7/5 Jake AMPS 103 Advice about Liver Failure please

Status
Not open for further replies.
Lydia & Sid & Jake(GA)

Lydia & Sid & Jake(GA)

Member Since 2010
Jake is still the same - but at least not knocking on heaven's door like he was last week. He is still very weak and yellow but showing a tiny bit of energy. Last night he wanted out on the patio so we took a little walk outside and we sat together in the flower garden for awhile. He even tried to nibble a little grass. He will walk all the way down to the basement to lay on the couch down there but he won't walk all the way to the litter box (closer than the basement) and chooses to pee in the dining room so I have to watch him and help him go in the right place!
Does anyone have experience with liver failure? The vet told me that it could take weeks for Jake to get better. I've also been told that once cats are yellow, they don't recover. This is my experience with a previous civvie. Any advice is appreciated. Jake is currently exclusively syringe fed 1 can per day - has been A/D but tonight I'm switching to Evo and/or Eagle Pack Holistic Chicken/Duck. He is on Baytril for a fever, fluid therapy, and prednisolone. I opted to take him off the ovoban because I didn't feel it was helping and wasn't essential to his recovery.


last condo: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=18860
 
(((Lydia)))

I'm afraid I'm no help with liver failure, but I'd suggest cross posting this to the Health forum - to get you more feedback on it.

Sending my prayers and healing vines for (((Jake))) and hoping for the best.
 
((((Lydia)))) all I know about liver failure is that he needs food food and more food. Have you considered getting a feeding tube? It sounds like you are successfully syringe feeding now, but a feeding tube might make it easier in the long run. There are some liver support drugs available too and I know there are others here who are using them. Lucy's liver was in bad shape after her hepatic lipidosis, but I'm lucky that she recovered without much help from me (because I didn't know enough then to ask questions). Lots of food, as often as you can get it into him.
 
The vet did mention a feeding tube twice. He really feels that's what I should do because it will make it easier to give him food and meds, but Jake seems very weak for that. I'm afraid for the anesthesia. I will reconsider it though.
 
Lydia & Jake said:
The vet did mention a feeding tube twice. He really feels that's what I should do because it will make it easier to give him food and meds, but Jake seems very weak for that. I'm afraid for the anesthesia. I will reconsider it though.
Click to expand...

Hi Lydia,
when you say liver failure, do you mean hepatic lipidosis? That's what Cosmo had, over 2 years ago, along with DKA.
We did do the feeding tube (an e-tube), which was stressful, but life-saving, I think. At that point, the vet and even Jojo said to feed him whatever he would eat. The goal was to get him interested in eating and to get as many calories into Cosmo as possible.

I had one of those mini-choppers, which I would use to help puree food more. But we actually used clinicare (ensure for cats), which is super high in carbs. We were also on flagyl, denosyl, remeron (mirtazapine), L-Carnitine, and some other stuff. It took over 2 months for Cosmo to completely recover, and it was very intensive care (feeding him 4x per day for 3 weeks, then 3x per day for a week, then 2x per day for a week, then 1x per day... etc etc). I hope you have some support with caring for Jake as he gets through this hurdle.

please PM me if you have questions about our experience. i try to check in on the board, but I don't get to every condo!
 
I know all cats respond to liver failure treatment differently but with my experience as a vet tech I have seen cats that were very yellow and had very high values turn completely around so its possible sending healing vines to Jake
 
i'm so sorry jake is having problems.
alex was diagnosed with severe liver and kidney disease last march. i don't know the particulars with jake, but you might want to ask your vet if any of the same options would be good for him:

ultrasound - to determine if there are any blockages and/or inflammaion

denamarin - recommended for liver support. contains S-Adenosylmethionine (SAMe) and silybin

daily subq fluids - we inject vitamins B and B12 right into the bag of fluids

ursodiol (actigall) - improves the flow of bile in the liver. also has some mild anti-inflammatory properties. however, from what i understand (please talk to your vet), ursodiol is not to be used if there are any blockages.

antibiotic - we used clavamox successfully. although, baytril was our next choice if needed.

feeding tube - food is like medicine for the liver. jojo told me it was imperative to get at least half again the normal amount of calories alex usually ate into her every single day. this involved hours and hours of finger feeding, lots of waste, mess, and stress as well as trying many varieties of foods (including kibble) to find something she would eat willingly. in hind site, i wish i would have had a feeding tube put in. it would have been a lot less stressful for alex and me.


hope this helps...
 
Re: 7/5 Jake AMPS 103 Advice about Liver Failure please

I dont know anything about liver failure. I can say that when Latte started the steroid she peed herself ALL the time! And if she didnt pee herself, she would get in her box and pee out of it...like she does now. Ive talked to several other owners who experienced similar situations once starting pred. Puppy pee pads can be your best friend in this situation. I lay a crib pad down in spots where she lays, put pee pads on top, and then either piece of fleece or a light baby blanket. All disposable or easily washable.

Could you move the LB closer to where he wants to lay?

I also got Latte's butt shaved to prevent the ickiness in case they end up doing it while you are gone and lay in it.

I would agree it would be worth talking with your vet further about the feeding tube. Discuss pro's/con's, risks/benefits. Im sure whatever you decide will be in the best interest of Jake.

(((lydia)))
 
Thank you so much for all of this good advice. I am seriously going to consider getting a feeding tube in and I will talk to my vet about all of the supplements you all have mentioned. I think an ultrasound is a good idea. I had a cat during the 90s that developed liver disease. At that time, the vet wanted to put in a feeding tube but I didn't do it and the cat died within a week of turning yellow. (I'm crying now because he was my best boy and died so quickly I wasn't prepared for it.) I tried to finger feed him but it didn't go well and I sure didn't know then what I know now about how to give fluids and injections. With Jake at least I am able to give him sub Q fluids twice per day and I have a large 90 ml syringe with a long nipple that works wonders in getting food down him. However, I am going to talk to the vet about a feeding tube and the supplements and an ultrasound.
 
Lydia,

Cats most definitely can recover when yellow. A few months ago Belle was taken to the vets with sever jaundice, and her bilirubin and liver numbers were off the charts. Her ALT was over 4000 and her liver was severely enlarged. It turned out she has a bad infection that was resistant to all the previously tried antibiotics, but as soon as we found clindamycin, the infection slowly cleared up and within a month, her numbers were normal. I guess it just depends on what the liver issues are and why a cat is yellow, but they can and do recover if the circumstances are treatable. Also remember yellow doesn't always mean a primary liver issue. With Belle, the doctors believe it was a gallbladder problem that caused the jaundice which in turn exacerbated the infection and made everything worse. They think her gallbladder surgery helped the jaundice since it cleared up well before the infection did. Anemia can also cause jaundice, which Belle also had, so as you can see, there can be a number of causes of jaundice, and even though her liver numbers were way high, they never thought it was a primary liver issue.

Jason





Lydia & Jake said:
Jake is still the same - but at least not knocking on heaven's door like he was last week. He is still very weak and yellow but showing a tiny bit of energy. Last night he wanted out on the patio so we took a little walk outside and we sat together in the flower garden for awhile. He even tried to nibble a little grass. He will walk all the way down to the basement to lay on the couch down there but he won't walk all the way to the litter box (closer than the basement) and chooses to pee in the dining room so I have to watch him and help him go in the right place!
Does anyone have experience with liver failure? The vet told me that it could take weeks for Jake to get better. I've also been told that once cats are yellow, they don't recover. This is my experience with a previous civvie. Any advice is appreciated. Jake is currently exclusively syringe fed 1 can per day - has been A/D but tonight I'm switching to Evo and/or Eagle Pack Holistic Chicken/Duck. He is on Baytril for a fever, fluid therapy, and prednisolone. I opted to take him off the ovoban because I didn't feel it was helping and wasn't essential to his recovery.


last condo: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=18860
Click to expand...
 
Sorry for not replying sooner, but I just checked the boards. They did multiple utrasounds that showed what they believed to be a bile duct obstruction. The gallbladder was increasing in size and they saw a stricture in the bile duct. It turned out there was no stricture, but they put a stent in the gallbladder and the jaundice went away in a few days. Even though there was no apparent obstruction, they still think the surgery helped because they did find and drain a cyst on the bile duct.. Since she had severe anemia and a really bad liver infection at the same time, I'm not so sure, but she did get better. They did multiple biopsies and they found inflammation and were able to determine the correct antibiotic for her liver infection. It took about a month, but the infection cleared.

I wish you and Jake the best. There is only so much you can do, but it sounds like he is still enjoying life with his Mom. For today, that's all that matters.

Jason



Lydia & Jake said:
Jason,
How did they determine the cause? Was a biopsy done?
Click to expand...
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top