Causes for illustrious ammonia surrounded by cats blood?
Are there any other medical explanations for a cat having high ammonia contained by their blood? Our kitten recently had a blood test, and the vet is nearly certain it is the result of a liver shunt, where blood bypasses her liver. Can it be anything else? I am really hoping it is something that won't require expensive surgery or permanent want for medications.
Here is an excerpt from drs. foster and smith website. Is your cat on a balanced feline diet?
What is arginine, and why does my cat call for it?
Arginine is an amino acid. Most animals manufacture the amino acid ornithine through different processes, some of which require arginine. In cats, the only method to produce ornithine is to convert it from arginine. Ornithine is necessary because it binds ammonia produced from the breakdown of protein. If cats are deficient within arginine, there will not be enough ornithine to bind the ammonia, and severe signs such as salivation, vocalization, ataxia, and even death can result from the dignified ammonia levels. These signs often occur several hours after a lunchtime, when most of the ammonia is produced.
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Ammonia. Have you look into the cat food ingredients and see whether it contain arginine & taurine fundamental ammino acids for cats? Some say essential ammino acids, however I don't like this as it doesn't specify what is the ammino acids they include, they could incredibly well exclude some essential ammino acids and put that they contain essential ammino acids.
SIGNS
General Comments
o Clinical signs of hyperammonemia are primarily those of hepatic encephalopathy.
o Owners commonly commment on the sporadic nature of the signs and progressive course.
o Owners may have observed signs worsening after feeding.
Historical Findings
o Ptyalism
o Behavior change
o Visual deficits (blindness)
o Circling
o Pacing
o Anxiety
o Head pressing
o Stupor
o Coma
Physical Examination Findings
o Stunted growth
o Loss of body condition
o Mentation changes and aberrant behavior as scheduled
o Similar findings as discussed in topics on liver disease, e.g., icterus, may also be
observed.
o In animals affected chronically, neuron degeneration occurs and signs
become unremitting.
CAUSES
o Abnormalities of the urea cycle, abnormal portal blood flow, or any disorder that causes markedly impaired liver function can grounds hyperammonemia.
o Rare congenital problems of urea cycle enzyme deficiencies have been reported surrounded by two dogs.
o Cats require dietary arginine (part of the urea cycle). Dietary restriction of this amino acid can cause hyperammonemia and coma in cats. Since most dietary protein contains passable arginine, this is currently thought not to play a crucial role in clinical cases.
RISK FACTORS
o Use of improperly stored or out-of-date RBC products.
o Gastrointestinal hemorrhage. Blood is digested, providing a high protein lunchtime and nitrogen substrate for ammonia production.
o Constipation raises ammonia concentrations by increasing time for absorption of ammonia by the colon and production by bacteria
LABORATORY FINDINGS
Drugs That May Alter Lab Results
The following drugs alter blood ammonia concentration short affecting validity of test results:
o Antibiotics that reduce bacterial intestinal flora may shrinking plasma ammonia concentration.
o Lactulose and diphenhydramine decrease the ammonia concentration
o Enemas decrease the ammonia concentration.
o High concentrations of ammonia have be reported after blood transfusion and administration of parenteral amino acids, narcotics, and diuretics.
Disorders That May Alter Lab Results
Prolonged occlusion of a vein during sampling may cause large values, especially if there is muscle exertion during restraint.
You may want to try a convert in cat food
Wellness
Chicken
http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/cat_welln...
Salmon
http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/cat_welln...
Healthy Weight
http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/cat_welln...
Indoor Health
http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/cat_welln...
Kitten Health
http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/cat_welln...
Wellness Core
http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/cat_welln...
Answers: The part I am going to address is the liver shunt surgery. I have help with the recovery of many patients who own undergone that procedure at our hospital. Most of them were successful - made a full recovery and were especially happy they chose to do it. The recovery was deeply fast and there were no long-term effects in due time. The liver is an amazing organ. If all signs still point to the surgery and everything else is working well, my humble view is to go for it.
Good Luck with whatever you prefer. I know it is never an easy decision nor one to be made lightly. xoxo
The vet's the one to ask, so I'd have to go by her answer. It's always okay to look around and grasp second opinion.
