FPS and Fatty Liver

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That's an excellent article, Elise. I wish I had seen it years ago: I might have been able to get better help for my Danú and she might still be here. (The vets completely failed her.) I miss her so much. :(


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Fatty liver is awful. About 4 years ago one of my girls had it. She was at the vet for over 2 weeks, and when they finally released her i had to syringe feed her for almost a month. It was very touch and go for quite a while.
 
Critter Mom said:
That's an excellent article, Elise. I wish I had seen it years ago: I might have been able to get better help for my Danú and she might still be here. (The vets completely failed her.) I miss her so much. :(


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Im sorry. Vets just don't know everything.
 
tiffmaxee said:
Im sorry. Vets just don't know everything.
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Thanks, Elise. The trouble with these particular vets is, I now know, that they're useless when it comes to cats. (They completely ignored me when Saoirse was first presented with diabetes symptoms and point blank refused my request for diagnostics to be run.) They knew Danú had a liver problem, that she was anorexic and that it was critical they get food into her but they did not treat her with the necessary aggression. In essence they stuck her on an IV, threw some mirtazapine at her and crossed their fingers. They screwed up on getting her labs done and when they finally decided to place an e-tube the so-called "cat expert" [... cough ...] at the practice decided not interrupting her day off was more of a priority than helping my girl who was "not an emergency." She was hospitalised with them for a week!!! I felt utterly powerless. :( (BTW when the labs came back there was no underlying disease.)

Sorry for the rant. I've never got over her loss. It was a treatable condition if it had been addressed properly. Danú was an Angel on Paws (and only seven ...).


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Critter Mom said:
Thanks, Elise. The trouble with these particular vets is, I now know, that they're useless when it comes to cats. (They completely ignored me when Saoirse was first presented with diabetes symptoms and point blank refused my request for diagnostics to be run.) They knew it was a liver problem, that she was anorectic and that it was critical that Danú get food into her but they did not treat her with the necessary aggression. In essence they stuck her on an IV, threw some mirtazapine at her and crossed their fingers. They screwed up on getting her labs done and when they finally decided to place an e-tube the so-called "cat expert" [... cough ...] at the practice decided not interrupting her day off was more of a priority than helping my girl who was "not an emergency." She was hospitalised with them for a week!!! I felt utterly powerless. :( (BTW when the labs came back there was no underlying disease.)

Sorry for the rant. I've never got over her loss. It was a treatable condition if it had been addressed properly. Danú was an Angel on Paws (and only seven ...).


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So sorry :bighug:
 
tiffmaxee said:
Is he maintaining his weight? Do you have a baby scale?
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He has lost some weight. His vet put him on an appy stimulant about 10 days ago so he is eating a bit better, and he has gained back a few ounces. But not as much as I would have hoped. I'm praying he continues to gain, but tonight, even with the appy stimulant, he didn't want to eat. He's also on Metronidazole for inflammation of his liver, and I think it makes him not want to eat. :(
 
@Squalliesmom - Which appy stimulant? And is he showing any signs of nausea? Did the vet check for pancreatitis?

As Elise rightly mentions above, based on my own experience and the stories of so many kitties who come here a lot of vets don't provide adequate responses to nausea issues. Indeed, were it not for the wonderful help and advice I got from Elise Saoirse would not have done anything like as well as she has. (Thank you from the heart, Elise. :) )


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Critter Mom said:
Thanks, Elise. The trouble with these particular vets is, I now know, that they're useless when it comes to cats. (They completely ignored me when Saoirse was first presented with diabetes symptoms and point blank refused my request for diagnostics to be run.) They knew Danú had a liver problem, that she was anorexic and that it was critical they get food into her but they did not treat her with the necessary aggression. In essence they stuck her on an IV, threw some mirtazapine at her and crossed their fingers. They screwed up on getting her labs done and when they finally decided to place an e-tube the so-called "cat expert" [... cough ...] at the practice decided not interrupting her day off was more of a priority than helping my girl who was "not an emergency." She was hospitalised with them for a week!!! I felt utterly powerless. :( (BTW when the labs came back there was no underlying disease.)

Sorry for the rant. I've never got over her loss. It was a treatable condition if it had been addressed properly. Danú was an Angel on Paws (and only seven ...).


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I feel exactly the same way about my lovely kitty that I lost to kidney disease. I listened to the vet... If I knew then what I know now, my sweet Beezie would still be with me. I have never gotten over his loss, either, Mogs.
 
Critter Mom said:
@Squalliesmom - Which appy stimulant? And is he showing any signs of nausea? Did the vet check for pancreatitis?
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He's on Cyproheptadine. He doesn't show any signs of nausea, fortunately. I don't think the vet checked him for pancreatitis. I think he was surprised to find that some of Squallie's liver enzymes were elevated. He keeps telling me not to panic, that they're only mildly elevated, but to me, any elevation is too much!
 
Squalliesmom said:
I feel exactly the same way about my lovely kitty that I lost to kidney disease. I listened to the vet... If I knew then what I know now, my sweet Beezie would still be with me. I have never gotten over his loss, either, Mogs.
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:bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug:

Wish I was beside you right now so I could give you the hugs in person.


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Critter Mom said:
What dose? How frequent? Is it sedating him at all or is his mood any way depressed? Is he on any other meds?


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He's on 2mg 2x daily of the Cypro for a total of 4mg a day. It might make him a little sleepy, hard to tell because he sleeps a lot, anyway. Maybe a little depressed, yes. He is also now on Metronidazole 0.5 ml 2x daily. And he just, yesterday, finished up 7 days of Baytril.
 
Too high a dose of cypro can be too sedating and also may produce a depressant effect - and depressed mood can cause a dip in appetite. Ask your vet whether 0.5 or 1mg cypro q8 might be better. Saoirse did well on 0.5mg - usually q12 but on days when her appetite was more sluggish the 0.5mg q8 worked well.

The antibiotics may also be playing into his appetite issues (notorious for GI upsets).


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That is a lot of cyproheptadine. It might not work because he's nauseous. Would you eat if nauseous? Of course not. Max didn't have symptoms of nausea that I thought were nausea. He simply gradually became inappetent. I thought he was just being picky. A nauseous cat doesn't necessarily vomit or smack his lips. I know how worried you are. I can't remember but have you tried cerenia or ondansetron? Some try them and think they aren't working because the dose is too low.
 
BJM said:
Antibiotics can cause GI upset - nausea, vomiting, diiarrhea - so now that you're done with the Baytril, that may help. Giving a probiotic could help restore the normal/good bacteria and that may help, too.
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I have just started him on Fortiflora, hopefully that will help.
 
Critter Mom said:
Too high a dose of cypro can be too sedating and also may produce a depressant effect - and depressed mood can cause a dip in appetite. Ask your vet whether 0.5 or 1mg cypro q8 might be better. Saoirse did well on 0.5mg - usually q12 but if her appetite was more sluggish the 0.5mg q12 worked well.

The antibiotics may also be playing into his appetite issues (notorious for GI upsets).


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I agree. Max just needs 1/8 a 4 mg of cyproheptadine. Once I increased the ondansetron he didn't need it at all.

Megs, which blood pressure monitor did you get?
 
Just thought I would add that Eleanor has the symptoms of Pancreatitis, although not diagnosed, she is treated "as if" when she has nausea, vomiting, pain.
Anyway, she has been given Metronidazole for bowel issues and it nauseates her and she can't eat on her own, I have to force feed.
I hope Squallie gets better soon.
 
Julie and Eleanor said:
Just thought I would add that Eleanor has the symptoms of Pancreatitis, although not diagnosed, she is treated "as if" when she has nausea, vomiting, pain.
Anyway, she has been given Metronidazole for bowel issues and it nauseates her and she can't eat on her own, I have to force feed.
I hope Squallie gets better soon.
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How long has she been on metronizadole? Is it for diarrhea? Has she had an ultrasound by a boarded radiologist?
 
tiffmaxee said:
Megs, which blood pressure monitor did you get?
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I first got a Vet BP Doppler unit but it was highly problematic in use and extremely stressful for Saoirse. Subsequently I purchased a PetMAP Graphic II oscillometric meter. The PetMAP has enabled me to confirm that buprenorphine lowers Saoirse's BP. If I had co-administered a BP med alongside the bupe her BP could have dropped to dangerously low levels. The PetMAP is far from cheap but it has already paid for itself. It has kept my girl safe. And after only a week she is now completely nonplussed about getting her BP checked. Win-win! :)

I've offered to lend the unit to our vets if they are having trouble getting a reliable Doppler reading for any of their other nervous feline patients (as long as I get the unit back on the same day). Maybe it might help spare another kitty what Saoirse has been through with her eye.


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Julie and Eleanor said:
Just thought I would add that Eleanor has the symptoms of Pancreatitis, although not diagnosed, she is treated "as if" when she has nausea, vomiting, pain.
Anyway, she has been given Metronidazole for bowel issues and it nauseates her and she can't eat on her own, I have to force feed.
I hope Squallie gets better soon.
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Squallie got his first dose of Metronidazole tonight and I think it may be what made him lose his appetite for dinner.
 
I'm glad it's helped her Mogs. I regret not getting one when Max was diagnosed with high BP. I know he's nervous at the vet. I won't do it now as I'm superstitious something bad will happen the minute I do. He's 18 1/2 now.
 
[QUOTEvualliesmom, post: 1660304, member: 12957"]Squallie got his first dose of Metronidazole tonight and I think it may be what made him lose his appetite for dinner.[/QUOTE]

Could very well be. Is he having it as pills, or liquid? Eleanor does better for the first few days with liquid, then the nausea sets in any way.
 
[QUOTE:bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug:="Critter Mom, post: 1660311, member: 10789"]I can relate to that, Elise. In spades ... :bighug:

Max is :bighug:so blessed to have you as his Person. :cat:


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:bighug: :bighug::bighug:
 
I need to correct an oversight from an earlier post. When Saoirse was on cypro she was also getting anti-nausea support. Like Elise found with Max, once I got Saoirse onto an adequate dose of ondansetron for nausea she no longer needed the appy stimulant.


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Critter Mom said:
I need to correct an oversight from an earlier post. When Saoirse was on cypro she was also getting anti-nausea support. Like Elise found with Max, once I got Saoirse onto an adequate dose of ondansetron for nausea she no longer needed the appy stimulant.


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To add to this, if you stimulate the appetite of a nauseous cat you run the risk of creating food aversion to the food that you are feeding. That will make your job even harder.
 
I lost a kitty to it and pancreatitis because of bungling vet. It took over 10 days of me calling them twice a day for her blood results and then to schedule ultrasound which added another week to her not eating I was told the lipidosis was to advanced. Not even the front desk in the vet office told me about the ER or offer anything to get her to eat.

I was new to area and didn't know there was an ER vet an hour away.
 
tiffmaxee said:
To add to this, if you stimulate the appetite of a nauseous cat you run the risk of creating food aversion to the food that you are feeding. That will make your job even harder.
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A very important point, Elise. Indeed, it is doubly important to do everything possible to avoid food aversions in cats whose dietary choices are limited (e.g. those with IBD, food allergies, or pancreatitis).


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