Introduction

The liver disease has been common occurrence in domestic cats. Hepatic lipidosis is the main disease affecting the liver in this species. It is caused by accumulation of fat in liver cells, and may be triggered after fasting periods in cats.

Objectives

The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical signs and laboratory changes in domestic cats diagnosed with hepatic lipidosis from Botucatu city, Sao Paulo (SP) state, Brazil.

Methods

Medical records of cats treated between 2012 to 2016 were evaluated. We evaluated age, gender, most prevalent clinical signs, mainly hematological and biochemical changes.

Results

In the period there was 124 cats with liver disease, and 66.1% (n=82) were diagnosed with hepatic lipidosis. The average age was 8.2±4.3 years in females and 7.8±4.4 in male cats. The mainly clinical signs were jaundice (56.2%), vomiting (54.6%), anorexia (52.1%), lethargy (50.4%) and hyporexia (35.5%). Reduction of red blood cell count in 10 (13.5%) and the increase in leukocyte count in 14 cats (18.9%) were the most frequent alterations. Fluctuations in renal function were observed: urea increased in 31.1% and decreased in 43.2%; creatinine increased in 18.9% and decreased in 14.9% of the cats. Liver function showed a predominant increase in enzyme profile. Increased in alanine aminotransferase (48.7%), aspartate aminotransferase (48.7%), alkaline phosphatase (78.4%) and gamma-glutamyltranspetidase (54.1%) were observed. Increase in total serum protein (23%), serum albumin (17.6%) and serum globulin (18.9%) occurred.

Conclusions

Hepatic lipidosis is the major liver disease in cats. The knowledge of epidemiology, clinical signs. hematological and biochemical changes is important.