Why is my cat not eating after gallbladder surgery and jaundiced?

Hi there. It sounds like Miss Bella has hepatic lipidosis. This is a serious problem. You need to take her back to the vet and get a feeding tube placed. She will not get better unless she eats. If she won't eat by herself then you have to provide nutrition via the feeding tube. This article will give you a lot of information. http://www.2ndchance.info/hepaticLipidosis.htm Here is a link to an article about tube feeding: https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/tube-feeding-in-cats Honestly, this is serious and she needs to get back to the vet and have that tube placed if you want to give her the best chance at recovery. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Lord fluffy needs to be evaluated by your veterinarian as soon as possible. They will likely run blood work, place him on fluids, antinausea medications, and an appetite stimulant. Cats can get fatty liver syndrome if they do not eat. This can make them very sick and they can potentially pass away from it if not treated appropriately.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Kent. I am sorry to hear that he is still not eating after his surgery. Is his pain well controlled? Being painful after surgery is a big reason why a cat will refuse food. Perhaps ask your veterinarian to prescribe an additional pain medication. Do not give any over-the-counter pain medications as these can be toxic to cats. Also make sure his incision site is clean and there is no pain, redness, discharge or swelling that could possibly indicate an infection. I hope this information helps!

Oh my goodness! Poor guy! He does need nutrition. What was your vet's recommendation for feeding him? Its hard to assess the risk of infection without knowing what the area looks like more specifically. Definitely offer him water. Is he on antibiotics? If he is on antibiotics, offer him a liquid diet; you can soak cat food in water, mash it up with a fork and let him lap it up. Sometimes a temporary feeding tube is needed to help patient's recover from significant oral injury. Regarding the IV, My understanding from the information you gave is that he was on IV fluids during the surgery, but he went home after surgery. The IV fluids will help him maintain hydration for the time that he's getting them, but not much beyond that, so he does need to be offered water and if he's unable to drink it you need to take him to a vet and either discuss subcutaneous fluids (fluids you can give under the skin at home) https://icatcare.org/advice/cat-care/how-give-subcutaneous-fluids-your-cat or possibly a feeding tube, as subcutaneous fluids don't provide nutrition (calories, fat, carbohydrates), only hydration and electrolytes. IV fluids also do not provide nutrition. Thank you for asking PetCoach!

Unfortunately it can take a long time - weeks to months - to recovery from hepatic lipidosis. I typically recommend a feeding tube because feeding the appropriate number of calories is most important and it can be difficult to get enough calories in with syringe feeding alone. If you have other concerns for questions about her care you should check in with your vet and be sure to follow up for all recommended rechecks.

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.

You can ask your vet about putting in an esophageal tube. This is a little operation where the vet cuts a tiny hole into the skin and esophagus and inserts a feeding tube the will be sewn to the skin. This will make feeding her so much easier and it can stay in for many weeks until she starts eating by herself. So you would just have to syringe her food into the tube and flush it clean afterwards with some water. This is far less stressful than trying to force feed her or giving her tablets she does not want. At the end of the day it will be much cheaper than having her hospitalized until she eats by herself and also far less stressful. If your vet cannot place a tube, then any larger specialty hospital can do it in no time. Many cats have had a tube after going through serious illness and eventually started eating again and live a happy life afterwards.