My cat has diabetes & fatty liver, won't eat. Should I hospitalize?

Hello, thank you for your question about Sweetie. Fatty liver disease, or hepatic lipidosis, can become a serious life threatening condition. It occurs when cats suddenly stop eating, which leads to abnormal fat accumulation in the liver. The most important aspect of treatment is to ensure that the cat is eating, as this prevents further fat accumulation. Many cats with the severe form of this condition become very dehydrated and develops other symptoms such as vomiting, lethargy, etc. Many cats who are severely affected due require hospitalization and often placement of a feeding tube. If Sweetie has no sign of other symptoms and has already regained her appetite and is starting to feel better, I think it is ok to continue to monitor her at home. If you notice that she stops eating, develops any vomiting, or other symptoms I would recommend having her rechecked and consider in-patient therapy. Hope this helps!

HI, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I am so sorry about Sweet Pea's diagnosis! I would call your Vet today. A diabetic that won't eat is a big deal. They may want to see her today to check her for the presence of ketones. Ketones are formed when a diabetic breaks down muscles and fat to feed the body. But ketones cause the animal to feel sick and perpetuates the cycle of not eating and not feeling well. If ketones are present, usually hospitalization is required to get rid of the ketones. Another cause of a diabetic not eating is pancreatitis. Some cats become diabetics from chronic pancreatitis. The treatment for that is supportive care. Even if you can't bring her to your Vet today, I still recommend that you talk to them over the phone. Maybe they can prescribe an appetite stimulant, but a minimum they can guide you on how much insulin to give Sweet pea while she isn't eating well. Giving insulin at normal doses when animals aren't eating well can cause the blood sugar to drop too low, which is serious as well. I wish you and Sweet Pea the best!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. I am sorry to hear that Kitty is not feeling very well. With the description and blood results, I worry about a condition known as hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver disease) or triaditis (inflammation of the pancreas, liver and small intestines). For fatty liver disease, a feeding tube is generally recommended to help bring cats out of this condition as nutritional support is key and extremely important in these cases. I would recommend an abdominal ultrasound as the next diagnostic step to help better determine what the cause could be. If Kitty is still not wanting to eat, you need to consider hospitalization and feeding tube placement to help her get through this. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Hepatic lipidosis in cats typically develops secondary to long-standing inappetance, liver disease, or neoplasia (cancer). These cats are generally very ill and require medications to treat the primary cause in addition to trying to get them to take in enough nutrition for their body. To start from home, you can try syringing a canned food to Gimli; if needed you can mix a little water in with it in a blender to get to a consistency that is easy to push through the syringe. Unfortunately, many of these patients do not do well with syringe feeding and a feeding tube (esophagostomy tube) is needed to get enough nutrients to them. The bright yellow urine could be due to increased bilirubin content, which is common in cats with hepatic lipidosis. I would strongly recommend getting him to a primary care veterinarian to determine what the primary cause is for the inappetance. Thorough bloodwork (complete blood count, serum chemistry, FeLV/FIV test) should be performed to begin to look for an underlying cause. Abdominal x-rays or additional bloodwork may be recommended based on these findings. The liver is very good at recovering from an injury if it is caught early and treated appropriately and aggressively. I hope Gimli feels better soon.

Unfortunately this is a really tough disease to treat, even with veterinary care. Your cat would likely need to be on fluids and then start getting regulated on insulin to get his diabetes under control. Until his dehydration and blood sugar is under control he will probably still be lethargic and anorexic. I am sorry you're having to go through this with your cat. I wish there was more I could tell you. Best of luck.

Hi there and thanks for posting on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! If glucose was high on blood work and glucose is also present in the urine, then this is a diagnosis of diabetes. Insulin should begin as soon as possible when a diabetic is first diagnosed. Unless the patient is really ill or unstable, one or two day delay for insulin should be okay. A 12 hour glucose curve at the hospital should be run with the insulin Bella will be on for her first day of insulin treatment so the proper dose can be calculated and to make sure Bella does not have any negative reactions to the insulin or become hypoglycemic at any point. I hope this helps!

I'm so sorry to hear that Dominic isn't doing well. Unfortunately, complications from uncontrolled diabetes can be very severe, and it sounds like Dominic is extremely sick. Sometimes cats in ketoacidosis can be stabilized and saved, but it requires intense hospitalization and care, and even then many cats cannot be saved. If Dominic is showing evidence of kidney failure, and your vet is recommending putting him to sleep, it sounds like his chances of improving to a good quality of life are not good. I have to defer to your vet's recommendations since they are familiar with the specifics of Dominic's case - but euthanasia is definitely something that I recommend in cases where the chances of improving are very small and the cat is suffering. It would not be wrong for you to choose this course of action given Dominic's poor prognosis. I'm so very sorry you are going through this. I hope this helps. All the best to you and Dominic.