Hello Pet Lovers!
Today I want to share with you a very serious and very important topic regarding our pets.
It is about liver disease, in this case in cats, although it also applies to dogs.
As I have told on previous occasions, I live with two cats that are almost 11 years old, luckily they have always been very healthy cats.
I remember that Riku suffered an abscess on his skin, caused by a prick from a wire, a lump appeared on his side, swollen and full of pus and that was the last visit he would have to the vet, when he was one year old.
Since then (apart from a flea invasion we had a few years ago) they have never been sick.
Hola Amantes de las Mascotas!
Hoy quiero compartir con vosotros un tema muy serio y muy importante con respecto a nuestras mascotas.
Se trata de la enfermedad hepática, en este caso en gatos, aunque también aplicable a perros.Como ya he contado en anteriores ocasiones, convivo con dos gatos que tienen ya casi 11 años, por suerte ellos han sido siempre gatos muy sanos.
Recuerdo que Riku sufrió un absceso en la piel, provocado por el pinchazo de un alambre, le salió un bulto en el costado, inflamado y lleno de pus y esa fue su última visita sería al veterinario, cuando tenía un año.
Desde entonces (aparte de una invasión de pulgas que tuvimos hace unos años) jamás han estado enfermos.
Last summer, I began to see that Luna was almost too fat, she was always round like the full moon, but it seemed to me that she was out of the ordinary, and sometimes I found vomiting in the hallway at home (not the typical vomiting of hair, but vomiting clearly from feed) so I started to ration their food a bit, since normally they always had access to feed.
At the same time, it happened that I had to go to work on an island for two months, I had never been so long away from Riku and Luna, but I had to accept that job, since my employment and economic situation after confinement for the Covid pandemic was worse than bad.
In my absence, the cats stayed with my boyfriend Miguel (
El verano pasado, empecé a ver que Luna estaba casi demasiado gorda, siempre fue redonda como la luna llena, pero me parecía que se salía de lo normal, y a veces encontraba vómitos por el pasillo de casa (no los típicos vómitos de pelo, sino vómitos claramente de pienso) así que empecé a racionarles un poco la comida, ya que normalmente tenían siempre acceso al pienso.
En esa misma época, coincidió que tuve que irme a trabajar a una isla durante dos meses, yo nunca había estado tanto tiempo lejos de Riku y Luna, pero tuve que aceptar aquel trabajo, ya que mi situación laboral y económica tras el confinamiento por la pandemia de Covid era peor que mala.
En mi ausencia, los gatos se quedaron con mi novio Miguel (
Two months of hard work went by in the middle of the high season and finally it was time to go home :)
Upon my return, I could see that Luna had lost weight and I thought that the control over the amount of food was working and now Luna no longer seemed to be overweight.
After a few days, I found a new job in a bar, this time without having to travel or go far from home.
When I had been in my new job for a week, Miguel called me very scared one morning and told me that Luna was very sick, that they were giving him some kind of seizures, that he fell from where he was and began to convulse.
Pasaron dos meses de duro trabajo en plena temporada alta y por fin llegó el momento de volver a casa :)
A mi vuelta, pude ver que Luna había adelgazado y pensé que el control sobre la cantidad de comida funcionaba y ahora Luna ya no parecía tener sobrepeso.
Tras unos días, encontré un nuevo trabajo en un bar, esta vez sin tener que desplazarme ni irme lejos de casa.
Cuando llevaba una semana en mi nuevo trabajo, Miguel me llamó muy asustado una mañana y me dijo que Luna estaba muy mal, que le daban una especie de ataques, que se caía de donde estuviera y empezaba a convulsionar.
I called a vet close to home who made an appointment for me in the late afternoon.
When I got home, my soul fell to my feet, it was just as Miguel had told me, even worse when I saw him, every few minutes Luna would literally fall to the ground, she became totally rigid, with her legs fully stretched, and started out of control. to convulse, colliding with everything around.
The seizures lasted less than a minute, and then after being unconscious for a few more seconds, she came to herself and got up with difficulties, like dizzy or drugged, her pupils were completely dilated and when I looked at her mouth I saw that her gums were yellow, a sign of illness.
Until it was time for her visit to the vet, she suffered these seizures several times, I couldn't do anything for her, I was just trying to hold her so she wouldn't hit the furniture, I couldn't stop crying, I thought that at any moment she would go away to die after one of those attacks, it is very hard to see, and when the attack stopped, it would awkwardly approach me and stay very still.
Llamé a un veterinario cercano a casa que me citó a última hora de la tarde.
Cuando llegué a casa, se me cayó el alma a los pies, era tal como Miguel me había contado, incluso peor al verlo, cada pocos minutos Luna caía literalmente al suelo, se volvía totalmente rígida, con sus patas totalmente estiradas, y descontrolada empezaba a convulsionar, chocando con todo lo que hubiera alrededor.
Las convulsiones duraban menos de un minuto, y después tras quedar como inconsciente unos segundos más, volvía en sí y se incorporaba con dificultades, como mareada o drogada, sus pupilas estaban completamente dilatadas y al mirarle la boca ví que tenía las encías amarillas, señal de enfermedad.
Hasta que llegó la hora de la visita al veterinario sufrió varias veces esas convulsiones, yo no podía hacer nada por ella, solo intentaba sujetarla para que no se golpeara contra los muebles, yo no podía parar de llorar, pensaba que en cualquier momento se iba a morir tras uno de esos ataques, es muy duro de ver, y cuando cesaba el ataque, se acercaba torpemente a mí y se quedaba muy quieta.
When we go to the clinic, I explained to the vet what was happening to her (in fact, she could see one of her seizures, in addition to her being disoriented, and she was barely standing on her feet, when she tried to walk, she was swaying from a side to side all the time) and that she was a plump cat a few months before and that day I even seemed to notice the bones of her spine.
The vet asked me if I had noticed that I was eating less or nothing, at that moment I felt very bad because I did not know how to answer for sure, since the two cats share a feeder, but I did explain that I found vomiting that was not typical of the hair.
He also asked me if something had changed in his life, a move, routine changes, etc. I explained to him that 3 or 4 months ago I controlled their diet, and that I had to be away from home for two months, he explained to me that such changes sometimes help cats to stop feeding and fall ill.
Cuando llegamos a la clínica, le expliqué al veterinario lo que le estaba pasando (de hecho, pudo ver uno de sus ataques, además de que se la veía desorientada, y apenas se tenía sobre sus patas, cuando intentaba andar, se balanceaba de un lado a otro todo el tiempo) y que ella era unos meses antes una gata oronda y ese día incluso me parecía notar los huesos de su columna vertebral.
El veterinario me preguntó si había notado que comía menos o nada, en aquel momento me sentí muy mal al no saber responder con seguridad, ya que los dos gatos comparten comedero, pero sí le expliqué que encontraba vómitos que no eran propios del pelo.
También me preguntó si algo había cambiado en su vida, una mudanza, cambios de rutina, etc.Yo le expliqué que hacía 3 o 4 meses les controlaba la alimentación, y que yo tuve que estar fuera de casa durante dos meses, él me explicó que ese tipo de cambios a veces ayudan a que los gatos dejen de alimentarse y caigan enfermos.
When weighed her at that time, she barely exceeded 2 kg, and the tests, hemogram, ultrasound, etc. began.
Obviously, Luna was anemic, the diagnosis was a possible liver failure (when the liver for some reason stops filtering correctly).
The vet's recommendation was that I let her spend the night there, under observation, medicated and on intravenous feeding, and it prepared me for the worst, it was very possible that Luna would not survive the liver disease, the way she told me did not reflect many hopes...
I couldn't believe it, I went home alone, without Luna, who was hospitalized that night with a very high risk of not overcoming the disease.
Al pesarla en aquel momento, apenas pasaba de los 2 Kg, y empezaron las pruebas, hemograma, ecografía etc.
Obviamente, Luna estaba anémica, el diagnóstico era un posible fallo hepático (cuando el hígado por alguna causa deja de filtrar correctamente).
La recomendación del veterinario fue que la dejara pasar allí la noche, en observación, medicada y con alimentación intravenosa, y me preparó para lo peor, era muy posible que Luna no sobreviviera a la enfermedad hepática, la forma en que me lo dijo no reflejaba muchas esperanzas...Yo no lo podía creer, me volví sola a casa, sin Luna, que quedaba ingresada por esa noche con un riesgo muy alto de no superar la enfermedad.
That night at home we barely slept, it was obvious that even Riku noticed her absence. I was afraid that my phone would ring at any moment to receive horrible news.
The next day if everything went well I would go to look for her in the afternoon, in the morning I called the clinic to see how she was doing, at the moment everything was the same, without getting worse, and when I left work I could go to pick her up.
The vet told me that the next few days were crucial, that maybe I would get through, or maybe not. He informed me about what medications I should administer: A liver protector that is also a dietary supplement, in addition to antibiotics and corticosteroids, a total of 5 doses a day, dissolving the medications and making them drink with a syringe.
Esa noche en casa apenas dormimos, era obvio que incluso Riku notaba su ausencia. Yo tenía miedo de que sonara mi teléfono en cualquier momento para recibir una horrible noticia.
Al día siguiente si todo iba bien iría a buscarla por la tarde, por la mañana llamé a la clínica para ver como iba, de momento todo seguía igual, sin empeorar, y cuando salí de trabajar pude ir a recogerla.
El veterinario me dijo que los próximos días eran cruciales, que tal vez saldría adelante, o tal vez no. Me informó sobre qué medicamentos debía administrarle: Un protector hepático que además es un complemento alimenticio, además de antibióticos y corticosteroides, un total de 5 tomas al día, disolviendo los medicamentos y haciéndoselos beber con una jeringuilla.
We got home and I put her in a quiet place, since the shocks motivated her attacks, I tried to get her to get out of the carrier, but she felt comfortable there and went back inside, she barely moved, if she went out, and tried a little they would go back to start seizures.
In addition to all those medicines, I put some food and water close to her, so that she would have them within reach without straining ... But Luna didn't come close to smelling the food, or the water, nor did she pee or poop, obviously, her stomach it was totally empty.
In the first days there was no evolution, she was so weak that she barely resisted the medicines, she only turned her head as she could and began to generate a frothy saliva.
After a week with hardly any improvement, he began to eat the juice from those cans of snacks that cats like so much, that day something improved, when he smelled the wet food he ran to the plate, staggering and still with dilated pupils, And even though he didn't eat anything solid, he cleaned the plate of the juice, and that was a breakthrough :)
Llegamos a casa y la puse en un lugar tranquilo, ya que los sobresaltos motivaban sus ataques, intenté que saliera del transportín, pero ella se sentía agusto ahí y volvía a entrar, apenas se movía, si salía, y se esforzaba un poco volvían a empezar las convulsiones.
Además de todas esas medicinas, le puse cerca un poco de comida y agua, para que las tuviera al alcance sin esforzarse… Pero Luna ni se acercaba a oler la comida, ni el agua, ni hacía pis ni tampoco caca, obviamente, su estómago estaba totalmente vacío.
En los primeros días no había ninguna evolución, ella estaba tan débil que apenas se resistía a las medicinas, solo apartaba la cabeza como podía y empezaba a generar una saliva espumosa.
Después de una semana sin apenas mejoría, empezó a comer el jugo de esas latas de bocaditos que tanto le gustan a los gatos, ese día algo mejoró, cuando olió la comida húmeda salió corriendo hacia el plato, tambaleándose y aun con las pupilas dilatadas, y aunque no comió nada sólido, limpio el plato del jugo, y eso era un gran avance :)
She began to leave the carrier, and with the days even from that room.
The convulsions disappeared although she was still unstable, as if disoriented, she was unable to calculate distances, when she walked down the corridor slowly, her dizziness carried her against the walls, sometimes she simply lost her strength and fell on her face, but she got up again and followed little little by little.
She even she started jumping to get on my legs and get comfortable, but she was terrible, you watched as she swayed trying to calculate the jump, and often she missed and she returned to the ground unstable.
Week after week she improved very slowly, little by little she gained weight and regained stability and strength, by the third week giving her the medicine was already a complicated job, she had a little more strength and it was like holding a tiger :)
Empezó a salir del transportín, y con los días incluso de esa habitación.
Las convulsiones desaparecieron aunque seguía inestable, como desorientada, era incapaz de calcular las distancias, cuando iba por el pasillo lentamente, su mareo la llevaba contra las paredes, a veces simplemente perdía la fuerza y caía de morros, pero volvía a levantarse y seguía poco a poco.
Incluso empezó a saltar para subir sobre mis piernas y acomodarse, pero era terrible, veías como se balanceaba intentando calcular el salto, y a menudo fallaba y volvía al suelo inestable.Semana tras semana fue mejorando muy despacio, poco a poco ganaba peso y recuperaba la estabilidad y la fuerza, a la tercera semana darle las medicina ya era un trabajo complicado, ella tenía un poco más de fuerza y era como sujetar un tigre :)
The treatment lasted six weeks, in the last days, after each intake, I was vomiting, which worried me again, but she began to eat, drink and relieve herself normally, although for a few weeks I think it was difficult or scary to enter into the litter box and found his poop around the house...
In the end, Luna recovered, it took her months to be like before, to gain weight, to calculate how high she would jump and to be completely Luna again.
Now she is fat again, sometimes I wonder if too much, but when I remember those weeks and how she felt her bones through her skin, I am glad that she is plump but healthy!
Seis semanas duró el tratamiento, los últimos días, después de cada toma, vomitaba, cosa que me volvió a preocupar, pero empezó a comer, beber y hacer sus necesidades con normalidad, aunque durante algunas semana creo que le costaba o le asustaba entrar en la caja de arena y encontraba sus cacas por la casa...
Al final Luna se recuperó, tardó meses en estar como antes, en coger peso, en calcular cuán alto saltar y en volver a ser completamente Luna.
Ahora vuelve a estar gorda, a veces me pregunto si demasiado, pero cuando recuerdo aquellas semanas y como le notaba los huesos a través de su piel, me alegro de que esté oronda pero sana!
I did not know how to see the symptoms in her whole, I only noticed that she had lost weight, but I could not imagine that she was sick, since her behavior had not changed, until the seizures made it obvious that something was very evil.
But luckily, and with a lot of patience, affection and love, Luna overcame her liver disease and it makes me happy to be able to tell it as an experience that was horrible but that she taught me to observe those details that indicate that something is not right.
Yo no supe ver los síntomas en su conjunto, solo me fijé en que había adelgazado, pero no pude imaginar que estuviera enferma, ya que su comportamiento no había cambiado, hasta que las convulsiones hicieron obvio que algo iba muy mal.
Pero por suerte, y con mucha paciencia, cariño y amor, Luna superó su enfermedad hepática y me hace feliz poder contarlo como una experiencia que fue horrible pero que me enseñó a observar esos detalles que indican que algo no va bien.
Although I have hardly any images of those weeks and that process, I hope that this post has been useful and interesting for you.
Greetings Hive friends!
A pesar de que no tengo apenas imagenes de esas semanas y ese proceso, spero que este post os haya resultado útil e interesante.