. It might not absorb as well, but she hates that stuff on an empty stomach, and it has to be better than her spitting it up! I'm excited to get more of that Fortis canned food though, and she still gets up in the middle of the night to eat the dry food I leave out in the kitchen. She also batted around her catnip mouse a bit, but mostly rubbed her face on it. Much better spirits. Fingers crossed!

 

[monkey brewster]

Tyson & Joey, Monkey was not far behind you! She gained half a pound last week (almost 8lbs now, still naturally small in stature, but looking full and healthy) and was eating well on her own, getting lots of energy back, and coughing/snoring less. She was also getting much less patient with her tube, partially because it stuck out a good 6 inches and would drag around and get caught on things. I decided we'd ask to get the tube out the following week. This weekend I went to give her a "pill smoothie" via tube and noticed she had pulled it out a bit, at least half an inch. When I called the vet, the doctor saw her progress on the chart from last week and said "bring her in, let's just take it out!"

I was surprised that it was so quick, and that all the holes just close up on their own. Monkey is so happy to be free of her tube and neck wrap, and has been tearing up and down the stairs chasing her catnip mice. There were times when I couldn't picture her ever being herself again, so it's a huge relief to have crazy Monkey back. She's still picky about the food she likes, but she has a very good appetite for dry food and a couple types of wet food. Won't touch any of her old treats, though! Once her incision doesn't look like there are any signs of seeping or chunks of scab that might get rubbed off, I'll let her run around in the back yard again. She is always waiting, sometimes patiently, with her head sticking through the blinds overlooking the back porch.

Thanks for all the kitty support!

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Yay! 

Great news for all these kitties!

 

[mytyson]

Yay! That's great news about Joey and Monkey I am so happy our babies all are recovering so well. Monkey Brewster, I felt the same way about not being able to picture Tyson being his old self again. I feel like now he is even better though I get super happy just seeing him eat from his bowl, after so long of hoping he would. I still need his blood done again to make sure everything is ok.. but I really feel it is. He's a long hair so now I'm just waiting for the hair to grow back in from where the tube was so he looks all normal too He does love getting the shaved area scratched though!

 

[monkey brewster]

Haha, yeah, Monkey looks like a punk rocker on her left side because of the buzzed area on the side of her head and neck. They didn't mention checking her blood work again, but the yellow hue seems totally gone from her skin. We might do a final checkup in a few weeks to make sure she's keeping healthy on paper. Yay kitties! 

 

[danacbus]

Yay! So glad Monkey and Tyson are doing so well! Joey is awesome! He's eating and playing like nothing ever happen to him. I haven't weighed him in awhile because he won't stay still but he looks full and healthy. My friends have mentioned his strut saying it's hard to believe he was ever sick. His incision never seeped or got infected either. It is now completely closed. My vet called to check on him Saturday morning and was very pleased with all the continued progress.

 

[crazyforinfo]

Sorry for asking but why or how did all the kitties get Hepatic Lipidosis in this thread?

We had a cat on the feeding tube last week that we had to put down. He was having bad seizures. He wasn't recovering and we think he had a brain tumor.

I just don't get how a cat can be healthy as can be one week then nothing. All the other cats are ok, minus the IBD kitty.
 

 

[nujay]

Well, I know when Onyx got HL because I went to visit family and I had a friend staying at the house with the cats (I had three at the time) Onyx was very close to me and I think due to separation anxiety he stopped eating bit my friend didn't notice. I got home he looked ill and That is when I brought him to the vet and found he had HL.

 

[danacbus]

Crazyforinfo,

Joey got HL due to pancreatitis. Can't say what caused pancreatitis though. He is doing great. It is hard to believe he was ever sick. I monitor their feedings now to gauge any changes.

So sorry about your kitty. It sounds like a brain tumor would make this all very difficult and HL is definitely difficult on its own...

 

[lulukikimom]

These recovery stories are SO encouraging. My Kiki had a tube put in on Tuesday and were on day 3 at home. She also has a bladder infection. One minute she seems fine, the next she's so listless. I keep checking to make sure she's breathing because I'm so scared for her. Did you guys experience this as well?

 

[lulukikimom]

Kiki passed this morning. The vet did an immediate autopsy and found that her liver was too far gone even though I caught it early. I'm still so happy for those of you who fought this battle and won.

 

[ritz]

Lulukikimom, I'm so sorry for your loss.

 

[monkey brewster]

So sorry about Kiki! It's tough battling two things at once. You can read more from our original posts, but I think Monkey got HP from a little hunger strike she pulled when we bought a new bag of her usual food. Maybe it was a bad batch, maybe she felt sick already and it was a coincidence. She acted totally fine for a couple weeks though, so we thought she was eating the neighbor's food. I think during that time when we didn't take her strike seriously she developed the liver issue. Lesson learned!

 

[danacbus]

Kiki's Mom, I am so sorry for your loss. HL can be difficult especially since there can be another problem that causes it. It sounds like she had liver damage?? Joey did not have any liver damage even though his chemistries were dismal and he was very ill with pancreatitis. Perhaps she had a liver issue that caused HL? Regardless, you loved her with your whole heart and did your best to save her.

 

[jenfrog]

I was so relieved to find this site and thread offering such great advice!

My 11-year-old girl Lia was just diagnosed with hepatic lipidosis on Monday.  So far, all of her blood work levels are showing that nothing else is a problem, so we think that it stems from a hunger strike after we bought a bag of the regular food that she didn't seem to like.  She's always been a fussy, slightly neurotic girl, so I didn't think much of it until I noticed the weight loss and sudden vomiting of bile. 

So far, she's responding well to treatment.  Our vet put her on antibiotics and anti-nausea medicine along with IV fluids right away, and she's gained back almost a pound in the three days she's been there.  She's still not eating by herself, so the vet was syringe-feeding her by mouth at first.  She was doing well with that, but after a re-work of her blood levels the vet wanted to put the feeding tube in to make sure she was getting enough nutrients.  I just got back from seeing her after the surgery - anyone else get all blubbery seeing their kitties at the hospital? 

Right now, it looks like she's going to be there at least until Friday.  Hopefully the feeding tube will help her, although the vet did say that she was very encouraged with Lia's attitude and didn't consider this a setback at all.

(By the way - if anyone lives around Morrison, IL, go see Dr. Blair at the Morrison Vet Clinic.  For real, she's awesome.  I'm half in love with her for the care and concern she's showing for my girl.)

I'm worried about dealing with the feeding tube, because I know it will probably be a slow process, but I'm so glad to find a place like this to get some advice.

 

[denice]

There is nothing difficult about using a feeding tube and I am sure the vet will show you how, they did with me.   It's just a slow process.  I was giving 60 ml four times a day and each feeding took about 20 minutes.

 

[mytyson]

Jenfrog,

I felt the same as you when I found it! I had never heard of HL and my vet did not seem too encouraging at first, so I was pretty scared. This site showed me how common it really is and made me feel so much better! Also, yahoo has an assisted feeding group and I learned great tips for the feeding tube through there. My cat, Tyson, was going through this in November and December and now he is completely back to his normal weight and everything. I loom back at pictures of him during the whole ordeal and it is hard to believe it even happened. Good luck!! It took some time, but having him eat food on his own for the first time made it all more than worth it! I was like a proud mama :-D

 

[lulukikimom]

You can do it!! It will be a lot of work, but you'll get great advice here and soon your baby will be back to normal.

 

[danacbus]

Jenfrog, you can definitely do it if I can! MyTyson, happy to hear your kitty is back to normal!!! Joey is happy and healthy! Our bond is so strong. I can't begin to explain how thankful I am for all your support.

Jenfrog, slow is key for tube feeding. After a while Lia will seem to enjoy it. Don't freak out. This is because she knows some how her belly is getting full and you're making it happen. She will desire to feed herself again after her liver doesn't make her nauseous anymore.

Good luck!!

 

[mytyson]

I'm glad Joey is great as well!! The feedings deff get easier as they become routine. Tyson would purr which made me feel much better too The whole ordeal made me even more of a cat lady than I already was haha