Mina's Moments: I don't want to work tonight!

Saturday, January 8, 2011

I don't want to work tonight!

I have to work tonight, and I really don't want to leave my Baboo :( But Glen is here, and he will take good care of her, I know! I found Mina lazing about on the couch this morning, and I like seeing her jumping up on things instead of lying on the carpet on her side. I have fed her two times so far today, 50cc and 60cc, and I will do one more feeding at 2 or so before I head out (Glen will take over the evening feedings). She burped a few times, and I was worried she would vomit, but she kept it all down :) She's getting squirmy with the feedings. When I'm almost done, she decides to move away, and I have to hold her until I get the last few mls into her, and I still have to flush the line! Lol, she is getting stronger, so if she wants to struggle with me, it makes me happy. Oh yes, this is Mina yesterday:

You can see her belly a bit, and it's yellowish tinge. They had to shave her for the ultrasound. Also, the yellow and white bandage keeping the tube in place :) She has all these little shaved bits, one on her neck where they took some blood, one on her right paw for the IV, and her belly, lol Poor kitten

We've been keeping Theo Aka Rat-Bear (our 1.5 year old kitten) and Mina separated as he wants to play and can be a bit rough, so it's been trying as he seems to want to be on the other side of the screen all the time. It's our japanese folding screen that we've put across the hallway. When he's on the bathroom side of the hallway, this is where he likes to sleep:

Cutie :)

Anyways, I should go get ready for work, and I will keep updating!! xoxo

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What exactly is Feline Hepatic Lipidosis?

Before Mina got sick, I had never heard of this disease. I had heard of it in humans, frequently called Fatty Liver, but it never crossed my mind that cats could get it too. Essentially, when a cat stops eating for whatever reason (stress, new food, or an underlying condition), their body starts to use their fat stores for energy.

Now in humans, this is okay because our livers can metabolize fat pretty well. I thought this was the case with cats as well, so when I noticed Mina wasn't really eating, I thought "Well, she's overweight, so she might just lose some weight. When she's hungry, she'll eat".

What I didn't know was that a cat's liver cannot metabolize fats as well as other species. Cats are meant to be lean without a lot of body fat. So when a cat starts to starve, and use it's fat stores, the liver becomes bogged down with unmetabolized fat, and begins to fail. This causes jaundice (yellowing) of the skin, a rise in liver enzymes in the blood, and nausea. A cat who is already not eating, plus nausea, will be even more likely to not eat. So begins the vicious cycle.

Treatment

Once your cat is diagnosed with feline hepatic lipidosis, the treatment is food food food!! You need to stop the liver from using the fat stores that are left, and allow it to recover. You need to give your cat lots of protein so that the liver will eventually get rid of the extra fat in it. The usual way to do this is by force feeding. Remember, your cat will be nauseated and will probably not eat on their own.

You can try syringe feeding via the mouth (holding the cat and squirting food into their mouth and allowing them to swallow), or you can go the way I went with a feeding tube inserted into the stomach. I can say with all honesty that the tube saved her life. It stays in for as long as the cat needs it, and is removed once the cat started consistently eating on their own.

Mina tolerated the tube really well, and it doesn't bother her at all. It's easy and not stressful to use as you and your cat sit on the floor or on the couch, and you push in some food every few seconds. Kitty will most likely not even notice that you're doing anything!