Getting my cat to eat - Feline hepatic lipidosis

Larumbelle

Hi all

I was just wondering if anyone has experience of nursing a cat through feline hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver syndrome)? My rather large 8yo male is recovering from it... or not recovering, I am not sure.

I took him to the vet on Maundy Thursday because he hadn't eaten for a day and a half. He wasn't ill, but he wasn't eating and just didn't seem himself. They gave me some Hills A/D and paraffin for him as he seemed to be constipated (he spends a lot of time outdoors so the fact he hadn't pooped in the litter tray was not unusual). By the Saturday he was still refusing food so the vet admitted him and put him on an IV. I had a call in the early hours of Easter Monday that they were doing emergency surgery as their attempts to sort his constipation still had not worked. As he was beginning hepatic lipidosis, they also fitted a feeding tube in his neck (an E-tube?)

On Wednesday morning one of the vets called to say that since he still wasn't eating independently it would be better to have him PTS. I asked if I could go and visit to see if I could get him to eat. I managed to get a few bits down him, and convinced them to teach me to tube feed him at home, hoping that the familiar surroundings might persuade him to eat. But I am still only getting him to eat tiny amounts, and we are still relying on the E-tube to get most of his nutrition down him.

Yesterday the vet wanted to remove the tube, and said I could have the weekend to make 'a last-ditch attempt' to get him to eat. I convinced her to leave it in until Monday, although they only had a couple of sachets of the convalescence powder left, so I still need to try and get some food down him to get enough nutrition into him.

I have tried all the foods I can think of to tempt him. His own food, other brands, wet, dry, fresh chicken, tuna, fish... he is interested in it all, and likes to smell it, but will only take a tiny bite here or there. I have tried warming it, hand feeding it, liquidizing it, everything I can think of.

He seems otherwise very well, all things considered - he is alert, affectionate, uses his litter box and scratching post, etc. Literally the only problem seems to be that he refuses to eat. When I say 'only' I do realise how serious that is. But I have done a lot of reading, and it seems to be normal that it can take weeks for cats to get their appetites back following hepatic lipidosis. It seems that elsewhere use of the E-tube for a few weeks is not unusual, when I mentioned this to the vet she just said 'we would never leave a tube in that long' without really explaining why.

I am not sure why they are giving up on him so quickly :-( As he seems otherwise to be doing well, it seems so unfair. If he was suffering or in pain I would feel able to let him go. But he seems to be fine, and all of the bloods, X rays etc the vet have done have shown no problems and that his body is recovering well from the hepatic lipidosis. One of the vet nurses said that the recovery in his blood levels has been 'remarkable'. So I am struggling to accept that this is it - I just need to get him eating, and so much of the reading I have done suggests that this is the whole point of an E-tube, to give them time to get their appetite back.

Sorry for the long and rambling post. I was just wondering if anyone else had any experiences of this, or has any ideas on how I get him eating again before Monday? In my heart it just doesn't seem to be time to say goodbye yet, and I want to give him every chance I can

WeAreGhosts

I haven't any experience of this, but I'm sure others will be along soon who do ...

I just wanted to say, if you're not happy with the vet's attitude get a second opinion from another vet. I'd go to a different surgery completely and start afresh.

Wet food with a rich gravy might be worth a try, if you haven't already. Also, my cat is mad on prawns - we get the freshwater prawns from Morrisons and you can squash them a bit to make them mushy.

Good luck. It's always a tense time when cats don't eat.

Larumbelle

Thank you for taking the time to respond

Unfortunately I couldn't afford to get a second opinion, he is being treated by PDSA. I have been racking my brain to think how I could afford to pay another vet, but I just can't think of any - there are no lines of credit available, I am still waiting for benefits to come through, and even the extra food for him and a donation to PDSA has been a bit of a struggle. I have never been in this position before, as I have always been in work previously, I have either managed to find the money or I have had insurance. He was insured, but I simply couldn't afford to keep up the payments and ended up having to cancel it. I am thanking heavens for PDSA but I feel pretty bad right now, that because I can't work at the moment I have let him down when he needs me the most.

He does like prawns, I had a few left in the freezer so I am defrosting them now. Thank you for the suggestion :-) I tried food with gravy, he did lick off some of the gravy but didn't touch the meat (better than nothing I suppose)

Thank you for your support :-)

calicocat

I don't have experience of this, however mine will eat sardine and tomato paste when not really bothering with food. Worth a shot anyhow. I wouldn't be wanting him PTS either if he seems fine. I would want to be giving him more time too.

GwylimT

It can be very hard to get a cat eating again, there are special foods designed for 'anorexic' cats which are very smelly and high calorie from the likes of royal canin etc. Rubbing the food on the gums can help as well.

Water is a huge issue, until feeding is normal I would be giving several syringes of water each day, but no more than about 10ml at a time.

WeAreGhosts

Sorry, I didn't think you might be with the PDSA. I can't remember how it works. Is there another vet in the surgery you could ask? Although if it's anything like mine they tend to chat to each other about cases and if you don't agree with the head vet then it can be a battle to get anyone else to listen.

If he's using his tray then he must be getting something into his stomach? Or is it just urine?

You're doing your best for him in difficult circumstances. Keep plugging away. Sometimes leaving food in random places for a cat to "find" can also work.

Also, my cat loves these https://www.hilifepet.co.uk/cats/indulgeme/
Dunno whether you've tried them before. Sometimes on offer in the supermarkets. They can be quite wet and like the real thing, but for some reason my cat chooses these over "real" chicken or fish. The tuna ones are probably the most tempting as they smell stronger than the chicken.

rita-rabbit

what about slippery elm bark? v good website: https://www.felinecrf.org where v useful info about getting cats to eat who are poorly

Person_one

Can you ask for/insist on a second opinion, maybe from a vet who consults for PDSA or a vey from another PDSA branch/surgery?

Don't be afraid to ask 'why' when you are told things that you don't understand the rationale for. If they say they don't leave feeding tubes in for weeks, why not? What harm does it do? Where is the evidence?

If the feeding tube is delivering liquid feed to the cat's stomach or gut, wouldn't that be affecting and reducing his appetite anyway? He's getting food, just not the traditional way, after all.

Larumbelle

Thank you all for your help and suggestions :-)

This morning I got him to eat quite a few Whiskas Temptations treats, but he didn't want to eat anything else, although he sniffed at it all and looked interested. Looking at the Whiskas website, they seem to be better nutritionally than I thought, but lower in calories - usually that would be a good thing, but they are not as energy dense as I'd hoped!

Person_one wrote: »

If the feeding tube is delivering liquid feed to the cat's stomach or gut, wouldn't that be affecting and reducing his appetite anyway? He's getting food, just not the traditional way, after all.

WeAreGhosts wrote: »

If he's using his tray then he must be getting something into his stomach? Or is it just urine?

No he is using his tray for 'both', which is a positive sign and I think was key to buying a little more time with the tube when we saw the vet on Friday, as he hadn't been going before that and it was a big concern. He is getting what he needs from the tube for now, I held off using the tube yesterday to try and get him to eat for himself, and resorted to the tube when he wouldn't. If I can get him to eat, the tube feed will be reduced accordingly. I am just dreading what will happen when they take the tube away on Monday - it literally is his lifeline right now :-(

WeAreGhosts wrote: »

Also, my cat loves these https://www.hilifepet.co.uk/cats/indulgeme/
Dunno whether you've tried them before. Sometimes on offer in the supermarkets. They can be quite wet and like the real thing, but for some reason my cat chooses these over "real" chicken or fish. The tuna ones are probably the most tempting as they smell stronger than the chicken.

I haven't tried those, but I will do, as he does seem to prefer highly flavoured stuff over the 'real' thing! Thanks, I am going to the shops in a bit and I will pick one up.

GwylimT wrote: »

It can be very hard to get a cat eating again, there are special foods designed for 'anorexic' cats which are very smelly and high calorie from the likes of royal canin etc. Rubbing the food on the gums can help as well.

Water is a huge issue, until feeding is normal I would be giving several syringes of water each day, but no more than about 10ml at a time.

He is getting plenty of fluids at the moment because of the tube, when they do remove the tube I will make sure I syringe it to him if necessary. He hasn't used his fountain since he's been home but I guess he won't be thirsty because of that. I have managed to get him to consume limited amounts by rubbing it on his gums, nose etc and had limited success, it is hard to get enough calories in that way, but it all helps! I am going to ask the vet about those foods, as obviously if I can get high calorie food he won't need to get as much down him. I was surprised to find that Hills A/D is not actually that high in calories.

rita-rabbit wrote: »

what about slippery elm bark? v good website: www.felinecrf.org where v useful info about getting cats to eat who are poorly

Thankyou, I did find that website very helpful :-) I have considered slippery elm bark, but he is still on antibiotics at the moment, so I would rather steer clear until there is no chance of it interfering with any medication.

Person_one wrote: »

Can you ask for/insist on a second opinion, maybe from a vet who consults for PDSA or a vey from another PDSA branch/surgery?

Don't be afraid to ask 'why' when you are told things that you don't understand the rationale for. If they say they don't leave feeding tubes in for weeks, why not? What harm does it do? Where is the evidence?

WeAreGhosts wrote: »

Is there another vet in the surgery you could ask? Although if it's anything like mine they tend to chat to each other about cases and if you don't agree with the head vet then it can be a battle to get anyone else to listen.

I did get a second opinion when the first vet wanted him PTS on Wednesday, but I guess I didn't pipe up, I explained to the vet nurse when I visited him that he seemed to be doing well and I'd like to try him at home. She offered to speak to the vet on afternoon shift. I guess it does feel like I'm criticising, or suggesting that I know better than them or whatever, I am not very good at sticking up for myself but I guess that now is the time to learn to be!!! I am also considering calling 'our' vet, the one he saw before I was out of work, and just seeing if they agree. I am not sure if they would be willing to do that though?


Thank you again for your suggestions and kind words and support :-) It is truly appreciated. My kitty is so important to me, it means a lot xxx

paddypaws101

NO WAY would I be considering PTS if the cat is really in good health/spirits other than loss of appetite.
The vet can prescribe an appetite stimulant for him....I have always found Periactin to be very effective. He might also benefit from an anti acid and Famotodine works very well.
I have never had a cat fitted with a feeding tube, but have successfully syringe fed several cats over the years. I find Gourmet gold pate to be the perfect consistency and use these syringes, cutting the tips off to provide a wider hole.
Don't give up on him yet!
http://www.petsathome.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/en/pets/mikki-handi-feeder-(online-only)?cm_mmc=PPC-_-Google-_-PLA-_-PLA+Dog+Bowls&gclid=CjwKEAjw_oK4BRDym-SDq-aczicSJAC7UVRtI8aHILv2kuSCTzLskeTkHRcPZKiqqfRgtFBEOSAsmBoCTkbw_wcB

paddypaws101

Have sent you PM