Improving Your Pet's Liver Health

Your pet's liver is one of the most important organs in your pet's body, if not the most important. The liver is also the largest organ as well, and it is responsible for supplying the necessary nutrients to your pet's body, fighting off diseases, encouraging growth and providing energy.

In fact, almost every bodily function or process is influenced one way or another by your pet's liver. Unfortunately, since nearly all of the liver's functions are shared by other organs in your pet's body, it can make obtaining a proper diagnosis very hard if your pet ever falls ill.

Types of Liver Disease

There are quite a few diseases that can harm your pet's liver, such as:
Infectious Canine Hepatitis
Cancer
Active Hepatitis
Hepatic Lipidosis
Diabetes
Cushing's Disease
Hyperthyroidism
Heartworms
Anemia
Infections
Trauma
Bile
Toxins
Drugs
The most common illness is Hepatitis, which is a word generally given to describe any type of inflammation that is found on the liver. The inflammation can be caused by a variety of problems. Another commonly found cause of liver disease in pets, especially dogs, are Heartworms, which can cause liver failure by obstructing blood flow to your dog's liver.

Another common cause of liver disease in cats and dogs are drugs. Namely prescription medications that are given to your pet by their veterinarian for other health issues that are not related to the liver at all.  If your cat or dog has an overly sensitive system, their liver can be negatively affected by certain veterinary medications. This can occur in pets who have had a long-term exposure to certain drugs as well. Such drugs include heartworm medications, de-worming medications, glucocorticoids, Phenobarbital, Tylenol, Rimadyl and Ketaconazole. If your cat or dog is taking any of these medications, please be sure to insist that your pet's veterinarian administers regularly scheduled tests to keep an eye out for diminishing liver health or liver disease or failure.

Cats and dogs can contract cancer in their livers just as humans can. Although cancer of the liver can be considered to be a single cancer type, it can metastasize extremely fast owing to the vast amounts of blood that flows from the liver. This blood flow can easily spread the cancer to other parts and organs of your pet's body quickly.

As a matter of fact, nearly one quarter of the blood that is pumped by your pet's heart, reaches to their liver. This blood is then processed by the liver and sent back out again into your pet's blood stream.

Sadly, by the time a proper diagnosis is made, liver disease is generally well established. In spite of this, unlike any other major bodily organ in your pet, the liver has the remarkable ability to reproduce itself or regenerate itself. However, in order to do so your pet's liver will require additional support.

Improving the Liver

One of the major tasks of the liver is aiding with proper metabolism. This not only includes metabolizing the food that you feed your cat or dog, but also with metabolizing bile, drugs, medications and other toxins. This metabolization is extremely essential for detoxification.

Due to the closeness of the gall bladder to the liver, bile is easily passed from the gall bladder into the liver, where it is also metabolized. This process enables fats to be properly absorbed, excess drugs and toxins to be eliminated and red blood cells to be re-distributed into your pet's blood stream. Bile also converts nutrients and fat-soluble vitamins, such as Vitamins A, D, E and K, for the liver to metabolize.

In order for your pet's liver to function properly, encourage better metabolization, to ward off diseases and strengthen the liver's natural healing abilities, it will need a little help on your part.

The best way to help your pet's liver is provide your pet with a daily supplement of Milk Thistle. This is also suggested to be used by people as well for a variety of liver health issues.

Milk Thistle is considered to be a nourishing herbal energizer for the liver and is easily tolerated by both pets and people alike. The reason that Milk Thistle works so well is because it contains an assortment of active ingredients referred to as Silymarin. These special elements work together to help preserve the wellbeing of your pet's liver. They do this by seeking out all of the destructive free radicals and eliminate them before they even have had a chance to wreak havoc on your pet's liver. Milk Thistle sustains the strength of your pet's liver's membranes, while at the same time it also protects the liver from harmful toxins.

Symptoms of Liver Disease

A few of the most common symptoms of liver disease in dogs and cats are:
Decreased Appetite
Loss of Weight
Fatigue
Light Colored Stool
Changes In Behavior
Abdominal Pain
Gastrointestinal issues (diarrhea, constipation and/or vomiting)
Swollen Liver or Belly
Increased Urination
Drinking More Water
Remember to always have your veterinarian give your cat or dog a regular checkup for liver disease. 
 
Related Products: Milk Thistle for Dog Liver Disease & Cat Liver Disease