Black's Mystery Liver affliction

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zerovector

zerovector

Member Since 2022
Previous thread
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/black-may-be-approaching-end-opinions-on-labs.267654/

Starting a new thread. Today, he had 2 cans of weruva and 1/2 of a pork chop. He pooped (miralax kicked in) and peed. Some notes -

I know that when you have liver disfunction, your poop is often pale - his is not, it's a dark brown.

He's lost .3 lbs since the last time I weighed him. So he's gone down from 6.4 to 6.1lbs.

Other than that, his behavior is normal. Stalking me for food (when I did his 3 am curve, he decided to ask for food) He is aggressively food motived, still ambulatory but seems not so sure footed, which I think is from the muscle wasting. I will be making an appointment with a third vet tomorrow, and hopefully they are more curious about what's afflicting him than the last two.
 
Where do you live, out of curiosity? I fell into a rabbit hole reading vet papers about liver issues, and one option was geographically specific to tropical or subtropical areas (liver fluke).
 
Virginie said:
Where do you live, out of curiosity? I fell into a rabbit hole reading vet papers about liver issues, and one option was geographically specific to tropical or subtropical areas (liver fluke).
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I live in Los Angeles. He's been an indoor cat his whole life but anything is possible.
 
Seems unlikely he could find a lizard or a snail to eat as an indoor cat in LA, but then again when I lived there, my cats caught and ate a bird off my third floor balcony and got salmonella… two of them got seriously ill and had to spend the night at ER vet :confused:
 
The closest thing in that guide that would match his presentation is Lymphocytic-plasmacytic and lymphocytic cholangitis.
 
zerovector said:
Previous thread
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/black-may-be-approaching-end-opinions-on-labs.267654/

Starting a new thread. Today, he had 2 cans of weruva and 1/2 of a pork chop. He pooped (miralax kicked in) and peed. Some notes -

I know that when you have liver disfunction, your poop is often pale - his is not, it's a dark brown.

He's lost .3 lbs since the last time I weighed him. So he's gone down from 6.4 to 6.1lbs.

Other than that, his behavior is normal. Stalking me for food (when I did his 3 am curve, he decided to ask for food) He is aggressively food motived, still ambulatory but seems not so sure footed, which I think is from the muscle wasting. I will be making an appointment with a third vet tomorrow, and hopefully they are more curious about what's afflicting him than the last two.
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Rooting for Black!
 
Finally saw a new vet today. This vet was way more compassionate, and interested in finding out what is wrong with him. Bloodwork will come back tomorrow, but what they saw on the ultrasound was that his liver didn't look the way it should (she is not an internist, we're going to have a follow up with a specialist who will also do a liver biopsy) and that she noticed a thickening of the bowels. I'll find out more in the following days.
 
He's been struggling to pass something for 40 minutes and it's at best "crowning". I don't know how to help him.
 
zerovector said:
He's been struggling to pass something for 40 minutes and it's at best "crowning". I don't know how to help him.
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I dont specifically know what will help him. I haven had much luck when my cat had the same problem. Im sorry he is struggling. If it seems dangerous, perhaps another post with a question mark or 911?
 
I have been in this awful position before, and what helped for us (although Wicket hated it) was paper towels wetted with warm water pressed to the butt to try to soften the poop, and also applying pressure through the paper towels to try to help the stuck piece out.
 
Lando demando said:
I dont specifically know what will help him. I haven had much luck when my cat had the same problem. Im sorry he is struggling. If it seems dangerous, perhaps another post with a question mark or 911?
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when does this become "dangerous"? he's done this before but eventually passes, this is the longest it's gone.
 
Virginie said:
I have been in this awful position before, and what helped for us (although Wicket hated it) was paper towels wetted with warm water pressed to the butt to try to soften the poop, and also applying pressure through the paper towels to try to help the stuck piece out.
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Haha ive done the same thing, but i doubted that it was correct. So yes i have done that
 
Virginie said:
I have been in this awful position before, and what helped for us (although Wicket hated it) was paper towels wetted with warm water pressed to the butt to try to soften the poop, and also applying pressure through the paper towels to try to help the stuck piece out.
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I'll do more of that I've done that a few times already
 
zerovector said:
when does this become "dangerous"? he's done this before but eventually passes, this is the longest it's gone.
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I have asked myself the same question before… seems so uncomfortable but in the end it has always come out. It’s pretty traumatizing to witness (though not nearly as bad as for our poor struggling kitties), so I have resorted to a multi-solution approach: high fiber treats, miralax daily, pumpkin purée daily, adding tons of water to his food, giving Smooth BM Gold drops… it’s exhausting that this is what it takes for him to poop normally.
 
Virginie said:
I have asked myself the same question before… seems so uncomfortable but in the end it has always come out. It’s pretty traumatizing to witness (though not nearly as bad as for our poor struggling kitties), so I have resorted to a multi-solution approach: high fiber treats, miralax daily, pumpkin purée daily, adding tons of water to his food, giving Smooth BM Gold drops… it’s exhausting that this is what it takes for him to poop normally.
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The vet also gave me lactulose...can you use that AND miralax? the miralax on it's own does nothing it seems.
 
What food does Black eat? Your signature says Royal Canin, I’m assuming canned? Is raw out of the question for him because of CKD? I seem to remember you live in California, if so you might have access to Wild Coast Raw - their formula has a good amount of psyllium husk in it, and some of their flavors are bone-free (use eggshells instead). Wicket poops a lot easier on that food, but he is a picky monster, so I have to rotate a lot.
 
Virginie said:
What food does Black eat? Your signature says Royal Canin, I’m assuming canned? Is raw out of the question for him because of CKD? I seem to remember you live in California, if so you might have access to Wild Coast Raw - their formula has a good amount of psyllium husk in it, and some of their flavors are bone-free (use eggshells instead). Wicket poops a lot easier on that food, but he is a picky monster, so I have to rotate a lot.
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He eats Weruva now, he did boiled chicken with ezcomplete but he no longer wants that. He's been off of Royal for a few months now.
 
zerovector said:
He eats Weruva now, he did boiled chicken with ezcomplete but he no longer wants that. He's been off of Royal for a few months now.
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If you’re open to raw, check out Wild Coast and Lotus next time you’re at the store. I believe both have flavors that don’t use bone, have more psyllium than other brands, and no veggies.
 
I put some gloves on and tried to stimulate - a little pebble (the size of a pea) came out, but the larger mass seems quite big, i can see why he's struggling to move it
 
Poor baby :( - at least the new vet gave him fluids which is supposed to help. Im assuming if the vet felt Blacks abdomen and it felt dangerous, they ( the vet) may have suggested an enema. Crossing my fingers for something to happen soon
 
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He hasn't, he's sleeping. I tried to help and what I felt as a massive ball, which is why I think he's having such a hard time.
 
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