Scratchy Update

So at this point it’s looking like Scratchy has Feline Hepatic Lipidosis, or Fatty Liver Disease, which is kind of what I was thinking, based on what I’d read online.

So what that means is he’d stopped eating, or stopped eating the usual amount of food, and then his liver started shutting down or malfunctioning.  Which made him jaundiced, and made him feel sick, and not want to eat.

So the main thing is to get him to eat, and since food isn’t all that appealing, he’s been fitted with a feeding tube.  I haven’t seen it yet, but I believe it’s inserted in the back of his neck and goes into his belly or throat.  We will have to feed him about four times a day through the tube, and each session will take about fifteen to twenty minutes.

They’ve also aspirated his liver, which is kind of like a biopsy only smaller – they stick a needle into his liver to get a small sample and then have it tested for other things like hepatitis and leukemia.  That was done yesterday and we should have at least some results today.

I’ll be getting a phone call later this morning, and if all is going well, I’ll be able to pick up scratchy on my way home from work.  I’ll also learn to feed him through the tube, and then I’ll teach Bill and the kids as well.

One thing I discovered, while I’ve been doing my research on the internet, is that there are quite a number of blogs devoted solely to people’s cats with Fatty Liver Disease.

I suppose that shouldn’t have surprised me, as there are blogs devoted to anything and everything.  I don’t think I’ll go that far – but I’ll probably be posting Scratchy updates from time to time.  I’ll most likely write a post (with pictures) about how we feed him through the tube. 

I’m being cautiously optimistic.  Still don’t have the results from the liver aspiration yet, so I don’t want to turn cartwheels (not that I could do that anyway), but I am fingers-crossed hopeful.

So is Alex, as you can imagine.

Comments

[Jada]

oh :( I hope all works out. Sick kitties are no fun at all.

[Josordoni]

fingers crossed for you and for Scratchy and for Alex. Who must be suffering a lot with this, poor lad. He loves that cat so :(

[tiffany]

Poor Scratchy. I am so sorry. I hope he starts to get better.

[Liz]

Poor Scratchy! I hope he feels better soon. Kisses and hugs.

[Donna B.]

My heart goes out to you guys! Especially Alex!
Oh sweet little Scratchy... I hope you get better! The tube won't be there for much longer, and I hope you get your appetite back soon!
Please keep us updated Jayne!

[RoseAnn]

It's so hard when our animals are sick because they can't tell you what's going on. Oftentimes, their instinct is to hide any weakness so it can be really tricky to figure out there's a problem.

Is the feeding tube a long-term solution or just to get through this crisis?

{{{Hugs}}} You are a good kitty mama!

[Crystal @ Fairy Phases]

Hope everything turns out well for Scratchy. I'm very attached to my little Pug and I know I'd feel if she was sick.

[ralph]

i hope all goes well with scratchy, too. human and ferret fingers crossed for scratchy.