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Cat Forum / General Topics / December 2004hepatic lipidosis
Our cat was diagnosed with fatty liver 10 days ago... since then we've been force feeding her, and had her hospitalised ocassionally, but there is no sign of improvement. She has no interest in eating, and is extremely jaundiced. Our vet says that after 10 days without improvement her chances of recovery are less than 10%. My wife is very emotionally attached to this cat and doesn't want to make the decision to stop treatment. Financially, we are in no position for weeks of futile treatment, and had agreed to give her a few more days, but if there's no improvement, to stop treatment on Friday. However, since then, my wife has done research online which indicated that many cats can recover after months of nutritional support. Force feeding the cat is an extremely stressful experience for all involved, and unless the chances of survival are greater, I feel it's better to let her rest in peace instead of putting her through that trauma. Any advice? I don't know much about this, but I have heard that they can put a feeding tube into the cat in order to help feeding. Post your message to the rec.pets.cats.health+behavior group. I think there's been some people in that group that have gone through this before. Good luck. Sue > Our cat was diagnosed with fatty liver 10 days ago... since then we've > been force feeding her, and had her hospitalised ocassionally, but [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > Any advice? Thanks for the suggestion, I'll check out the other group. Hi, I've gone through this process before. I had to tube feed my cat Nicky for 2 months. check my tube feeding website: http://pages.infinit.net/logann/nicky.htm good luck Robert >Our cat was diagnosed with fatty liver 10 days ago... since then we've >been force feeding her, and had her hospitalised ocassionally, but [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > >Any advice? > Our cat was diagnosed with fatty liver 10 days ago... since then we've > been force feeding her, and had her hospitalised ocassionally, but [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > Any advice? Seek a second opinion as soon as possible. Your vet's treatment plan and "prognosis" are ill-advised bordering on incompetency.. Force-feeding is contributing to the lack of improvement. Cats with HL are already severely stressed and very *sick*. Most cats resent being forced fed. Force-feeding only adds more stress to an already stressed cat and should be avoided. In addition, your cat will likely develop an aversion to food due to the association of the unpleasant experience of force-feeding and food -- This will only delay your cat's return to voluntary eating. In the clinical phase of HL, the ***only*** reliable and effective treatment option is *tube feeding* -- PEG ( percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy) tube is the most effective. Nasoesophageal feeding tubes are usually only effective in the early, mild stages of HL. Most cats adapt very nicely to PEG tubes. In fact, many times tube feeding must be suspended to see if the cat's appetite has returned. The feline liver has the remarkable ability to regenerate. Therefore, in cats with hepatic lipidosis recurrence is rare, and the cats that recover go on to live long, happy, normal lives. Please seek a second opinion from a vet experienced with HL and PEG tube placement. Go to http://www.acvim.org/Kittleson/search.htm and do a search for an internal medicine Diplomate/Specialist in your area. American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine Diplomates are about the best there is. If you can't find an ACVIM specialist in your area, my second choice would be an ABVP Diplomate/Feline Specialist (American Board of Veterinary Practitioners). Go to http://www.abvp.com/diplosearch1.htm http://www.abvp.com/ For more information about HL and PEG tubes, please visit my site: http://www.maxshouse.com/Feline_Hepatic_Lipidosis.htm http://www.maxshouse.com/managing_peg_tubes_and_feeding_t.htm http://www.maxshouse.com/Enteral-Assisted_Feeding.htm http://www.maxshouse.com/percutancous_gastrostomy_tube_pl.htm Best of luck. Phil There is also an e-tube which goes in through the neck. The procedure for installing an e-tube is less stressful/costly than an PEG tube. An e-tune is for short time use weeks while the PEG for long-term use. My Mario had an e-tube for about 5 weeks before he pulled it out. It made feeding easy.  SignatureLarry - Owned by eight cats > There is also an e-tube which goes in through the neck. The procedure for > installing an e-tube is less stressful/costly than an PEG tube. An e-tune > is for short time use weeks while the PEG for long-term use. My Mario had > an e-tube for about 5 weeks before he pulled it out. It made feeding easy. Larry, Most cats find the E-tube and the associated neck wrap very uncomfortable and stressful. Since avoidance of stress is one of major concerns in cats with HL, esophagostomy tubes are not recommended for enteral nutrition in cats with HL. I'm very happy Mario was able to deal with his e-tube, most cats couldn't. You have a very special cat! ...but you already know that! ;-) Phil > Our cat was diagnosed with fatty liver 10 days ago... since then we've > been force feeding her, and had her hospitalised ocassionally, but [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > Any advice? Seek a second opinion as soon as possible. Your vet's treatment plan and "prognosis" are ill-advised bordering on incompetency.. Force-feeding is contributing to the lack of improvement. Cats with HL are already severely stressed and very *sick*. Most cats resent being forced fed. Force-feeding only adds more stress to an already stressed cat and should be avoided. In addition, your cat will likely develop an aversion to food due to the association of the unpleasant experience of force-feeding and food -- This will only delay your cat's return to voluntary eating. In the clinical phase of HL, the ***only*** reliable and effective treatment option is *tube feeding* -- PEG ( percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy) tube is the most effective. Nasoesophageal feeding tubes are usually only effective in the early, mild stages of HL. Most cats adapt very nicely to PEG tubes. In fact, many times tube feeding must be suspended to see if the cat's appetite has returned. The feline liver has the remarkable ability to regenerate. Therefore, in cats with hepatic lipidosis recurrence is rare, and the cats that recover go on to live long, happy, normal lives. Please seek a second opinion from a vet experienced with HL and PEG tube placement. Go to http://www.acvim.org/Kittleson/search.htm and do a search for an internal medicine Diplomate/Specialist in your area. American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine Diplomates are about the best there is. If you can't find an ACVIM specialist in your area, my second choice would be an ABVP Diplomate/Feline Specialist (American Board of Veterinary Practitioners). Go to http://www.abvp.com/diplosearch1.htm http://www.abvp.com/ For more information about HL and PEG tubes, please visit my site: http://www.maxshouse.com/Feline_Hepatic_Lipidosis.htm http://www.maxshouse.com/managing_peg_tubes_and_feeding_t.htm http://www.maxshouse.com/Enteral-Assisted_Feeding.htm http://www.maxshouse.com/percutancous_gastrostomy_tube_pl.htm Best of luck. Phil
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