So as of the moment, Sora is in at the vet's office. Her liver is failing and the vet says her survival rate isn't good. She was diagnosed with Hepatic Lipodosis two weeks ago. I've never heard of this before, never has a vet shown me what to watch for or anything. I think because of this Sora became worse; I didn't know the first symptoms and didn't get her help right away. So I want to inform other cat owners out there so they don't have to go through what I am right now.

Feline Hepatic Lipodosis (aka Fatty Liver) is cause when a cat loses a decent amount of weight very quickly. For some cats, it can be from an underlying illness (FIV, respitory infection, UTIs, etc.), for others it was stress (new house, people, new animals..). They stop eating for a period of time to where their body needs to feed itself, so it send the fatty cells to the liver for the liver to process for energy. But cat's livers aren't very good at processing fatty cells due to a cat's makeup, so it causes problems. Due to the liver problem, the cat becomes nauseous, and won't eat and not eating makes the liver worse. It turns into a vicious cycle.

Symptoms of FHL are really easy to spot if you know what you are looking for. Has your cat stopped eating? (Maybe not all together, but less then they normally do) Has your cat lost weight quickly? Does your cat's skin have a yellow tinge to it? (Easiest way to tell is by the base of the ears) Is your cat refusing it's favorite foods or throwing up after eating them? If you see a sign of any of the above symptoms, get an appointment to see the vet. It may not be FHL but it's better to be safe then sorry.

The survival rate of this disease is actually pretty good, if you catch it early and work aggressively to get your cat's health back. Depending on the diagnosis the vet gives your, you can either get a tube in their throat to give medication (best route, but is also the most expensive) or you can force feed your cat on your own with watered down cat food and a syringe. (Hill's Prescription Diet L/P I heard works well, but consult your vet first.)

Getting your cat to eat is the main way to get them healthy. Once their body starts getting the nutrients back normally, the liver will return to normal. This could take a long time, though. For some, it was only a month. Others took a year.

Unfortunately for Sora, I thought that she was losing weight due to the new Weight Loss cat food we put her on. I didn't know that losing weight so fast is a serious sign of something bigger, so I didn't bring her to the vet right away. When I did bring her to the vet she was pretty bad, but not bad enough that she couldn't pull back from it. But she deteriorated quickly even with me trying to get her better. If I knew these sooner and was able to bring her the vet faster, I think she would be fine now.

Now, I'm not a vet or anything, so don't rely completly on my word. The first and foremost thing if you have any doubt about your cat's health, GET THEM TO A VET. Some things can get worse very quickly and you may not have time to spare.

Edit: I had to put Sora down yesterday; Her liver completly failed. She will be missed greatly and I hope this knowledge will help others even if I couldn't help her.