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The liver is one of the largest organs and is considered to be the body's great laboratory and storehouse. In him several enzymes are synthesized, proteins, etc., being the major detoxification organ, storing glycogen (essential for glucose balance), etc.
Hepatitis is defined as inflammation of the liver tissue and therefore of the liver. Although it is not as common a condition in cats as in dogs, it should always be taken into account when making diagnoses in the face of nonspecific and general symptoms, such as weight loss, anorexia, apathy and fever. There are also more specific symptoms such as jaundice.
In this PeritoAnimal article we give you some tips to analyze the cause of hepatitis in cats as well as the disease symptoms and treatment.
Causes of Feline Hepatitis
Liver inflammation can have several origins, below we will show you the most common and frequent causes:
- viral hepatitis: It has nothing to do with human hepatitis. There are certain cat-specific viruses that can lead to hepatitis, among many other symptoms. Thus, viruses that cause feline leukemia and feline infectious peritonitis can give rise to hepatitis, as the viruses destroy liver tissue. These pathogens not only destroy liver tissue, they will also affect other organs of the cat's body.
- Bacterial hepatitis: More frequent in the dog, it is exceptional in the cat. The causative agent is leptospira.
- Hepatitis of parasitic origin: The most common is caused by toxoplasmosis (protozoan) or by filariasis (blood parasite).
- toxic hepatitis: Caused by the ingestion of different toxins, it is also very uncommon in the cat, due to its feeding behavior. It is often due to copper build-up in the feline liver.
- congenital hepatitis: It is also very uncommon and is often misdiagnosed by looking for other conditions, in the case of congenital liver cysts.
- Neoplasms (tumors): They are more common in older cats. Tumor tissue destroys the liver. Most of the time they are not primary tumors, being metastases from tumors generated in other organs.
Most frequent symptoms of feline hepatitis
Hepatitis usually generates different symptoms, depending on whether it manifests itself acutely or chronically. A malfunction of the liver often gives rise to sudden symptoms.
The most frequent symptom is usually the loss of appetite and lethargy. The accumulation of toxins in the body affects the nervous system, and associated symptoms may be observed (changes in behavior, abnormal walking and even seizures), known as hepatic encephalopathy. Inactivity and a state of sadness are common.
Another symptom would be the jaundice. It is a more specific symptom in liver disease and is the accumulation of bilirubin (yellow pigment) in the tissues. In the case of chronic hepatitis, weight loss and ascites (accumulation of fluid in the abdomen) are observed.
Feline Hepatitis Treatment
Hepatitis treatment is usually associated with its origin, but because most of the time it is unknown (idiopathic) or caused by viruses and tumors, it is symptomatic treatment and nutritional management.
Nutritional management consists of changing the cat's diet (which will result in an additional problem, as it is not that simple to carry out), adjusting it to the disease. It is based on reducing the total amount of protein in the diet and increasing its quality.
This article is for information purposes only, at PeritoAnimal.com.br we are not able to prescribe veterinary treatments or perform any type of diagnosis. We suggest that you take your pet to the veterinarian in case it has any type of condition or discomfort.