Causes for high ammonia in cats blood?

Thanks Tulip for the tip.
Ammonia. Have you look into the cat food ingredients and see whether it contain arginine & taurine essential 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 very well exclude some essential ammino acids and put that they contain essential ammino acids.

SIGNS

General Comments
• Clinical signs of hyperammonemia are primarily those of hepatic encephalopathy.
• Owners often commment on the sporadic nature of the signs and progressive course.
• Owners may have observed signs worsening after feeding.

Historical Findings
• Ptyalism
• Behavior changes
• Visual deficits (blindness)
• Circling
• Pacing
• Anxiety
• Head pressing
• Stupor
• Coma

Physical Examination Findings
• Stunted growth
• Loss of body condition
• Mentation changes and aberrant behavior as listed
• Similar findings as discussed in topics on liver disease, e.g., icterus, may also be
observed.
• In animals affected chronically, neuron degeneration occurs and signs
become persistent.

CAUSES
• Abnormalities of the urea cycle, abnormal portal blood flow, or any disorder that causes markedly impaired liver function can cause hyperammonemia.
• Rare congenital problems of urea cycle enzyme deficiencies have been reported in two dogs.
• 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 adequate arginine, this is currently thought not to play a crucial role in clinical cases.

RISK FACTORS
• Use of improperly stored or out-of-date RBC products.
• Gastrointestinal hemorrhage. Blood is digested, providing a high protein meal and nitrogen substrate for ammonia production.
• 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 without affecting validity of test results:
• Antibiotics that reduce bacterial intestinal flora may decrease plasma ammonia concentration.
• Lactulose and diphenhydramine decrease the ammonia concentration
• Enemas decrease the ammonia concentration.
• High concentrations of ammonia have been 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 high values, especially if there is muscle exertion during restraint.

You may want to try a change in cat food

Wellness
Chicken

Salmon

Healthy Weight

Indoor Health

Kitten Health

Wellness Core

Thanks Christine for the tip.
The vet's the one to ask, so I'd have to go by her answer. It's always okay to look around and get second opinion.

Thanks KimbeeJ for the tip.
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 need it?
Arginine is an amino acid. Most animals manufacture the amino acid ornithine through various 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 in 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 high ammonia levels. These signs often occur several hours after a meal, when most of the ammonia is produced.
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Thanks Horseplay#9 for the tip.
The part I am going to address is the liver shunt surgery. I have helped with the recovery of many patients who have undergone that procedure at our hospital. Most of them were successful – made a full recovery and were very happy they chose to do it. The recovery was very fast and there were no lasting 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 opinion is to go for it.
Good Luck with whatever you decide. I know it is never an easy decision nor one to be made lightly. xoxo

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