Complete Care for Your Aging Cat - Amy Shojai [116]
Nurse Alert!
Liver disease in aging cats often requires long-term care to help the cat maintain a good level of quality of life.
Cats with liver disease often refuse to eat for days to weeks at a time. A feeding tube placed surgically into the stomach through the body wall provides the conduit for temporary nutrition. A soft, semi-liquid diet given by syringe through the tube maintains nutrition until the appetite returns. Owners may be required to tube-feed the convalescing cat.
A number of oral medications, usually pills, are often needed to relieve the symptoms of liver disease. When you must tube feed the cat, these medications can be added to the food. Other times, compounding the medicines may be helpful in helping the cat accept medication.
Golden Moments: A Royal Treatment
Aztec was a surprise. Andrea Dorn, a research associate at Iowa State College of Veterinary Medicine, had set out to capture an adult feral cat, but she discovered the six- to eight-week-old baby. It only took Aztec a couple of days to learn to love Andrea, and the feeling soon became mutual. “I had just lost my first cat, 17-year-old Gabriel, so I was pretty needy at the time,” says Andrea.
The little brown and white tabby baby was soon acting the part of princess among the other cats in the household. Aztec grew into a petite, seven-pound kitty and the bond between Andrea and the special cat grew stronger year by year.
Then several months ago, just before her seventh birthday, Aztec began to have mysterious health problems. “She’s always been extremely thin, and is not a big eater,” says Andrea, “but I noticed she slowly stopped eating. She started vomiting maybe once a week, but then it got more frequent. We weren’t sure what was going on.” Andrea immediately took the cat for a veterinary exam. “I practiced as a veterinary technician for 15 years before I got to Iowa State, and I don’t put up with a cat not eating for very long.”
Because of her background, Andrea was aware that these vague symptoms could be caused by a wide range of problems. But she immediately suspected liver problems. When an X-ray and ultrasound seemed to substantiate her fears, a liver biopsy was scheduled.
Often a liver biopsy can be done with a tiny incision through the abdomen to take the necessary tissue sample. But Aztec’s liver was too small. Instead, an exploratory laparoscopy was performed, using a specialized endoscope to also take a look at the abdominal cavity and organs inside of the body. The tests determined Aztec had cholangiohepatitis.
“It’s an autoimmune-type problem. There’s something that makes the liver react to itself,” says Andrea. The cause remains unknown. The cat’s liver was so severely inflamed that it was having trouble functioning normally. Drugs such as steroids are commonly prescribed to help counteract the inflammation.
“Usually you’re not going to cure it. It’s never going to go away so she’ll have to be treated the rest of her life,” says Andrea. She’s researched the condition since Aztec was diagnosed and is heartened to learn some cats have lived with cholangiohepatitis for as long as seven years.
Treatment is tricky and must be tailored for each individual cat’s tolerance level and situation. Because liver disease often is associated with other body systems such as the intestines or pancreas, some medicines are designed to treat these problems, too.
Prednisone, a steroid, is the most common and easiest treatment but a host of other medicines are often required. Aztec also takes metronidazole