Categories: General

Liver Disease In Cats

Not all cat owners are aware that liver disease is quite a common disease that is found in cats. Even so, it is extremely important to understand that if your cat does have liver disease and it is left untreated, it may eventually result in your cat’s liver actually shutting itself down, which may cause your cat to die. The easiest way to describe liver disease in cats is that a cat with liver disease will quickly starve to death, if they are not treated properly. One of the earliest signs of liver disease in cats is jaundice, which shows as a yellow coloring of the cat’s eye whites.

However, it can sometimes be quite difficult to identify whether or not your cat may be suffering from liver disease as the signs and symptoms vary so greatly, even amongst those cats that do have liver disease. There are a few cats that may have a decrease in appetite, weight loss, vomiting, diarrhea, depression and even jaundice. And there are other cats who may display inappropriate urination and defecation behavior. This happens as a result of the fatty liver disease causing the cat’s liver to become weighed down by the rapid fat accumulation and will then simply shut down.

With the purpose of recover from the liver disease in mind, immediate medication treatment is necessary for the cat. This type of treatment should largely depend on the cause but may also include treatments such as antibiotics, coagulation treatment for bleeding, intravenous fluid therapy, appetite stimulants, anti-emetics as well as diet management.

If you are going to be cooking and preparing your cat’s meal at home by yourself, it is best to remember that your cat will need a high quality protein diet that is served in moderate amounts, with most of your cat’s caloric intake coming from non-protein sources. A good example of this would be to make your cat’s food with eggs, cottage cheese, rice and liver. You may also want to add a multivitamin supplement to your cat’s diet as well.

Alternatively, you can also go the more holistic route and offer your cat a dose of Milk Thistle. It is a very effective herbal remedy that is actually very well known to be an effective treatment for liver disease in cats, dogs and even in humans too. Surprisingly, it is good to know that to date, Milk Thistle has no equivalent in conventional Western medicine.

You can buy a bottle of Feline Milk Thistle directly from Pet Wellbeing. There Milk Thistle contains Silymarin as its most active ingredient. Silymarin is said to help prevent any toxins from binding together to your cat’s liver and helps to stabilize the liver membranes. It is also a great aid in regenerating your cat’s liver by stimulating the production of new liver cells and replacing any damaged cells in your cat’s liver. Not only does Milk Thistle support your cat’s liver, but it is also a wonderful restorative elixir that can be given to your cat at any time that he or she is sick to help in a speedy recovery.

According to the PetWellbeing.com’s website:

Feline Milk Thistle helps combat the toxic side effects of drugs like:

Chemotherapy drugs
Chemical heartworm medications
Antibiotics
Corticosteroids

An all natural, herbal product, feline milk thistle is safe for long-term use.

Be sure to feed your sick cat frequent meals that are both small and easily digestible, as this is the meal regimen that is highly recommended for cats with liver disease. Another alternative is to feed your cat organic foods since they are not exposed to chemicals, artificial colors or preservatives.

Although it may seem like a lot of work that you will have to do in the beginning, if you truly love your cat, it will be well worth all the effort. Even just preparing a special diet for your cat shows him or her how much you truly love and care for your cat. It is good to bear in mind that, if you have more than one cat, you will certainly need to keep your cats’ feeding stations separate from each other. This way you can watch the cat that is ill and you will be able to make sure that he or she is actually eating their food and drinking their water and that your other cats are not eating it all for themselves.

Photo Credit: seasideshe

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