Sweet Max Just Diagnosed With Fatty Liver....looking For Tips / Advice / Support.

[maxleocharlie]

Hi There! Newbie here, bear with me. My 3.5 yr old cat was just diagnosed Tuesday( the 26th ) with fatty liver. She "thinks" the underlying cause might have been an infection and potentially the change of food we did for an older cat. ( she hasn't ruled out pancreatitis ). He was in hospital Tuesday and Wed( home Thursday afternoon ). He was on IV, meds, etc. She sent him home since fever was down and he was eating wet food on his own. ( I don't think much, I asked and it wasn't written ). We weren't given many directives, I think vet felt positive since he was eating a bit albeit small. He came home with an appetite stimulant, antibiotics, and nausea meds. ( Mirtazapine and Cerenia ). I knew from research feeding / eating was THE most important thing, and, it seemed the tube was recommended most. I questioned vet and her response was "we arent there yet", she felt more positive because he was eating a bit. So, first day...he just nibbled...maybe 15ml of food. I knew we had to get something in him so we went and got recovery food and large feeding syringe. He still nibbles a very small amount of wet food. ( very small ). He cleans himself, purrs when patted, uses litter to urinate a couple of times a day. He's 18lbs, was a chubby 21, probably should be 14-15....so far today got 165ml into him. I know he needs more....he's still not himself, sleeping lots...( made an appt for Tues to question vet ). Any tips, advice, support, help, please! I feel like he should have the tube....any success stories with syringe feeding? TY!

 

[orange&white]

Sorry to hear about Max. The first bit of support I can share up front is that cats who survive hepatic lipidosis almost never get it a second time. So it is a very good sign he is eating. You got him in before he became severely dehydrated so the vet was able to get fluids and nutrients into him before it became critical. That's very good.

I syringe fed a cat for many weeks through hepatic lipidosis and was able to get him to eat enough that a feeding tube was never required. It was very difficult though, some days more difficult on me than on the cat it seems, as I got very exhausted keeping up the feeding schedule. He did pull through. He was a little over 3 years when he got sick, and he lived to be almost 12 years. He never had fatty liver disease a second time.

I'm sure others will chime in with support. We're here for you and Max.

 

[denice]

My Patches had fatty liver. He was eating nothing so he did have the feeding tube put in. He was on Hill's A/d, the Royal Canin version is called Recovery. Ideally if you can get a complete 5.5 ounce can in him each day that would be ideal. I would definitely try to get at least 3/4 can each day. Frequent small meals if possible is the best way to go.

 

[maxleocharlie]

Thank you both! This is what I needed. ( we will still go to vet on Tuesday of course, we just needed a bit of extra support ). He's on the RC Recovery, I did get an entire can in him yesterday, plus the small amount he ate. He ate on his own a couple of times this am as well, very tiny amounts but he still has interest, scratching around bowl like he used to do when he really liked something. I was nervous we would create the food aversion with syringe feeding. It was a catch 22....holding off syringe feeding to see if he eats, or syringe feeding because we know feeding / eating is top priority. It's like a chess game.( I open about 3-4 can to tempt him...lol ). I think I forgot to add, we are using small doses of Milk Thistle as well. And, looking into SAMe, B-12, etc. ( we will ask Dr). I also give him "drinks" of water after feedings with a tiny syringe. He really does not seem to mind the feedings too much, nor seem too traumatized or stressed. I on the other hand feel like a torturer, lol. I apologize constantly to him. His ears are no longer hot( as of yesterday ) so that's another good sign. Thank you for helping me cheer for baby Max( as we call him ).

 

[maxleocharlie]

Me again, Update! So, since I have three cats it's hard to monitor who eats what. I had been wondering if he got up at night and ate when I didn't see. ( at vet they said he ate at night ). So, I shut him in my sons room with a feast of food( cheap and expensive ). ( litter, bed, water ). I came back a few minutes later and he had definitely eaten! I brought in another type of canned( less expensive ) food and he ate more! YIPPEE!!!!! I know we are not out of the woods yet but I def think it's a good sign. I gave him the antibiotics and didn't give the "early" first syringe feeding. ( I think he got in at least 35 ml ). So, I'll watch and if I don't see him eat give a syringe in a few hours.

 

[orange&white]

I think putting him in your son's room when you can't supervise which cat is eating the food is a great idea. It really is good that he is eating something on his own. My little cat woke up one day acting like he forgot how to eat and he didn't eat a single bite voluntarily until weeks later when he woke up one day with a full appetite acting like nothing ever went wrong.

Max is doing great. Sounds like he's going to pull through this with flying colors!

 

[Shar371]

Agree with the others, as long as he's eating, you're on solid ground. However, I've got an issue with vets saying, "we just aren't there yet," with regards to a feeding tube, or any kind of feeding guidance (It's a sore spot mainly because that's how my Midnight died...13 days without food intake, and I was advised AGAINST syringe/assist feeding). I'd try to wrestle an answer from your vet about how much he needs to eat to recover, and how to prevent any kind of re-feeding syndrome (too many calories, too fast, which can also be stressful).

I've also heard about different supplements that might be helpful in fatty liver, but it all rides on what the lab values say and who the vet is. Don't know what your vet has said, but mine advised for a timeline (Cerenia, wait at least thirty minutes, then mirtazapine) to prevent some kind of drug interaction (they were pretty vague)

 

[lulubaby00]

My cat had fatty liver and at the same time had undiagnosed diabetes with ketoacidosis. Major complications going on. luckily I had an amazing cat specialist Vet who gave me the following procedure which ended up saving my cats life. It works and she never had fatty liver again:

1. syringe feed the cat AT LEAST a 5.5 oz can of food throughout theday (I fed A/D mixed slightly heatedand mixed with water).

The next items were what my vet told me to mix into her feedings. They are human supplements that you can buy at a health food store. They help with bile conjugation and support the liver:

2. L- taurine (not regular taurine)-500 mg tablets- give one half tablet crushed and put into food once daily

3. L-carnitine (not regular carnitine)-250 mg capsules- open capsule and put entire contents into one feeding per day

4. vitamin E- 200 iu liquid caps- poke with a pin and squeeze 1/4 of the cap into one food per day (toomuch vitamin e is bad for cats so do not give more than this)

I am not a doctor and am not giving medical advise. I'm just sharingwhat worked for my cat. After 8 long weeks, she went back to the vet and her liver values were fullyrecovered and normal! I hope that this information helps someone else who perhaps cannot afford to go the feeding tube route.