Recently my cat Simba suffered from severe gallstones, gallbladder and bile duct inflammation with many calculi in his gallbladder and one large gallstone obstructing his bile duct. There was no warning for us until it was too late and his case was too severe for medical treatment. So after much research, I want to share what I’ve learned through my vet, the ultrasound radiologist, and the best medical sources of information on the Internet about gallstones, gallbladder and bile duct inflammation in cats.

My cat Simba had apparently been making gallstones for some time without showing any apparent symptoms until they posed a medical problem and he stopped eating and was in severe pain. When the symptoms appeared, Simba had stopped eating and Mirtazipine (an appetite stimulant) was not jump-starting his appetite, he isolated himself and didn’t want any interaction, he was lethargic, vomiting, and I knew he was suffering and in pain. Our vet confirmed he had a fever and his abdomen was sensitive to the touch.  He proceeded to give Simba a senior blood panel and X-rays and while we waited for the blood test results, our vet kept Simba for gavage feeding (since he would no longer eat on his own) and gave him intraveneous fluids and pain therapy for 1-2 days.

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