Symptoms
Anorexia always precedes liver disease, with the cat refusing to eat enough food for days, or weeks. This may be amplified by frequent vomiting when the cat does choose to eat. A lack of appetite causes the cat to refuse any food, even after it has purged its system of all stomach contents. Severe weight loss proceeds as the liver keeps the cat alive off body fat, causing a yellowing of the skin (jaundice). When the cat runs out of fat to process, severe muscle wasting takes place as the body converts protein into energy. Eventually the body cannot give the brain enough energy to function properly and the cat dies from malnutrition. In addition, an overworked liver can eventually fail causing total system collapse.
Read more about this topic: Feline Hepatic Lipidosis
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