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  #1  
Old May 26th, 2009, 10:33 AM
nljnky nljnky is offline
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I don't know what to do

Hi,
I'm hoping that some of you cat experts can give me some insight.

A little history first. My cat Chloe is 7.5 yrs old. About 1.5 yrs ago she had stopped eating and developed fatty liver disease. My vet had me take her for an ultra sound. It was fairly advanced, the ultra sound vet saw no cancer or anything. He mentioned that her bowel was alittle inflamed.

My vet was able to force feed her by puting a tube down her throat, so I opted not to have a feeding tube surgically put in. While in the hosp., she caught a nasty URI, and we almost lost her. But, she did recover, and a month later I brought her home.

All has been well for the last 1.5 yrs. I have transistion all 4 of my cats to quality wet food after reading all the advice here. It was not easy, but they were all doing great on the wet food.

Last week Chloe was not eating very much. I took her to the vet, her vet was not available, so I had to see another one who is in the same office. She did sub Q's, and b vitamins. Did a full blood and urine draws for the lab.
She sent me home with an appatite stimulant.

She called with the results on Monday. Everything was normal but her liver functions. I wish I had the numbers, but I don't. We admited her to be force fed and beefed up. She was so miserable there, attacking the girls, not eating, vomiting....the whole bit. They kept her for 4 days. I brought her home on friday, the vet hoping that she would be happier here and eat.

All was great at first, she was eating treats in the car on the way home. She ate fine for 2 to 3 days.
But has gone down hill from there. Not eating at all today. I can not force feed her, I wish I could be more forceful, but can't.

I called to day to readmit her, the vet wants to talk to me about taking her to a special clinic, and having another ultra sound done.
I read that this fatty liver rarely recurs. Any thoughts on what could be going on.

I am devistated. I just don't want to put her through all this stress and upset if the end result is not promising.

I appreciate any opinions you could offer me.

Thank you
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  #2  
Old May 26th, 2009, 10:39 AM
Jim Hall Jim Hall is offline
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ok maybe an off day i would give her 24 hrs to see if she gets hungry
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  #3  
Old May 26th, 2009, 11:12 AM
nljnky nljnky is offline
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Thank you for responding. I have an appointment with the vet tomorrow at 11:00. I just got her to eat about 1/4 of a 3oz can off my finger. I'll keep trying.Name:  001.jpg
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Old May 26th, 2009, 11:20 AM
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sugarcatmom sugarcatmom is offline
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Oy, what a tough situation. What was the appetite stimulant that the vets gave you? Is it having no effect? There is some good info on this site on feline anorexia: http://www.assistfeed.com/FelineAnorexia.htm and this Yahoo group is excellent: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/F...isted-Feeding/

An ultrasound would probably be a good idea at this point to see what else might be going on. Have you tried offering her different foods, or making her usual food more enticing? Plain meat baby food (no onions) can work, tuna/salmon/sardines, plain yogurt, deli meat, crumbling treats on top of wet food, whatever it takes. Will she eat her old dry food again?

Fatty liver actually isn't that rare in cats. I had a cat develop it after he stopped eating from being on antibiotics. He needed a feeding tube for 3 months but fully recovered. Don't be afraid of having a feeding tube put in if necessary - it's way less stressful than forced feeding and can be a total life-saver. Here is some info on that: http://www.catinfo.org/feedingtubes.htm
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Old May 26th, 2009, 11:52 AM
nljnky nljnky is offline
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She gave me Cyproheptadine transdermal. It makes her foam at the mouth a little a couple hours after giving it to her. That worries me.
I also have prednisonole to give her, but I havnt been able to get it in her today.:sad:
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Old May 26th, 2009, 12:23 PM
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sugarcatmom sugarcatmom is offline
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There's a better appetite stimulant called mirtazapine that you only need to give every 3 days, and it also suppresses nausea. I'd be cautious about the prednisone if fatty liver is a possibility.
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Old May 26th, 2009, 12:41 PM
nljnky nljnky is offline
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Thank you, I'll ask her about the mirtazapine.
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Old May 28th, 2009, 12:15 AM
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Maybe a biopsy of her intestinal tract would give you more insight as to what's going on. Good luck.
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Old May 29th, 2009, 08:10 AM
nljnky nljnky is offline
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SCM,
Thank you for suggesting the mirtazapine. The Vet gave me the script for it. It is working. Chloe is eating and already looking so much better. She is complaining that I don't open the cans fast enough, just like old times.
I canceled the appt with the internist for now. When she is feeling better, my Vet and I will work to find out what causes her to stop eating in the first place.
I just hope the eating continues.....
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Old May 29th, 2009, 10:44 AM
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sugarcatmom sugarcatmom is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nljnky View Post
Chloe is eating and already looking so much better.
Awesome!!! I'm so relieved to hear that.
Keep us updated on how she's doing.
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Old June 1st, 2009, 03:17 AM
BeckleysMom BeckleysMom is offline
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How's it going?

Any update? Still on the mend and eating well we hope....
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  #12  
Old June 1st, 2009, 06:21 AM
nljnky nljnky is offline
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She is eating, but only junk food. I have to give her her old dry and meow mix wholesome goodness, sheba, and fancy feast with the cheddar sauce. But, I am so happy that she's eating. Hopefully I will be able to get her back on better food in the future.

Also, she has gained 6 oz. That was after she ate, but it is still definately a gain..
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Old June 1st, 2009, 07:47 AM
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That is good news
Chloe is a beautiful kitty,hopefully down the road you can get her on better food,but for now,whatever she eats is good.
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Old June 6th, 2009, 12:52 AM
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Tundra_Queen Tundra_Queen is offline
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Hi
I'm so glad she is eating!! Did the vet check for Inflammed bowel disease? When our cat Wilbur got so sick a few years ago and wasn't eating he was in the hospital for weeks as the vets tried to figure out what was wrong. He lost so much weight and they finally figured it might be Irritated or inflammed bowel disease. They put him on tranquiller and he ate like crazy but of course he was too wobbly and I was scared he's fall and hurt himself, so they gave him predizone and that worked.

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  #15  
Old June 6th, 2009, 05:25 AM
nljnky nljnky is offline
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She is eating great now. Even the food I want her to eat.
I have to take her to the vet in a couple weeks. Then we will start the testing to see if they can figure out what causes this to happen.

I am happy that this episode didn't get nearly as bad as the last time. I learned a valuable lesson on free feeding at the expense of my sweet kittie. Never again. I watch every cat every day to make sure they are eating.
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