Vitamin A toxicity from all-liver diets is a preventable nutritional condition in cats that causes severe suffering. Understanding this risk protects cats from an avoidable welfare problem.
Hypervitaminosis A represents a preventable nutritional crisis that owners inadvertently cause by feeding what they believe is a healthy, protein-rich diet. The irony is that liver is genuinely nutritious in appropriate amounts - it is the excessive amounts fed out of perceived kindness that cause harm. By the time symptoms are obvious, significant and irreversible spinal damage may have occurred. The chronic pain of the bony proliferations and the restricted movement they cause significantly reduces quality of life. Cats with advanced hypervitaminosis A may be unable to groom themselves, adopt comfortable resting positions, or move freely. This welfare crisis is entirely preventable through nutritional education.