You may remember pictures of Graybee from past posts. He is a 6 yr old outside cat who has been very special to us since birth. He is full of personality and is beautiful to look at!
Last week we noticed that his skin (which is normally white) had a definite yellow cast. His tongue and gums were also yellow. When we thought about it, he hadn't been eating with his usual gusto and he seemed more inactive than usual.
Last Thursday, after Googling his symptoms, we decided to make the difficult step of taking him to the vet...difficult because he is a large cat who runs from strangers and is deathly afraid of being enclosed in anything (not to mention being inside a vehicle.)
He was very ill the day we got him to the vet (it all happened suddenly) and a blood test showed no feline leukemia. He was very dehydrated, but would not drink, so the vet sedated him and gave him fluids and an antibiotic via IV.
It sounded like feline hepatic lipidosis or "fatty liver" disease. We spent two days force feeding him everything we could think of that would be nutritious for a cat, including feline vitamins. Every few hours we used an eyedropper and forced as much water and liquid food as we could get in...not an easy chore. He resisted every drop and it became frustrating for him and for us.
He seemed better the day after the IV and by the second day, he started eating and drinking on his own again. We kept an eye on how much he ate and drank for a couple of days and he seemed to feel much better. He acted like his old self - even chasing a few birds in the backyard.
Now this morning he won't eat again. We just spent what seemed like hours getting some more nutrition and liquids into his mouth via eye dropper...he slowly walked across the yard and lay down in his favorite napping place under a Juniper bush.
Has anyone else had experience with these symptoms? He is still jaundiced, and we are beginning to wonder if he has an underlying liver problem causing him to feel ill and therefore preventing eating and drinking. I would appreciate any advice on dealing with this.
Anyway, I've not been spending much time hooking. I have a rug on my frame that I drew up to take with me to the Bishop Hill hook-in. I will post a picture soon...just started the background.
Have a great week.
Linda
We had a kitty who developed thyroid and possibly kidney problems which resulted in dehydration. We gave her subcutaneous injections of saline at home every other day. I can't say it was easy, but it was doable. We continued this for, I think, about nine months, and she seemed to still enjoy life and be her affectionate self. We continued this until the point where we thought she was feeling unwell much of the time and not enjoying life any more.
ReplyDeleteI hope things go well for you and your pet.
... jan
Linda ~
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about Graybee's troubles. I hope you get it figured out and he can improve.
I look forward to seeing what's on the frame!
Hugs :)
Lauren
Seems a liver issue would have come up in the blood test.
ReplyDeleteI would call the vet and see if that was in the blood test they did.
I have not had that issue thank goodness with my cat.
Cathy
Thank you for your concern and comments...we continue to do our best to feed and water Graybee in hopes he will make a full recovery from feline hepatic lipidosis.
ReplyDeleteI hate to tell you this, but this happened to our dear little cat. She turned yellow, and stopped eating. It took several months, but she died because of it. Our vet told us that it was probably some type of liver problem, and there was no treatment or cure for cat liver ailments. They don't understand them very well. And by the time their skin turns yellow, it's too late anyway. I was heartbroken, especially because I had found her as an abandoned 2 week old kitten and had bottle fed her and litter trained her. She was so quiet and sweet. It was 2 years ago next month, and I still miss her. :-(
ReplyDeletePLEASE get him back to the vet as soon as you can, so he can intervene if at all possible! I will hope and pray that your sweet guy will be ok, that it's NOT serious like my Honey's was. You are in my thoughts!
Lisa
Lisa Diane, I'm so sorry that your cat suffered from this and passed away from it. From what I've read online, it is 90% curable if you can manage to re-hydrate the cat and force feed him enough to stimulate his appetite again.
ReplyDeleteA kind soul emailed me and told me to buy a kit to re-hydrate Graybee using an IV. We have been force feeding and watering him for days, and last night we gave him his first IV drip to re-hydrate. He did pretty well with it and we will do it for the next few days, at least. He is as of last night eating on his own and drinking some on his own. We are hoping that this will work for him. Thank you so much for your concern.
Linda