My cat has kidney failure. Can treatment improve quality of life?

In chronic renal failure, the kidneys can become scarred or small in size, so the ultrasound supports that diagnosis. I am not sure what you mean by stain - this isn't a common term used in the US on ultrasounds. Changing the diet to a prescription renal food, increasing fluid intake by encouraging water consumption or administering subcutaneous fluids, using additional medications as the need arises, etc are ways to maintain or improve quality of life. Depending on the degree of kidney failure and Luci's response to treatments, she may have several more years of good life. But it is also possible that no amount of medical care could keep her comfortable and humane euthanasia may need to be considered sooner than later. Renal transplants are not commonly performed in the world. There is one University in the US that I am aware of performing them, but rarely. There is a large expense, risks of the immune suppressing drugs used, and the ethics of taking a kidney from another cat (that needs to be a perfect match) without them being able to give consent. Often the other cat will need to be adopted by the organ recipient.

Sorry to hear about your kitty. It sounds like he is in the advanced stages of kidney failure. Unfortunately kidney damage can not be reversed once it occurs - only managed. Once cats get to this stage of kidney disease, most treatments are focused on trying to make cats feel as good as possible for as long as possible. Sometimes treatments that are prescribed include SQ fluids (water given as an injection under the skin to increase hydration), anti-nausea medications, blood pressure medications, antacids, and other therapies to manage complications associated with kidney failure. It is hard to give a prognosis without knowing the specific details of your cat's bloodwork and history, but if he is not eating or drinking, he may be suffering and can quickly decline. If you are concerned about your kitty's quality of life, have a discussion with your veterinarian.

It can be quite variable and depends a little on the stage of disease (which takes in to account creatinine value, any protein in the urine, and blood pressure), and how affected the cat is when it is detected. There are also other disease processes that can exacerbate kidney blood value elevation (creatinone) so these should be ruled out if not already (such as a kidney infection, high blood pressure). Some cats were early stage kidney disease can live years potentially. A diet change may be recommended to slow progression and if hydration is an issue an owner can learn how to give fluids at home. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Hi and thanks for posting! The time each cat has when first diagnosed with chronic kidney disease does vary on the age of the cat and stage of the kidney disease. Cats that have this can do very well with great supportive and supplemental care. Kidney disease can be managed with prescription diets, certain kidney friendly vitamins, SQ fluid administration, and blood pressure medication if needed. While kidney failure is not typically painful, other secondary issues they can acquire may be, such as urinary or lung infections. Sometimes kidney disease can cause nausea which can be uncomfortable but not necessarily painful. Nausea is often treated in these patients with anti vomiting medications. Kidney failure patients may pass in their sleep, but not always. They can develop serious complications from compromised kidney function which can lead some owners to humanely euthanize them towards the end due to decreased quality of life. I hope this helps you and I thanks again for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Hi and thank you for your post on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! CKD when diagnosed early can absolutely be managed medically. Daily SQ fluid therapy, blood pressure medications, as well as supplemental vitamins and phosphorus binders (if the phosphorus is high) can be given. Also a Rx diet that is kidney friends can also be very helpful. A lot can be done when caught early! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach and I hope this has helped.

These lab results do not provide any "normal" values, which can differ based on the type of equipment used to run the sample, however I would agree that based on what I am used to as normal values Sabrina is in either renal failure or has very severe dehydration. Renal failure seems more likely given that she is also quite anemic (has low red blood cells), although her liver values do not look high to me. Typically renal failure is treated with aggressive intravenous fluid therapy, and with kidney values this high it seems unlikely that only getting fluids every 12 hours will make much of a difference. Also, with anemia such as she has, great care has to be taken not to give fluids too rapidly as to worsen the anemia. Persian cats are predisposed to a type of kidney disease known as polycystic kidney disease. This is easily diagnosed with ultrasound examination of the kidneys. Unfortunately, the prognosis is grim.

I think IV fluids and supportive care are a reasonable place to start. If your veterinarian is suspicious of acute kidney injury then Mimi could regain kidney function with aggressive supportive care, but some cats will worsen despite treatment. If your veterinarian is suspicious of chronic kidney disease then her kidney function may not improve but often cats can be managed with medication and diet changes with a good quality of life for months to years. The acute vs. chronic designation is usually based on the history and overall exam findings. I think an ultrasound and urinalysis are good next steps - you may also want to ask about culturing the urine (although she may currently be getting antibiotics which could change the results, I can’t quite read a couple of the injectable medications). A blood pressure might also be helpful, and checking phosphorous, calcium and electrolytes in a blood panel could help. The only lab finding that is a little odd is the increase in lymphocytes, although sometimes the machine will not differentiate between cell types well and this may not be significant. Good luck to Mimi!