My cat has liver issues. What food is best & how to get him to eat?

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 would recommend feeding a specialist diet formulated for cats with liver disease such as royal canin hepatic or hills l/d. These are high calorie, easily digestible with limited liver function and supplemented with antioxidants and liver protectants. These can be diluted and syringe fed if necessary

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!

Hello, thank you for your question about Ammosh. Ideally Ammosh should be eating a diet that is designed to help with the management of renal disease. Renal diets are generally low in protein which is helpful in management of progression of kidney disease. Kidney disease, however, can also make pet's nauseous, which could be contributing to Ammosh's symptoms. If Ammosh does not like this renal food (they are known to not be very palatable diets) you could try offering him other diets or forms of food as the ultimate goal is for him to continue eating. Liver has not been shown to be beneficial in renal disease, but you could try other things such as boiled chicken or hamburger. Hope this helps, 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.

Poor guy. It is tough when you are in these situations where you are deciding on continued care (which isn’t 100% guarantees to work) or Humane euthanasia. Unfortunately we don’t have enough information about your cats particular case to help you decide things here. Perhaps a consultation would be best to comb through all of the details such as lab work findings (even seeing the normals is quite helpful), medications tried so far, and his physical exam findings would also be helpful. But generally speaking if your pet is ill from liver disease, which can be any condition such as hepatitis, hepatic lipidosis (carries a poorer prognosis unless aggressive treatment is implemented including a feeding tube in most situations), liver cancer or even gallbladder disease can cause elevated liver enzymes, then it’s best fo an abdominal ultrasound to determine what specific liver condition is present. The prognosis of your pet should be determined by your vet and then carefully considered when determining if continued care should be done or if Humane euthanasia is the better option. I hope this helps and best wishes moving forward with a good decision regarding Elmo’s care.

Poor Baby! I would make sure you have him on a liver supplement and make sure you have consulted with your vet about medications that he needs to be on for his liver issues. I am okay with him eating chicken because eating something is better than nothing at all. I would consider adding in a multi-vitamin to help supplement the other nutrients he isn't getting. If his appetite is continuing to decrease, I would talk to your vet about rechecking his bloodwork to see if he needs any fluids or change in his medications and also getting him on an appetite stimulant. I hope this helps and he starts to feel better soon!