Opinions on fatty liver/possible pancreatitis problem

Doh! Nobody told us that. We were under
the impression that the water in her
food and what was used to flush her
feeding tube would be sufficient. She
does appear to be mildly dehydrated, as
the skin doesn't snap back quickly when
pinched. She will definitely be getting
sub-q fluids tomorrow.

Make sure to consult with your vet about how much you should give as too
much can be harmful. Generally speaking, giving 100 mls a day to even a
healthy cat is pretty safe and is more or less a "maintenance" dose.

My cat Sadie had symptoms very similar
to what you are going through (she was
diagnosed via ultrasound with a blocked
bile duct that eventually led to her
death 9 months later as surgery wasn't
an option for her.)

Was this a gall stone, or some other
form of blockage?

The best we could come up with was that chronic inflammation had caused
scar tissue to develop and block the bilr duct (she had IBD for some
time before this happened and that may have been a contributing factor.)

Why did surgery turn
out not to be an option?

Bile duct surgery is a very delicate and not always successful procedure
and it was very possible that if they were able to fix it that the scar
tissue would develop again and she'd be right back where she started. At
the time when this was discussed Sadie, while still happy and having a
decent quality of life, also had so many issues at that point that
putting her through such an invasive surgery was likely more than she
would have been able to handle. I was really torn about what the right
thing to do for her would be and did have an appointment with the
specialist at the U to discuss it further, but her chest suddenly
started filling with fluid and couldn't be controlled so I had no choice
but to make the decision to euthanize and we never made it to the
appointment. :-(

We checked for
gall stones on the X-rays, but it is
possible that something else is amiss.
We didn't know if spending $250 on an
ultrasound or even more on tissue
biopsies would be likely to turn up
anything that would be treatable anyway.
In your case, it sounds like it did not,
unless there was some specific reason
the bile duct blockage was not
treatable.

When you deal with an issue like this, it really is a matter of going
step by step and ruling things out using whatever technology is
available. If it were me, I would go ahead with the ultrasound as it is
a good tool for figuring out what is wrong and can give a much better
picture than an xray. Yes, there is a chance that it won't reveal
anything, but there is also the chance that it may. You won't know until
you try, and even if you do get a definitive diagnosis but it turns out
to be something that isn't treatable, at least you will have some
answers and be able to make informed decisions rather than guesses.

Megan



"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
nothing."

-Edmund Burke

Learn The TRUTH About Declawing
http://www.stopdeclaw.com

Zuzu's Cats Photo Album:
http://www.PictureTrail.com/zuzu22

"Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one
elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and
splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then
providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision,
raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and
material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his
way."

- W.H. Murray

Here's the update.

My sister and mom took the cat to the vet. Apparently my sister is color
blind and the cat is badly jaundiced still and has lost weight. The vet
gave fluids, a anti vomit shot, antibiotics, and SAM-e. The vet also
called my mom later and said that the cat is in trouble and probably needs
to be put down. It does not appear to be crashing but we need to do
something FAST. Why will they not administer steroids as I have suggested
numerous times? They insist on getting a blood panel first, even though
the cat is clearly nearing the end.

HELP!

Here's the update.

My sister and mom took the cat to the vet. Apparently my sister is color
blind and the cat is badly jaundiced still and has lost weight. The vet
gave fluids, a anti vomit shot, antibiotics, and SAM-e. The vet also
called my mom later and said that the cat is in trouble and probably needs
to be put down. It does not appear to be crashing but we need to do
something FAST. Why will they not administer steroids as I have suggested
numerous times? They insist on getting a blood panel first, even though
the cat is clearly nearing the end.

HELP!

Just talked to the vet. They will not administer prednisone or
prednisolone because they insist that it will have adverse effects on her
liver and any possible pancreatitis (even in the face of the symposium
report that J.Martin posted) and that she is too far gone to even try.
They recommended having her euthanized tomorrow. What should I do? She
is not obviously in pain but is in rotten shape (jaundiced, underweight,
etc). I am having to act on this from 100 miles away so this is very
difficult.

Just talked to the vet. They will not administer prednisone or
prednisolone because they insist that it will have adverse effects on her
liver and any possible pancreatitis (even in the face of the symposium
report that J.Martin posted) and that she is too far gone to even try.
They recommended having her euthanized tomorrow. What should I do? She
is not obviously in pain but is in rotten shape (jaundiced, underweight,
etc). I am having to act on this from 100 miles away so this is very
difficult.

I just talked to a different vet (finally) who will administer a
prednisolone shot, considering that we all understand that this is
approaching an endgame. I will let you all know what happens. Hoping for
the best, but expecting the worst.

I just talked to a different vet (finally) who will administer a
prednisolone shot, considering that we all understand that this is
approaching an endgame. I will let you all know what happens. Hoping for
the best, but expecting the worst.

On Tue, 06 Apr 2004 17:13:44 -0500, Ryan Underwood wrote:

I just talked to a different vet (finally) who will administer a
prednisolone shot, considering that we all understand that this is
approaching an endgame. I will let you all know what happens. Hoping for
the best, but expecting the worst.

I forgot to mention that the appointment is for 11:15 tomorrow morning. 18
hours to go.

On Tue, 06 Apr 2004 17:13:44 -0500, Ryan Underwood wrote:

I just talked to a different vet (finally) who will administer a
prednisolone shot, considering that we all understand that this is
approaching an endgame. I will let you all know what happens. Hoping for
the best, but expecting the worst.

I forgot to mention that the appointment is for 11:15 tomorrow morning. 18
hours to go.

Since your cat is hospitalized has your cat been put on IV (not sub-q)
fluids? If not it sounds like this needs to be done right away as it
will help with any toxin build-up that might have developed and is
generally a matter of course treatment for pancreatitis. What does the
bloodwork they did today say? If there is any acute renal failure going
on then it is even more important to get IV fluids. I'm starting to
really not like the vet you're using and am glad you have a secondary
that you can work with. I hope your cat can get through this crisis and
you can get her to a specialist quickly.

Megan



"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
nothing."

-Edmund Burke

Learn The TRUTH About Declawing
http://www.stopdeclaw.com

Zuzu's Cats Photo Album:
http://www.PictureTrail.com/zuzu22

"Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one
elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and
splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then
providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision,
raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and
material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his
way."

- W.H. Murray