My cat's BUN is high, but vet isn't worried. Should I be concerned?

His SDMA is normal which is a more reliable marker for kidney function. He may have been mildly dehydrated which can cause creatinine to elevate. Your vet could run a urinalysis to check his urine specific gravity and then recheck his BUN and Creatinine in 3 months to monitor for any increases.

If her SDMA is normal and her creatinine is wnl then her kidneys are likely normal. BUN can be increased from dehydration, a stomach ulcer, a high protein diet or a very muscular physique. You would normally see vomiting or black stool if she had a bleeding ulcer so I doubt this is the cause of the high BUN. To ensure her kidneys are okay, I would talk to your vet about checking a urinalysis on her. Your vet will assess her protein levels and specific gravity to see how her kidneys are functioning. If the protein levels look high on the dipstick and there isn't an infection, I would talk to your vet about doing a urinary protein creatinine ratio. If it is elevated it could be challenging the kidneys and can cause future problems. There is a medicine to help called benazepril. You can also switch her to a prescription kidney diet just because they have a much lower protein content than the food over the counter. Some dogs just naturally have a higher BUN and as long as it isn't progressively getting worse, I would just continue to monitor it. I hope this helps!

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Tony. I agree that he is in the early stages of kidney failure based on the lab results you have provided. Kidney disease can cause low levels of potassium so it is good that you are supplementing him. Kidney values can fluctuate up and down a bit, but you want to assess trends over time to see how he is doing. SDMA and creatinine are more sensitive indicators than BUN. I would ask if his phosphorus level is in the target range for his degree of kidney disease (based on the IRIS staging) and make sure he has had his blood pressure measured recently. I hope this information helps!

Every lab has different reference ranges, so according to the lab that your cats blood was run in, the BUN and CREA are considered to be mildly elevated. However, unless your cat has a low specific gravity (concentrating ability of the kidneys), we have to assume that the BUN and CREA levels are not indicating any kind of kidney failure. In other words, if the kidneys are concentrating normally, and the pet is asymptomatic, then the BUN and CREA levels should simply be rechecked at a later date or another more sensitive test called the SDMA test should be done to clarify what is really going on with your pets kidneys. So based on the information you have provided we cannot say if Frodo has true kidney disease, but if his urine test was negative for bacteria then no infection is present. Ask your vet about Frodo's specific gravity and if that was normal or not. If it was normal, then go forward with the SDMA test to confirm that the kidneys are ok. If you need further help regarding your pet Frodo's case, since this can be a bit complicated to explain on the forum, please feel free to request a private consultation with either myself or another expert here and we will be more than happy to assist you further. I hope that this helps and best wishes with your pet Frodo moving forward! Take care: )

I don’t think this shows renal disease. His creatine is normal with a slightly elevated BUN. To me this is more an indication of mild dehydration than kidney disease. He is slightly anemic also which is not uncommon in senior animals but may indicate a chronic medical problem. The eosinophils are slightly elevated which can be due to allergies or intestinal parasites. Basically for a thirteen year old cat there is nothing here that is overly concerning. Bloodwork is just a moment in time though so if you’re concerned I would repeat it again in a month or two so you can see if there is a trend indicating progression of a medical problem or kidney disease. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Beau.

Even though Annie's SDMA is at the upper end of normal, I don't see evidence of early kidney disease due to her normal BUN and creatinine values. A urinalysis will help to determine how well her kidneys are functioning to concentrate urine. It looks as though she has a few extra red blood cells (mildly increased hematocrit) and is making some extra red blood cells (slightly increased reticulocyte count), as well as a mild drop in her neutrophils (a type of white blood cell). All of these fluctuations could be associated with a relatively recent mild infection or illness that she's since recovered from. If she's clinically doing well, I wouldn't otherwise think too much of these values. I see that she also has a bit of hyperkalemia (high potassium), which is increasing her Na/K (sodium to potassium ratio). While hyperkalemia can occur with kidney disease, I would also expect to see at least moderate increases in BUN and creatinine at the same time. Other issues, like stomach upset, parasites, or certain medications can also increase the potassium values. I would still check a urinalysis to help get a complete picture. If your vet also recommends doing so, repeating this bloodwork in another month or two is a reasonable idea to track any changes. I hope that everything goes well!

Unfortunately kidney values can not be interpreted without a urinalysis and specific gravity. Elevated BUN is not always CKD but this would be more likely in the face of poorly concentrated urine ( pred will also effect this). CKD is staged via what is called IRIS. This takes in to account creatinine, protein in the urine, and blood prressure. SDMA is newer and thought to be an earlier indicator then BUN/creatinine as these as insensitive markers of kidney function. This has now been incorporated in to the new IRIS scheme. What i would recommend for your kitty is a urinalysis and blood pressure to better stage. For early stage CKD kitties a renal diet is recommended. It is also important to treat any high blood preesure or significant protein in the urine as these can worsen kidney function. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!