My vet says my cat has kidney mineralization, but values are good?

Hello, it is hard to interpret what your veterinarian meant by mineralized kidneys without reviewing Sam's medical records. However, things that can cause mineral debris in the kidney such as kidney stones can be associated with diet content and the pH of the urine (either too acidic or too alkaline). Other less common causes include abnormalities with the regulation of calcium and phosphorus such as with hyperparathyroidism. In a 10 year old dog, paraneoplastic hypercalcemia due to anal gland cancer or lymphoma can also be possible. Based on his bladder stones, I would assume that whatever may have caused stone formation in his bladder may also be causing the changes you are seeing in his kidneys. Cushings disease commonly involves changes in the adrenal glands and the excess production of cortisol hormone. It can cause a secondary increase in calcium, however you typically do not see en elevated calcium alone without an increased in cortisol levels. Ultimately, it will be difficult to assess what may be causing Sam's kidney changes without the being able to review his records. I would recommend consulting with your veterinarian again to clarify his previous assessment to you, or even getting a second opinion from a internist at a specialty hospital. Hope this helps and best of luck.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. There are definitely radiopaque dense gravel-like objects near the bladder and cranial to it as well. It would help to provide the x-ray where she is laying on her back as well. Multiple views on x-rays help pinpoint locations of objects if there is doubt as to where they are located. I would say that this looks to be near the bladder but not within the actual bladder itself because the same dense material can be found forward to the bladder on this x-ray, so it is likely GI tract. If you can provide a second view that would be great. It also appears that she has quite a bit of fecal material in her intestines. Is she constipated right now? If so, she may need an enema and stool softener. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

I'm so sorry but the x-rays are too grainy and blurry when we try to enlarge them. We cannot tell anything from these. Can you please post again with clearer photos? Also, the positioning of your cat in the x-rays is not good. The back legs need to pulled completely backwards so we can see the entire urethra. I agree with your vet and just based on the clinical signs I would say a urethra partial obstruction is likely (crystals or a stone). I would suggest the following: 1. Blood testing to check kidney function 2. Urine test to look for crystals, infection, etc. 3. Sandy should be sedated and a urethral catheter passed. Often times if there are crystals and/or a small stone blocking the urethra they can be flushed backwards into the bladder. Then a special diet can be prescribed to help dissolve the crystals/stones.

Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. It is difficult to make the diagnosis from the picture you posted but the rounded, egg-shaped area in the central part of the abdomen looks abnormal. Also, a part of the kidney is surprisingly dense, which could be a sign of a disease. I would not be able to make a diagnosis without having Coco fully examined and receiving full clinical history. However, I am concerned about the large shadow in the abdomen and the dense part of the kidney. The chest looks normal for a cat of her age. If you have more x-rays of Coco (ideally a view called dorso-ventral) that would be very helpful if post them on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

The back legs are tucked up over the bladder, so it is hard to say for certain, but I do not see any large stones in the urinary bladder. I would need to spin down a sample of urine and look at it under a microscope to see if there are urinary crystals since those do not show up on x-rays.

No it is not, these are also present in tap water and in other bottled water. if the vomiting does not resolve you will need to take her back to the vet to have a blood test done and assess the kidney function again.

Depending on the size of the kidney stones and their nature, they can be partially dissolved by changing the diet. You can find in the market different kind of diet in order to change the PH of the urine and eventually dissolve the crystals/stones. If the kidney stones are not dissolvable or are too big, surgical removal could be the second option. Unfortunately male cats may suffer from blockage (partial or complete) of the urinary tract, which is a medical/surgical emergency condition. I would recommend a check up as soon as possible at your local veterinarian to perform a urine analysis and a radiograph/ultrasound to determine the size of the stones.Once you know nature of the stones from urine analysis, you can decide whether medical or surgical treatment are needed.