Fatty Liver Disease aka Hepatic Lipadosis is a liver disease seen in cats when they have become anorexic or have a severe decrease in the amount of food they are eating.
Cats are unique in that they are not meal eaters and tend to graze on small meals throughout the day which allows them a constant flow of nutrients/energy into their bodies. When cats stop eating or severely decrease the amount of food they are eating their bodies mobilize their fat stores instead, to their liver, for breakdown to be used as energy. Unfortunately the liver can't handle this large amount of fat being mobilized and results in Fatty Liver Disease.
Fatty Liver Disease can be fatal if not treated properly. The good news is, if the cat is provided with the proper aggressive nutritional support they can achieve a 90% survival rate. Medications are also needed in the treatment of this disease but the most important aspect of treatment is providing the proper amount of nutrional support. Often treatment can last approximately 6 weeks and can be managed by owners at home.
There are some veterinarians who still believe that force feeding food provides enough nutritional support. Unfortunately this is rarely the case. In most cases the cats refuse the force feeding after minimal amounts of food are administered. This not only creates a breakdown in the human animal bond with the owner but also doesn't provide the adequate amount of nutrition. In some cases cats have developed a food aversion, to the food they are being force fed, which can be detrimental to their treatment as it is often a prescription diet needed for the treatment or recovery afterwards.
The most direct and effective way of providing nutritional support is by using a feeding tube either placed as a nasogastric, esophagostomy/pharyngostomy or stomach tube. These tubes are easily maintained and allow the appropriate amount of nutritional support without stressing out the cat or owners. The food is very easily measured and administered through the tube in several small meals throughout the day mimicking the cats natural eating behaviour.
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=1455
There is no doubt about it in my mind. Tube feeding is the Fatty Liver Disease patients best chance at a full recovery!
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4 comments:
awesome post, you have really made it as important as it should be. Everyone should listen to your advise and insist on the most aggressive care once the disease is diagnosed.
You do a good job of describing fatty liver disease and why it happens. However, I have to say I don't agree with you about tube feeding being necessary.
In 2005 my cat, Cleo, became ill with fatty liver disease after we introduced a dog into the household. (She was too afraid to go to her food dish, though we didn't realize it until too late.) After she got sick, I force fed her and gave her fluids intravenously (the vet sent me home with special canned food, an IV bag and needles) for 4 weeks.
I'm happy to say that she is doing just fine today, and never thought any less of me for force feeding her. However, I felt at the time -- and still feel now -- that as sick as she was, she would not have handled the surgery to implant a feeding tube very well.
I am glad I chose the less invasive route, and I would encourage other cat owners to do the same, so long as they have the time and dedicating to make sure their cats get the proper care.
Hi, my cats name is fatso. He was 4 years and 8 months old. Fatso was a black cat with a very nice face and had long very beautiful hair. He was a very playful and kind cat to be around. He loved to joke around and rub his head against anyone who came close to him. Fatso was always purring and wouldn't hurt a fly because he was way too nice. He would always meow as loud as he could just so he would make sure that you knew he was there. Fatso had recently become very ill on Friday May 29, 2009. We noticed that Fatso had stopped eating quite a bit and has lost some weight even though Fatso, who was normally known for his name, loved to eat. Even though he stopped eating we noticed that his stomach was still getting bigger. He had also become very lethargic and stopped his purring. Fatso wasn't being himself. He seemed to be very thirsty on this Friday during the day, but he wouldn't drink anything because his mouth seemed to be hurting him. We tried to get him some water by squirting from through a syringe (without the needle of course) into his mouth. On that Friday night, fatso had started to throw up this white puffy gloop and it looked very painful for him. He kept trying to stick his tongue out like there was something caught in his throat. Fatso wasn't doing so well so we brought him to the vet on Saturday morning at 7 am. He stayed there in critical condition for 3 days. The vet did a blood sample test, and noticed that his liver enzymes were quite high. Fatso was put on IV and was taken care of for these 3 days. On the second day when we went to see Fatso he seemed to be looking a lot better. Then on Monday, the 3rd day or yesterday, we had a call from the vet saying that Fatso wasn't doing so well and that he would have to be transferred from the vet’s office to an actual animal hospital. So we made a decision and picked up Fatso from the vet and brought him to the animal hospital. When we picked him up the doctor seemed to be right because he seemed to have gone back to the way he was when we first brought him in. At this time Fatso's skin that was exposed above his eyes seemed to be turning yellow and this was because of the enzyme build-up in his liver. This caused his blood to change color which caused the skin to change color. I let him out of his carrying cage while we where waiting in the lobby of this animal hospital (In Guelph Ontario, this place is probably the best place in the world for sick animals and is called Guelph Animal Hospital) and I let him out of his cage. He sat with me for a little while but he wanted to walk around, so I let him. Fatso could barely stand up and fell to the floor twice. We put him up on the bench and he started to fall asleep. Since that time Fatso has had multiple tests and has been diagnosed with fatty liver disease, pancreatitis, and fluid build-up in his stomach (which is the reason why his stomach was getting bigger even though he wasn't eating). After this call we decided that we did not want him to be poked and probed anymore because that is not the way a cat should live. Cats should be able to do everything they are supposed to do not sitting around eating food through a tube in his stomach. So we are going to go and see Fatso today but he is going to be put to sleep. The reason why I am writing this story is so that people who are in need of help and need answers quickly will be able to read Fatso's story and help there Kitten(s) or Cat(s). We will miss you always.
For Fatso, it is what he would want me to do
I am an RVT and yes you can do whatever you want for your cat but Dear Krissy here is just stating some facts and some opinions which I think are very knowledgeable and accurate. I have treated cats many ways with Fatty Liver and each case is totally different. Nasal tube feeding is super easy to set up with no anesthetics - makes a direct route to the stomach for calories as well as medicine, is super easy to teach a client how to do it and is the most cost effective way of dealing with this disease that can take a lot of time. I personally took home a clients cat night and day for 3 months until it decided she wanted to eat and now I see her bitchy and ungreatful as ever!! yes it is a long battle and yes some owners don't want the "hassel" but it is possible. In the case of Fatso that cat had a lot more going on and fluid in the abdomen is never good but not all fatty liver cats get that. Don't be scared of the disease. Embrace it if you happened to be fronted with it. Educate yourself and talk to people who have dealt with it and can help you. Cats don't need to be put down b/c of Fatty Liver Disease.
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