Cats, especially those who are aging and senior, have a higher risk of kidney disease. Although there is no cure, finding CKD early and receiving the proper treatment can help control the condition.
As the disease progresses, recognizing symptoms quickly and preventing them helps your cat stay healthy and live a long life.
Prevent Kidney Failure in Cats; The Answer
Kidney failure is common in aging cats and, while incurable, early detection and proper care can control its progression. Cats’ kidneys filter toxins, regulate fluids, and support vital functions, so protecting them is crucial.
Prevent kidney failure by ensuring your cat stays hydrated, maintains a healthy weight, avoids toxins (like antifreeze and lilies), and receives regular vet check-ups.
Watch for symptoms such as increased thirst, weight loss, and lethargy. A therapeutic diet and prompt veterinary care can help your cat live a longer, healthier life despite kidney issues.
What Is Kidney Failure in Cats?
The kidney structure in cats consists of two kidneys, each on the side of the abdomen. The kidneys guard against harmful byproducts by turning them into urine, ensuring the body stays hydrated by balancing water and salt, producing hormones needed for red blood cells, keeping blood pressure in check, and adjusting vitamin D levels.
Cats with chronic kidney disease can lose well over half of their kidney function, and this is often signaled by higher levels of creatinine found in their blood. Having kidney failure can be dangerous and needs to be diagnosed and managed as swiftly as possible.
Feeding your cat a therapeutic diet and seeing the veterinarian regularly can help the kidneys work better, extend the cat’s life, and improve its overall well-being.
How to Prevent Kidney Failure in Cats
Taking good care of what cats eat is essential to prevent toxins from reaching the kidneys. Don’t bring poisonous flowers such as lilies or other toxic bouquets into your house, as they can damage your cat. Store all medications and cleaners in safe containers difficult for a child to reach.
Try to stop your cat from entering the garage, as there is a risk of antifreeze poisoning. As many kidney diseases are genetic, it is very important not to breed with affected cats. Following these guidelines will help you ensure your cat does not face undue risks.
Types of Kidney Failure in Cats
There are two primary ways that kidney failure can develop in cats: Both types are treated differently, as each has its own set of causes, progression, and methods.
1. Acute Kidney Failure in Cats
When your cat experiences acute kidney failure, they have suffered an abrupt injury to their kidneys, often due to poisoning or a rapidly spreading infection.
This type of kidney failure can take hours or weeks to develop. Although some cats can improve and regain kidney health through treatment, in half of the cases, ARF is not treatable and leads to the animal’s death.
Those cats that get past the first shock of the disease usually have a more positive prognosis than cats with lasting kidney problems.
2. Chronic Kidney Failure in Cats
Chronic kidney failure, also called chronic kidney disease (CKD), occurs when kidney tissue slowly gets damaged and is lost over months or years.
As the kidneys slowly stop working, mainly due to genetics, long-term infections, old age, cancer, or other reasons, this event leads to ESRF, or stage 4 kidney disease.
It is estimated that half of the kidney function is already impaired when the first clinical signs are seen. At this stage, it becomes hard to treat the patient, and the kidneys cannot perform their key functions.
Signs and Symptoms of Kidney Disease in Cats
Cat owners might not notice anything different with their pet until chronic disease badly affects the kidneys. Other stages may have their signals, but the usual signs seen in all of them are:
- Increased thirst
- Passing more urine
- Poor appetite
- Weight loss
- Poor coat condition
- Vomiting
- Lethargy
- Depression
- Bad breath
Many other conditions could cause any of these signs, so you should take your cat to the vet as soon as something seems off.
How Can I Protect My Cat’s Kidneys?
It is key to look after your cat’s kidneys so that they can avoid kidney failure and stay in good health for a long time.
For this purpose, you need to pay attention to four key areas: try to ensure your cat drinks enough water, maintains a healthy body weight, has a stress-free experience with its litter box, and is examined by the vet for kidney disease regularly.
Doing these will help your cat’s kidneys function properly, spot any issues that arise, and benefit your pet’s overall health.
1. Encourage Your Cat’s Water Consumption
Drinking water regularly helps clean out your system and supports the kidneys. You can make a pet enjoy drinking by offering water in a bowl or a fountain or letting the faucet drip a little.
Feeding your cat things like tuna juice or chicken broth in a can, or instead of kibble, is a good way to help them drink more water. For older cats or those with arthritis, put their water bowls close to them and include some ice cubes to help make mealtimes more interesting.
2. Keep Your Cat at a Healthy Weight
Having extra weight can put someone at greater risk of diabetes and other illnesses that can harm the kidneys.
Take good care of your cat’s weight by offering measured feedings, breaking the meals into smaller portions, and giving low-calorie treats.
Have your veterinarian provide the appropriate calorie amount your cat should have.
3. Make Using the Litter Box a Stress-Free Experience
Normal urination gets rid of waste and harmful substances in the body. Please ensure clean and private litter boxes are available and scoop the litter out daily.
If you need to switch the type of litter, do so slowly and give your cats time to adjust. If you notice your pet urinating a lot, finding blood in their urine, or making unusual vocal sounds, set up an appointment with your vet.
4. Visit Your Family Veterinarian Regularly for Kidney Disease Screening
Since many early symptoms of kidney disease are hard to notice, you should visit your vet regularly.
Your vet will draw blood to test your cat’s kidney health with BUN, creatinine, and SDMA. If your cat’s disease is caught early on, treatment can help prevent it from worsening and improve its quality of life.
What Causes Kidney Failure in Cats?
Failure of the cat’s kidneys might occur immediately for many reasons or take time to develop. Some leading causes include getting toxins in the body, having certain medical conditions, and other factors such as genetics and infections.
Knowing these tips will protect your cat’s kidneys and stop kidney failure from occurring.
Toxin Exposure
- ethylene glycol
- antifreeze
- lilies
- plant toxicity
- water vase
- NSAIDs
- acetaminophen
- ibuprofen
- heavy metals
- arsenic
- lead
- mercury
- rat poisons
Underlying Medical Issues
- urethral obstructions
- inability to urinate
- low blood pressure
- clotting disorders
- heart disease
- pyelonephritis
- kidney infection
- parasitic infections
- toxoplasmosis
- kidney worms
- tick-borne diseases
- feline infectious peritonitis (FIP)
- trauma
- allergic reactions
- shock
- Chronic kidney disease
- End-stage kidney disease
Other Risk Factors
- geriatric cats
- some of the popular breeds are Abyssinians, Burmese, Maine Coons, Persians, Ragdolls, Russian Blues, and Siamese
- tumors
- cancer
- lymphoma
- viruses
- feline leukemia virus (FeLV)
- feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV)
- chronic pyelonephritis
- Examples include genetic health issues such as polycystic kidney disease and amyloidosis
- immune-mediated disorders
- acute renal failure
- acute kidney injuries
- treatment response
- hyperthyroidism
- medications
Stages of Kidney Failure in Cats
There are four stages of kidney failure, each giving different indications of kidney issues in cats. Recognizing the stages can help you spot problems early to give your cat the proper care and treatment.
Stage 1: Even though the kidneys have been damaged, the levels of waste in the blood stay within the normal range. Cats often do not show any obvious signs, so spotting the illness early helps greatly treat it.
Stage 2: The kidneys function less efficiently, and this problem is detected by increased azotemia in tests. Urine becomes less dense, and cats may drink much water and empty their bladders often. However, the symptoms are usually repetitive but not severe.
Stage 3: As the kidney’s function decreases, more waste builds up in the cat’s blood, and they begin to show symptoms such as vomiting, weakness, and stopping to eat.
Stage 4 is the worst stage, where the kidneys do not adequately clear waste. When toxins are present, cats experience added issues, and many end up sick with issues like weak bones, weak jaws, and lost teeth.
If you know these stages, you and your vet can better manage the illness and offer your cat the best treatment..
Diagnosing Cat Kidney Disease
Blood and urine tests by the vet help determine whether your cat’s kidneys keep waste products at normal levels. Urine and blood tests are essential to check for kidney disease in older cats when they see the vet for routine check-ups or vaccinations.
The earlier you take your cat to the veterinarian, the better its chances of living a long and healthy life.
Recovery and Management of Kidney Failure in Cats
It is often hard for cats with kidney failure to recover, no matter how much treatment is given, and you may find it challenging to keep your cat comfortable in the later stages. As your pet is reaching its end, discussing end-of-life planning with your vet is essential.
Making these decisions is very hard, but having a plan with your vet ensures your cat has the best life. There are times when euthanasia done with kindness must happen, even outside of regular working hours, so suffering is not prolonged without reason.
Related Article: How Much Does It Cost To Euthanize A Cat?
