Bionic Jezebel: Overnight report

Bionic Jezebel

On June 1, 2004, Jezebel the cat was admitted to the hospital for Hepatic Lipidosis. Jezebel's life was saved by emergency bionic surgery. Outfitted with a percutaneous gastronomy tube and stylish muscle-shirt, Jezebel now leads a double life: housecat and undercover operative. "We can rebuild her. We have the technology. We have the capability to make the world's first Bionic cat. Jezebel will be that cat. Better than she was before. Better... stronger... faster."

Tuesday, June 15, 2004

Overnight report

We expected Jezebel would get hungry during the night, and we were right. At 4:45am she got up from her perch in the bedroom, wandered into the kitchen and sat in front of the food bowls. She remembers where the food is, and what it's for, so that's good. I got up and offered her a little canned food--she licked it but didn't actually eat any of it. Oh well.

This morning she seemed really hungry, so I offered her some wet Whiskas--she turned it down too. Then I tried offering her a Luv chicken, which she seemed to prefer. I'll have to go get some more today.

Had a bit of a scare this morning. Immediately as we started her 7am feeding, she started salivating and licking her lips. Bad sign. We stopped right away and sure enough, she puked. It looks like eight hours without a feeding might be too long for her bionic stomach to handle. We'll try cutting it to six hours tonight.

The good news is, a few minutes after she vomited, she went to the food bowl and ate one piece of dry kibble. We waited 20 minutes, then restarted the feeding, this time without any complications. We followed the feeding with her meds. She's now sitting up on the bed, looking good, no doubt plotting her next undercover operation.

From www.healthypet.com: "Feline hepatic lipidosis (FHL), also known as "feline fatty liver syndrome," is the most common form of liver disease in cats in North America. The disease is unique to cats; it is not found in other companion animals.

The condition is triggered when a cat stops eating due to stress, another disease or for any other reason. After a few days without food, the cat's body will begin to use fat for energy. Cats do not metabolize fat well; therefore the fat cells build up in the liver and eventually prevent it from functioning normally. FHL is very dangerous for cats and can be life threatening if left untreated.

Cats with advanced symptoms such as jaundice or seizures require hospitalization. They need intravenous fluids to reverse dehydration and liver failure.

While cats of all breeds and any age are at risk, middle-aged, obese cats are most susceptible to the disease. The most common form of the disease is idiopathic (of unknown origin), however the disease can also occur in conjunction with other diseases of the liver.

Hepatic lipidosis is treatable, especially if caught in the early stages of the disease. If aggressively treated, 70 to 80 percent of cats will recover from the disease. When left untreated, FHL advances rapidly and is always fatal. Successful treatment requires intensive nutritional support until the cat's appetite returns. An ideal diet for a cat with FHL fulfills her basic nutrition requirements, promotes liver regeneration, and facilitates recovery from metabolic imbalances associated with the syndrome.

In almost all cases, a feeding tube needs to be placed into the cat's stomach, either directly through the side of his body or through his nose or esophagus down into the stomach. A veterinarian will prescribe a special food mixture to be syringed through the feeding tube several times per day. The average time from diagnosis to recovery with intense treatment is four to six weeks, and some cases may require up to 18 weeks of nutritional support."

Bionic Jezebel

Tuesday, June 15, 2004

Overnight report

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