Hi there Maryellen McCracken,
Welcome to Just Answer! I would like to help you and your cat with this question, but need a bit more information in order to better assist you.
What prompted you to take Shadow to the vet? Has he been vomiting?
Has Shadow lost weight recently?
Did your vet say this was cholangiohepatitis? Or hepatic lipidosis?
Fiona
Shadow had been sleeping through his meals leading into the weekend (not normal since he's somewhat over weight and likes to eat); the last time I saw him take a meal was last Thursday. He was drinking small amounts of water however. I took him to the vet because there was a puddle just outside his litter box and the urine was a dark yellow-orange. This seemed serious to me since he's very good about using his box and also, each time he tried to walk he was very unsteady and cried out as if it was painful to move. I have not noticed any weight loss. The vet gave me no other info other than his liver is infected.
Ahhh... so he is an overweight cat who suddenly stopped eating and then developed dark orange urine? Also he was wobbly and had a hard time moving.
ANy vomiting?
Did the vet mention a fever?
Now that you mention it, it seems that he had been vomiting in the past couple weeks, not frequently but it seemed to happen after meals. He has a sensitive stomach and I thought it was due to the cat food I was changing him back to.
The vet didn't mention a fever but I noticed that Shadow felt warm when I picked him up this morning for the trip to the vet. He also seemed to find cool places in the house to sleep.
His regular routine was to greet me in the morning for his A.M. feeding and then go outside to sleep in the sun; then come in for the afternoon and greet me when I came home from work for his P.M. meal. He's social and likes to be in the company of our family but leading up to this he slept much more and stayed to himself.
We also have a Golden Retriever who appears to be healthy at present.
Thanks for that further information!
I have been busy working on your answer and will be back with it shortly!
Maryellen
You have described to me a 10yr old cat who is now hospitalized for a liver disorder. In the last couple of weeks he has been vomiting with some increased frequency, and he has not been seen to eat for 6 days. He has been sleeping more. He is overweight.
From what you are describing, there are 2 things that your vet might have meant by a liver infection. They are Cholangiohepatitis/pancreatitis and Hepatic Lipidosis. It is quite possible that your cat has a combination of the two. Let me explain a bit more about each.
Often, the cat is hospitalized to get these treatments intravenously (into the vein) using a catheter. This is particularly true if the vomiting prevents oral fluids or antibiotics. Pancreatitis can be very serious, and can even be fatal if untreated. Cats with this are very sick, lethargic, reluctant to move, and nauseated.
Essentially what happens is the body goes into a state of starvation, and a signal is sent out that the body must mobilize the fat stores to provide energy. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a signal about how much fat to mobilize and fat cats have a lot... so it all gets sent to the liver to be converted from fat into glucose. And the liver gets overwhelmed and shuts down. This leads to nausea and vomiting, which means the cat won't eat, and the body tries to mobilize more fat. The cycle continues and the liver gets into more trouble.
Often, in older, overweight cats an underlying problem like cholangiohepatitis could have been the initial reason for the loss of appetite. Or it could be something as simple as a hairball or dental pain after his extractions... but the consequences of not eating or eating very little are serious.
I will add some links with further details:
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=1455
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=1&cat=1327&articleid=217
Once nausea is controlled, most vets will start an appetite stimulant to encourage the cat to start eating again. Cyproheptadine is a popular one. I have used it for years, but more recently started using a new appetite stimulant in cats that I have had great success with. You could ask your veterinarian if he or she can get ahold of an antidepressant for humans called Mirtazapine (Remeron is the trade name in Canada). Here is a link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirtazapine It has been used as an appetite stimulant in cats and dogs for the last couple of years with great results. And more about cyproheptadine, which also works well:
http://www.petplace.com/drug-library/cyproheptadine-periactin/page1.aspx
Good luck with your cat! I hope that with treatment he will be feeling better soon. With these liver disorders, it can take several days before cats start to feel better, unfortunately, so be patient.
Best wishes to you both!
If this has been helpful, please hit the green "Accept" button and leave feedback. If you need more information, just click on reply and I will still be here to provide it!
The above is given for information only. Although I am a licensed veterinarian, I cannot legally prescribe medicines or diagnose your pet's condition without performing a physical exam. If you have concerns about your pet I would strongly advise contacting your regular veterinarian.
Veterinarian
15 years experience as a companion animal veterinarian in British Columbia, California and Ontario