Mina's Moments: What a great day!!

Monday, January 10, 2011

What a great day!!

Mina just ate some yogurt!! Glen was having some yogurt, and held the foil lid in front of her. I didn't think she would have any as I had tried this morning, and she wanted none of it. But lo and behold, Glen whispers to me "Success!" I look over and I can see her little pink tongue darting out and licking the foil lid clean. I have to admit, I was so happy that I got tears in my eyes, lol

So all in all, a really good day for my Baboo. Rat-Bear jumped up on the chair and pinned her down, but she didn't even flinch and I banished Rat-Bear to the bedroom for a time out :) I am so glad I have the next few days off, it makes it a lot easier to make sure she gets her feedings at a consistent time! Four feedings down today, and probably just two more to go. Tomorrow morning, I will try again with the wet food and see if she wants some. Fingers crossed!

She's so cute, she's been sleeping soundly on the chair for a few hours now, and she still has the sleepy kitty look going on, lol

We'll see how tomorrow goes!

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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!