Best wishes for Kasha's full recovery. You will need to remind yourself that while liver disorders make a cat feel truly awful, and play havoc with their appetite, once they are through it then they can really bounce back. Even though a cat feels sicker when something is wrong with their liver, I'd much rather that than their heart, kidneys or pancreas. Ginger went through something like this about three years ago, and I had to force feed her for weeks, give her fluids, etc. She'll be 21 next June. Her sister had cancer of the liver, as well as renal failure, and lived for 2 good years after the diagnosis.

It is very distressing when our cats, or dogs, lose their vivid personalities as they fight illness, it's heartbreaking.

I've also been adopting senior cats recently, in their mid-teens, and know exactly what you mean about knowing they may have only a few years with you but not being willing for this to be true. When I adopted Dude, about 15 and FIV+, he looked as though he might die within days. He'd been at the shelter for over five years and, while they'd given him monthly depo shots, they had ignored the fact that he was dripping blood into his dishes. I literally brought him home to die. With help, he did bounce back, but I know his body is rather worn out and I shouldn't be shocked when he goes downhill. But I adore that cat now, he's my favorite out of 19, and I'm going to be ripped apart when we have to separate. Logic just can't rule in such cases.

You don't happen to have any photographs of Kasha going for the nose do you?