#hepaticencephalopathy

[oddballcattoys]

Benny gave us a heart stopping scare last night. He had been sleeping in his back in this bed and woke up with a start, rolling to get upright. Except something happened and he kept rolling, rolling, fell off the couch and it was like he was paralyzed trying to roll again. I ran over, got down on the floor and put my arms around him, letting him know it was OK and relax! It took a moment for his body to calm down. I kept stroking him to bring him back to reality. He got up and had a few wobbly steps and sat down. I pulled him on my lap and within a few minutes he was normal again. We don't know if he could have had a nightmare and startled awake (it happens), a quick seizure (it's been years since his last), or possibly pulled a muscle in his back (Angie pulled a muscle in her leg once and had a stroke-like reaction). Whatever happened was absolutely terrifying and needless to say, hugging him super close right now and it was a sleepless night on seizure watch. Sometimes our love is what keeps our animals going through their hardest moments. We can heal sick sometimes. ❤❤❤ . . #specialneedscats #sickcat #hepaticencephalopathy #livershunt #mycatismychild #catmomlife #catsarelife #ilovemycats #catlife #animalhealing #kittyboy #myboy #greyandwhitecat https://www.instagram.com/p/CYjaGieLXN5/?utm_medium=tumblr

[oddballcattoys]

Benny is feeling good enough to give the camera a raspberry just now! 😹 He was hiding in the dark under the bed again, and I coaxed him out and carried him over to the couch to sit next to me. I remembered from when he nearly died at the vet a few years ago that he needs stimulation to snap him out of the trance. I cleaned his sticky whiskers (from the meds), and brushed his hair while quietly talking to him and encouraging him. He went from dilated pupils to focusing and finally giving a few slow blinks. He quickly picked up the gravy bowl too! Yay!! He really needs to hear especially when he’s sick, that we will NEVER give up on him, and we are trying the best we can to make him feel better. It’s such a comfort that I really believe when he was surrendered to the humane society years ago, he was very sick and nobody took good care of him. Benny’s not a throwaway cat, special needs or not, it makes him that much more awesome. ❤️ If your cat is sick, please listen to their soul and your heart. Benny has a good life because we did just that, instead of giving into the vets (who are really at a loss when it comes to his health, at least in our state). . . #benny #specialneedscats #hepaticencephalopathy #livershunt #sickcat #sickkitty #ilovemycat #rescuedandloved #adoptdontshop🐾 #pawprintsonmyheart #nevergiveup #catsarethebest #catsofinstagram #catmomlife https://www.instagram.com/p/CRo3VUlJNn0/?utm_medium=tumblr

[oddballcattoys]

I couldn’t get a good pic of Benny tonight. He spent the day hiding under the bed in the dark. HE gives him migraines with occasional nausea. I was able to get a little gravy food into him this evening, but that’s it. 😿 He is very strong fighting the syringe meds but he’s not clear in the head yet, meaning he is still in a stupor from the HE. I can best describe it is when he’s really sick, he’s in a coma-like state where he doesn’t react naturally, or doesn’t react at all. As he gets out of the state, you have to force him to start coming around, typically by getting his mouth with water, spoon feeding him food, scruffing as necessary to get meds into his clenched mouth. I’ve been nursing him through flare ups for five years now, and we have had better results giving him home care than bringing him to the vet. The last time the vet had him overnight, Benny was literally minutes from death, more from a broken heart thinking I abandoned him! We raced over to the vet when they called us. They let us know he was slipping away then they brought him into the room. I was crying and sat on the floor and called his name. He was so weak, but he came over to me, crawled into my lap, looked at me and asked to go home. We thought we were going to be giving him hospice care for a short time. I didn’t get it until later that evening that the vet didn’t recognize his HE condition and give him lactulose! When I had that realization, I quickly gave him a full syringe, and not too long after he started recovering. As with tonight, I just gave him another dose, and I am hoping like every other time this happens, he’s going to be waking me up at 3am for a big bear hug. ❤️ We really appreciate your prayers right now, I know without a doubt they help. I tell Benny everyone is thinking of him, and he gets a peaceful look on his face. I hope I can give you a happier update tomorrow. 🤞 . . #sickcat #poorkitty #mybabyboy💙 #benny #hepaticencephalopathy #livershunt #prayersplease #catstory #mycatismychild #ilovemycat #catsofinstagram #catlife #catmomproblems #kittylove #meowbeauties https://www.instagram.com/p/CRnUWtWpLpQ/?utm_medium=tumblr

[oddballcattoys]

We woke up to a very sick Benny this morning. 😿 It was a pretty bad hepatic encephalopathy episode with drooling and walking drunk after vomiting. I quickly got medication into his system and after monitoring him closely all morning, he seems better now! Whew. It’s a really scary thing to have to go through. I urge anyone with a special needs cat to pay very close attention, so you know when something isn’t right and could turn into an emergency. You need to know how to react and treat them per the situation right then. We’ve been able to keep Benny healthy years past the vet’s expectations, and we will continue to defy the odds for many years to come. We are hoping to still get on with our evening’s festivities, I’m working hard at finishing up the last few orders before I can take a (short) break! . . . #sickkitty #sickcat #hepaticencephalopathy #livershunt #poorbaby #kittycuddles #benny #greyandwhitecat #meowmy #catmom #catbaby #catlife #catsarethebest #poorkitty #workinghard #felinefriends #felinelovers #adayinthelife #purrito #catlady #cats_of_day #catnap #sleepykittypurrpurrpurr #purrrr https://www.instagram.com/p/CJMVa6rh7vg/?igshid=1ipllcye978hu

[oddballcattoys]

It was a rough night last night... up until he got a crystal energy session! Within an hour he literally went from barely moving in the corner to sitting in the hallway gulping down food! We are so grateful for all of your prayers and wishes for our favorite boy! ❤️ He is being quiet today and mostly sleeping, but is definitely on the mend. One thing I learned about having a special needs cat, is it’s like a chess match. If x does this, you need to quickly react with y. Things change? Here’s your next move, NOW. Stay one step ahead of the game. Listen to your instincts, not Dr. Google and even sometimes vets. As we’ve learned, they may know textbooks but it doesn’t guarantee your cat is a textbook. Benny continues to defy the textbooks, and I’m determined to keep it going for many years to come! 🥰 #sickkitty #hepaticencephalopathy #livershunt #defytheodds #mothersknowbest #benny #supercat #greyandwhitecat #energyiseverything #crystalhealing #catsofinstagram #catsarelife #getwellsoon #chessgameoflife #kittylove #sleepycat #tiredcat #cutekitty #bigcats #orientalshorthair #catscatscats #catmom #catparenting #meow #purr https://www.instagram.com/p/CGS5GBfhZ2b/?igshid=gpxxsnxnwe8j

[oddballcattoys]

Wishing Benny a speedy recovery, he’s very sick today. 😿 For those of you who don’t know Benny’s story, he has what the vets believe is a liver shunt with hepatic encephalopathy. We’ve had a great year and a few months without any illness, until this morning. He’s already gotten a dose of meds in hopes of a quick recovery this week. 🤞#sickkitty #sickcat #hepaticencephalopathy #livershunt #poorbaby #benny #greyandwhitecat #getwellsoon #catsloving #sleepingcat #bestfriends #bffcat #boycat #specialneedscats #catmom #catsarelife #mondaymorning #sadcat #zooey #kittensleeping https://www.instagram.com/p/CGQX_cNn1eD/?igshid=gzvhynesim2o

[oddballcattoys]

It's been a trying morning with Benny, and a reminder why we cannot have another cat in the household. He went after Angie again this morning. He jumps her, knocks her on her side, then kicks her until you break it up. She doesn't get hurt, but it's very upsetting! If you look at his eye, it's quite brown. I will be giving him meds with his next meal and hopefully that will rebalance him. This is part of the hepatic encephalopathy. He gets mean and ornery. Angie is disadvantaged because she's so shy and small. I will not bring Verna into the household, she's even smaller and with three legs. Verna witnessed this fight, so I am hoping she won't hang around our door anymore. I love her, but someone else can definitely too! . . . . . #benny #specialneedscats #specialkitty #hepaticencephalopathy #livershunt #myboy #sickkitty #kittylife #angie #verna #adoptdontshop #catstargram #cats #catsofig #cattitude #saturdaymorning #catfight #multicathousehold #catmom #catprobs #catlovers #catfamily #catsofworld #catstory #felinelove #feline #complicated #lovemycat #worstdayever #feralcats https://www.instagram.com/p/BydFJurhVkn/?igshid=16hn2yyki6qvm

[oddballcattoys]

Benny Story day #8! So things just continued to go downhill with Benny. He would follow me into a room and try to bite the back of my legs. Whenever he'd race around with Gracie, he'd get rough with her, then would start drooling and stumbling. It just didn't make any sense! After a particularly bad episode, I called the vet in tears. He called back with a diagnosis from a top neurologist vet in Iowa - Liver shunt with hepatic encephalopathy. The vet explained there was something wrong with his liver and it wasn't working properly, allowing for toxins to enter his system and back up. The hepatic part affects them neurologically. What was the treatment plan? If I could get him to an out of state vet, if he was stable, they might be able to surgically fix the issue, after a lot of tests. That runs easily into the thousands of $$. In the meantime, we could try a special hepatic prescription food with lactulose medication. We tried the latter, but it made him so much worse! The seizures had completely stopped (whew!), but he was so grumpy and mean! He continued to lose weight, he was down to 6lbs. I really felt this was the end. Our vet wasn't able to do any more at this point. I just didn't have the money for a specialist right then either... 😿 #specialkitty #specialneedscats #specialneedskitty #hepaticencephalopathy #livershunt #myboy #sickkitty #benny #poorkitty #cats #cat #catsleep #catsleeping #sleepytime #sleepycat #catnap #greyandwhitecat #adoptashelterpet #adoptdontshop #sickcat #catfamily #Catoftheday #catsofinstagram #catsofworld #catstory #sillycat #cattitude #catmom #catlovers #bennythecat https://www.instagram.com/p/BwsF8d6B947/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=2ia0om3dt99k