Fatty Liver - At Home Treatment

[cailabaker]

Which websites are you shopping at?

I'm googling everywhere that ships to Canada. I've seen it on Amazon and petonly, but just variety packs. I would rather get a couple to try than a huge pack if possible! Maybe I'll make a trip to tu

Hi! You're in Canada which makes things a bit complicated.
mikameek gave you a darn good list of foods already

I don't know if you have access to Costco/Kirkland brands? I'm not sure of consistency of some of the foods below;
Costco-qualicat, nature's domain
Lifesabundance on their website
Only Natural Pet, on their website, and they also sell other brands as well as allowing small quantity ordering but I don't know if they ship to Canada
Natural Balance, Merrick Backcountry, Koha

Also, take a look at @LTS3 's post in this thread, and the spreadsheet too
Calling All Pate Lovers!!

Haha yes we don't have as much variety as the US, and I've noticed things like b12 are way more expensive here.
I did find Merrick the other day! I picked up a can of kitten pate for the calories, haven't tried it yet though. I'll check out Costco, it's just around the corner. I know for sure they have qualicat but I haven't though about looking into it before. I'll check out that spreadsheet

 

[cailabaker]

Also, here are some toppers you could try, and see if they'll entice your cat to eat;

• Chicken or beef flavored baby food such as Gerber Stage 2 - make sure there is no garlic or onions in the ingredients

• Tuna and/or the juice, a low mercury brand is called SafeCatch

• Salmon

• Sardines (make sure there are no bones)

• boiled cut up chicken or turkey with no seasonings

• canned kitten food any brand - it's usually smelly. See if it's eaten on its own, then maybe mix it in or put on top

• Try mixing in Kitten Milk Replacer - there are recipes on the internet

• Fish, tuna or BBQ flavored canned wet food (I personally have never seen BBQ flavors, but...)

• Lickable cat treats or pouch treat gravy poured over the food

• kitten glop (recipes are on the internet, look for some with goat milk)
• Bonito flakes
• fortiflora

• goat milk, or no lactose cow milk
• whole cooked eggs (the white must always be cooked) or raw egg yolk now and then
• broth with no salt and no garlic or onion or seasonings of any kind
• There are also commercial toppers, Applaws is a brand that can work well as a topper
  you could crumble treats onto the wet food, Purebites, Orijen, Meowtinis, Meowables

Amazing, thank you! I tried the baby food, she licked it 3x then ran away she was obsessed with unseasoned baked salmon before, I'll try this again in a few days. So many things to add to my shopping list!

 

[Furballsmom]

All the best of luck to you!!

 

[Daisy6]

The lack of variety packs is very annoying. I wanted to try Dr. Elsey's but they don't sell cat food at physical stores.

 

[mikameek]

Haha well if its still whole, I'd give it to her too the meds are too important (and too expensive) not to! I don't understand how Jade can use her tongue so well to flick it out immediate after it goes in her mouth. Sometimes she tricks us and stores it too and spits it out in a pile of mush on the ground a good 10 minutes later and I chase with water, usually 2-3 syringes full. No idea how that's more comfortable than swallowing it in her mind!

She is currently loving purebites freeze dried chicken treats. I've been sprinkling this on her wet food trying to entice her (hasn't worked), and on her kibble which has worked a bit. The babycat food looks so good! I'll have to pickup the mousse and the kibble! If it's super tiny, that's even better.

It definitely has been very frustrating and very emotional the past 2 months. I had a full blown panic attack yesterday after my first attempt to pill her and had to call my sister in law over in tears. I think that was my breaking point.. thank you so much for all your advice and I'm so happy that you were successful and for and Mika! I hope she continues to eat and heal. She sounds like a sweet, yet stubborn girl. Just like my Jade I just wish they knew we were doing all this 'horrible' stuff to them out of love.

Honestly! I was so surprised with Mika because all my cat friends (and family members) had never had cats that were so awful with medicine like her. She drools, uses her tongue, throws her head around and does everything she can from having anything near her mouth. Sometimes I have a hard time giving her water afterwards because she's just SO done with the medicine.

That's good! Wet food may be a challenge so at the end of the day find what Jade will eat and stick to enticing that. Calories, calories, calories.

I definitely can relate. I had many breakdowns, crying over Mika being good one day and then bad the next. Or her eating well for one meal and then completely ignore anything else. I have a vet tell me to put her down because her liver was failing. It tore me apart because being a first time pet and cat owner, I didn't know anything except what a vet told me. I was selfish and couldn't put her down (and thank god I didn't) so we kept fighting. It's been difficult. Financially, mentally, physically. But it's so worth it. Jade's levels are no where near as bad as Mika's. She's got a great mommy who loves her and is obviously willing to put in the time and dedication it takes to get her better.

Also, I hear you. We're still medicating Mika because her of her gallbladder and every day around the same time she knows that a towel means bad news for her. I can't wait till we can stop giving it to her (if we can, if not then, it is what it is and we'll deal).

 

[mikameek]

The lack of variety packs is very annoying. I wanted to try Dr. Elsey's but they don't sell cat food at physical stores.

I actually just emailed them today about sending samples and they told me they would send some out! You should go to their website and contact them about it!

 

[cailabaker]

Honestly! I was so surprised with Mika because all my cat friends (and family members) had never had cats that were so awful with medicine like her. She drools, uses her tongue, throws her head around and does everything she can from having anything near her mouth. Sometimes I have a hard time giving her water afterwards because she's just SO done with the medicine.

That's good! Wet food may be a challenge so at the end of the day find what Jade will eat and stick to enticing that. Calories, calories, calories.

I definitely can relate. I had many breakdowns, crying over Mika being good one day and then bad the next. Or her eating well for one meal and then completely ignore anything else. I have a vet tell me to put her down because her liver was failing. It tore me apart because being a first time pet and cat owner, I didn't know anything except what a vet told me. I was selfish and couldn't put her down (and thank god I didn't) so we kept fighting. It's been difficult. Financially, mentally, physically. But it's so worth it. Jade's levels are no where near as bad as Mika's. She's got a great mommy who loves her and is obviously willing to put in the time and dedication it takes to get her better.

Also, I hear you. We're still medicating Mika because her of her gallbladder and every day around the same time she knows that a towel means bad news for her. I can't wait till we can stop giving it to her (if we can, if not then, it is what it is and we'll deal).

Jade does all of those things as well! She flails around like crazy too and flicks her head around. I'm so scared I'm going to hurt her too. The water after is a struggle. She just stops swallowing eventually too and it all flows out of her mouth -_-

It's such an emotional rollercoaster. So up and down, good and bad. I get so excited when I see her eat something. Then an hour later feel defeated when she refuses her food. That's awful a vet told you that, I'm glad you took such good care of her and I hope you found a different vet! One vet told me that Jade is old anyways and what do I expect... she's 12. I just wish I could work from home during the week to properly feed her! I'm going to take some vacation time this week to care for her.
Did you have an ultrasound done for Mika? Or did you just treat her based on bloodwork? I'm thinking if by my next appointment on the 17th I don't see an improvement I'll schedule an ultrasound

 

[lalagimp]

The lack of variety packs is very annoying. I wanted to try Dr. Elsey's but they don't sell cat food at physical stores.

Last I checked you can buy a variety flat of them on their website directly, that they weren't selling on Chewy.

They did go ahead and send me a bag of kibble when I requested it for my blog shortly after product launch. By all mean, try CS as well.

 

[lalagimp]

Variety Pack Recipe Paté - Dr. Elsey's

 

[mikameek]

Jade does all of those things as well! She flails around like crazy too and flicks her head around. I'm so scared I'm going to hurt her too. The water after is a struggle. She just stops swallowing eventually too and it all flows out of her mouth -_-

It's such an emotional rollercoaster. So up and down, good and bad. I get so excited when I see her eat something. Then an hour later feel defeated when she refuses her food. That's awful a vet told you that, I'm glad you took such good care of her and I hope you found a different vet! One vet told me that Jade is old anyways and what do I expect... she's 12. I just wish I could work from home during the week to properly feed her! I'm going to take some vacation time this week to care for her.
Did you have an ultrasound done for Mika? Or did you just treat her based on bloodwork? I'm thinking if by my next appointment on the 17th I don't see an improvement I'll schedule an ultrasound

I was too, honestly. I got good at getting it back of her throat by eyeballing how far the pill pusher or syringe was in her mouth. Don't get frustrated though (or try to control yourself if you do) because she'll pick up on those uneasy tones and body language. Staying as calm as possible (talking to her in a soothing voice, pets during and after, treats too after) will make things feel easier on her.

The biggest thing I can tell you is this is a one day at a time process. Don't let the set-backs get you down. As long as she's not getting worse (in the sense, she's too weak to walk, not getting enough water, other dangerous symptoms) then try not to sweat the other stuff. This isn't an over night thing unfortunately so save the feeling down and upset for if things get worse. Instead, focus on the small good things every day. She came out to sun bathe in a different room, she wasn't acting as lethargic, she ate a little more food, she isn't in pain. Those will help you through any minor bad days.

If you want to take off, by all means! But don't feel bad about having work. I still did things, went out and saw friends. Is there anyone else there to watch her or is it just you right now? Again, it's about the calorie she's getting and in the beginning stages of getting over this they may not be close to your needed number. Mika needs 160 calories daily. The first 2 weeks of her recovery we were lucky to hit 90 to 100 calories a day. I don't think you're in that position because you're supplementing actual food in her syringe feeding. We were doing KRM because any of the foods we got weren't very easy to syringe feed with Mika. But if you need 180 and you only get 140 or 160, don't stress. You're working Jade back up to it.

We did. But we did that because her gallbladder was incredibly inflamed. We also did a procedure to aspirate her liver and gallbladder. We went to a university vet because Mika was so sick (I'm talking ALT in the 700s and ALP in the 600s). They aspirated the liver and gallbladder to look at the cells of them to see if they could find and infection or cancer that might be causing her symptoms. The ultrasound also told us where the radiologist felt her hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver) was at. When she was getting about 100 calories a day they said that her liver looked like it was only mildly hepatic. Now, that may be because Mika is younger (she's 3) but it made me feel like since we were getting calories in her and still doing our best to get more in, she wasn't going to die. Since then we haven't done an ultrasound. I've had all of her checkups based off of blood values. (We're also watching her bilirubin which is what makes them yellow during jaundice.)

 

[1 bruce 1]

Haha! I felt like I had to square up really fast and learn as much as I could for Mika! She's my first pet and my first cat. Going through all this was so rough because it happened very quickly after getting her which I was completely blind sided by.

I joined this site because I was praying that someone on her could help me with whatever was going on with her. If I hadn't, I don't know that Mika would still be here, honestly. Now, staying on here is about being able to pass on what I know and what Mika and I have experienced while also learning more in case anything else happens. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Oh my gosh! cailabaker , Royal Canin also makes a mother and babycat kibble too! I just remember that because of 1 bruce 1 and the comment about puppy chow.

When they have problems, it's amazing how much we're willing to learn. And when they become ill acutely/suddenly, we have such limited time and we're able to learn SO much to help them, others, and any future pet we have with that particular problem!!!
Thank you so much for sharing what you've learned!!!

 

[1 bruce 1]

Honestly! I was so surprised with Mika because all my cat friends (and family members) had never had cats that were so awful with medicine like her. She drools, uses her tongue, throws her head around and does everything she can from having anything near her mouth. Sometimes I have a hard time giving her water afterwards because she's just SO done with the medicine.

That's good! Wet food may be a challenge so at the end of the day find what Jade will eat and stick to enticing that. Calories, calories, calories.

I definitely can relate. I had many breakdowns, crying over Mika being good one day and then bad the next. Or her eating well for one meal and then completely ignore anything else. I have a vet tell me to put her down because her liver was failing. It tore me apart because being a first time pet and cat owner, I didn't know anything except what a vet told me. I was selfish and couldn't put her down (and thank god I didn't) so we kept fighting. It's been difficult. Financially, mentally, physically. But it's so worth it. Jade's levels are no where near as bad as Mika's. She's got a great mommy who loves her and is obviously willing to put in the time and dedication it takes to get her better.

Also, I hear you. We're still medicating Mika because her of her gallbladder and every day around the same time she knows that a towel means bad news for her. I can't wait till we can stop giving it to her (if we can, if not then, it is what it is and we'll deal).

This probably won't work or help, but it might...or help someone else.
We've had some medication "difficulties" with pets in the past. Crushing their medicine and pills in a small container until they're absolute dust, adding a bit of onion free broth, letting the entire mess dissolve for a few minutes then syringing it has helped. The broth masks the flavor. They don't necessarily "love" it, but the bitterness is masked a bit and they're more receptive to a weird broth than they are a pill.
If you try this, I'll advise the first time or two, be VERY conservative in the amount of liquid you use to dissolve the pill/med powder. It doesn't hurt the medication of course, but the more liquid you use the more you have to syringe, and that gets tiresome. A few drops can mask the bitter flavor. Many drops masks it more, but results in using 2-3 or more syringes vs. one to make it quick, clean and easy to get the medications down them.
With difficult cases we've used a VERY dilute solution of like one drop of baby food to a bit of water, and add that to the medication.
I've had my cats spit out pills minutes after giving it. I've checked them hours later to find a pill I *thought* went down hours ago and had to re-torture. It sucks. The liquid/syringe method has done us good, we know they get it ALL and (as I said earlier) the broth kind of masks that bitter pharmaceutical taste and is more well received.
((hug))

 

[Daisy6]

Last I checked you can buy a variety flat of them on their website directly, that they weren't selling on Chewy.

They did go ahead and send me a bag of kibble when I requested it for my blog shortly after product launch. By all mean, try CS as well.

What is CS?

Too bad it is not sold on Chewy.

 

[cat1967]

I am so glad your cat started eating on her own. It is so hard to do it, I know I had to syringe feed for more than a month and it was scary too. I thought I was torturing my baby. I am happy it worked for you and you also knew the issue, I didn't, we never found it. Anyway, I am sure both your cats will be fine soon and this will be a past nightmare. It is so hard when our babies refuse food or when they are sick.

 

[denice]

It was at least a month before Patches started eating on his own.

Even under the best of circumstances predicting what kitties will eat can be hit or miss. I have one now that has started with CKD so I went through finding a prescription food that she would eat. Luckily the vet gave me an assortment to try. I found one that she loved and one that she will tolerate, the others were no go's.

 

[lalagimp]

What is CS?

Customer Service
one who usually works in customer service is a
C.ustomer
S.ervice
R.epresentative

 

[cailabaker]

I was too, honestly. I got good at getting it back of her throat by eyeballing how far the pill pusher or syringe was in her mouth. Don't get frustrated though (or try to control yourself if you do) because she'll pick up on those uneasy tones and body language. Staying as calm as possible (talking to her in a soothing voice, pets during and after, treats too after) will make things feel easier on her.

The biggest thing I can tell you is this is a one day at a time process. Don't let the set-backs get you down. As long as she's not getting worse (in the sense, she's too weak to walk, not getting enough water, other dangerous symptoms) then try not to sweat the other stuff. This isn't an over night thing unfortunately so save the feeling down and upset for if things get worse. Instead, focus on the small good things every day. She came out to sun bathe in a different room, she wasn't acting as lethargic, she ate a little more food, she isn't in pain. Those will help you through any minor bad days.

If you want to take off, by all means! But don't feel bad about having work. I still did things, went out and saw friends. Is there anyone else there to watch her or is it just you right now? Again, it's about the calorie she's getting and in the beginning stages of getting over this they may not be close to your needed number. Mika needs 160 calories daily. The first 2 weeks of her recovery we were lucky to hit 90 to 100 calories a day. I don't think you're in that position because you're supplementing actual food in her syringe feeding. We were doing KRM because any of the foods we got weren't very easy to syringe feed with Mika. But if you need 180 and you only get 140 or 160, don't stress. You're working Jade back up to it.

We did. But we did that because her gallbladder was incredibly inflamed. We also did a procedure to aspirate her liver and gallbladder. We went to a university vet because Mika was so sick (I'm talking ALT in the 700s and ALP in the 600s). They aspirated the liver and gallbladder to look at the cells of them to see if they could find and infection or cancer that might be causing her symptoms. The ultrasound also told us where the radiologist felt her hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver) was at. When she was getting about 100 calories a day they said that her liver looked like it was only mildly hepatic. Now, that may be because Mika is younger (she's 3) but it made me feel like since we were getting calories in her and still doing our best to get more in, she wasn't going to die. Since then we haven't done an ultrasound. I've had all of her checkups based off of blood values. (We're also watching her bilirubin which is what makes them yellow during jaundice.)

I know she picks up on the stress, sadness and frustration, it's just a crazy mix of emotions and I'm really trying to be calm and positive over everything else. Yes there definitely is not an overnight solution unfortunately.
I think I'll take a couple days off this week to try and get her back on track with eating. It's just my fiance and I, but we work the same schedule. I just want to make sure the next few days are really consistent with her feedings - small amount every couple hours. Then I'll go back to feeding her larger amounts in the morning and a few times when I'm home. I think we are at a good point now with her calories and are getting enough! I picked up some bonito flakes today to try and entice her to eat some food on her own later tonight

Ahh good call on the ultrasound in your case! I'm going to have one done if I don't see enough improvement in the next week. Your experience sounds so scary, I'm happy Mika is doing well now and you are taking such good care of her!

 

[cailabaker]

This probably won't work or help, but it might...or help someone else.
We've had some medication "difficulties" with pets in the past. Crushing their medicine and pills in a small container until they're absolute dust, adding a bit of onion free broth, letting the entire mess dissolve for a few minutes then syringing it has helped. The broth masks the flavor. They don't necessarily "love" it, but the bitterness is masked a bit and they're more receptive to a weird broth than they are a pill.
If you try this, I'll advise the first time or two, be VERY conservative in the amount of liquid you use to dissolve the pill/med powder. It doesn't hurt the medication of course, but the more liquid you use the more you have to syringe, and that gets tiresome. A few drops can mask the bitter flavor. Many drops masks it more, but results in using 2-3 or more syringes vs. one to make it quick, clean and easy to get the medications down them.
With difficult cases we've used a VERY dilute solution of like one drop of baby food to a bit of water, and add that to the medication.
I've had my cats spit out pills minutes after giving it. I've checked them hours later to find a pill I *thought* went down hours ago and had to re-torture. It sucks. The liquid/syringe method has done us good, we know they get it ALL and (as I said earlier) the broth kind of masks that bitter pharmaceutical taste and is more well received.
((hug))

Good idea! I'm mixing everything I can in with her food now and syringing it. But she drools and spits out a lot of it when I do this. Maybe the broth or something more liquidy would be better and a smaller amount of it to make sure it gets down her throat. It's so much easier syringing it vs pilling.

 

[cailabaker]

Update on Jade!
I was able to work from home the past 2 days to feed her properly. She has started to show interest in food and is eating a bit on her own! The pet store near me was nice enough to give me some food samples, so far she has eaten Performatrin kitten food (don't mind this as it's higher calories which she needs right now). She likes it but struggles with chewing the kibbles through her nausea. I've just given her Petcurean Go! Sensitivity + shine Pollock kibble and she loves it! She's not struggling at all to eat it and she must have eaten close to 1/4 cup just now. I hope this continues over the next couple days, and if she doesn't lose interest I'm going to buy a bag! I'm so happy right now and relieved she's starting to eat again, let's hope this lasts

 

[1 bruce 1]

Update on Jade!
I was able to work from home the past 2 days to feed her properly. She has started to show interest in food and is eating a bit on her own! The pet store near me was nice enough to give me some food samples, so far she has eaten Performatrin kitten food (don't mind this as it's higher calories which she needs right now). She likes it but struggles with chewing the kibbles through her nausea. I've just given her Petcurean Go! Sensitivity + shine Pollock kibble and she loves it! She's not struggling at all to eat it and she must have eaten close to 1/4 cup just now. I hope this continues over the next couple days, and if she doesn't lose interest I'm going to buy a bag! I'm so happy right now and relieved she's starting to eat again, let's hope this lasts