[DrBill100]

Recently euthanized a 7 yr old cat. This was my adult daughter's kitty. The vet advised that it suffered from liver failure. It was 15 lb approx and had lost 7 lbs. Wouldn't eat and drank little, lack of energy. My daughter advised that his stomach was very yellow. All consistent with diagnosis (drawing with what I know of human physiology). The cat had a mild malformation of back legs, ergo I assumed that the liver problem may have been likewise genetic or congenital.

My daughter is very upset anyway and she interpreted something the vet said to imply the condition was caused by overfeeding the cat. That she caused the condition described. I always thought he was obese, but resided with 2 other cats that ate the same. If I were diagnosing human I would be looking to liver as causing obesity, possibly interrelated to other organic/metabolic deficiency (now extrapolating from diagnosis) not the opposite.

I need to assuage my daughter's concerns.

[Sariss]

Sounds like your cat was suffering from hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver), which occurs with any cat that does not eat for an extended period - with overweight cats, it can come on a lot faster.

[DrBill100]

What would cause the liver problem. I'm familiar in humans due to alcohol as example, but the kitten had no drinking problem that I detected.

I had thought the lack of nutritional intake as symptomatic rather than causal. Right/wrong?

[Sariss]

The cat wasn't eating, correct? This happened before the liver issue was diagnosed?

[DrBill100]

Weight loss and malaise led to the veterinary visit leading to the diagnosis. I'm seeking a cause effect relationship. If the liver problem was a result of nutritional deficit then I'm in search of why the kitten wasn't eating. There was no reference to that that I'm aware of

[Sariss]

Well, if it was indeed hepatic lipidosis caused by not eating - a lot of times in these cases part of treating the issue is finding out why the cat was not eating. Many times they are not related, and without a necropsy or testing while the cat was ill, finding out why they were not eating in the first place is next to impossible.
Usually, the liver damage is the effect, not the cause.

[Clough]

My condolenses on your loss, DrBill100!

I've had cats all of my life.

[tickle]

Some people don't think of putting water down beside a cat's food, erroneously believing that a cat doesn't drink water. Not true. Not enough water in a cat's diet can lead to diabetes, and possibly liver disease. They do seek out water and will hang around a tap waiting for a human to come turn it on. You have to watch for signs of your cat seeking out water. Especially indoor cats. Outdoor cats there is no problem, they have many sources of water.

Tick