High Liver ALT values

my cat is 5 years old since July her liver enzymes have been elevated she has gone to a specialist they want to do a liver biopsy but I do not want to do that her ALT levels are increasingly getting higher she is acting fine eating fine she's actually gained weight has anyone ever noticed this in their cat

Her alt is now 469

princess 2011 said:

my cat is 5 years old since July her liver enzymes have been elevated she has gone to a specialist they want to do a liver biopsy but I do not want to do that her ALT levels are increasingly getting higher she is acting fine eating fine she's actually gained weight has anyone ever noticed this in their cat

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Has your Vet ever tried giving your furbaby an antibiotic to see if it lowered her ALT?  My old girl's ALT goes up and down, and when it goes up, she gets an antibiotic and it goes down again.  Don't think it's as high as your girl's though.  PLUS our girl is almost 16 with kidney disease, so we figure we aren't going to do a biopsy, because no matter what it dhows, we probably wouldn't treat it, since she's already quite ill.

Why not do the biopsy?  Isn't it just a needle biopsy, nothing too invasive? 

My vet sent me to a specialist they put her on antibiotics, they did nothing, actually went up. Sat was her 4th blood work and her ALT is still rising. The liver biopsy  is  VERY invasive. Google "show me a video of a cat having a liver biopsy" it is very dangerous and it's  not 100% that it will show something. Princess is acting fine no symptoms at all. She actually gained weight, she runs around, plays with her toys. So I'm not sure i can put her through that surgery.  

You may want to ask your vet what would be entailed in the biopsy they are considering, as there are needle biopsies that can be done. Or, even if it is surgical, it is not a major surgery.

Please remember - sometimes the only symptom is in the test results. Liver and kidney issues need to be taken seriously. She may be asymptomatic now, but to give you an example, cats with kidney disease can be asymptomatic even with up to 75% of kidney function lost. That isn't necessarily a good thing, it just means it's more difficult to treat by the time they are symptomatic.

I understand not wanting to put her through surgery when it doesn't seem necessary, but it's entirely possible that you may be given an opportunity to treat something before it gets really bad too. 

I asked my vet doing the biopsy is that 100% that it would show what is wrong, he said nothing is 100%, i dont have the money to do the surgery. It is between $2800-$3200, even if i had the money i dont know if i could put her through it. Google "show me a video of a cat having a liver biopsy. It is VERY invasive. There is a risk of bleeding after.

Hi,

Can you switch cat foods immediately?  In people the most common cause of high ALT values is usually due to drug exposure. If the cat food has something in it (toxins or other contaminants) it could explain the rising ALT values.

Have they done an ultrasound? As that only costs $60 and not thousands.

http://www.2ndchance.info/dxme-ALT.htm

Have you had an ultrasound done?  I know it isn't definitive like a biopsy but it is amazing the information that someone who is skilled can get from an ultrasound.

Your vet must be talking about a surgical biopsy.  My kitty had two needle biopsies done when he had fatty liver.  We were trying to get a definitive answer about cancer.  Patches was so sick that if it were cancer it would have been inhumane to continue treatment.  With the needle biopsy it is iffy as to getting a good sample.  The first one showed the fatty liver and cholangiohepatitis which we already knew but there weren't enough cells for a conclusive answer about cancer.  The vet debated a second one with a larger needle because there would be more bleeding.  We went ahead with the second one and there still weren't enough cells.  Since no growths showed up on the ultrasound we went ahead with treatment and he recovered.  My vet told me it depends on the anatomy of the cat whether they can get a good sample with a needle.  Some cats have a liver that is up higher making it difficult to get a good sample with a needle.

Your kitties ALT is definitely high, under 100 is normal.  I know when my kitty had fatty liver his was much higher but that is still a high reading.  The ultrasound isn't cheap but it isn't as expensive as what you were quoted for a biopsy.

She had 2 ultrasounds, 1 at her regular vet and 1 at the specialists, they didnt show anything. the specialist office said they could do a needle biopsy but because they can't get enough cells it is non-diagnostic so I wasn't going that route I really do not want to have the liver biopsies because it is very invasive they have to cut her open if you google it you could see the video on how they do a liver biopsy on a cat you will see that it is very invasive very dangerous but the good thing is is that she's doing great she play she eats well she drinks her weight is great they just do not know what is causing her alt to continue to rise

Sarah ann. The biopsy cost $293 at the specialists office, that is because it's a very high tech ultrasound and the ultrasound that she had in the very beginning at my regular vet was only $100 there was no mass in either one of them

princess 2011 said:

She had 2 ultrasounds, 1 at her regular vet and 1 at the specialists, they didnt show anything. the specialist office said they could do a needle biopsy but because they can't get enough cells it is non-diagnostic so I wasn't going that route I really do not want to have the liver biopsies because it is very invasive they have to cut her open if you google it you could see the video on how they do a liver biopsy on a cat you will see that it is very invasive very dangerous but the good thing is is that she's doing great she play she eats well she drinks her weight is great they just do not know what is causing her alt to continue to rise

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For what it's worth (since you are repeating that you googled the video), any surgery you google will probably not be pretty and will look pretty invasive. So please don't use a video you googled as a means to be making decisions for your cat. The only reason it looks so bad is because you're the parent and there isn't a thing out there that will look "good".

Anyway, just thought I'd mention it. I know it's hard to stay objective when it's your cat, but you almost have to keep your own emotions out of it. And yes, I realize that is next to impossible to do.

You could ask your vet about a supplement called Denamarin.  It contains milk thistle and Sam-E.  I gave it to Patches when he had Fatty Liver at the vet's recommendation.  As far as I know it can be given long term but ask your vet about it.

She was on denamarin a month and it didnt help