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My cats, and and how we overcame fatty liver disease.

This is Buster, my newest kitty (adopted Feb. 23, 2008). These two pictures were taken the week of March 1, 2008.

Meet Eliot, who as you can see used to be pretty fat. This was taken in August, 2007 right after he moved to Colorado. For reasons that are not clear, Eliot developed hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver disease) in late October/early November, perhaps because of the move from Wisconsin to Colorado (diagnosis via ultrasound). I don't know what happened first or what caused what, but he refused to eat, vomited at least 2-3 times a day and his weight dropped dramatically (from over 11 pounds to about 7). I had gradually tried switching his litter to a “natural,”corn-based brand, and one of my hypotheses was that he was eating it (along with some of the old, clumping litter) and that was making him vomit, which disinclined him to eat (and if he did, he threw it up anyway), and it became a vicious cycle.

The above two pictures were taken the day he got home from the vet after spending two days on an IV. Notice the feeding tube in his nose and how thin he is. I was supposed to feed him CliniCare, a liquid diet, through his tube (see the picture below). Late that night he vomited so violently that the tube came out of his mouth, and I was forced to cut it off at the mouth. There was still a part of the tube stuck in his mouth and through his nose, but I couldn't remove it completely as it was actually stitched into his nostril and glued to his nose (you can see where the tube attaches between his eyes in the above pictures). The tube was removed early the next day, and the vet gave me two options: either get him to eat somehow, or insert an esophageal feeding tube surgically through his throat. Evidently cats can overcome this disease fairly well as long as they eat. Our vet said it's not really important what they eat, as long as they eat something. I tried everything, from expensive organic cat food to cat junk food, from deli meat to fresh meat and seafood (both cooked and raw), from cottage cheese to liver, canned tuna, sardines, etc. I bought every type of cat food in Boulder, and he still turned his nose up at everything (including the wet food from the vet's office), despite the fact that he was literally starving to death. I've lived with cats pretty much my whole life, and I've never known a cat to turn down, say, turkey lunch meat, chicken organs or Fancy Feast. I was desperate, and it came down to one thing: if I was to keep Eliot alive, I needed to force-feed him. I hoped that doing so would not only get him some much-needed nourishment, but also would perk up his appetite. I used a plastic syringe (with a plastic tip) from the vet's office (pictured below), and made various pureed mixtures with the CliniCare solution and wet food.

The mixtures had to be fairly runny so as to not clog the syringe. The best tip my veterinarian gave me was to immobilize Eliot by wrapping him up in a towel, kind of like a burrito. With only his head sticking out, it was relatively easy to hold his jaw open with one hand and slowly depress the syringe into his mouth with the other, pausing to let him swallow (this method of immobilization also works very well for giving pills). He fought and kicked like mad, and the liquid solution went absolutely everywhere (including all over him), but enough of it went down to make it absolutely worth it. I started with one syringe full of solution every couple of hours, then as the days went on I fed him 2-3 syringes of food at a time, 3 or 4 times a day. The change was apparent almost immediately. His energy level increased, his eyes were brighter and more full, and his jaundice started to go away (you can check for jaundice by gently pulling your cat's ears back a little and noting the color of the skin. It shouldn't be yellow. You can also pull the skin on their forehead back slightly and look at the white part of the eye). He stopped vomiting, and one day actually showed an interest in eating for the first time in months. He began eating Meow Mix packets, Sheba cans (he loves the “tuna and egg dinner” and “ocean seafood cocktail”), Fancy Feast entrees and ProPlan Turkey and Rice dry food. It wasn't long until I felt that I no longer needed to force-feed him, and shortly after that I was amazed at how much he was eating. Here are two pictures of Eliot on the mend (his neck is wet in the right-hand picture since I had just fed him and washed up):

It took awhile – maybe a week or ten days after he really started eating – for him to have a proper bowel movement. I was very concerned about this (especially if he had been eating his litter and had some sort of clay bowel obstruction, but I could never prove this), but finally one day it happened. It wasn't pretty, and it must have been very uncomfortable for him. After that initial occurrence, everything went back to normal. Luckily this story has a happy ending. As of March 5^th, 2008, Eliot is still doing fantastically. He eats a ton, is very active and affectionate, and has gotten back to an ideal weight of around 10 pounds. Since he is doing so well and has loved other cats in the past, we decided to adopt Buster (named after Buster Bluth) as a playmate and friend. They're getting along very well, and everyone seems happy and healthy. We feed them Taste of the Wild dry food and Instinct brand wet food. If your cat has been diagnosed with hepatic lipidosis, it's not a death sentence. When Eliot was first diagnosed with this disease, my vet asked me very frankly if I was willing to put the money, time and energy into rehabilitating him. “Absolutely,” I replied. It's heart-breaking to think that some pet owners wouldn't. It was a very difficult and emotional process, but it was all worth it. I would do it again if necessary without hesitation. I'm sorry if you're reading this because your cat is ill with this disease, but hopefully this has helped in some way, either practically or motivationally. If you have questions please feel free to contact me (my email address can be found on the home tab). Here is a current picture of Eliot (March 5, 2008), looking cute and happy as ever.