Pets and Their Problems

This is our baby, Marty. About a month ago I was noticing that he was becoming quite a fat cat. Then he started to drop a few pounds. I wasn't really concerned. We were going through a heatwave and I figured he just didn't have much of an appetite. A few weeks ago we returned from a week long camping trip. When I walked through the door I was shocked to see how skinny he had become. Once again I just assumed he didn't eat much because we were gone. Everyone knows it is not uncommon for a pet to stop eating while its owner is on vacation. When he continued to lose weight following our return, I decided it was time for a trip to the vet. I thought maybe he had a tooth problem or something along those lines. Unfourtnantly it turned out to be more serious then that. Initially the vet diagnosed him with Hepatic Lipidosis. Here is a little more information on it http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feline_Hepatic_Lipidosis. Basically Marty's liver is having trouble because his lack of food intake has forced his body to convert fat into energy, thus clogging the liver. While this article makes it out to be worse than Marty's case, it still wasn't the news I was hoping to hear. Because he is still refusing to eat, we are stuck having to force feed him. It is a time consuming event that we must do four times a day.

With syringes full of food and Marty wrapped in a pillow case, I'm ready to feed him. It's a messy process and I can't seem to get the smell of the food out of my nose. I can only imagine how poor Marty feels about it. The purpose of the force feeding is to get enough nourishment in him so that his body will stop converting the fat to energy. Once this happens, he will most likely go back to eating on his own. The chemicals his liver is currently releasing, due to not eating, makes him nauseous, therefore he doesn't want to eat. It is a vicious cycle.

When I went to feed him at lunch, it did not go so well. After a few minutes, he regergetated everything I had fed him this morning. Not knowing what to do I called the vet. The receptionist told me the doctor would call me back in a few minutes to discuss the situation and to talk about some of the lab results of Marty's blood work. I knew that wasn't a good sign. When he called back, he informed me that Marty may have FIP, Feline Infectious Peritonitis, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feline_infectious_peritonitis, a fatal disease that occurs in cats under three years of age. It is a very difficult disease to diagnosis because it often mimics other diseases. While Marty has several of its symptoms, he also has all of the symptoms of Feline Hepatic Lipidosis. The scary part is that Jim's mom had to put down her kitten less than a year ago due to FIP. We got Marty, and her kitten on the same day from the same shelter. At this point I am not sure what to think. I remain hopeful that Marty will be fine. He has been battling this for about a month. If he did have FIP, I think he would be at his ending point by now. But at the same time I do have to accept the possibility that we might lose him. I never thought this was something we might have to deal with at this point in his life. He is only a year and a half old. A mere baby. So send happy thoughts to him. He sure does need them. Below is a picture of Marty's brother, Rusty, checking up on him. Rusty and Marty have been best friends from the beginning. Rusty always makes sure Marty is looking his best. Most mornings you will find them lying in my bed snuggled together. Rusty usually cleans himself and then his brother. I've always said that Marty has the cleanest ears and butt because of his brother.