Diagnosis and Treatment of Liver Disease

If you suspect your cat has liver disease, make an appointment with your veterinarian as soon as possible. The longer you wait, the more liver tissue will be destroyed and the less treatable your cat's condition will be. Your vet will order blood work for a liver function test, which should give you an accurate assessment of the situation.

If the test is positive for disease, time is of the essence. The only real treatment is dietary; the animal must immediately be put on a homemade diet. Dr. Strombeck notes that while commercial cat food does not directly cause hepatic disorders, it can certainly exacerbate the problem once it appears. These foods are full of chemicals and fillers, and, as we all now know, substances like melamine. Continuing on with such a diet will only speed the destruction of liver tissue.

As Strombeck states, there is not really any drug therapy available for this problem. The entire treatment consists of nutritional therapy. Homemade food saves the liver from having to continually screen out ingested toxins from the animal's blood. Since many cats become anorectic (lack of appetite) with this disease, it is imperative that the food that is eaten is nutritionally available.

If lack of appetite is a problem, adding chicken fat to the meal will often get an anorectic cat eating. Although it seems counter-intuitive to add fat to a diet for liver dysfunction, Strombeck writes that this does not seem to cause a problem for these animals. The real problem comes with fasting, whereby fat stores in the liver become metabolized for energy, thus releasing fatty acids into the bloodstream. The presence of these ketones in the blood is very dangerous to cats, which is why cats should never be allowed to fast for more than two days. Sardines are also used to get anorectic cats eating again, and are beneficial because of the high vitamin B12 content.

In addition to several small homemade meals each day, a cat with hepatic disease will also benefit from supplementation. Strombeck warns against too much vitamin A, which can be injurious to the liver. Elevated levels of copper, often present in commercial foods, is also problematic. Vitamins E, K and C are all very useful for cases of liver disease, and Strombeck notes that additional zinc is desirable not only because many animals with liver problems are deficient, but zinc competes with copper for absorption, reducing the latter's presence in the body.

Despite the fact that a low-protein diet would benefit an ailing liver, cats need high levels of protein in their diets. The best source to use is chicken, which is readily available and more easily digested. Supplement with taurine, as well as B vitamins which cats tend to deplete when they have suppressed appetites. Nutritional therapy represents the best method of preserving both the quality and the quantity of your ailing cat's life.
Chat later!

Hepatitis and Liver Disease in Cats

Liver disease is another serious disorder that is becoming more prevalent in cats. According to Dr. Donald R. Strombeck, author of Home-Prepared Dog and Cat Diets, this problem was seldom seen thirty years ago. He credits the increased accuracy and use of diagnostic veterinary tests, but also mentions that the toxins that contribute to this disease enter the body many ways, including in food products. What else became the norm during the 1970s? The feeding of commercial pet food!

Cats have very sensitive systems, as I have mentioned here before. They are apt to react violently to small amounts of toxic substances, but more often just suffer more and more negative effects from toxins in their environment. Many people (and dogs) also are exhibiting symptoms of toxin overload, such as Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Disorder. Many auto-immune diseases are thought to be brought on and aggravated by environmental contaminants. Even in otherwise healthy animals, eventually the toxic load, combined with age and diminished immunity, prevails. The animal begins to show signs of disease.

Anitra Frazier mentions many household chemicals that can be implicated in liver disease. Cleaners, pesticides, moth balls--all have a cumulative effect on one of the most important organs in the body. The liver spends all its time cleaning the blood, which means it comes into direct contact with contaminants that find their way into the animal's bloodstream. When the organ becomes inflamed from this saturation, hepatitis sets in. Animals can recover from this ailment, but part of the liver is now scarred. If steps are not taken to help the liver reduce its heavy load, cirrhosis occurs. As the liver becomes less and less able to clean the blood, toxins circulate freely, causing allergic reactions, particularly of the skin. Bile, produced by the liver, becomes less available, so fat metabolism is incomplete.

Liver disease is insidious, and often the symptoms are not noticed in time to be able to halt the damage. Often, the lethargy, weight loss, hard belly and frequent vomiting are attributed to old age, as are the more frequent skin disorders.

How is this disease diagnosed, and is treatment available? Tune in tomorrow for more facts about this serious illness.
Chat later!