A High Commitment Team Dedicated to Caring for Your Pet
CASE #4
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Rosie
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Rosie is a three-year-old spayed female domestic shorthair cat. In
August of last year, her owners noticed that she was not feeling well.
Not only had Rosie stopped eating, she was drinking very little water
and vomiting. A quick check of the medical record revealed that Rosie
had lost over a pound of weight in the past 4 weeks. While that sounds
like a great accomplishment, sudden weight loss is an important sign
that a cat may be seriously ill. Because we have an in-house laboratory
at Lexington Boulevard Animal Hospital, Rosie's problem was quickly
revealed. Her labwork suggested that there were significant elevations in Rosie's liver enzymes and an ultrasound of the liver confirmed an abnormal appearance. While she was having her ultrasound, a fine-needle aspirate was used to retrieve some liver cells for microscopic examination. Those cells revealed that Rosie was suffering from hepatic lipidosis. Hepatic lipidosis is a common disease in cats with sudden weight loss. Massive amounts of fat are mobilized and become trapped in the liver. Left untreated, the resulting liver dysfunction almost always results in death. In order to remove the fat from the liver it must be coupled to protein, making it critical that Rosie gets a good source of protein in her diet. Because most cats with hepatic lipidosis are too sick to eat on their own, we placed a temporary stomach tube through the abdomen so that Rosie can be fed easily at home through a syringe. Within a few weeks Rosie had regained her strength and vigor, but she soon would develop a new problem. It seems that Rosie was so accustomed to being fed through the stomach tube that she refused to eat on her own! An appetite stimulant called cyproheptadine was used and Rosie was soon eating well on her own. This case demonstrates the importance of close attention to your cat's dietary intake. While it can happen to any cat that goes through a period of inappetence, hepatic lipidosis is particularly common in overweight cats. Today Rosie continues to do well and no longer has the stomach tube in place. Fortunately, most cats with hepatic lipidosis do well if the signs are caught early and aggressive treatment is initiated. |
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2627 Cordes Drive Sugar Land, Texas 77479 24-Hour Emergency Care for Our Clients Phone:(281) 980-3737 Fax: (281) 265-5584 Email:info@lexingtonpethospital.com |
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