Why Cats Develop Fatty Liver Disease
📝 Summary
Fatty liver in cats is almost always a sign of an underlying problem — a hidden illness, obesity, diabetes, or stress from big changes. Cornell research found most cases are linked to other diseases. The disease is split into secondary (caused by another condition) and primary (cause unknown), but both progress the same way and need the same treatment.
1 Causes of Feline Fatty Liver Disease
Causes of feline fatty liver
1) A healthy, normal-weight cat with no hidden disease is unlikely to develop fatty liver even if its daily food intake is cut by a third. Fatty liver usually appears because the body is hiding some illness, or because of stressors like moving, boarding, a food change, or a new pet — though these triggers account for relatively few cases.
2) The most common situation is an illness the owner hasn’t noticed yet — chronic inflammation such as chronic hepatitis, chronic pancreatitis, or cholecystitis that lurks deep. These are all linked to fatty liver. Beyond that, cancer in older cats, obesity, and diabetes are also strongly connected.
3) A Cornell University survey of 157 cats with fatty liver found that 20% had other liver disease, 14% had cancer, 11% had hidden pancreatitis, 5% had social problems, 4% had respiratory issues, and 2% had diabetes. This is why most cases are traced to an underlying disease.
Fatty liver is also divided into two types: secondary (triggered by another disease) and primary (no cause found). ‘Primary’ only means we haven’t found the cause, not that there isn’t one. Whatever the trigger, the symptoms and progression are the same, and so is the treatment.
A friendly reminder: please keep a tight grip on your cat’s weight and don’t let it become obese. Also, avoid taking your cat to unfamiliar places and try not to board it — such changes can affect its health. Keep these points in mind.
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