My cat has liver disease, what specialized diet should I feed her?

Most veterinary clinics will carry prescription liver diets such as Hill's l/d that are designed specifically to help cats with liver issues. Some vets may also recommend supplements to help support liver health, however it is best to check with your vet first to make sure they do not interact with any medications Dash is on. Cats tend to be enticed by warm or smelly food, so if he is having trouble eating, moistening dry food, or using wet food and then heating it up for 3-5 seconds to get it smelly may encourage him to eat. If he refuses to eat completely, it is best to seek veterinary care to help get him eating again and prevent further stress to his body.

Liver issues can be tricky to treat, and cats with liver issues may be more picky about what they eat. The first suggestion to try is if your cat had a dry (or wet) version of a prescription diet is to try the opposite dry or wet version. (IE if you try Hill's l/d dry, try a can of the l/d wet). Some cats may find the change in consistency and flavor more palatable and may begin to eat without having to completely change foods. If your cat was on a dry diet, a wet food may also be easier for your cat's liver to process. Another suggestion to try is to add a few kibbles of a food or a teaspoon of wet food your cat really likes to his prescription food. While some cats may figure out and pick out the good bits, many cats will begin to eat the whole meal and thus get the nutritional benefit from it. Your vet can let you know if it's safe to try this method depending on the severity of your cat's condition. For over the counter foods, a diet that has a similar nutrient makeup to prescription foods (you can check the nutrition label of l/d or NF if you have a bag handy) may help your cat with his liver issues while still being palatable. This is usually higher protein, contains L-carnitine to promote fat metabolism are low in sodium and have vitamins E and C to support the immune system and liver function. Your vet may also wish to recommend a supplement such as milk thistle which can also help promote liver function without a major change in food.

I'm not sure what you mean by a "baby food diet". There are some nutrients that cats need that humans, dogs, and most other animals don't need (it's called Taurine if you want to do more research) so it's important from them to be on a food formulated for cats. That said, it would be safe for a cat with liver disease to have sweet potatoes as treats if they are interested. I would recommend talking to your vet about good prescription liver diets, such as Hills I/d. Best of luck to your kitty!

Hi! Thanks for letting us take care of you today! Usually you want a diet with low to moderate amounts of a high quality protein. There are several excellent diets for liver disease in the market from Hills, Purina and Royal canin, among others. It should not matter if canned or dry. I would just choose whatever Tanner prefers. Good luck!

Many cats with renal disease get picky with food so you may end up trying all the brands at some point or alternating between them. You need to feed Mercy a prescription diet for the renal disease. The brand Royal Canin tends to be the most palatable. They make 3 varieties of kibble and 3 varieties of canned food that are all for renal disease. They have different smells/textures...etc so just pick a bag (or all 3) and try it. You will need to ask your normal veterinarian about continuing the milk thistle. The renal diets are lower in protein, higher in fat and higher in fatty acids/antioxidants and this can be beneficial for the liver depending on the cause of liver elevations. Your normal vet will best advise you. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Hepatic lipidosis in cats typically develops secondary to long-standing inappetance, liver disease, or neoplasia (cancer). These cats are generally very ill and require medications to treat the primary cause in addition to trying to get them to take in enough nutrition for their body. To start from home, you can try syringing a canned food to Gimli; if needed you can mix a little water in with it in a blender to get to a consistency that is easy to push through the syringe. Unfortunately, many of these patients do not do well with syringe feeding and a feeding tube (esophagostomy tube) is needed to get enough nutrients to them. The bright yellow urine could be due to increased bilirubin content, which is common in cats with hepatic lipidosis. I would strongly recommend getting him to a primary care veterinarian to determine what the primary cause is for the inappetance. Thorough bloodwork (complete blood count, serum chemistry, FeLV/FIV test) should be performed to begin to look for an underlying cause. Abdominal x-rays or additional bloodwork may be recommended based on these findings. The liver is very good at recovering from an injury if it is caught early and treated appropriately and aggressively. I hope Gimli feels better soon.

It is unlikely that diet alone is the cause of significant decrease to liver function. I would agree that Royal Canin and Hill's are not very different in terms of dietary quality. I feel that starting on a liver diet at this point based on one blood test is very premature and that further diagnostics are likely warranted. Some possible causes of increased liver values including endocrine conditions, liver shunts, hepatitis, bile duct / gall bladder issues, liver / gall bladder tumors, or fatty liver disease. Depending on the nature and magnitude of the elevation, it may be insignificant as well if Maki's findings were not coupled with any clinical signs of illness. Some additional diagnostic testing to look into things more would be additional more specific blood work, radiographs, and ultrasound. Rather than dietary change, there are more target liver supplements. One that comes to mind is called Denamarin. There is a feline formulation available that would work fine. Hope this helps.