Hypervitaminosis A from excessive liver feeding causes severe skeletal pain and deformity in cats. Understanding this preventable condition protects feline welfare.
Hypervitaminosis A causes severe, irreversible skeletal changes that cause chronic pain and progressive disability. The tragedy is that this condition is entirely preventable — it results from well-intentioned but uninformed feeding of excessive liver. Cats with spinal exostoses lose the ability to groom themselves, adopt painful postures, and may eventually become unable to reach their food. Early recognition before irreversible bone deformation occurs allows dietary correction that prevents further progression. Raw feeders particularly need awareness that without careful nutritional balance, deficiencies or toxicities develop over months to years before clinical signs become obvious. Veterinary nutritional guidance for raw or home-prepared diets prevents this and other nutritional welfare problems.