Fighting Liver Disease in Dogs and Cats – Milk Thistle as a Natural Healing Agent

The liver is vital to your pet's health. When functioning properly, it performs crucial processes like the regulation of blood sugar, the production of bile for digestion and the regulation of blood clotting. The liver also works as a filter to remove toxic substances, as well as helping to absorb fats and certain vitamins.

The liver is a vulnerable organ in dogs and cats because of its job to filter toxins. An overload of toxins can cause the liver to fail.  Bacterial or viral infections of the liver can also cause this vital organ to stop working.

Suggested Products:
LiverAid

Immunity and Liver Support

Detox Plus

Hepagen

Symptoms

When the liver fails both dogs and cats experience similar symptoms:

• Vomiting
• Loss of appetite,
• Weight loss
• Soft and/or gray stools
• Weakness and listlessness

Often times these symptoms are similar to other conditions and the liver remains untreated until it becomes evident that the animal is experiencing advanced liver disease. As the disease worsens, toxins begin to build up in the body and the signs of liver failure become more evident:

• Jaundice
• Convulsions
• Confusion
• Swollen abdomen from fluid accumulation

While advanced liver disease can be treated effectively, it is always best to identify the signs and begin treatment early, saving your pet from unpleasant symptoms and you from costly medical bills.

Preventing Liver Disease

The best way to prevent liver diseases is to avoid exposing your pet to toxins and chemicals. Some common potential liver toxins are:

• Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin, Rimadyl, Teogesic or Feldene
• Cortisone (steroid) compounds
• Heavy metals, i.e. mercury from some deep-sea fish and lead from paint chips
• Phenobarbital (Note: For seizures, a safe alternative to phenobarbital is potassium bromide.)

Natural Treatments
Diet plays an important role in the healing of the liver. Small, frequent meals which are low in fat and contain easily digestible grains will help minimize the work that the liver must do while it heals.

There are several nutraceuticals that aid in treating liver diseases and are especially beneficial to restoring the health of the liver when steroids and other prescription drugs are used.

Milk thistle is often the herb of choice among holistic veterinarians because it is a powerful antioxidant.

Silybum marianum (milk thistle) is one of the most important herbal liver tonics and restoratives for your pet. Scientific analysis shows that milk thistle contains silymarin - a powerful antioxidant which can block the entry of toxins into the liver and remove them at cellular level, resulting in regeneration of liver cells and improved liver function.

Other natural ingredients that are used to restore the liver include DMG, Burdock and Natrium Phosphate.  

Visit these links or more information about specific liver disease in dogs and cats: Hepatitis, Copper-Associated Hepatophy, Hepatic Lipidosis, Cholagiohepatitis.

To aid in the healing of the liver, we suggest the following product containing milk thistle and other beneficial nutrients:

LiverAid by PetAlive

LiverAid is an herbal and homeopathic remedy that contains nutrients which improve liver functions and help to eliminate toxins from the body.

To purchase or read more about LiverAid...

Immunity and Liver Support by PetAlive

Immunity and Liver Support strengthens and improves immune system and liver functioning in dogs and cats. Helps to counter the harmful effects of frequent vaccinations and antibiotic treatment.

To purchase or learn more about Immunity and Liver Support...

Detox Plus from PetAlive

This natural herbal remedy helps to prevent the buildup of harmful toxins (i.e. insecticides, cigarette smoke, flea collars, food preservatives to name a few) in your pet's body. Detox Plus improves liver functioning, metabolism, thyroid health and your pet's ability to eliminate toxins.

To purchase or read more about Detox Plus...

Hepagen-C for Dogs

Hepagen-C provides the beneficial herbs milk thistle and tumeric with antioxidants and important nutrients for Phase I and Phase II liver detoxification. Hepagen-C can be used long term, if necessary.

To purchase or read more about Hepagen-C...

Hepagen-F provides the beneficial herbs milk thistle and tumeric with antioxidants and important nutrients for Phase I and Phase II liver detoxification. Hepagen-F can be used long term, if necessary.

To purchase or read more about Hepagen-F...

For additional support, ask your vet if an antioxidant formula would help the overall health of your pet.

Small Animal Antioxidant

This formula combines vitamins A, C, E, beta carotene, and selenium (all potent free-radical scavengers) with grape seed extract, lipoic acid and silymarin (all potent antioxidants). It can be used alone or in combination with Hepagen.

Read more about Small Animal Antioxidant...

If your pet has a liver condition you'd like to learn more about, send us an email and will try to include it in future updates to this website. See our Contact Us page.