Cats can develop fatty livers when they are overfat and then fast or are nutritionally stressed.
Fat is mobilized for energy as triglycerides and accumulates diffusely in the hepatocytes. The lipid is visible grossly as a diffuse , yellow discoloration to the liver. The word diffuse implies that the condition or substance is spread widely throughout the tissue and is not localized to a focal area. Diffuse also implies that the distribution is somewhat uniform or even. Click on the photo to see a 58K enlargement clearly showing the diffuse , pattern of fat accumulation in this liver.