WhKnight
July 21st, 2005, 08:14 PM
Some of you kind folks may remember my cat, Maya, and how she lost her appetite at the beginning of June right after having her rabies shot. Various brief rounds of Prednisone didn't seem to help, and after eating for a short period, she stopped and began to go downhill again. When I took her to the vet on June 28, she had lost 2 lbs...20% of her body weight...and her liver enzymes were up over 200. Needless to say, I was terrified. I started syringe feeding her to get something into her, and after the 4th of July weekend, I took the week off work to find out what the heck was wrong and see if we could get her turned around.
I took her to my old vet for a second opinion, then off we went to the abdominal specialist for an ultrasound and a quick needle biopsy of her liver. The good news was that they found no obvious signs of cancer (I was so relieved), and he thought she probably had some irritable bowel disease that had been kicked off by the rabies shot. He also said that she was on the verge of fatty liver disease but wasn't quite there. I told him that I was syringe feeding her and she seemed to be perking up a little; we both agreed to forego the feeding tube for the time being if she would take enough calories by mouth.
I'm happy to report that after 20 days and countless cans of high-calorie cat food, Maya has gone from just under 8 lbs. to 8 lbs. 13 oz. :D
Her liver enzymes were still around 200 last Monday, but had gone down slightly from the week before. We're both exhausted--her from having a constantly full belly and me from getting up at 5:30 to feed her before I go to work and then running home to do it at lunch. Sometimes I feel like that guy in the Dunkin' Donuts commercial who kept staggering out of bed saying, "It's time to make the donuts," only my refrain is, "It's time to feed the kitty." But it has been so worth it. My hometown vet said she's surprised she's gaining weight on oral feeding, but I can't imagine she'd be able to take any more in her tummy with a feeding tube. She's so sweet tempered that she cooperates most of the time and only spits a little out.
Once her liver enzymes are back to normal (or at least a lot closer), I'll start weaning her off the syringe feedings. I'll be very grateful when that day comes, but for now, I'm just glad she's on the right track.
WhKnight
I took her to my old vet for a second opinion, then off we went to the abdominal specialist for an ultrasound and a quick needle biopsy of her liver. The good news was that they found no obvious signs of cancer (I was so relieved), and he thought she probably had some irritable bowel disease that had been kicked off by the rabies shot. He also said that she was on the verge of fatty liver disease but wasn't quite there. I told him that I was syringe feeding her and she seemed to be perking up a little; we both agreed to forego the feeding tube for the time being if she would take enough calories by mouth.
I'm happy to report that after 20 days and countless cans of high-calorie cat food, Maya has gone from just under 8 lbs. to 8 lbs. 13 oz. :D
Her liver enzymes were still around 200 last Monday, but had gone down slightly from the week before. We're both exhausted--her from having a constantly full belly and me from getting up at 5:30 to feed her before I go to work and then running home to do it at lunch. Sometimes I feel like that guy in the Dunkin' Donuts commercial who kept staggering out of bed saying, "It's time to make the donuts," only my refrain is, "It's time to feed the kitty." But it has been so worth it. My hometown vet said she's surprised she's gaining weight on oral feeding, but I can't imagine she'd be able to take any more in her tummy with a feeding tube. She's so sweet tempered that she cooperates most of the time and only spits a little out.
Once her liver enzymes are back to normal (or at least a lot closer), I'll start weaning her off the syringe feedings. I'll be very grateful when that day comes, but for now, I'm just glad she's on the right track.
WhKnight