ABSTRACT
Nutritional support is a key factor in the treatment of cats with hepatic disease. This is the only effective treatment in cats with hepatic lipidosis. The ideal diet would be one that fulfills all the basic energy and nutrient requirements of the patient, allows positive energy balance, provides all the nutrients necessary for liver regeneration, and prevents or aids the recovery from major complications of liver disease. Formulation of diets for cats with hepatobiliary diseases must also take into account their metabolic peculiarities. Anorexia is a common complication of liver disease and clinicians must take the necessary actions to ensure adequate energy and nutrient intake. No single diet will accommodate all patients and nutritional support must be adapted to each individual case based on the type of liver disease, extent of hepatic dysfunction, tolerance to dietary protein, and nutritional status.
Subject(s)
Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena , Cat Diseases/diet therapy , Lipidoses/veterinary , Liver Diseases/veterinary , Animals , Cat Diseases/metabolism , Cats , Lipidoses/diet therapy , Lipidoses/metabolism , Liver Diseases/diet therapy , Liver Diseases/metabolismSubject(s)
Cat Diseases/diet therapy , Dog Diseases/diet therapy , Hepatic Encephalopathy/veterinary , Lipidoses/veterinary , Amino Acids/administration & dosage , Animals , Cats , Dog Diseases/etiology , Dogs , Hepatic Encephalopathy/diet therapy , Hepatic Encephalopathy/etiology , Lipidoses/diet therapy , Portasystemic Shunt, Surgical/adverse effectsABSTRACT
Clinical signs consistent with hepatic lipidosis occurred in six obese adult laboratory cats, housed in a group cage, 6 to 7 weeks after changing their diet from a commercial to a purified diet. The affected cats lost 30 to 40% of their body weight in this time period. This rate of weight loss is compatible with little or no food intake. For treatment, 5 cats were tube-fed three or four times daily with a high-fat liquid diet supplemented with L-citrulline and choline. All cats tolerated the diet, which contained 35% protein on an energy basis. Substantial voluntary food intake resumed 12 to 16 days after initiating treatment. The sixth cat was euthanatized. These observations suggest that 6 to 7 weeks of anorexia, associated with 30 to 40% weight loss, can induce hepatic lipidosis in obese but otherwise healthy cats, and confirm that with appropriate management the prognosis for cats with hepatic lipidosis is favorable.
