Why is my cat with hepatic lipidosis bloated and not using the litter box?

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.

Hi there. Poor Mittens! Unfortunately with her history I would highly recommend having her seen as soon as possible-she could be blocked (it actually sounds like she is). It is possible she could pass it with laxatives and iv fluids without surgery (your vet would have to do x rays to determine this). The sooner she gets checked out the better if it's already been a while. I hope all goes well and my best to you both!

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! From the X-rays, I can see that Mara's abdomen appears to be filled with fluid. It is obscuring his liver and intestines from being seen and there may even be a small amount in his lungs. Unfortunately it is impossible to tell what the fluid is from the x-ray alone. His blood work shows some abnormalities with his electrolytes, which may be if he is not eating or from fluid in the abdomen. Mara also has a high white blood cell count, these are the cells that are responsible for fighting off infections and increase if there is one present. Your vet can run some additional diagnostics, and perform a tap and remove the fluid as well as a blood test to determine if Mara is infected with FIP, a mutated form of a common virus that cats are exposed to. I hope this helps!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I want Mittens to get checked out but it's not an emergency. The fact that he is eating and acting normally is huge and a very good thing. It could be that his GI tract has just been very upset by the antibiotics. While you gather the money for a recheck appointment, try a probiotic like Purina FortiFlora (use as directed on the box). You can also add a fiber supplement like Benefiber powder (tasteless- 1 tsp with each meal). Stay on the GI diet given by your vet as this is likely also helpful. If this seems to fix the problem, great! If not, get into the vet as soon as you are able to get other medications for the diarrhea. Best of luck to you and Mittens!

She has received a lot of medications and this can upset the normal bacterial balance in the bowel. I would feed boiled chicken or fish plus a probiotic and fiber supplement such as fortiflora exclusively for 7-10days to allow the bowel to rest and recuperate. Investigation for chronic inflammatory conditions may be required if persisting

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. There are definitely radiopaque dense gravel-like objects near the bladder and cranial to it as well. It would help to provide the x-ray where she is laying on her back as well. Multiple views on x-rays help pinpoint locations of objects if there is doubt as to where they are located. I would say that this looks to be near the bladder but not within the actual bladder itself because the same dense material can be found forward to the bladder on this x-ray, so it is likely GI tract. If you can provide a second view that would be great. It also appears that she has quite a bit of fecal material in her intestines. Is she constipated right now? If so, she may need an enema and stool softener. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

I would not be overly worried about her not producing stools just yet. The metronidazole and the buprenorphine can both cause a decrease in gastric motility but moreso the buprenorphine. If she is still on the buprenorphine I would discontinue it unless you feel like she is still in a lot of pain. If she will eat it, you can offer her some canned pumpkin as that may help stimulate her GI tract. Pure canned pumpkin, not pie filling. About one teaspoon 2-3 times per day. I would also recommend you start her on a probiotic - one made for cats, not humans. I like this one but any one made for cats is fine. ( https://www.amazon.com/Purina-Veterinary-Fortiflora-Nutritional-Supplement/dp/B001650OE0 ) Hope this helps. Best wishes.