Hepatic lipidosis is the most common severe liver disease in cats, triggered by anorexia and representing a welfare emergency requiring urgent intervention.
Hepatic lipidosis causes progressive debilitation: affected cats become jaundiced, develop hepatic encephalopathy causing neurological signs, experience profound nausea and lethargy, and can die within days without intervention. The welfare urgency is acute — every day of delayed treatment worsens hepatic damage and reduces survival probability. Long-term tube feeding, while temporarily invasive, is welfare-positive compared to allowing progressive liver failure. Oesophagostomy tubes placed under anaesthesia allow comfortable home feeding after initial hospitalisation. Prevention requires recognising and addressing any cause of anorexia in cats before lipidosis develops, making routine monitoring of food intake essential welfare practice for cat owners.