Liver Conditions
(5min read)
Liver disease is quite common in both dogs and cats and can occur at any age, from puppy/kitten to old age. Usually the signs of liver disease, like many diseases, are a bit vague; affected animals are often just quiet, have reduced appetite and lose weight. Jaundice is quite often seen and if your pet has this you may notice yellowness in the eyes, mouth or skin or the urine being darker than usual.
What are the causes of liver disease?
The liver is a large organ found at the front of the abdomen. It has many roles but generally they are connected to metabolism – the making of substances useful around the body and the processing and safe removal of many waste products and toxins.
The liver can be affected by many diseases and each individual condition has its own causes. Animals with porto-systemic shunts have an abnormal blood supply to the liver. This is a genetic condition and signs are usually seen in puppies/kittens and young adults.
Infections (bacteria and viruses) can also cause liver disease in dogs and cats. These are more common in young animals. Young cats may be affected by the terrible virus causing Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP). Cats with FIP can suffer from liver disease as well as disease in other body areas. Toxins (poisons, plants, certain foods) are another cause liver disease/damage and this can occur at any age.
The most common liver diseases are those seen usually in middle-aged and older animals – inflammatory diseases such as hepatitis and cholangiohepatitis, hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver), in cats, which happens when the liver function shuts down due to another serious illness such as diabetes (or anything that cause the cat to stop eating); and cancers such as lymphoma or adenocarcinoma.
How would I know if my pet has liver disease?
Animals with liver disease can show a variety of signs. Often signs are vague and are easily confused with signs of disease in other organs – heart failure, kidney failure, inflammatory diseases of the intestine or cancers. The most common symptoms seen are:
Reduced appetite and weight loss
Lethargy/tiredness (quieter than normal)
Vomiting and diarrhea
Abnormal behaviour/seizures (more common in animals with liver shunts)
Puppies/kittens with poor growth or weight loss (liver shunts)
Swollen abdomen is seen with some types of liver disease
Jaundice (yellowing of skin, gums, eyes)
How is liver disease diagnosed?
Your veterinarian will need to examine your pet to make the diagnosis. Routine blood tests may indicate that liver damage is happening. A further blood test called a bile acid stimulation test is used to check whether the liver is working normally. Scanning the liver with ultrasound is now commonly used and will assist your veterinarian to find cancers and cysts. Most liver diseases are caused by inflammation and cancer and these can only be diagnosed by getting a tissue sample – either via a small needle or by taking a piece of tissue either using ultrasound guidance or during surgery.
Can liver disease be treated?
Some liver diseases are treated effectively with drugs – the common inflammatory diseases usually respond to drug treatments, and they often need to be given for weeks, months or even for life. The prognosis is often good. Special diets often can be helpful. There are some good liver support medications to help the liver recover after damage has occurred.
There are some liver diseases that require surgery, although this is uncommon; gall bladder stones or mucoceles can require surgical removal. Individual cancers and cysts sometimes are removable.
Unfortunately, some liver diseases do not respond well to treatment FIP, FIV and polycystic diseases do not have good treatments. Lymphoma of the liver is a common cancer, chemotherapy may have an effect, but good responses are not usual.
Some animals can live quite a long time with liver cancer, even if these are malignant – depending, of course, just how ill they are when the disease is found and that any pain can be controlled.
What happens if I don't get treatment?
This all depends on the cause of the problem. Mild liver problems may well not be noticed in most animals so any problem that is bad enough to show obvious signs at home probably will not get better by itself. Sometimes evidence of liver damage is found in blood tests from a pet being examined for another reason and if there is not an obvious problem with the liver then just monitoring may be appropriate. However, your veterinarian may want to perform other tests such as the bile acid stimulation test and an ultrasound examination to provide further information.
Conclusion
Liver disease can be serious and usually requires considerable veterinary input: firstly to diagnose liver disease, then to establish the exact type and cause of the pathology and its prognosis and then to guide treatment. Treatment can also be complicated and expensive, often including prolonged drug treatment and supportive care with hospitalization. Cats with liver disease often require feeding using tubes to maintain their nutrition.
What Ongoing Monitoring is needed?
Frequent monitoring of your pet’s blood test is needed, especially in the early stages after diagnosis of liver disease. If your pet requires hospitalisation due to illness related to the liver disease, they will need to be seen a few times in the first few weeks to ensure they are recovering well. Their blood tests will need to be checked within 1-2 weeks to ensure the signs of liver damage are resolving. After this they will need a check-up at 1 month and 3 months to monitor for progression of liver disease. If any abnormalities were seen on the ultrasound your veterinarian may want to monitor this with a repeat ultrasound in 3 months.
If your pet is doing well after the first few months, they will need less frequent monitoring but will still require 6 monthly consultations with your veterinarian to closely monitor your pet’s condition and continue to dispense any medications. After the initial tests your veterinarian will advise when repeat testing is required depending on how your pet is doing at home, in general this will involve:
General Blood test Monitoring – every 6 months (to monitor liver function)
Repeat Abdominal Ultrasound– every 6-12 months (more frequently if any abnormalities were seen)
If you have any concerns or notice any changes in your pet’s condition, please contact your veterinarian immediately to make a recheck appointment.
