Hi everyone. This is my first post on this site, which is such a shame because it looks like a place I would enjoy posting on in other circumstances. My 6 year old kitty, Pudge, has been diagnosed with HL and I suppose I am just looking for some insight as to what others have experienced during recovery. I'll lay out a brief timeline of events below.
Day 1 (Monday): Noticed Pudge quit eating. I had been gone over the weekend, so it's possible she quit Saturday or Sunday and I was not aware.
Day 2 (Tuesday): Pudge still refused to eat. I got her in to see her primary vet. He took x-rays, did some bloodwork, and gave her fluids with B12. Bloodwork only showed elevated WBC and he prescribed an antibiotic to fight a minor infection.
Day 4 (Thursday): Pudge still not eating. Called vet again and he gave her a Cerenia shot and I began syringe feeding her.
Day 5 (Friday): Pudge still not eating. Vet recommended I take her to emergency clinic. She was admitted and they did more bloodwork, including a pancreatitis test and an ultrasound. Nothing out of the ordinary and liver still looked fine. It was noted that she had a wound on her back, possibly from a fight with my other cat. They gave her fluids, B12, an antibiotic, nausea meds, and an appetite stimulant. After the diagnostics, they recommended I transfer her to another emergency clinic near a larger city that had an internal medicine specialist on staff that might be able to help us more.
Day 6 (Saturday): Pudge was moved to 2nd emergency clinic. They checked her bloodwork and continued the medication protocol from the 1st emergency clinic. Liver still seemed fine according to blood work.
Day 7 (Sunday): Pudge started eating for them and they suggested I take her home and see how she does. This happened before I could have the consult with the internist.
Day 8 (Monday again): Pudge did not eat for me, other than some treats and a few bites of canned chicken.
Day 9 (Tuesday again): Pudge showed the same eating habits as the previous day. I was starting to get very concerned about HL at this point and took her back to the 1st emergency clinic. They gave me A/D food and some cerenia and mirtazapine to take home, but said I need to go see the internist.
Day 10 (Wednesday): I took Pudge back to the 2nd emergency clinic. They checked her blood and she had an ultrasound performed by the internist. No indication of pancreatitis, lymphoma, or IBD. Her liver was showing up bright on the ultrasound and her levels were elevated in the bloodwork. Decision was made to have an esophageal feeding tube put in.
Day 11 (yesterday): Started first day of tube feeding. Pudge seemed in reasonably good spirits. Tube feeding went well and she had no issues with it. 25 ml of half A/D and half water, 4 times over the course of the day.
Day 12 (today): Pudge is much more lethargic today. She also appears to have some diarrhea and a respiratory infection. 40 ml of the slurry, 4 times today.
Tomorrow and Sunday will be 50 ml, 4 times a day. Monday will be the final build up to 105 ml, 3 times a day until she gets better. I have some oral cerenia and mirtazapine left from the vet and they instructed me to crush it and give it to her in her feeding tube. I might ask about switching to zofran.
So. I am so worried. The last 12 days have been so stressful and overwhelming. I am struggling emotionally because she seems a little worse today, although I am trying to stay logical in that I'm sure she feels terrible and the respiratory infection is not helping matters. I know I stressed her out some too because I had to wash her off in the sink. I think she had an accident while she was sleeping today and I didn't want her to continue sleeping with feces all over herself. I guess I'm just looking for some reassurance. Can anyone provide some of their own experiences with this? I'm really trying to feel hopeful here, but the last few days have been so overwhelming. She does not appear to be jaundiced, which I'm taking as a good sign. Her liver seemed fine on Day 7 and was not on Day 10, so I'm hoping we started treatment quick enough before things got too bad. Yesterday she showed some interest in food, which I took as a positive. Today, not so much but she seems to be feeling a little worse today. The emergency vet told me to follow up with my primary vet as soon as I can, which will be on Tuesday. I'm really hoping she improves a little in the next few days. I don't want to drag her back to one of the emergency clinics because that would be so stressful to her and the stress won't help her.
I've got a few questions that I'm hoping people might be able to answer.
1. Are there any liver supplements I should talk to my primary vet about? I don't know what her level of experience with HL is and I want to be the best advocate for my kitty that I can be.
2. I know diarrhea can be a symptom of HL (although it's also possible she's struggling because of the antibiotics). How long did the diarrhea take to resolve? I will clean it up for her willingly, but I am definitely looking forward to not having to.
3. Did your kitties experience some daily ups and downs? I know we're really early into the treatment, but it's hard not to feel discouraged when she seems so much more lethargic than she was yesterday. I know she's probably coming down from all the stress (a minor surgical procedure, being sick in general, going to the vet about 5 times in the last two weeks, getting checked in for an overnight stay at the emergency clinic on two separate occasions, etc.) and that lethargy is probably to be expected with this condition. I have also read that they can get a little worse before they start to get better.
4. Any advice beyond "stay the course"? I've read a few other threads on this forum about this condition and that is the most common thing. Just keep feeding her and being patient. Anything else I can do to help her?
I appreciate anyone who reads and responds, even if it's just with encouragement rather than actual advice.
Day 1 (Monday): Noticed Pudge quit eating. I had been gone over the weekend, so it's possible she quit Saturday or Sunday and I was not aware.
Day 2 (Tuesday): Pudge still refused to eat. I got her in to see her primary vet. He took x-rays, did some bloodwork, and gave her fluids with B12. Bloodwork only showed elevated WBC and he prescribed an antibiotic to fight a minor infection.
Day 4 (Thursday): Pudge still not eating. Called vet again and he gave her a Cerenia shot and I began syringe feeding her.
Day 5 (Friday): Pudge still not eating. Vet recommended I take her to emergency clinic. She was admitted and they did more bloodwork, including a pancreatitis test and an ultrasound. Nothing out of the ordinary and liver still looked fine. It was noted that she had a wound on her back, possibly from a fight with my other cat. They gave her fluids, B12, an antibiotic, nausea meds, and an appetite stimulant. After the diagnostics, they recommended I transfer her to another emergency clinic near a larger city that had an internal medicine specialist on staff that might be able to help us more.
Day 6 (Saturday): Pudge was moved to 2nd emergency clinic. They checked her bloodwork and continued the medication protocol from the 1st emergency clinic. Liver still seemed fine according to blood work.
Day 7 (Sunday): Pudge started eating for them and they suggested I take her home and see how she does. This happened before I could have the consult with the internist.
Day 8 (Monday again): Pudge did not eat for me, other than some treats and a few bites of canned chicken.
Day 9 (Tuesday again): Pudge showed the same eating habits as the previous day. I was starting to get very concerned about HL at this point and took her back to the 1st emergency clinic. They gave me A/D food and some cerenia and mirtazapine to take home, but said I need to go see the internist.
Day 10 (Wednesday): I took Pudge back to the 2nd emergency clinic. They checked her blood and she had an ultrasound performed by the internist. No indication of pancreatitis, lymphoma, or IBD. Her liver was showing up bright on the ultrasound and her levels were elevated in the bloodwork. Decision was made to have an esophageal feeding tube put in.
Day 11 (yesterday): Started first day of tube feeding. Pudge seemed in reasonably good spirits. Tube feeding went well and she had no issues with it. 25 ml of half A/D and half water, 4 times over the course of the day.
Day 12 (today): Pudge is much more lethargic today. She also appears to have some diarrhea and a respiratory infection. 40 ml of the slurry, 4 times today.
Tomorrow and Sunday will be 50 ml, 4 times a day. Monday will be the final build up to 105 ml, 3 times a day until she gets better. I have some oral cerenia and mirtazapine left from the vet and they instructed me to crush it and give it to her in her feeding tube. I might ask about switching to zofran.
So. I am so worried. The last 12 days have been so stressful and overwhelming. I am struggling emotionally because she seems a little worse today, although I am trying to stay logical in that I'm sure she feels terrible and the respiratory infection is not helping matters. I know I stressed her out some too because I had to wash her off in the sink. I think she had an accident while she was sleeping today and I didn't want her to continue sleeping with feces all over herself. I guess I'm just looking for some reassurance. Can anyone provide some of their own experiences with this? I'm really trying to feel hopeful here, but the last few days have been so overwhelming. She does not appear to be jaundiced, which I'm taking as a good sign. Her liver seemed fine on Day 7 and was not on Day 10, so I'm hoping we started treatment quick enough before things got too bad. Yesterday she showed some interest in food, which I took as a positive. Today, not so much but she seems to be feeling a little worse today. The emergency vet told me to follow up with my primary vet as soon as I can, which will be on Tuesday. I'm really hoping she improves a little in the next few days. I don't want to drag her back to one of the emergency clinics because that would be so stressful to her and the stress won't help her.
I've got a few questions that I'm hoping people might be able to answer.
1. Are there any liver supplements I should talk to my primary vet about? I don't know what her level of experience with HL is and I want to be the best advocate for my kitty that I can be.
2. I know diarrhea can be a symptom of HL (although it's also possible she's struggling because of the antibiotics). How long did the diarrhea take to resolve? I will clean it up for her willingly, but I am definitely looking forward to not having to.
3. Did your kitties experience some daily ups and downs? I know we're really early into the treatment, but it's hard not to feel discouraged when she seems so much more lethargic than she was yesterday. I know she's probably coming down from all the stress (a minor surgical procedure, being sick in general, going to the vet about 5 times in the last two weeks, getting checked in for an overnight stay at the emergency clinic on two separate occasions, etc.) and that lethargy is probably to be expected with this condition. I have also read that they can get a little worse before they start to get better.
4. Any advice beyond "stay the course"? I've read a few other threads on this forum about this condition and that is the most common thing. Just keep feeding her and being patient. Anything else I can do to help her?
I appreciate anyone who reads and responds, even if it's just with encouragement rather than actual advice.