(fatty Liver) Cat Was Recovering Well From Leg Amputation But Then Things Went Downhill. Please Help

[macadamia12]

Our Male cat Mac had one of his back leg amputated last Thursday due to a infection(supposedly triggered by weak immune from fatty liver) that started eating his leg away.

He was surprisingly doing well for the next 3 days after surgery which included lots of purring and also able to walk. We gave him pain medication on Friday and Saturday and then decided to stop as his liver is still healing. From Sunday onward, we started giving him CBD oil as we were worried about him being in pain.

Yesterday things changed and he become very lethargic, disoriented, wobbly and kept falling when trying to walk. He just lays in one place and seems very out of it. He stopped purring completely and his voice is lot weaker. We were hopeful things would improve today, but nothing has changed.

I am now wondering if CBD oil had anything to do with this change or its the cumulative effect of everything he has gone through in the last 2 months when he stopped eating. He has been sedated at least 8 to 9 times (for blood work and other things) and under anesthesia 3 times( 2 times for feeding tube surgery and one for leg amputation). He also struggles with major constipation and we have to give him different types of supplements and medication to make sure he is able to poo.

This last 2 months have been very cruel and exhausting where when we start seeing good results and some hope, there is another setback and we are back to square one.

We feel constantly anxious and worried. Please help us understand what could be causing this sudden change in him when he was actually doing better right after surgery.

We will also call out Vet tomorrow.

Thanks in advance.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Stomach upset and lethargy are pretty common side effects of CBD oil, from what I have read. And, the dosage could be impacting that as well. I would think you would want to stop the oil and return to the pain meds, at least until you have talked with the vet.

I don't know if you had the vet's approval to use the CBD oil or not, but when you talk to them please tell them about it. And, ask about your worries with the pain meds, or if there is another pain med that could be used with less of an impact on the liver.

Wish I could be of more help. Please let us know what the vet says, and keep us posted on Mac's condition.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I'd also suggest stopping the CBD oil and going back to the pain medication. You will know fairly quickly if that was the culprit.

Lighting a candle for your boy right now!

And please keep us updated!

 

[macadamia12]

Hi FeebysOwner , Mamanyt1953

Thanks for the reply.

We took him to the Vet today and his wound site(where the leg amputation surgery stitches are) is infected internally. He did xrays and blood tests as well and said everything looks good except the infection. He said his change in behavior was probably due to this infection.

Vet gave Mac antibiotics and are praying this would cure the infection. At the same time, its very worrisome since we removed his leg for the same reason.

Thanks again for your support and assistance.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Thanks for the update. I am glad all else is well with him. Just hope the internal infection is cleared up by the antibiotics. Feeby has her paws crossed for Mac to get well with the antibiotics alone.

Please do continue to give us updates!!

 

[daftcat75]

Poor Mac. Hopefully the antibiotics will do the trick. Finish the course. If you think he needs pain meds, ask the vet for a recommendation. CBD is not completely harmless if we're concerned about compromised liver function.

 

[daftcat75]

Maybe ask the vet about the Assisi Loop. I'm still in the loading dose stage with Krista so I can't speak to its effectiveness just yet. But she has a terribly sensitive pooper for any kind of arthritis relief so it's a blessing and a relief to have a non-pharmaceutical anti-inflammatory option for her.
Assisi Animal Health

 

[fionasmom]

You have really gone that extra mile for your baby. My GSD is a melanoma amputee so I have some experience with the position you are in. There is a website called tripawds.com which is for dog amputees, but they seemed very nice when I used to frequent them. I did try CBD oil recently for my dog. I should clarify that this was not in relationship to the amputation but for severe arthritis. Basically he got MUCH worse over about 5 days time and so I stopped it and returned to his traditional dog prescription and he at least regained what he had lost. My vet says a lot more research has to be done with CBD oil, and so does my own doctor.

I really hope that Mac is feeling better and responding to the meds.

 

[amandag1]

Hope Mac heals quick! I know you have been through alot

 

[amandag1]

Hows Mac

 

[macadamia12]

Guys,

Thanks for you help and support.

Last two days were extremely hard. We have hit a new low like never before. Mac has stopped walking completely. His voice has changed and breathing is very laborious. He tries to tell us when its time to poop and pee and if we miss the signal, he does it on himself. Yesterday he was crying a lot, today not as much.
His surgery site also has started leaking lots of puss. Mac doesn't want to eat anything. He starts breathing heavily when we tube feed him and tries to gently stop us.

Its been very painful to see him like this. We are beyond shattered since we had gotten so hopeful seeing him do great right after the leg surgery. He had even started eating on a consistent basis.

Please help us what our next steps should be. What can be do to combat this infection besides antibiotics? We saw how deadly this infection was with his leg and now its in his main body.

If things don't improve next week, its going to be very devastating. We are preparing ourselves in taking the tough decision if this is all too much for Mac. It will be the hardest thing ever.

Thanks again for your support.

 

[zed xyzed]

Prayer for you sweet Mac, it is absolutely crushing to see them suffer. Have you talked to the vet about Debridement in Cats - Procedure, Efficacy, Recovery, Prevention, Cost Also did they antibiotic sensitivity test on the wound? I read that some bacteria has a better response rate to specific types of antibiotics.

 

[macadamia12]

Thanks zed xyzed .

I will call Vet tomorrow morning to see if antibiotic test were done and if debridement is an option.

 

[amandag1]

What antibiotics is mac on? Can they swab the wound site and give something specific?
If the site is pussing would topical antibiotics be an option?
I am so heartbroken this is happening!
Is there another vet hospital or specialist group maybe you can take Mac too and have the previous vet send records over?
How could the site get internally infected?
Poor baby
Praying for
Him

 

[macadamia12]

amandag1 ,

He is on Convenia.

The site has been oozing lots of puss(pinkish color) today. We have been doing warm compressing as instructed by the vet. He is extremely miserable right now, his breathing is very hard and labored. He cries often too. Its a very tough night. Every time he cries, our heart stops and we feel so helpless.

We will call our vet tomorrow to see if topical antibiotics can help or a antibiotics test can be done as recommended by zed xyzed.

We are so baffled by all this too. Don't know how could the surgery site be infected too when we removed the leg to solve the same problem.

We are contemplating taken him to a different vet(Vet#3) but not sure since he might have to be sedated to do all the tests to start over. Also last time we called the other vet, they had no availability for 3 weeks. We only have 3 Vets in our Island town and his current Vet(Vet#2) is the most advanced. Vet#1 was Mac's regular Vet which is where we took him initially, but they seemed to not care which is why we took him to Vet#2.

Thanks

 

[macadamia12]

We called our Vet since Mac was crying a lot. Vet said to give him gebapentin.

We did that and Mac died 20mins later. He was in his favorite spot. He died a very painful death. We just dropped him at the Vet for cremation.

This is a very painful experience and I still see him everywhere in the house.

Thanks all for you support and love. I am forever grateful.

 

[zed xyzed]

I am so so sorry that you lost your beautiful Mac. I hope you find comfort in knowing he knew you were trying to help him and that he knew he was dearly loved

 

[amandag1]

I am so so sorry. You did all that you could for Mac. You tried very hard.
Rest in peace Mac
Free of pain
Sending you love

 

[daftcat75]

I'm so sorry this happened. Mac is at peace now. May his memory be a blessing!

 

[kunoichi9280]

I'm so very sorry.