Mina's Moments: Pooping and Purring

Monday, January 10, 2011

Pooping and Purring

Yay!!! Mina has done something she hasn't done in over a week: she flopped on me in bed this morning and started purring like the little diesel engine she is!! She was also arching her head into my hand while I was petting her. Sigh of relief right here :) I am thinking that maybe she is also not in any pain anymore, because I can't imagine having the feeding tube in not be a little painful at first :( In any case, she is starting to act more like herself again!

She is also pooping regularly it seems, which is another really good sign. Aaaaand, the best part. I layed out some warmed up cat food for her, and although she didn't eat any, she sniffed it in interest and didn't gag or anything! I am hoping that she will try to eat on her own sometime over the next few days :)

I was so tired last night, I am really glad Glen was home as he took over the last two feedings. So grateful! I was out like a light by 8:30pm, so I got a good 10 hours sleep.

Also, she isn't on her anti-vomiting pills anymore (she took her last one yesterday morning), so if she keeps her 9:00am feeding down, then that will also be another really good thing:)

There you have it!!

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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!