Pablo was found jaundiced by his caregiver - yellowed leather areas like ears and a yellowish tinge on gums - after a long bout of poor appetite. He also has a tangibly enlarged liver.
Unfortunately there were no immediately available funds for Pablo to see a vet and so his caregiver approached us for help.
We accompanied Pablo to the vet where he was found to be severely dehydrated. He needed to be hospitalised and put on drip. Alongside saline; dextrose, vitamins. When he was more hydrated his blood was tested. He was found to have 5 times elevated level of liver enzymes.
Pablo needed to be hospitalised overnight. To minimise hospitalisation costs, when he was stable enough to receive fluids subcutaneously instead of via IV, we brought him back to our foster home. he is now on 150ml of saline daily until his dehydration is alleviated.
Pablo needs a long list of nutraceuticals into order to improve his condition, including: Zentonil (vet-prescribed), taurine, arginine, carnitine, SAMe, NAC. He also needs herbal supplements such as milk thistle and dandelion root. He is currently also on antibiotics, and cyproheptadine which is an appetite stimulant he responds well to.
This treatment will help improve his liver condition, however, it will likely be a lifelong one, as liver failure rarely reverses. He will need another blood test in 4 weeks and regularly thereafter to manage his condition. He also has a small lump in his abdomen, which at this point we will not know if it is cancer or otherwise until we can send him for a biopsy. Cancer will require additional medication and care.
The good news is that Pablo came to us sooner than later: even more severe liver failure cases can put cats in a coma. Also, Pablo does not show signs of pancreatitis, which if a cat also has, presents a very poor prognosis for liver failure.
How you can help
Pablo's vet bills are/will be paid from our Stray Cat Fund. He is on a canned food diet, which alongside his supplements are paid for by our Boarding Fund. You can give to either fund by making aa deposit to either fund in our POSB savings account 188-52652-7 and thereafter email us to indicate which fund you are giving towards. You can also contact Elaine to give your gift in person via a visit by appointment.
You can also give canned food through our corporate sponsor The Water Dish who will deliver the food to us directly. The default canned food is Addiction Brushtail. If you would like to pamper Pablo, we accidentally discovered he really, really loves Nature's Variety Lamb formula, which is very pricey: $5.77 after discount at Pet Lovers' Centre. Enquire at maxine@thewaterdish.com.sg for either Addiction or Nature's Variety Lamb charity prices.
We will continue to update on Pablo's progress on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (/@luvkuching) so do follow us there.
