My kitty and Hepatic Lipidosis

[Catlover0188]

Here is her report from Xray.

 

[fionasmom]

I agree that I would not give up at age 7 right away. Frankly, you were wise to wait for the ultrasound and have it read by vet who is experienced enough to make a correct diagnosis.

 

[Catlover0188]

Is it weird that they didn't start any liver meds? She just got discharged this morning. I forgot to ask and we are following up with her primary tomorrow. When she had this last time, her liver enzymes were through the roof, so they were started right away. Now, she's slightly elevated. Also going to ask about special diet for bladder stones and see if the primary can do an ultrasound.

 

[fionasmom]

If you are referring to the ER, not necessarily. That is sometimes for the best as ER vets know ER and may not be versed in hepatic conditions.

 

[Catlover0188]

Izzy followed up with her primary vet today. They are going to do an ultrasound next Thursday and more lab work on Monday and Thursday. One of their vets is skilled in ultrasounds and it'll save me money from going to a specialty vet. The vet was pretty encouraging that the area of concern on her xray would be a weird place to have cancer. She thinks it may just be fat.

She said no ursodiol just yet, but gave me Denamarin. She also instructed me to increase her gabapentin from twice a day to every 8 hrs.

We also discussed the bladder stones which they will be able to see better on an ultrasound. She said as long as my cat is peeing and doesn't appear to be straining, we will do conservative treatment until the ultrasound.

We didn't do any lab work today, but she didn't notice any glaring jaundice, so she felt labs could wait until Monday. I'm also hopeful that since we caught it earlier and started feeds right away, it's not as crucial to do daily lab work like last time.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

That all sounds good.

 

[Catlover0188]

Izzy is staying over at the vet. She became jaundice overnight and more lethargic. The vet she went to 2 years ago doesn't do overnights anymore, so I had to bring her elsewhere. They will do an ultrasound, labs, give fluids, meds, and possible send a sample of her liver to see why this is happening again.

I have to be honest and say financially, I can't do much more. This time around is already totaling over $7K. And if she needs surgery for bladder stones potentially, it's just too much.

I just feel depressed about the expense of everything. And I'm hoping there is good news.

 

[fionasmom]

Vet bills are hugely expensive nowadays and you can only do what you can do. You have taken excellent care of her and sometimes more is not better. Please let us know what happens.

 

[Catlover0188]

Vet bills are hugely expensive nowadays and you can only do what you can do. You have taken excellent care of her and sometimes more is not better. Please let us know what happens.

She was doing so well. I thought we were over this. This vet office seem like they meant business and they want to get to the bottom line why this is happening again.

2 years ago, I remember her jaundice getting significantly worse before it got better as well.

 

[Catlover0188]

Just received an update. They sampled her liver. Her bilirubin is now a 12 and her kidney numbers were going up, as well. They also said her red blood cells were lower. I do know she became anemic the last time with fatty liver disease. The ultrasound showed one kidney larger then the other and a fatty liver. They are doing a urine culture as they think she could potentially have a kidney infection. She said the urine didn't look infected, but that doesn't mean the kidneys aren't. They're also adding on an antibiotic. They said they saw a few small bladder stones, no obstruction.

 

[epona]

What a rollercoaster you have been on - I must apologise, I saw this thread pop up and read through a bit of it and liked some of your older posts, then got to the recent updates and realised that might be inappropriate, so apologies for notifications of likes of your old posts that you might have got.

I hope your lovely kitty is in a treatable situation and makes a good recovery, it is extremely stressful having an unwell pet so please try to look after yourself a bit too.

 

[stephanietx]

I'm late to the party, but you might consider adding this to her diet.

GastroElm Plus For Cats

 

[Catlover0188]

What a rollercoaster you have been on - I must apologise, I saw this thread pop up and read through a bit of it and liked some of your older posts, then got to the recent updates and realised that might be inappropriate, so apologies for notifications of likes of your old posts that you might have got.

I hope your lovely kitty is in a treatable situation and makes a good recovery, it is extremely stressful having an unwell pet so please try to look after yourself a bit too.

Oh gosh, don't feel bad. Trust me, I thought we were over this hump, as well. I told the vet I've been around cats my whole life and never had a sicky like this. It could be her genetics or she's just unlucky. I'm hopeful that because her kidney levels weren't higher last week that we are in a place where it's all treatable.

2 years ago, my cats bilirubin went up to a whopping 22 from an original 14 before it started getting better. I'm still hopeful! And she is in good hands staying overnight!

 

[Catlover0188]

Just venting. I'm worried my kitty may have both liver and kidney failure at the same time. Is this recoverable? I feel like her chances are slimmer.

 

[stephanietx]

Just venting. I'm worried my kitty may have both liver and kidney failure at the same time. Is this recoverable? I feel like her chances are slimmer.

Try the Gastro Elm I posted a link to above. I'm trying it with my pancreatitis kitty.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I saw nothing in the report you shared to suggest Izzy has kidney failure, so unless you have more information to share from that aspect, I'd take that off your list of worries right now and focus - as it seems the vets are doing - on resolving her fatty liver issues. Whatever is behind the stones is pretty much a secondary issue and based on what the vet said to you, it seems like it can be placed on the back burner at this time.

I know this is all stressful and understand why your concerns might be winding out of control because there just seems to be so much going on. But, right now, the vets need to work to take care of getting Izzy stable, and I hope you trust they are doing so.

Continue to keep us updated.

 

[Catlover0188]

Izzys kidney values are now normal! Her bilirubin went from 12 to 10. They said she's slightly more anemic, but she received fluids, so they're not surprised by that. She's tolerating her feeds just fine and no vomiting.

Still waiting on liver biopsy results. It's a holiday, so nothing is open today. Still awaiting results of urine culture, as well.

I'm currently waiting in a room to visit her! I was happy that they asked if I wanted to come visit! I don't want her to think I forgot about her or abandoned her. She will stay one more night and they'll recheck labs in the AM.

Even though this is good news and makes me more optimistic; I still realistically know she's a sick kitty.

 

[Catlover0188]

She is doing awesome! She was actually purring and looked so upbeat!

 

[fionasmom]

This is wonderful news!

 

[Catlover0188]

This was her today.