My cat has been diagnosed with Cholangitis/Cholangiohepatitis

[mylittlebella]

Hi everyone just an updare on Bella.she turned 9 this year still battling bouts of this disease but with careful monitorung and the occasional 3 month dose of clavamox she is doing ok. She has been on usidiol now for about 3 years and has developed a slight itching on her hind quarter she will gromm herself there constantly. I also have her on denemarin most importantly is remaining consistent with her meds not forgetting doses. My heart still breaks when she has flareups or vomits its heart wrenching. She is maintaining her weight.. Grooming is normal and i help to keep her brushed and wipped down she seems to like this.
She does nap for long houss and has plently of beds and down blankets to nest in.. She does not play as much but occasionally gets that spark to chase her toys and balls.
Hope all is well with everyone here Happy New Year 2016!

 

[pushylady]

How nice to get a positive update!
I hope Bella continues to do well for a long time to come.
Happy New Year!

 

[josiegirl]

MyLittleBella,

I am so heartened to hear that she is still with you.  I just received the devastating news that my 17 year-old cat, Moses, has cholangiohepatitis and liver disease.  (Aren't they basically the same thing?)  I have been pretty angry about the previous vet I visited, though. 

About a couple of weeks ago, Moses was having trouble going poo and went on my stove.  At first, I was concerned, as he seemed to be losing weight. But I just figured it was because he was put on a rotational diet of raw, lightly cooked, and wet food diet, with a little low-carb dry food sprinkled on it during the afternoon feeding. And then he went in the box afterward so I chalked it up to him being mad at me for not giving in to his food demands.  He's always been a little constipated but some days he does hard stools and other days it's nice and long.

  On Friday, he was straining in his litter box without producing anything.  By Saturday afternoon he was sluggish.  Of course, this was Labor Day weekend and vet clinics were closed.  Since I didn't want to spend a crazy amount of money at the EVet and didn't think his situation was dire I made an appointment to see the vet at the Petco pet store for Sunday afternoon. He then went poo and started acting normal again.

 But then the next morning I noticed his urine was deep yellow and maybe slightly orange, which is abnormal for him.  He also seemed to look a little dehydrated.  I brought  my concerns to the Petco vet  about his deep-colored urine and was brushed off.  He told me it was normal, that he was a 17 year old cat who looked really good for his age.  About the dehydration?  No, he said.  He's not really dehydrated.  That was a little odd to me so I asked if he could give him a small amount of fluids just in case.  He did. I had told him about the poop incidents and asked him to palpate his tummy to see if he was backed up.  Now, I am a little put off that I had to ask him.  The entire time he talked a lot about what cats his age go through and how they're just getting old.  Not one time did he examine my cat until I asked him to feel his stomach.  Then he said it seems there isn't much stool in there at all.  So, I felt a little better.  And Moses was acting his normal, playful self at the vet and not acting sick at all.  I was encouraged, especially after he said he wouldn't be surprised if Moe made it to 20 years old!  When I took him home he didn't want to eat or drink, probably because of the fluids so I wasn't too concerned.

Then Monday came, Labor Day.  That afternoon he started acting sluggish and went off his food.  His urine was turning a little darker.  Tuesday morning I made a vet appt with a new vet because, by then, I was really concerned.(And I don't really care for my regular vet) He wasn't vomiting and was drinking water again but he would take a couple licks of food and then jerk away like it hurt him to eat.  Something was wrong.  He was still cleaning himself and that was when I caught something weird about his tongue yesterday morning.  It seemed to be slightly yellow underneath.  OMG, was he starting to get jaundiced?!

That was yesterday. The new vet looked at his tongue, saw what I was talking about, and  proceeded to check him elsewhere.  He then agreed he was showing the early signs of jaundice.  They took blood and did a urinalysis.  I brought in my own urine sample and he agreed it was not normal at all.  The tests came back with cholangialhepatitis and liver disease.  He was put on Clavamox  antibiotic to fight the infection and Prednisolone for the liver disease.  Says it's mostly bacterial infection, as he didn't feel any tumor.  So we're hopeful.  His results weren't catastrophically high but he's still guarded on the outcome.  He has two weeks to improve and if he isn't better then I need to consider what my options are. I started to blame myself but he assured me it wasn't because he stopped eating.  He got it from an infection.  We just don't know HOW he contracted a bacterial infection.  Was is something he ate? 

I'm very happy to see your kitty is still hanging in there and it gives me hope that Moe will lick the infection and get better, even though he'll always have the disease.  He's a fighter, just like Bella.  He has had a couple of serious illnesses in the past and has pulled through each time.  I was able to force-feed a full syringe of wet food last night. And he is very easy-going when it comes to taking pills.  I just open his mouth and drop them in. He lets me do it without fuss.

But I am furious with my experience with the vet at Petco.  How could he have missed such an obvious sign of infection?!  I told him about the urine color and he totally brushed it off!  Now I am very concerned about other people going to this horrible vet!