If you're a long-term cat owner you'll already know that a lot of older cats end up with kidney failure (renal insufficiency).Why cats are more susceptible to kidney disease is unknown, but it seems to be a degenerative process.Some younger cats who have Feline Immunodeficiency Virus will get earlier onset of kidney disease - this is thought to be due to the deposition of antibodies against the virus in the nephrons and hence damage to the kidneys.

 

What you probably didn't know is that any tests we can do won't show us any changes until the kidneys have only 15% of their functional mass working - this means we often don't start treatment till very late in the disease.

SO - how can we help our cats earlier??

 The first sign that cats are sick is often that they suddenly start to drink more water. Often their breath becomes more offensive. Once the disease is really advanced they may stop eating and start to vomit. (Cats who drink milk drink do so because of the taste rather than thirst, so we often miss seeing the first increase in water intake, which is why we tell you not to give them milk).

We diagnose kidney disease with the use of blood tests, and urine tests. We can often do these while your cat is here for a consultation, or sometimes they need to stay for a few hours to obtain a urine sample. Cats with kidney disease tend to get high blood pressure so we also like to measure their blood pressure.

Treatment

 We can't cure kidney disease but we can slow it down and protect the remaining functional part of the kidneys so your cat has a happier and healthier life for longer.

There are now specially formulated diets which contain better and more easily digested protein sources. These decrease the work the kidney has to do in processing the diet. It is essential your cat also has access to plenty of water at all times.

Recently we have started giving these cats medication to lower their blood pressure. This again protects the functional kidney mass, and hence slows down the course of the disease.

And finally we can help the kidneys by flushing out the toxins every so often. Similar to Human Kidney dialysis we keep your cat in hospital for 4-5 days on Intravenous fluids, and this reduces some of the toxin levels temporarily so that your cat feels better.