Worst health fears

[luvpixie]

Dear Reader, This is my first post, but also my worst. I have a beautiful cat named Pixie. 31/2 yrs old... black domestic... so young and yet so ill. you see.. back in October 2007 my cat was poisoned.. by whom or what we have no idea. It was rodenticide that had poisoned her - a substance I don't have in my home, not just b/c its super bad for animals and humans .. but also b/c its bad for the environment. Pixie was at the OVC (Ontario veterinarian college) for 4 days, with one transfusion, X-Ray, CT and ultrasounds.. hypothermia... quadruple hemorrhage and slipping in and out of consciousness. Her right third eyelid became exposed for a full 3 weeks - apparently from loosing so much oxygen but also super stress. She also managed to rip open the stitches in her neck exposing the jugular - which we immediately got sewn back up in the ER. It was honestly the worst week of my life.

My best friend is pixie... so I did what ever needed doing to make sure she made it, and guess what? She did make it. It was my second chance, our second chance, and was so happy. So I bought her the best foods, a new hepa-filter water cooler fountain thing, lots of treats - lots of time, lots of love. I even bought her a friend to keep her company when I was at the office. I bought a little zebra finch (Gin) to sing to her and keep her busy and entertained.. perhaps even a bit of companionship (if birds and cats can have that!)... but within a week even of getting Gin my bird... pixie was eating less and less and weakening.

Took her in for testing... and now they tell me my best friend is in trouble. Her liver is elevated to twice its normal range (usually its 6 to 140; hers is 256), her alkaline phosphates at 260 (again twice the amount) - which apparently is bad b/c you only see those phosphates that high in much older cats.. not in a 3 year old!

So back to the OVC, within a day or so... I have been told to expected an ultrasound or liver sample. I need answers and so far my 'local' vet hasn't given me ANY! I mean nothing .. not even speculation. My heart is breaking at having to put her through this again.. and worse at the prospect of her not being with me. I need some answers and I do hope that you reader may have some. Is it the bird that maybe got her sick? Is it some sort of liver disease or cirrhosis? or maybe just an inflamed liver?? what does this all sound like to you? and do you have any recommendations about what to do? and if you can answer none of these, then I thank you for reading.. and hope you never have this heartbreak happen to you. Please pray for my little best friend.

[Catty1]

Hi - there are a couple of vet techs here that can likely give you some insight. Your regular vet probably has NO idea, and doesn't want to hurt you by guessing.

Please have a look at www.imom.org They raise funds for non-routine surgeries and pet treatments. Best to see now if you might qualify.

Poor little Pixie! I hope she feels better soon, and that it is something simple!

Here's a link that shows what certain elevated levels in a cat CAN mean...but don't diagnose your Pixie out of the internet. But you will have some info anyway.

http://www.sulphurspringsvetclinic.com/anesthesia.shtml

How long has it been since she recovered from her illness?

[Karen]

How scary and sad, hopefully they can find the problem at the source and treat it!

[Medusa]

Thankfully, I've not had experience w/this type of illness and I'm so sorry that you and Pixie are going through this. Mega prayers are going out that your vet or perhaps a new vet will be able to find out exactly what's going on and help your little girl. Thank you for taking such good care of her and not giving up on her.

[Laura's Babies]

I am wondering if it is some permanent damage from the poison before? Seems to me if your vet pulled her through before, he would be more informative towards you, he has a lot of his time invested in her already and should be more sensitive to your need for answers.. I Hope she can overcome this and get better to live the long happy life she should have.. ((((HUGS)))) to you for all you have been through and what you are going trhough right now. All of us here know what a blessing these babies are in our lives and feel your pain and worry.

[Freedom]

Prayers for Pixie and {{hugs to you.}} Let us know when you learn more!

[kb2yjx]

Prayers for Pixie and you!! Will put out a call for the Pet Angel Army immediately!!!

[catmandu]

The Pet Angel Army Visitor Squad Will Be There For Pixie , And Hope That Thier Head Bumpies, Kitty Kissies And Purrs Will Help Pixie Recover And Be Home In Time For Petmas.
Its So Sad When Our Pets Are Ill On The Holidays.

[luvpixie]

Catty1, Karen, Medusa, Laura's Babies, Freedom, Kb2yjk, and Catmandu, I don't know what else to say but thank you! Thank you so much for your words of help, knowledge and condolences. It has meant a lot to me, and I know means a lot to my pixie too. It is truly wonderful to see that there are others out there who care about animals as much as I do. You have given me a blessing that is irreplacable. I will never forget your kindness.

To answer some of the questions posed, I will do this all in one thread. Pixie became sick within 24 hours October 2nd/3rd of 2007... it was the morning of the 3rd.. which is almost two months ago to the day... a day I will never forget. My amazing friend Danny took me from London (Ontario) all the way to Guelph in less than an hour to get her to the best medical attention - the OVC.

Upon admittance Pixie had a cluster of issues. Multiple hemorraghe, liver failure, severe anemia, dehydration, hypothermia, O2 deficient (to the point of internal failure). It was tremendously serious. We only had a matter of minutes to decide our course of action - but i knew without question that I had to do everything possible for her survival. They gave her warming, O2 support by mask, opened the jugular for immediate feline blood transfusion, I.V. support, X-Ray, Ultrasound and Stomach fluid sample *by needle. They put her on Vitamin K therapy immediately which we continued until 30 days post release. That would roughly be 4-5 days after Halloween that we stopped treatment (Nov 5th - today is Dec 5th). In total she was 4 days in the OVC in Guelph.

I understand that Vitamin K supports the liver, so I'm guessing we should put her back on it. I agree the internet can only old questions, not answers - but it gives me hope that it might be something less severe. I have a strong feeling it might be hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver syndrome) that is plaguing her. All of the symptoms seem to fit .. but I agree it's not good to decide that's what it is - I'm no vet .. that's for sure! Thanks for all the web site information - it was super helpful I now know that ALT is Alanine Aminotransferase.. and ALP is Alkaline Phosphatase (also known as ALKP). Her ALT is 250 (norm is 6-130) and ALP 256 (norm is 2-140). Both affect the liver. I am so hoping this is Fatty liver syndrome. It has the best recovery rate 90% and only 35% actually will die as a result of it.. not bad odds. She is still marginally eating so at least she's not totally anorexic which is good, b/c therapy for fatty liver syndrome is high protein, electrolytes and fluid.

Her symptoms have been as follows:
- lack of appetite, very little eaten (still drinking ok)
- removed from VIT K on Nov 5th roughly
- overweight prior to incident with rodenticide (toxic)
- dropped to 1/2 body weight or more... 5 pounds.. now 7.
- Slight muscular moving and shaking when pet ( I mean her body moves with the stroke.. to the side.. not natural... and I don't pet hard.. I'm a girl so I don't pet hard)
- no vocalizations hardly in the last 3-4 days. (except tonight Dec 5th she moaned when picked up)
- slight bloating (very slight)
- coughing, and has been vomiting way more frequently (bile without food particulates mostly. very yellow)
- no jaundice, or discoloration of gums/ whites of eyes.
- responding to voice is ok. Still seems like she wants to eat.

I am wondering a few things. Do any of you out there know of anything that promotes the liver? maybe a good electrolyte that is feline safe that I can suggest to my vet? Does anyone know of any good books on feline liver diseases? At least one thing is sure - my vet did say its her liver so I have a platform to start from. Its not cancer... had that checked two months ago and she is negative for cancer. So does anyone know of any disease of the liver? I'm looking for any information based on the above information.. even if it sounds like something familiar will be something I can talk to the OVC vet's about - of course the vet's info comes first - but it doesn't hurt to arm yourself with knowledge.

Keep your fingers crossed, I go to see them tomorrow to get more answers.

Thank you all so much for your support. God Bless.

[Emeraldgreen]

Hi, I'm so sorry to hear about your Pixie. I know this must be so difficult for you but it's clear that you care so much for her and you are very determined to do all that you can for her. She is really blessed to have you.
I hope your vet visit tomorrow will clear things up some more and provide you with much needed answers. It sound like you have a strong sense that she is suffering from Hepatic Lipidosis and if it does turn out to be the case there is link I found that I put below about a woman who had 3 cats who had this condition and though their prognosis was very grave, she was determined too and they are all doing very well today. On the site she writes about some of the many different approaches she took to treating her cats (everything from warm compresses over the liver with dandelion flower essence to sub-q fluids and daily supplements). She mentions that she fed them canned A/D by syringe multiple times throughout the day. She believes the condition is reversable and her site might be helpful for you. Maybe you could run some of her suggestions by your vet and see if they think he/she thinks it would be safe for Pixie in addition to whatever they are prescribing for treatment.
Link about Feline Hepatic Lipidosis

I also found a book online of natural remedies written by Martin Zucker and there is a mention by one of it's readers about how it helped their cat with fatty liver syndrome. It might be worth a read and any possibilites for natural treatments could be discussed with your vet to make sure that they're safe for Pixie.

This is the quote from the woman:
"Finding this book was a Godsend. After purchasing several other "natural cat care" books, this book exceeded all expectations and made the others a waste of money. This is the only book you'll ever need to keep your cat healthy, or in my case...to save its life. After my cat was diagnosed with a life-threatening disease called Fatty Liver Syndrome, I followed the suggestions of several veterinarians in this book, as well as utilizing "conventional" medicine with my local veterinarian and her blood enzyme levels were normal after only 3 weeks! Normally, recovery takes twice as long."
You mentioned that she isn't that keen on eating but is she drinking enough water? If she is dehydrated it could really make her listless as well. Your vet will certainly be able to tell you if she is dehydrated tomorrow and if so, maybe he/she might be willing to send you home with sub-q fluids to administer to your cat yourself. I used to give my 20 year old cat who had kidney failure 100cc's a week for a few years. It always amazed me how much energy she had shortly after getting her fluids. Of course, her disease was entirely different than what Pixie is facing but being hydrated is important and might help her get on her feet and get stronger. Might be worth asking the vet about.
I really hope Pixie will make it through this and that the two of you will have a wonderful long life together. You both certainly deserve it. Hang in there!