My cat won't eat. Can I syringe feed for suspected hepatic lipidosis?

Question

Our cat is showing signs of lipidosis, but he is barely a year old. He hasn't eaten in some time, and barely drinks water. We've tried multiple different food brands (hard and soft) and he still won't eat. He has started peeing occasionally when he sits, and it's bright yellow and very fish smelling. I'm wondering, if it is lipidosis, can we feed him with a syringe to get him the nutrients he needs? If so, what foods should we give him? We can't afford ER care for him. Any help would be apprecia. Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Male | neutered | 1 year and 1 month old | 8 lbs

Summer Walker, DVM, MS · Accepted Answer

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.

My cat won't eat. Can I syringe feed for suspected hepatic lipidosis?

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