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We just found out that our 5 month old rescue kitty, Bodhi has been diagnosed with a portosystemic shunt. This is a congenital liver defect which directs blood from the intestine away from the liver instead of through it. His blood is unable to be cleansed, causing toxins to build up and circulate systemically.
Back in June, we noticed Bodhi acting lethargic. At first, he stopped playing, and began drooling excessively. Over the course of the day, he deteriorated. He became disoriented, could not walk, and had tremors. We brought him to the emergency vet, assuming he had gotten into something and this was the result of some kind of toxicity. He stayed the night in their ICU and was treated as though this were the case. The following morning he had improved and we were able to take him home.
Yesterday, Bodhi began acting strange and then deteriorated in the same way. We brought him to our vet and they performed bloodwork, which indicated that he had extremely high levels of ammonia. Our vet determined that this was the cause of his neurological symptoms and confirmed his diagnosis with an ultrasound today. The shunt is accessible and operable which is great news. Unfortunately, this is an expensive procedure with quite a bit of preparatory testing and post-operative recovery support. It is estimated that the total costs will fall somewhere between $5,000-$7,000.
If he does not have the surgery, he would require daily medication and even with this, his condition would progressively worsen until we would need to make a decision regarding his quality of life. Our vet could not give us a timeline, but knowing that his liver will not grow along with him, this would likely be a short time.
Our family is head over heels in love with our Bodhi and want him to live a long, healthy life with us.
Thank you for reading and for anything you are willing to contribute!
Enjoy some of his cuteness below...
Back in June, we noticed Bodhi acting lethargic. At first, he stopped playing, and began drooling excessively. Over the course of the day, he deteriorated. He became disoriented, could not walk, and had tremors. We brought him to the emergency vet, assuming he had gotten into something and this was the result of some kind of toxicity. He stayed the night in their ICU and was treated as though this were the case. The following morning he had improved and we were able to take him home.
Yesterday, Bodhi began acting strange and then deteriorated in the same way. We brought him to our vet and they performed bloodwork, which indicated that he had extremely high levels of ammonia. Our vet determined that this was the cause of his neurological symptoms and confirmed his diagnosis with an ultrasound today. The shunt is accessible and operable which is great news. Unfortunately, this is an expensive procedure with quite a bit of preparatory testing and post-operative recovery support. It is estimated that the total costs will fall somewhere between $5,000-$7,000.
If he does not have the surgery, he would require daily medication and even with this, his condition would progressively worsen until we would need to make a decision regarding his quality of life. Our vet could not give us a timeline, but knowing that his liver will not grow along with him, this would likely be a short time.
Our family is head over heels in love with our Bodhi and want him to live a long, healthy life with us.
Thank you for reading and for anything you are willing to contribute!
Enjoy some of his cuteness below...
Organizer and beneficiary
Jeffrey Dunn
Beneficiary