Demystifying the liver in cats

Kelly Cairns, DVM, MS, DACVIM (SAIM), vice president of medical excellence and education at Thrive Pet Healthcare, presented a continuing education (CE) session “The icteric cat: Demystifying feline liver disease” at the 2025 Fetch dvm360 Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina. This CE session was also recorded for upcoming Fetch On-Demand programming via the dvm360 Flex platform. In a dvm360 interview in Charlotte, Cairns discussed her lecture on felines with icterus and other types of hepatic disease, what Fetch On-Demand learners can expect and what she hopes attendees will take away from the presentation.

The following is a transcript of the video:

Kelly Cairns, DVM, MS, DACVIM (SAIM): I love my session on the icteric cat, because cats are not small dogs in the most delightful ways. So what we're going to do is we unpack the minimum database and how we can demystify the liver with really important clues you're going to find on a [complete blood count], a chemistry profile, urinalysis and basic imaging. Then, we're going to talk about the types of liver disease that cats get, how they're different than dog liver diseases, and how we can use a clinically focused lens to move the needle for patient outcomes surrounding targeted treatments.

One of my biggest takeaways that I'm hoping that folks will bring into their clinical practice is the recognition that any cat who is not eating, especially if they're overweight, is at risk for developing hepatic lipidosis, and how you can identify that condition early through specific markers on a urinalysis and a chemistry profile.