Chronic Kidney Disease and Your Senior Cat
22 February 2023
Kidney disease, which can lead to chronic kidney failure, is one of the most common ailments affecting senior cats. If caught early, the condition can be treated and managed fairly well. Fortunately, in many cases it comes on slowly, thus providing time for you and your veterinary team to develop a care plan.
Basics of Chronic Kidney Failure
There are two main types of kidney issues in cats—acute kidney diseases that come on quickly and chronic kidney diseases which develop more slowly over time. Acute kidney disease can affect a cat of any age, as it is typically caused by ingesting a toxin or suffering an injury. Chronic kidney disease, on the other hand, is most common in senior cats.
As the cat ages, kidney function begins to slow down naturally. This means any additional stresses upon the kidneys can wear down function further. Of course, young cats are not immune to chronic kidney disease. There are also congenital varieties of chronic kidney disease.
Causes of Kidney Failure
Natural aging only plays a small part in chronic kidney disorders. While some function loss is expected, it’s not a major concern unless the loss of function begins to drop too much or too quickly. Some common causes of chronic kidney function loss, particularly in senior cats, include:
- Kidney or urinary tract infections or blockages
- Gum diseases and tooth infections
- Comorbidity conditions, such as heart disease or a thyroid disorder
These conditions can be so minor as to go unrecognized, but the weeks or months of fighting off the infection or coping with the disorder can put unnecessary stress on the kidneys.
Chronic dehydration can also play a key role in developing a kidney disorder. Cats that don’t have plenty of access to clean water may not be drinking enough for healthy kidney function. Providing plenty of water and adding wet food to the diet may be necessary to ensure proper hydration.
Symptoms of Kidney Failure
An annual vet exam is the best way to monitor for a chronic kidney disorder. Your vet will take a blood and a urine sample to test for kidney issues. If the test results show high blood urea nitrogen and creatinine, or if there are signs of anaemia, then kidney disease is likely.
There are also behavioural symptoms that you may notice at home. These include:
- Urinating more frequently than usual
- Drinking water in greater volumes
- Blood in the urine
- Unexplained weight loss
- Constipation due to dehydration
- Loss of appetite
- More fatigue than usual
Not all of these symptoms are unique to chronic kidney disease, but they are all symptoms that warrant a vet visit.
Treatment for Kidney Failure
Treatment is more likely to be successful the earlier that the kidney disease is recognised. There are factors, like dehydration or a recent illness, that can skew kidney test readings. Your vet may recommend delaying treatment for a couple of weeks, at which time they will perform the tests a second time. Treatment will begin if this set of tests indicates that kidney disease is still present.
Chronic kidney disease can’t be cured, but it can be managed. Diet and hydration are key components of management. Your vet will prescribe a specialised diet for your cat. You may also need to provide additional hydration via more water stations, wet food, and under-skin hydration injections.
Medications will also be prescribed, especially if your cat’s condition is advanced. These medications may include those to treat comorbidities, such as thyroid conditions or high blood pressure, along with medications made to treat the kidney function-specific problems.
Contact Pet Universe to set up an appointment if you have noticed any troubling symptoms in your cat.
