Introduction

• Hepatomegaly in cats is typically recognized during presentation for non-specific signs such as weakness, lethargy and inappetence.
• Causes: infectious and toxic causes are typically associated with younger animals while neoplastic and non-suppurative immune-mediated causes are seen more frequently in older cats.
• Definitive diagnosis is required to establish an appropriate therapeutic plan and to correctly assess the quality of response so that modifications to treatment can be implemented.
• Prognosis: dependent on the underlying cause and ranges from excellent to hopeless.

Pathogenesis

Etiology

• Congestion:
  • Right sided cardiac failure, eg pericardial effusion Pericardial disease.
  • Upper caudal vena caval obstruction.
• Neoplasia Liver: primary hepatic neoplasia :
  • Hepatocellular carcinoma.
  • Bile duct carcinoma Bile duct: disease.
  • Hepatoma Hepatoma.
  • Lymphoma Lymphoma.
  • Hemangiosarcoma (primary)  Hemangiosarcoma.
  • Neuroendocrine carcinoma (carcinoid).
  • Metastatic neoplasia, eg hemangiosarcoma, intestinal adenocarcinoma, mast cell neoplasia.
  • Malignant histiocytosis Malignant histiocytosis.
  • Leukemia Leukemia.
• Inflammation:
  • Toxic damage.
  • Hepatic abscess.
  • Cholangiohepatitis (immune-mediated) Liver: cholangitis.
  • Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) Feline infectious peritonitis.
  • Feline leukemia virus (FeLV) Feline leukemia virus disease.
• Infection  Liver: acute disease:
  • Leptospirosis.
  • Cholangiohepatitis (bacterial)  Liver: cholangitis.
• Infiltration:
  • Fat, glycogen.
  • Amyloidosis Amyloidosis.
  • Neoplasia.
• Miscellaneous:
  • Torsion.
  • Extramedullary hematopoiesis.
  • Benign nodular hyperplasia.
  • Hematoma.
  • Polycystic liver.
  • Lysosomal storage disease Storage disease.
  • Acromegaly Acromegaly.

Diagnosis

Treatment

Outcomes