Cat with high liver enzymes

[ckelley116]

My cat Marley went to the vet on Tuesday night for his yearly check-up. Nothing's ever come back wrong with his bloodwork, and I expected the same this time, except the vet called last night (while I was standing in the produce aisle of the grocery store) to tell me that his liver enzymes came back elevated. She said several things could cause this, such as cancer or toxins - but if he'd gotten into anything poisonous, he'd be showing symptoms, and he's not. He's running around, playing, eating, crying to be let out (he imagines himself an outdoor cat, but he's not), and jumping on my head in the middle of the night like normal. He vomited the other day, but he does that occasionally, with no more frequency than any other cat I've ever had. And he actually gained a pound and a half since his last vet visit, which is the only thing keeping me from freaking out. Most of the really scary stuff cites weight loss as a symptom.

I know there are other things that can affect a cat's liver enzymes that aren't deadly and can be managed, but I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this? He has an abdominal ultrasound scheduled for January 17. The vet also said one of his heart markers was elevated, but she was more worried about his liver. He was prescribed medicine (something for liver support) that he gets once a day, and I was told by the vet to keep an eye on him and if he starts showing any symptoms, like lethargy or loss of appetite, to take him to an emergency vet. I noticed today that he hasn't eaten much, but it could just be that I'm hyper-fixated on what he's doing. He ate his treats fine, and basically tried to climb me when I opened a can of tuna earlier.

He's essentially a rescue cat - we "rescued" him from an owner who didn't give a crap about him and just let him wander around the neighborhood - and we don't know how old he is. He's at least 11, as we first saw him wandering through our yard in March 2013 and he was fully-grown then. A vet tech friend said in 2019 that he has "the teeth of a young cat", though we know that isn't really a guarantee that he is all that young. I just love this boy so much I can't stand the thought of losing him, even though I know it's unreasonable to expect him to outlive me!

[.Poppy.]

I know it's worrying and easy to catastrophize, but it sounds like your vets are on top of things and you'll have more answers after the ultrasound.

It's probably not helpful because it's not a cat, but my dog had elevated liver enzymes. His were the ALP enzymes, which can mean a liver issue or a bone issue or any number of other things. He also had a persistent fever, which he still often does. We went back and forth doing bloodwork, trying Denamarin, and antibiotics, but each time his levels creeped upwards. He finally had a liver ultrasound and they noted some opacity as well as some texture on his spleen, but nothing alarming and basically said "we don't know, watch it and come back if he gets sicker" which is obviously super helpful. It's been a year now and he seems fine aside from a frequent fever (that doesn't appear to bother him) and I assume still elevated levels though he hasn't been checked recently. One vet told me that sometimes you just never know exactly what causes the raise, but as long as everything seems to be okay otherwise to just be happy for that and prepare for more diagnostics if things get worse.

I think it's likely a very good sign that your kitty is chipper and happy right now and I hope you get some answers! If nothing else it's nice to just know what to expect, but that's probably my own anxiety talking.

[ckelley116]

Yeah, I'm not sure which variety of enzymes are elevated. The vet may have said, but I don't recall. I know different enzymes are associated with different diagnoses so maybe it's best that I don't know which ones are in question. She did say "cancer" though...that was the second thing she mentioned. As soon as she said that, I immediately forgot the first. Toxins were the third.

Denamarin is what I'm giving Marley, and the vet said it will probably be long-term. He's happy he gets to have Pill Pockets again!

I guess I'll know more in a few weeks. I'm so glad your pup is doing well!

[ckelley116]

Marley’s ultrasound got moved to today because he started vomiting on Monday and the vet didn’t want to wait another week ☹️ we just got home and should have the results by the end of the day. Hoping my baby is going to be okay 😢

[.Poppy.]

Please do update once you have news, positive thoughts for your kitty.

[ckelley116]

Please do update once you have news, positive thoughts for your kitty.

Thank you! So the news is good-ish. No obvious signs of cancer; his liver looks healthy. But he is showing signs of pancreatitis, inflammation of the bile duct, and mild intestinal thickening (lymphoma can't be ruled out, but given the other findings, the vet thinks it's far more likely to be IBD).

In a few hours I have to go pick up an antibiotic and an anti-nausea med. He went two days without vomiting, but had a few episodes today. I also have to give him something for gallstones, in addition to the Denamarin and omeprazole he'd already been prescribed. Considering he just stopped eating his Pill Pockets on Monday I'm not looking forward to adding three pills to the routine, but I ordered pill paste and a pill popper and I'll do what I have to do. And he should have more bloodwork done in a month to confirm that his levels have gone back to normal. Fingers crossed that this takes care of him and he starts to feel better soon

[.Poppy.]

Yes, fingers crossed! The Denamarin is pretty nasty tasting, I think, so I think a lot of people have trouble giving that one. I'm lucky my boy only took it for a month because he was not a fan and his was a huge pill. They recommended encasing it in spray cheese because it masked the taste and helped it slide down better - but my boy is very picky and apparently isn't very thrilled with spray cheese, so I had to give a little to my cat each time to convince him it was, in fact, a treat.

They made all sorts of notes about my dog's ultrasound and how various organs looked but apparently it amounted to nothing, so I'm wondering if all of us just have some funky looking things and it's just how we are. Who knows.

I hope the meds start working though and that your boy feels better.