Tube feeding for liver disease??

Force feeding is usually not a good idea. Most cats resent force feeding
and usually are uncooperative. They also become stressed and rarely eat
sufficient amounts of food for effective treatment. Cats with HL are very
ill and severely stressed and additional stress should be avoided. Cats
also seem to develop food aversions rapidly -- the association between food
and the unpleasant experience of forcing may delay the cat's return to
eating o her own. So in the initial phase of the disease the only reliable
treatment is tube feeding - PEG tube.

I think you have to also look at your cat's tolerance level. Joel was
dx when he was about 4 years old. He was jaundiced and lost from 20
lbs to 13 lbs. We were never offered the option of a PEG tube (our vet
never mentioned it could be done) so we force fed him with soft food
and water in a 60cc syringe. We were very persistent and when we
thought we might be stressing him we would just love on him a while
and try again. A majority of food was more on us and him than in his
tummy but small amounts got in and along with meds he starting eating
on his own. That was 10 years ago and he is still doing great. Good
luck with your sweetie. Try not to worry about statistics, you have
good thoughts coming your way.


Our vet, who is helpful and sharp, seems a bit
vague about the chances of her surviving. I've done google searches and
one
article suggested that cats with hepatic lipidosis and pancreatitis have
only a 20% chance of survival with optimal treatment.


Odds are for horse races... not cats. I learned a long time ago to take the
"odds" with a grain of salt when they pertain to cats! I suggest you do the
same. Cats are amazingly resilient creatures - *never* underestimate the
resiliency of the cat!



We are struggling with the decision- to have a feeding tube surgically
implanted, and put Katie through the pain of anesthesia, surgery, and then
daily care of the gastrostomy tube site


A PEG (percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy) tube can be endoscopically
placed through the body wall directly into the stomach, its a relatively
safe, simple, procedure (providing the vet knows what he/she's doing).
Here's how its done:

http://www.maxshouse.com/percutancou...my_tube_pl.htm


Removal is even simpler. PEG tubes are considered the treatment of choice
for cats with HL by the vast majority of vets. Most cats adapt so well to
PEG tube feeding that you'll have to withhold tube feeding occasionally to
see if her appetite returned!

-- versus just letting nature take
its course (which seems to be a fatal one...). A friend of ours had a
cat
with hepatic lipidoses, several years ago, and had an esophageal feeding
tube placed in the neck (our friends husband was a vet so I would suppose
it was done with appropriate care etc) - but the outcome was not good.
There were lots of complications at the site of the tube placement
(abscess, drainage) and the cat ultimately died anyway.


Esophagostomy tubes are rarely used in cats today since the advent of the
PEG tube. Cats are very uncomfortable with Eso tubes and the neck wrap that
goes with it - which can cause moderate to severe stress -- and stress is
the one thing you want to avoid the most in cat with HL.



Katie does not
seem to be physically in pain currently, just tired and doesn't eat
anything.

Thanks for any suggestions or ideas!

I've been through it more than a few times -- I'd go with a PEG tube without
hesitation. Here's some more information.


http://www.maxshouse.com/Feline_Hepatic_Lipidosis.htm

http://www.maxshouse.com/managing_pe..._feeding_t.htm

http://www.maxshouse.com/Enteral-Assisted_Feeding.htm


I wish you and Katie the very best of luck.

Keep the faith!


Phil.