Cody's Liver Count

[Danger Kitty]

maybe post the new test results when you get them?

So yesterday I was in a good mood all day expecting to be receiving deflated liver count results and would be able to put this whole thing in the past. Unfortunately that wasn't the case. His ALT value went from 496 to 640. The vet mentioned this was the one he was concerned about and didn't even ask what the other counts were but I'm going to stop in today and get a print out. Their ultrasound tech is only there every two weeks so he is putting in a referral at a local vet hospital. He said most likely the appointment would be Monday or Tuesday and not to stress out too much and that this could still be something easily curable. I should have the appointment set up by about noon today.

 

[Danger Kitty]

Exactly! A positive coronavirus test will not diagnose the disease...just I saw the others and given the vet has mentioned FIP I wondered. If the new blood results remain odd in those levels and FIP is still on the table, then a coronavirus titer test might be valuable, not the standard test which tests positive/negative at one level (I think it is 1:400 for Idexx) but measures the actual level and if very high that is a more useful result. Some level is very normal as you mentioned above.

I did talk to the vet about the coronavirus test and it would give the actual antibody level and not just positive or negative. He said that the test would be expensive and suggested we start with the ultrasound. He seemed a little hesitant and said its not always the most reliable but is definitely still on the table as an option. Over the last couple days and this morning Cody has been eating very well and has had even more energy. This is what led me to think his test results were going to be positive and not increased.

 

[Danger Kitty]

Cody's ultrasound is scheduled for this Monday at 11am.

 

[admin]

Glad to hear Cody has an ultrasound scheduled...I think Brigitte mentioned Corona, just asking if it had been done...I don't think she meant Cody should have corona titers done...let's hope this is nothing serious...please keep us updated!

 

[Patti]

Did the vet give you any suggestions of what he might think could be causing the elevated liver enzymes? I hope the ultrasound will give you some answers!

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

Glad to hear Cody has an ultrasound scheduled...I think Brigitte mentioned Corona, just asking if it had been done...I don't think she meant Cody should have corona titers done...let's hope this is nothing serious...please keep us updated!

Yes, I meant simply that if FIP was being considered as a diagnosis that a titer would be more informative than the standard yes/no test they do. A very high titer is informative, a titer of ~1:400 (as in the standard Idexx test) really only indicates exposure. I wouldn't pursue it at this time though.

I agree with your vet that looking with the ultrasound at this point will be more informative.

http://www.dcavm.org/09sep.html This reference looked informative... in case you wanted to read a bit more about the possibilities... most is about the dog but there is a cat-specific section if you scroll down to ~2/3 of the way through.

 

[Danger Kitty]

Did the vet give you any suggestions of what he might think could be causing the elevated liver enzymes? I hope the ultrasound will give you some answers!

He said it could still be FIP and the ultrasound would be able to diagnose wet and most likely be able to diagnose dry as well. He also said it could be a bacterial infection or hepatitis. Kind of sounds like it's still in the guessing game stage until the ultrasound.

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

Yes, if the ultrasound shows fluid in the belly, then the fear would be wet FIP but they can aspirate it and not only test protein levels but do PCR for coronavirus of that fluid which is pretty diagnostic. There are other causes of this fluid though. Definitely the ultrasound is going to give more info. The bloodwork is pointing towards something causing damage to liver cells, so the next step is figuring out what so that you can know how to approach that. I'm glad the vet isn't jumping on the FIP diagnosis too much, that's a good sign in a vet!

 

[Rafiki]

Hopes and prayers that Cody's ultrasound points to something easily treated. Please keep us posted.

 

[Danger Kitty]

I'm very happy to report so far so good. All of his internal organs looked perfectly healthy. Both doctors apologized that they didn't have a definitive answer at this time but I was thinking if they did then it may be wet fip. They are going to treat this as a bacterial infection for now and give a course of antibiotics and test the liver values in a month. We're not completely out of the woods but my wife's and my freak out meter can go down a bit. Thank you to everybody who offered well wishes and information. Hopefully Cody will test fine in a month and get to meet his step brother Cooper.