Cats are fat, cute to look at, and comfortable to touch. However, cats that are too fat can easily cause many diseases. This must be very clear to many cat owners. For example, our common liver disease, because recently many cat owners have asked me in private messages, "My furry child suddenly developed fatty liver and jaundice! What should I do?" So today let's understand why cats get fatty liver? Is there any relationship between fatty liver disease in cats and obesity? !

1. What is fatty liver in cats?

Fatty liver disease is a disease caused by excessive accumulation of fat in a cat’s liver. Cats don’t have enough energy after not eating for a long time. (To put it simply, cats’ fatty liver is caused by starvation. Unlike humans, we humans eat it.) The liver begins to mobilize the fat reserves in the body and convert them into energy substances to maintain life. However, the speed at which fat accumulates in liver cells exceeds the speed of metabolic conversion, causing a large amount of fat to be deposited in liver cells, thereby causing fatty liver.

The probability of cats suffering from fatty liver does not depend on breed or age, but cats with obesity and larger abdominal circumference are more likely to suffer from fatty liver. The more obese a cat is, the more likely it is that it will suffer from anorexia and hunger strike due to food changes, environmental changes, and stress. Therefore, the possibility of developing fatty liver is higher and more serious. If treatment is not aggressive, it can be life-threatening!

2. What are the symptoms of fatty liver in cats?

The symptoms of fatty liver disease in cats are divided into two stages:

Early stage:

Cats are prone to depression, lethargy, general weakness, slow movement, loss of appetite or Sudden paralysis, weight loss, dehydration and other symptoms. If you touch its body, you will feel that its body temperature is high.

Later stage:

It will cause jaundice, such as yellow staining of the body's mucous membranes, skin, inner ears or gums. The liver is obviously enlarged, but the cat will not have any obvious reaction when pressed with hands. Rarely, some cats may develop hepatic encephalopathy.

Some people ask whether fatty liver in cats can heal itself?

The answer is - no

When a cat suffers from fatty liver, he must go to a regular and professional hospital for treatment to avoid worsening of the condition!

3. How to prevent and treat fatty liver in cats?

Please note the following points:

1. Correct blood imbalances, such as dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, anemia, abnormal blood pH, etc.;

2. As soon as possible Let the cat eat food, and force-feed semi-liquid food to the cat in small amounts and multiple times a day. Especially cats that have not eaten for many days must be force-fed regularly. Whether it is force-feeding, appetite stimulation or nasogastric feeding tube, letting the cat eat is the key to the recovery of fatty liver;

3. Regular force-feeding needs to continue until the cat regains its appetite and can eat on its own.

4. Check whether the cat has infectious diseases, renal failure, tumors and other primary diseases that cause the cat to stop eating; if the fatty liver is caused by other diseases, targeted treatment should be carried out for the disease.

5. For cats that have symptoms of hepatic encephalopathy, they must cooperate with the doctor’s treatment until the symptoms of hepatic encephalopathy and the primary disease are eliminated.

6. Finally, proper supplementation of Ganhaoyishu during the treatment period can help the metabolism of triglycerides, shorten the treatment cycle, and help the cat recover as soon as possible!

Liver disease can also be prevented in advance. First of all, maintaining a healthy body shape is the top priority. Secondly, daily diet + liver-protecting supplements are also very necessary!