Liver disease in dogs & cats

Did you know that the liver is as essential to pet health as the heart is? The liver is so important for dogs and cats that we routinely ask for blood tests when pets are ill. The blood tests show us the liver enzymes (ALP, ALT), bile acids, clotting factors, blood sugar stabilizers (glucagon), and jaundice factors (bilirubin).

Swollen liver (hepatomegaly)
We can also assess the liver by palpating the abdomen. A normal liver rests above the stomach and is protected by the ribs, but when a liver is swollen (hepatomegaly, hepato=liver, megaly=large or swollen), we palpate the edge swelling beyond the ribs.

Jaundice
Another way to tell a pet has a liver problem is that the body turns yellow (jaundice) because the liver isn’t processing bilirubin. It’s easiest to see jaundice when bilirubin tints the white part of the eye (the sclera) a pale or deep yellow. The skin and gums in the mouth can also have a jaundiced color. Just press the gum for a second to make the blood move out of the way and look at the color of the gums when not flushed with red. Yellow gums suggest liver problems.

Nasty pets
One way nature has of ensuring that we don’t miss signs of liver disease is that dogs and cats with sick livers become nasty. They hiss, snarl, and bite. Often, pets with liver disease are so nasty that we can’t get medications into them. These little terrors would benefit from herbs or supplements, but nobody with sense tries to put a pill into the mouth of a dog or cat with liver-disease . Instead, we choose to begin treatment with a homeopathic medication in the water.

Good pets
Some pets with liver disease cannot be mean no matter how sick their organs are. These pets are a delight to treat because we can use supplements and herbs that strengthen the liver. Our friend Jiggy, Chiclet’s buddy, is an example of a pet who remains wonderful despite liver disease.

Liver regeneration
The liver has the ability to regenerate so we’re rewarded when we treat these pets—whether they’re hostile or happy —because they respond and return to health. Among the holistic therapies that benefit the liver are acupuncture, homeopathy, SAMe, herbs and feeding organic liver.

Toxins prevent recovery
Supplements, herbs, and medications will not return pets to health if they are exposed to toxic materials and exposure continues during and after treatment. Although the immune system is trying to help protect the liver from toxins, it actually responds in such a way that the liver swells and becomes sicker. A swollen liver (hepatomegaly) doesn’t work well and can cause abdominal pain. A swollen liver also presses on the gallbladder and interferes with the flow of digestive bile into the small intestine. Thus, many pets whose immune systems are responding to liver toxins or liver insults cannot digest their food . Many are nauseated and have no desire to eat.

Liver toxins
The following are some of the liver toxins that dogs and cats are exposed to:
· Acetaminophen
· Aflatoxins
· Blue-green algae clay pigeons
· Copper
· Coal tar
· Iron
· Mushrooms
· Phenolics
· Plants, such as cycad palms & lantana
· Pyrrolizidine plants

We’ll go over this list in greater detail in a future Caring for Pets blog.