Portosystemic Shunts

[darincm]

Our vet left a message on our answering saying that she has been doing research over the week to help diagnose Izzy's problem. She thinks he may have a Liver Shunt. Does anyone have any experisnce with this? I understand from my research that it can be treated medically or surgically. Medicines do work but the cats life span is reduced to about 6 years. Surgery is far more effective but costs around $3,000 from what I can gather.

He does have most of the clinical signs: chronically ill, exhibiting ill-thrift, reduced growth rates, and poor hair coats, gate abnormalities, behaviour changes, difficulty urinating & blood in the urine, anemia (now gone)

Does anyone have any experience with this?

 

[cathyc]

Hi Darincm, My kitty Scooter was diagnosed with a liver shunt when he was about 6mos old. He is now almost 2 and I am planning on the surgery for him this fall..hopefully. It really scares me because it's a very risky surgery. I'm assuming your vet has put Izzy on the proper diet and meds to treat this condition. It made a world of difference in my cat. Unfortunately my kitty had a bad weekend with seizures after getting hold of a piece of Milk Bone that my dog didn't eat. My kitty is on the Hills KD diet...canned/silver lid only. He cannot tolerate the gold lid KD as it has more chicken in it. He also gets the Purina NF dry food. His meds are lactulose, flagyl, denosyl and an antioxidant. If his ammonia levels are high it's a trip to the vet for a lactulose enema and fluids. Also per my vet no shots or flea treatments. Good luck with your kitty...it's kind of a hard road but well worth it. My little fella has me totally wrapped!

 

[cathyc]

Hi again. Was reading some of your previous posts. The Raw Diet...if your kitty has a liver shunt...could kill him. Liver shunt kitties have a very hard time tolerating protein. They have to be on a low protein and low sodium diet which Hills KD or Purina NF provide. My kitty also cannot eat large meals. He eats 3 small meals per day. I cannot leave food out for him. I actually can't leave food out for any of my cats now because of him. I have to put him away when i feed the other cats. If Scooter gets into their food it's a guarantee he will have a seizure within 24 hrs. He didn't start with the seizures until he was about 4mos. old. There are a few tests they can do to properly diagnose liver shunts...one is a bile acid and the other is an ultra sound. I opted for the ultrasound because there are two kinds of shunts...an intrahepatic and an extrahepatic....which an ultrasound should show. An extrahepatic is what you are hoping for as they are more treatable. Most of the symptoms you have described are usually caused from high ammonia levels which the proper diet and lactulose reduce. Please feel free to ask my any questions. While I'm no expert I can tell you our experiences with this disease.

 

[darincm]

Thanks - we haven't had the test yet, we are going tommorow. We took him off the raw food a few weeks back, switched him to Science Diet, then Natural Balance Turkey & Giblets. All three of our cats seem to love the Turkey.

The funny thing is he has good days & bad days. Today he is bouncing around everywhere & yesterday he looked ready to die. We also noticed some strange leg tremors the other day.

This kitten is killing us

 

[cathyc]

If your kitty does indeed have a liver shunt I would imagine even the turkey and gibets are too much for him. They just can't handle a lot of protein. It was amazing how much better mine did when I changed him to the kidney diet. The liver shunt can also cause some crazy behavior. My kitty would literally be bouncing off the walls. There were nights he would wake me up attacking me. At first I thought it was typical kitten playfulness but I have had many kittens and they didn't maul me. He would just get so agressive and still does if his ammonia levels are high. He's a tiny little fella and even my big cats back off from him. He also had days he would hardly move. Just lay there dazed out and drooling profusely. The hardest part I have with mine now is that he is hungry all the time. He spends half his life hunting for food and i have to be so careful not to leave anything out that he can get into and with other pets it's a challange. Good luck with the test tomorrow and I hope they find that he doesn't have this liver problem.

 

[darincm]

Wow...sounds like you just described Izzy. The vet saw him today & said ti fast him tonight & they will draw blood tommorow morning.

Have you done the surgery or just the diet change & medication?
What is the food you feed him? Can the other cats eat it?

Thanks for all your help

 

[darincm]

he has a Shunt!! The good news is that now we know what we are dealing with. The other good news is that this can managed medically for sometime until we can afford surgery.

Our vet said the Guelph teaching hospital will be very interested in him because this is so rare in cats, so they may cut us a break on the surgery.

 

[anakat]

I have been following your story since you first posted, I haven't commented because I had nothing useful to contribute. but I am so glad you have finally
found out what is wrong with him and that it is treatable.Wishing you all the best.
Anne

 

[renny]

Originally Posted by darincm

he has a Shunt!! The good news is that now we know what we are dealing with. The other good news is that this can managed medically for sometime until we can afford surgery.

Our vet said the Guelph teaching hospital will be very interested in him because this is so rare in cats, so they may cut us a break on the surgery.

It must be a relief to finally have some answers. Guelph is a wonderful hospital and if they see the surgery as a teaching opportunity they will probably waive alot of the costs. I hope to hear more good news from you over the next little while.

 

[cathyc]

darincm, Sorry to hear your cat has the liver shunt but at least now you know. We haven't had the surgery yet because it's so expensive but I'm saving up for it. I live in NC and was referred to the NC State Veterinary School/Hospital. No break offered from them. They told me to be prepared to spend $3000. I did find that we have a Veterinary Surgeon locally that can do the surgery and his price was $1500-$2000. We had a consultation with him and I really didn't leave feeling confident about the surgery but I know at some point and time he is going to have to have it. It's very high risk and cats don't do as well as dogs do.

As for his diet. Mine is on the Hills K/D wet food and Purina NF dry food. Both are prescription kidney diets. I have found that just because a certain is kidney diet specific doesn't mean my cat is going to tolerate it. So if your cat is like mine you might have to try different things to see how well he tolerates it. I think I mentioned this in the other post but K/D has two types of wet food...one has a silver lid and the other a gold lid. Mine loves the gold lid because it's more moist but it also has more chicken in it and about two hours after eating it he starts dazing out and drooling. So we have to use the silver lid type and I add a little water to it to make it more moist. Also don't feel large amounts at a time. Chances are he will eat every bit of it and it can set them off. Mine gets a few small meals a day. I hope your vet gave you lactulose because it is key in managing this disease. Again feel free to ask me any questions because I have probably been through it with this cat.

 

[cathyc]

In case you didn't notice it in the other post be very careful about shots. I had one vet tell me it would be fine but I was uneasy so checked with some others and they said no way. No shots. Not even rabies. My vet gave me a letter for animal control in case there were ever any problems stating that due to a medical condition he could not have the shot. If your cat hasn't aready had the shot make sure you inform any vet that handles him that he hasn't had it since these cats can be agressive and then they can take extra precaution. Also no neutering because they cannot tolerate anesthesia well. No flea treatments either. You also don't want to ever let them give him any type of sedative like valium...this almost killed mine. I will have to say the the no neutering has just about killed me. Talk about stinky pee!! There are days I would cheerfully neuter him myself!

 

[darincm]

Thanks Cathy - I've been thinking about neutering & how to handle it. I haven't spoken to my vet yet, but it sounds like the operation may not be a wise move

 

[cathyc]

The surgeon told me one of the reasons the surgery is so high risk is because of the anesthesia. So to me it's not worth the risk. When I have the shunt repair surgery I will have him neutered. The odd thing is that I have an unspayed female who is in a constant state of heat and he has no interest in her. He is the only unneutered male in the house and she is all over him...but nothing. Thank Goodness!!! Can't wait for my vet to get back from maternity leave to get this girl spayed.

 

[meghan410]

Hi,
I was wondering what is the current conditions of your guys cats? I have a 7 m/o cat that I am 100% sure has the same condition. Do you guys have advice? Thanks!
Meghan

 

[katgoddess]

One common belief is that with liver disease, pets have to be fed a low protein diet. That's not true. What needs to be fed is a low-purine diet. That is, proteins that are low in ammonia.

Additionally, the liver is the only organ in the body that can "regenerate" itself. To be able to do this, high quality proteins NEED to be fed.

I don't know what kind of proteins work for cats with liver issues, but I know for a fact that with dogs (I have a dog with liver issues), low-purine proteins include: chicken, turkey, whitefish, eggs, yogurt, and cheeses. Red meats contain a lot of ammonia and so do organs. Carbs, especially soluble fiber, are also a good addition into the diet as they can help absorb ammonia since the liver may not be doing an adequate job at this point.

Reducing protein is not recommended by many nutritionists; this can actually do more harm to the liver than good.

 

[bee9212]

I know this is an old post, but my 9 week old foster kitty -Sprinkles, was just diagnosed with a liver shunt. I posted a thread about him earlier in the week because we didn't know what was going on.

Now that we have a diagnosis, he has been put on Purina NF and lactulose. He has a URI right now so also on BioMox & Teramycin. My question is can I add the 1ml of lactulose to his food? I just hate forcing him to take it by syringe!

Also, any advice on supplements for him? Specifically SAM-e, milk thistle, or probiotics? His vet told me no to all of those, but the more I read the more I realize most vets don't know much about liver shunts in cats.

We have a good inclination he will be a permanent foster in our home, so we may fundraise for his surgery down the road. His vet said the surgery doesn't always go as planned, though. Any inputs?

I can't tell you how useful this site has been for us....thanks in advance for all your advice!

 

[detmut]

i agree that liver supplements are not necessary, but it seems probiotics would be good due to the increase in bacteria in the colon. 

 

[naugnp94]

Those of you experiencing some of the side effects of kittens with shunt........ my Rosie was just diagnosed. Some days are worse than other she's on a low protein diet and lactulose 3 times a day. What can I do if she's having a bad day drooling, really lathargic and head pressing?? Wait it out??? I can't take her to the vet everything she has an episode but she just looks so sad for a young little kitty. Any way to reduce symptoms??

 

[bee9212]

Those of you experiencing some of the side effects of kittens with shunt........ my Rosie was just diagnosed. Some days are worse than other she's on a low protein diet and lactulose 3 times a day. What can I do if she's having a bad day drooling, really lathargic and head pressing?? Wait it out??? I can't take her to the vet everything she has an episode but she just looks so sad for a young little kitty. Any way to reduce symptoms??

Hi there,
We've learned a great deal of information through a very supportive group of liver shunt pet owners. They alone have saved thousands of lives with the protocol that has been established by expert vets on liver shunts. Please find them on Facebook and post your pets story and any questions you may have. Also take a look at their protocol that is pinned to the top of their Facebook page. The name of the Facebook group is "liver shunt and mvd/hmd support". This group saved my kittens life!

Our cat had his liver shunt repaired at 8 months old and we had our fair share of the seizures a liver shunt can cause. You do not want to let him just ride it out. You need to be giving his lactulose dose every hour while he is having symptoms until he has a bowel movement. The bowel movement is what eliminates the built up toxins that cause the drooling, lethargy and other hepatic encephalopathy symptoms that you are seeing. At any sign of drooling, give an extra dose of lactulose. If you have any questions please feel free to message me personally. I think you'll find a great deal of support and answers to your questions on the Facebook page as well!!!

Best wishes

 

[naugnp94]

Bee9212
Thank you so much I appreciate your advice...... I have her extra she went to the bathroom and is like back to normal again, thank you!!! My vet seems to think she may not need to be on lactulose regularly but I think that's crazy..... seems as though she really needs it. She take .5 ml 3 times a day would you give her a full dose every hour until she goes to the bathroom?