Dash Kitten

Cat Photo Confidence For Everyone, Including You

  • Home
    • GET IN TOUCH
    • PRIVACY POLICY
  • About Me
    • Awards
    • Dash Kitten Commemoration
      • The Pinnectomy. Harvey’s Ear Surgery Report
  • Learn Cat Photo Skills
    • Photo Blog
    • #52Assignments Collected Posts Page
  • Learn Cat Movie Skills
  • D.K. Crew’s Quarters
    • New Zealand Spotlight
    • The DK Mailing List
    • Product Reviews & Gift Guides
    • Our Special Pet Blogger Interviews
HOME » Liver Shunt in Cats by Newt the Cat

Liver Shunt in Cats by Newt the Cat

28/12/2015 by Marjorie Dawson 6 Comments

I would like to welcome Twitter pal @NewttheCat to explain Liver Shunt and how he copes with this rare condition – Liver Shunt in Cats. Newt is a great pal – and a great writer – Enjoy! ……….. He will tell you about his special peepers called portosystemic shunt cat eyes too.

Well hello there! I’m Newt!

So nice to meet you. Am honoured to have been invited to write a guest post on the famous Dash Kitten’s blog. (And, maybe a little nervous, actually!). Where should I begin?

cat image

My purrents say I am a copper-eyed wondercat; my vets say I am a miracle cat, and my furends say I am obsessed with chicken.

But really, I’m just Newt – a kitty who happens to be thriving, in spite of a pretty rare condition known as a liver shunt. My vets call it a portosystemic shunt, and say it means my blood isn’t properly purified because it bypasses my liver.

Symptoms of Liver Shunt in Cats

Every now and then, I have episodes where the toxins build up in my system, and cause Hepatic Encephalopathy (HE) symptoms. Those can range from annoying to dangerous, depending on the severity of the episode, and how soon it is brought under control. HE symptoms can include, but are not limited to, lethargy, drooling, pacing, neurological and behavioral changes, apparent blindness or ‘increased cat liver shunt eye’, seizures, and more.

Sounds kinda yucky, doesn’t it? Well, that’s the bad news; the GOOD news is, there is Hope!

Never underestimate the power of Hope! Liver Shunt in Cats

Once diagnosed, soooooo many of us liver shunt cats are able to live normal, happy lives, either with surgery or with medical management. Surgical correction repairs the blood vessel, and medical management combines diet and medication.

I’ve been medically managed for almost five years now. I have no issues with taking my meds and I love my purrsonal, home-cooked diet. (Yum, chicken!!!!)

The overwhelming majority of the time, I’m totally normal; and you wouldn’t know I’m not quite healthy. Every now and then, I get an HE episode. Mine are usually not too bad, with some drooling, loss of appetite, and behavioral changes.

When that happens, my purrents know to give me some extra medicine, and then, am fine again. Not bad for a kitten that was expected to die any day, back when I was diagnosed at 11 weeks old!

Copper Eyes and Liver Shunt

Oh, yeah! *bats glorious copper eyes* Almost forgot to mention my trademark, these eerie eyes! Aren’t they cool? Many vets say that copper eyes can sometimes be one of the signs of a liver shunt, in cats of breeds not normally possessing that colour.

Other signs can include failure to thrive, lethargy, drooling, mealtime aggression, head-pressing, and/or other symptoms of hepatic encephalopathy.

Liver Shunt in Cats

Tiara Tuesday for Liver Shunt in Cats

I  have been sharing Hope for other kitties with liver shunts for several years now. I love music and dancing, and when possible, work as a DJ at fundraising pawties.

To thank my furends on Twitter, I have been experimenting with #TiaraTuesday to help spread awareness of liver shunts in cats The more people who know about it, the more likely their cats are to get diagnosis, treatment, and stabilization for Liver Shunt in Cats.

So, I am having a weekly dress in your crowns and jewels, and a monthly dance pawty on the 3rd Tuesday in each Month. Just another way to share Hope and say thank you to my furends. We’ll see how it goes.

If you’d like to read more about liver shunts in cats, my main website, with links to articles. Mum also writes a blog with stories about me, check out my bio!

Many, many thanks to darling Dash for inviting me to write a guest blog, and thank each of you so much for helping to share Hope for cats with liver shunts. Mwah mwah hugs!

 

Join Dash Kitten on Social Media
20
Visit Us
Follow Me
Vimeo
fb-share-icon
Share21
Pin
Tweet
Share
Share

Filed Under: Cat Blog Tagged With: cat health, feline liver shunt, hope, Liver Shunt, Liver Shunt in Cats, newt the cat, newtthecat, pet health, TiaraTuesday

Meet Marjorie, Writer and Photographer

Portrait by a window with teddy bears Taken with a smartphone.Marjorie is a cat lover, photographer and smartphone moviemaker who loves sharing her knowledge with learners.

Marjorie is a Cat Writers’ Association Professional member, CWA Muse® Medallion and Certificate Winner, and winner of the CWA Kuykendall Image Award for her photography.

 

Comments

  1. Sherlock says

    17/01/2021 at 2:47 pm

    Hello Newt, my name is Sherlock ( short for Sherlockia) as My purrents thought I was a male when they first got me ) I have been inspired by your story. I am a six month old kitten, And I was diagnosed with a liver shunt about a month ago. We are trying to manage it with diet and medication. Now that we have heard about your condition and encouragement, we are more hopeful that I can live a longer life!

    Reply
  2. Anonymous says

    20/11/2020 at 1:59 pm

    Hello my name is Milo. 😽i also finally after many test and lots of tears from my humans found out I have a shunt. I will be having surgery next month. Please pray for me.thanks.

    Reply
    • Marjorie Dawson says

      20/11/2020 at 2:07 pm

      Milo, please let us know how you get on. The cats and I send our best wishes for a recovery. I hope Newt is an inspiration to you * gentle hugs *

      Reply
  3. Shiva and Jaya says

    14/02/2013 at 7:08 pm

    Hullo Newt!

    Purrime Ministerettes wish you best of health and bootiful V Day!

    XXXX

    Reply
  4. AbbyDawgBlog says

    14/02/2013 at 7:01 pm

    Awesome story! Thank you for sharing!

    Reply
  5. Sparkle says

    14/02/2013 at 7:35 am

    I’ve known about Newt for a while and I think he is an awesome spokescat for his condition!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Join Our Mailing List!

Discover, Learn, Share, Teach.

Dash Kitten Contact Us Graphic for the Blog

Kuykendall Image Award Winner 2020

Cat Writers’ Association
Link to the About Me page introducing Marjorie, Author of the blog at Dash Kitten

CWA Muse® Medallion Winner

Graphic for an Award winner to display on their web site.

Associate Disclaimer

Dash Kitten is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking Amazon.com

RIP Friend Nerissa the Cat

A memorial tribute picture and link to our fellow adventurer

Please follow & like us :)

20
Visit Us
Follow Me
Vimeo
fb-share-icon

Humarian for Pets and People

Humarian Probiotics Promotional graphic for my favourite probiotics

Quote DASHKITTEN for 20% OFF your first order.

Triple Finalist – Nose to Nose Awards 2018

Nose to Nose Awards 2018

Blog Collaboration Award

Special Certificate 2015
Dash Kitten Newsletter Link and Logo including a cute picture of Miranda the cat
Dash Kitten Contact Us Graphic for the Blog

Dash Kitten Social Media

20
Visit Us
Follow Me
Vimeo
fb-share-icon
Dash Kitten Newsletter Logo

NEWS FROM DASH KITTEN

  • Telephoto Lens Zoo Fun at Wellington Zoo
  • Shooting Street Life Photos #52Assignments No. 8
  • Cat Photography Ideas Go Macro
  • New Cafe Kittens – Pooka the Tuxedo
  • The Great Outdoors #52Assignments No. 7
A link to my About Met page

Copyright Notice for Dash Kitten ©

All images and text used on this site, from its creation to date are copyrighted ©  to Marjorie Dawson, Whskr and Dash Kitten.com unless otherwise noted.  Content cannot be used without my specific written permission. Please let me know via the Get In Touch page if you are interested in using images or stories from DashKitten.com

Copyright © 2021 · Enterprise Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

40 SHARE