High ALT/absolute eosinophils and UTI in male cat

[bugmankeith]

My cat who just turned 8 suddenly became very ill.
It started with him having heavier breathing, being more lethargic, and then vomiting heavily once a day, diarrhea, and almost no urine in the litter box and straining frequently, the little bit of urine coming out was pink color.
A week before the this happening was his yearly health checkup and he was acting normal the vets found nothing wrong, except his blood results. Absolute eosinophils was high, as was ALT and Eosinophils. Vets suggested to get a stool sample and check for parasites and that was negative. But they were concerned about his liver. All of this was when he was acting normal so they said come back in a month for a blood re check.

I was very concerned about his health, but financially I am broke and no vet offers any financial assistance I can do, I’m disabled and anything that gives me a loan like credit cards makes me lose my disability income so care credit or go fund me is out.
I found someone to donate money to bring him to a low cost vet, my regular vet wouldn’t squeeze him in despite me saying it’s an emergency.
The vet said his bladder is emptying by feeling him, but most likely is swollen or small crystals causing an UTI. Gave him convenia shot and another medicine to reduce swelling so he can pee better. So far it seems to be helping.

But the vets didn’t check blood or sonogram or anything with his liver nor took a urine sample. I’m concerned if the liver isn’t working could that cause a UTI, or could a UTI cause those values?
He needs a re check in two weeks and I’m unsure what to ask to be done and if it should be by my regular vet, or if this low cost vet did everything ok?

I attached a photo of his bloodwork prior to getting sick

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. It is possible that the elevated eosinophils are due to the UTI. I have never heard of a UTI causing a high ALT level though, but I am not a vet. You might ask the vet if it would be appropriate to do a bile acid test which measures liver function. Other causes of high ALT might come from pancreatitis or IBD - the latter being very hard to conclusively confirm. There is test for pancreatitis - spec fPL You can talk to the vet about these tests, or, they may prefer to re-check his blood and see if the high levels have corrected themselves. If you can manage it, a urinalysis really should be done as well.

The low cost clinic did what would be considered a basic treatment - antibiotics and probably an anti-inflammatory (swelling) - although it would have been helpful if they would have done a urinalysis. It would obviously be better if you could use your regular vet for follow-up and additional testing. Any chance you can get a personal loan from a family member or close friend?

 

[daftcat75]

ALT is a tricky bugger. It can go high with inflammation just about anywhere; not necessarily a local effect to the liver. The liver wouldn't cause a UTI. How is he doing now since the Convenia shot? Is he eating, peeing, pooping, and acting alright? Is he still lethargic and having gut or butt symptoms (vomit or diarrhea)? If he's improving, I would stay the course for however long the vet said it would take for the UTI to clear. If he's not improving, you might need the fPLI test for pancreatitis or an ultrasound to see if there is more going on in his gut than the bloodwork is revealing. You might not need to do anything about the ALT until after the UTI has cleared. It may only be a reflection of the UTI itself. They have very few treatments for liver disease anyway. Usually that's either feed them back to health in the case of hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver disease from prolonged anorexia) or IV fluids and antibiotics to flush the liver. You can both feed him back to health and flush his liver with a high moisture (e.g. mostly or all wet food) diet.

 

[bugmankeith]

He has finished his medicine and is acting almost 100% like himself, though I am still going to try and get the blood re tested soon and possibly urine.

One symptom has not cleared though, when he got sick he had tiny bumps on his ears and nose that opened to form sores he scratches, the vets didn’t seem concerned but I wonder if they have any connection to his illness?