Tips for Caring for a Cat with Feline Liver Problems

by T. Russell

My 12 year old male cat has IBS. He started vomiting and not eating about 2 weeks ago. We treated him for the IBS.
Now my vet diagnosed a liver problem. My cat has been treated daily with IV fluids and antibiotics.
He has lost a lot of weight. I have been force feeding him baby food. He is still eating but not much.

Is there any other medication he should be getting or any other treatment? How much baby food should I give him a day?

Answer

Hello !

On top of an illness, such as Feline Irritable Bowel Disease (or syndrome) or FIBD, the liver can be damaged due to toxic waste products and bacteria that can enter the portal blood easily through the chronically inflamed bowel lining.

One aspect of treatment is feeding your cat with a highly nutritious diet that will provide enough energy to keep body functions running and stop the steady resorption of body fat stores. Ongoing body fat mobilisation would result in over delivering lipids to the liver and end proper liver function steadily due to the increased accumulation of fat in liver cells.

The diet should contain highly digestible protein that will not release a lot of toxic ammonia during the process of digestion, but provide the body with all the essential amino acids.
Meat will produce quite a lot of ammonia during digestion and is not favourable.

Instead, prescription diets developed for hepatic conditions in cats should be preferred, because they contain top quality protein, high levels of carbs, the right amount of essential fatty acids and all important minerals and vitamins as well.

You should feed per day in a case of inappetence more often smaller amounts in regular intervals. Again, the amount varies from patient to patient and it is usually fine to give around 10 – 20 cc per feeding.

Rest and confinement are very important, and so is a reduced intake of sodium (NaCl).
As you described above, your cat receives currently treatment with IV fluids and antibiotics.

Beside all this you can give a homoeopathic liver medication that may help to facilitate the liver's detoxifying and cleansing function, which is called PetAlive Liver-Aid Formula that helps naturally eliminating toxins and strengthening resistance against disease and infection in pets.

Discuss with your veterinarian, if he or she agrees to try this supplementary medication.

Please, keep me updated with the further progress and outcome !

Best Wishes

Dr.Ellen Schmidt, MRCVS

This is only educational advice. It is based on the depth of your question and the picture you submitted. The above answer cannot replace the advice of your local veterinarian, as he / she has the ability to evaluate your pet in person.