Liver fibrosis - advice needed

[c4tl0v3r]

Hello,

I'm the proud owner of a gorgeous and loving 4 year old male persian/angora, he's had a history of auto-immune deficiencies and recovered from pancreatitis less than a year ago.
Now he's losing weight again, turns out liver and gall bladder are bigger than usually so we went for a biopsy. Diagnosis is fibrotic liver disease.

I see online that it's treatable as long as the organ is still functioning (not in cirrhosis state) whether involving inpatient treatment, surgery or outpatient medication. My vet said the opposite, surgery would be very complicated (he hasn't mentioned other types of treatment) and asked me to give him Ursofalk for 25 days (Ursodeoxycholic acid to faciliate digestion and make the liver walls tender again).

I need opinions of anyone who's been through the same and outcomes however painful they may be, I really wish to do all I can for my cat.
Thank you in advance for all your help!

G

[Antonio]

Hi c4tl0v3r,
Sorry to read that your cat isn't fine.

I don't understand how a surgery can be of help in such a situation.
A fibrotic liver is a liver whose tissue has become alterated and lost its softness, the texture is more like a muscle than like a sponge.
This said, the only thing a surgery can do is to remove the fibrotic part of the liver, leaving your cat with a reduced organ. The liver is an organ able to restore itself even when a part has been removed, it can grow back.

As far as I know, though, certain fibroses cannot be treated, or cannot recover.
The med your vet gave you is good in the case of a thick bile. When the bile produced by the gallbladder is too thick, it can't flow to the intestine and tends to stagnate in the gallbladder or flow back to the liver, giving troubles like the fibrosis or other liver diseases or failure.
Ursofalk, or other similar pills, makes bile thinner and allows it to flow easily to the intestine.

So, in order to know whether the Ursofalk is useful in your case, you should ask your vet for a test for the bilirubine. If it's higher than 0.3, then the med is fine.
Keep an eye on possible signs of jaundice!
A supplement like Milk Thistle is also good, and it is often suggested when the liver is sick. It's a natural ingredient, not chemical, and is available at different places, on-line too.
Ask your vet.

[c4tl0v3r]

Thank you Antonio for your kind reply.

I have placed an order for liquid Milk Thistle (would have never heard of it if it wasn't for you) and maxxiSAMe powder for cats. Hopefully they will get here in time before he gets worse.

He has recently started vomiting on a daily basis, I'm suspecting it might be the overload of vitamins he's been on: Neurobion, Konakion, and Beaphar multivitamin paste for cats. Would you have an opinion whether it's too much?

G

[Antonio]

Good move! I forgot to advice you on SAMe, but I see you have been smarter than me!
Unless you live on a remote island, and provided that the merchant has promised a prompt shipping, you should receive it within the end of the week.

Some vitamins must be accurately dosed in order to avoid any overload.
However, a vomit that occurs on daily basis triggers a thought in my mind, that his liver isn't working.

Keep in mind that a bad liver could also be a bad gall bladder, and in some cases even a bad pancreas.
Does your cat feel any belly ache? Is he eating normally? Is he lively, playful and alert? Is he hiding or avoiding his normal resting places?