Commitment to Care: Penny

Meet Penny, she came to us when her owner noticed that she wasn’t acting herself. Penny was experiencing a decrease in appetite and couldn’t keep food down, vomiting after any meal she tried to eat, which caused her to become weak.

Adding to her decline, she also began to urinate outside her litter box. These symptoms would be concerning for any pet parent, especially so for Penny’s owners who immediately brought her into Pinellas Animal Hospital to see Dr. Elmer.

During Dr. Elmer’s examination of Penny, he noticed that she looked icteric – where her ears, eyes and parts of her skin had a yellowish tint to them which signaled problems with her liver.

Dr. Elmer ordered a full set of bloodwork, a pancreatic snap test, a feline combo test, x-rays, and an ultrasound of her liver to help determine what was wrong with Penny. After completing his exam and reviewing the test results it was determined that Penny had Hepatic Lipidosis or ‘Fatty Liver Syndrome’.

Fatty Liver Syndrome occurs when an overweight cat begins to stop eating and their stored fat is broken down to help supply them with the energy they need to do normal tasks. As the fat begins to breakdown it is then stored around the cells of their liver hindering its ability to function properly.

Fatty Liver Syndrome is treatable if caught early. Penny had a feeding tube placed to provide her with the nutrients her body needed and an IV to receive fluids to help with dehydration. Penny was in our hospital, receiving around the clock care for 10 days. She was still using her feeding tube, taking a few medications and on mobility restrictions, when she was discharged home!

With all the love and attention Penny received upon arriving home, she started showing improvement and after a few days she was eating on her own! At her follow up appointment she was able to have her feeding tube removed and now she is back to her old self, gaining her strength back all due to the attentiveness and support of her family and our dedicated team at PAH.

You know your pet best – when something doesn’t seem right give us a call to have your pet seen right away!