Editor’s Note: There are times when the Hixson-Lied Small Animal Hospital Emergency and Critical Care must turn away patients because it has reached capacity with critical cases. Tate is one case that required a long-term stay.
Much was going on with Tate when the year-old female domestic shorthair cat was presented to the Hixson-Lied Small Animal Hospital.
She was anorexic and lethargic. Her respiratory rate was so rapid that the emergency team jumped right into action. All this, despite being on an antibiotic and appetite stimulant that her primary care veterinarian had prescribed.
“The emergency care team gave her a sedative, then placed her in an oxygen kennel out of precaution for respiratory distress,” said Dr. Briana Morgan, an intern in the Hixson-Lied Small Animal Hospital. “Thankfully, it was determined that her breathing rate was most likely due to stress, and she did not require further oxygen therapy.”
Previous tests by her primary care veterinarian revealed severely elevated liver values consistent with possible liver failure, but an ultrasound did not find any overt abnormalities with her liver or gallbladder. At Iowa State, the cat underwent additional tests for everything from feline leukemia virus to serum ammonia testing.
“All of these tests came back negative or normal,” Morgan said. “A CT scan did not explain the severity of her evaluated liver values, but a fine needle aspirate from her liver revealed changes most consistent with a condition known as hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver syndrome). This disease is usually brought on by anorexia in cats, but even if she was experiencing a bout of hepatic lipidosis, it did not explain why she became anorexic in the first place.”
By this point in her hospital stay, Tate was clinically doing much better. Her liver enzymes were decreasing day-by-day, she was finally eating, and was extremely playful and spunky with the clinicians, technicians and students caring for her.
“Because she was on an antibiotic prior to her arrival at Iowa State, and because her bloodwork kept improving, our top suspicions at that point was either that Tate was exposed to a liver toxin that caused an acute insult to her liver, or she potentially had hepatitis likely due to an ascending bacterial infection,” Morgan said.
Tate’s owner was unaware of any potential toxin exposure and does not have anything around the house that she could access. Because she had improved so much, Tate went home earlier this week to continue to allow her liver to heal.
“We may never know the reason as to why Tate became sick or why she suffered such a severe insult to her liver,” Morgan said. “She was a joy to have in the ICU, everyone loved her and even set up toys for her to play with in her kennel.”
If you and your animal need assistance, don’t hesitate to reach out to the Lloyd Veterinary Medical Center at 515.294.4900.
August 2025