What food should I feed my dog with liver disease: protein, fat, dry/wet?

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

Ho, I personally think the liver diet would be the best option. I don’t think the kidney diet will do any harm but it is not the best option. Hill’s L/D has high levels of l-carnicine and l-arginine that are important for the metabolism. You should also see an improvement in the liver condition thanks to Adenosyl supplementation. Hope this helps !

Yes you certainly can get him on the Urinary and Hydrolzyed protein diet; however, this food does not help for any underlying liver condition. There currently is no a combo diet that will help with both urinary and liver problems. You may have to discuss with your vet and determine which disease you will focus on with diet and which can be treated with alternative treatments (i.e. Denamarin liver protectant). You may have to end up consulting with an internal specialist in order to find out the best way to manage both conditions. Best of luck with your pet Malcolm moving forward. Take care.

I'm sorry to hear about Frank. Dogs are omnivores, meaning that they need a mix of plant and animal food sources. Occasionally, we do recommend a vegetarian diet if the dogs has certain food sensitivities, but in general, vegan diets are not recommended. There are certain veterinary prescription diets for dogs with liver disease. There are also homemade diets that can be made for dogs with liver disease, but they contain animal products. The prescription diets are made by Royal Canin, Purina, and Science Diet. You can find homemade diets by searching Google, but I would recommend to go over the diet with your veterinarian to ensure that all nutritional needs are met. Good luck!

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.

Royal Canin makes a prescription diet called Hepatic and Hill's Science Diet makes l/d for Liver care. Both these diets would probably be good options for Lucky but it's important to double check with your veterinarian first. You could also consider looking into homecooked diet options through www.balanceit.com Thanks for using PetCoach and best wishes to you and Lucky!

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!