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#1
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My cat has been diagnosed with Steatitis - looking for cat owners/vets who have experience with steatitis
Hi,
My cat was just diagnosed with steatitis (yellow fat disease) She stopped moving, stopped eating and had a fever. Also, her white cell level was very low. An ultrasound showed the inflammation of the fat. We gave her antibiotics and vitamin E for a week. The next blood test came back completely normal. The vets all felt a mass in her abdomen so they decided to do exploratory surgery yesterday. It turns out that the mass was an accumulation of fat and that yellow fat is all over (around the kidney, etc) The surgeon cleaned up as much as she could but could not remove all of it. The vet called me before the end of surgery to let me know that my cat definitely has steatitis and she asked me if I wanted them to put her to sleep while she was under anesthesia. She explained that it's a rare disease these days, and since my cat never ate fish a day in her life, it's even more bizarre since it's usually caused by a vitamin E deficiency from eating tuna. So the problem we're facing is that no vet at that clinic has had experience with treating steatitis and even though they know what to give her (antibitics, vitamin E), they don't know if it will help. We want to make the best decision for our beloved cat and since steatitis is very painful, we don't want her to suffer. But we also want to do everything we can to try and treat it. Does anyone have experience with steatitis? Did your cat have it and recover? Did the treatment not work? I would appreciate any feedback. Thank you V |
#2
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"vrollet" wrote in message oups.com... Hi, My cat was just diagnosed with steatitis (yellow fat disease) She stopped moving, stopped eating and had a fever. Also, her white cell level was very low. An ultrasound showed the inflammation of the fat. We gave her antibiotics and vitamin E for a week. The next blood test came back completely normal. The vets all felt a mass in her abdomen so they decided to do exploratory surgery yesterday. It turns out that the mass was an accumulation of fat and that yellow fat is all over (around the kidney, etc) The surgeon cleaned up as much as she could but could not remove all of it. The vet called me before the end of surgery to let me know that my cat definitely has steatitis and she asked me if I wanted them to put her to sleep while she was under anesthesia. She explained that it's a rare disease these days, and since my cat never ate fish a day in her life, it's even more bizarre since it's usually caused by a vitamin E deficiency from eating tuna. So the problem we're facing is that no vet at that clinic has had experience with treating steatitis and even though they know what to give her (antibitics, vitamin E), they don't know if it will help. We want to make the best decision for our beloved cat and since steatitis is very painful, we don't want her to suffer. But we also want to do everything we can to try and treat it. Does anyone have experience with steatitis? Did your cat have it and recover? Did the treatment not work? I would appreciate any feedback. Thank you V Sounds like euthanizing her may have been best for her. |
#3
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"vrollet" wrote in message oups.com... Hi, My cat was just diagnosed with steatitis (yellow fat disease) She stopped moving, stopped eating and had a fever. Also, her white cell level was very low. An ultrasound showed the inflammation of the fat. We gave her antibiotics and vitamin E for a week. The next blood test came back completely normal. The vets all felt a mass in her abdomen so they decided to do exploratory surgery yesterday. It turns out that the mass was an accumulation of fat and that yellow fat is all over (around the kidney, etc) The surgeon cleaned up as much as she could but could not remove all of it. The vet called me before the end of surgery to let me know that my cat definitely has steatitis and she asked me if I wanted them to put her to sleep while she was under anesthesia. She explained that it's a rare disease these days, and since my cat never ate fish a day in her life, it's even more bizarre since it's usually caused by a vitamin E deficiency from eating tuna. So the problem we're facing is that no vet at that clinic has had experience with treating steatitis and even though they know what to give her (antibitics, vitamin E), they don't know if it will help. We want to make the best decision for our beloved cat and since steatitis is very painful, we don't want her to suffer. But we also want to do everything we can to try and treat it. Does anyone have experience with steatitis? Did your cat have it and recover? Did the treatment not work? I would appreciate any feedback. Thank you V Hi. I have no experience with this disease, but looked around and found these links that talk about treating steatitis with diet and vitamin e: http://tinyurl.com/bc6bs I assume you chose not to euthanize her. I think you are wise to be concerned that she may be in pain, but also think you are right to see if you can treat this. Since she has been through the surgery, it seems a shame not to try. I wish I could help you more. |
#4
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"vrollet" wrote in message oups.com... Hi, My cat was just diagnosed with steatitis (yellow fat disease) She stopped moving, stopped eating and had a fever. Also, her white cell level was very low. An ultrasound showed the inflammation of the fat. We gave her antibiotics and vitamin E for a week. The next blood test came back completely normal. The vets all felt a mass in her abdomen so they decided to do exploratory surgery yesterday. It turns out that the mass was an accumulation of fat and that yellow fat is all over (around the kidney, etc) The surgeon cleaned up as much as she could but could not remove all of it. The vet called me before the end of surgery to let me know that my cat definitely has steatitis and she asked me if I wanted them to put her to sleep while she was under anesthesia. She explained that it's a rare disease these days, and since my cat never ate fish a day in her life, it's even more bizarre since it's usually caused by a vitamin E deficiency from eating tuna. So the problem we're facing is that no vet at that clinic has had experience with treating steatitis and even though they know what to give her (antibitics, vitamin E), they don't know if it will help. We want to make the best decision for our beloved cat and since steatitis is very painful, we don't want her to suffer. But we also want to do everything we can to try and treat it. Does anyone have experience with steatitis? Did your cat have it and recover? Did the treatment not work? I would appreciate any feedback. Thank you V Hi. I have no experience with this disease, but looked around and found these links that talk about treating steatitis with diet and vitamin e: http://tinyurl.com/bc6bs I assume you chose not to euthanize her. I think you are wise to be concerned that she may be in pain, but also think you are right to see if you can treat this. Since she has been through the surgery, it seems a shame not to try. I wish I could help you more. |
#5
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Thank you. We definitely want to try that treatment (antibiotics,
vitamin E and possibly steroids) but I'd really like to hear from other owners who have gone through it and find out if it was successful, how long it took for their cat to get better. I don't want to treat her for a long time if it's not going to be helpful in the long run. It's such a difficult decision to make... Thanks for your reply. |
#6
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"vrollet" wrote in message oups.com... Thank you. We definitely want to try that treatment (antibiotics, vitamin E and possibly steroids) but I'd really like to hear from other owners who have gone through it and find out if it was successful, how long it took for their cat to get better. I understand. Please consider posting to alt.med.veterinary. There are actually some vets who post there. I don't want to treat her for a long time if it's not going to be helpful in the long run. It's such a difficult decision to make... I know. She is a beloved member of the family, and totally dependent upon you. It is very hard. Thanks for your reply. I just wish I could help. Please keep us posted, as your experience may help others. |
#7
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I would ask my vet to contact a vet university for an idea of how well
treatment works. They can consult. I've not heard of another cat having this on this board. I'm really sorry She may have some underlying genetic problem that prevents her from absorbing the nutrient. "vrollet" wrote in message oups.com... Thank you. We definitely want to try that treatment (antibiotics, vitamin E and possibly steroids) but I'd really like to hear from other owners who have gone through it and find out if it was successful, how long it took for their cat to get better. I don't want to treat her for a long time if it's not going to be helpful in the long run. It's such a difficult decision to make... Thanks for your reply. |
#8
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I don't have experience with steatitis, but I've been doing some reading
on Vitamin E and if you are giving a basic synthetic version it would help to switch to a natural version. Apparently synthetic E only supplies part of the entire Vitamin E complex. From DVM News Magazine: "For pets, natural vitamin E is better than synthetic. It functions better to provide their enhanced antioxidant needs. From mice to elephants it has been shown that natural vitamin E has more punch, more 'bounce per ounce' than synthetic. It has recently been shown (Stone et al , 2003) that human infants similarly discriminate between natural and synthetic vitamin E. There are physiological differences in its absorption, transport, utilization and tissue retention. Though past research has shown that natural vitamin E is 36 percent better than synthetic, current research in several species, including humans, shows a 200-300 percent potency of natural versus synthetic vitamin E. " Natural E should say "mixed tocopherols" on the label, although some manufacturers use this term to mean the synthetic D-alpha-tocopherol, so make sure to look closely at the label. Natural tocopherols come as D-alpha, D-gamma, D-delta, and D-beta-tocopherols. Administration of vegetable and mineral oil can interfere with Vitamin E absorption, as can constant administration of some hairball remedies. If you are giving any kind of gel hairball remedy or oil I would stop that immediately and give Papaya enzyme instead. It comes in pill form and is available at any health food store. One pill every other day or twice a week should be sufficient. Feeding a strictly canned food diet is also helpful in decreasing hairballs. It would also be worthwhile to have your vet refer you to an internal medicine specialist. They are more likely to have experience in this area. I hope you can can find an effective treatment plan that will get your kitty feeling better soon. 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 |
#9
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One more question:
What had you been feeding your cat for the last month before diagnosis? What are you feeding her now? Also, Steatitis can take several weeks and sometimes months to resolve completey, so hang in there. 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 |
#10
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We've been feeding her Hills' Prescription Diet i/d - dry food - (she
was put on that diet by her vet a couple of years ago) She never eats any other food, and never any fish. Do you have a pet who suffered from steatitis? |
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