How advanced is my 15-year-old cat's CKD and what diet is suitable?

Hi there. Often, pups this age may have bad breath because they are in the process of teething - so there are traces of blood on their gums, and some inflammation due to eruption of the adult teeth. If this is the problem, it should improve on its own over the next month or two once all of the adult teeth are in. A pup this age should not have any significant tartar or periodontal disease, so this is unlikely to be the cause of the bad breath. :) You can try other types of treats designed to help with stinky breath such as Greenies or VeggieDent chews, to see if these may work better in the meantime. If the problem continues, I would recommend having him examined by a vet to make sure there is no other reason for his breath to be unusually bad, such as a GI problem or a wound or foreign body in his mouth.

I'm sorry that Twitchy's creatinine and BUN levels are slightly elevated. As I'm sure the vet explained to you, these elevations are typically signs of kidney disease, which is very common in old cats. With kidney disease, it's very important the cat has as much fluid intake as possible, so I would be feeding her a wet food instead of a dry food. That will give her additional water that she needs. It's also recommended to feed her a low protein and low phosphorous food, as both should be restricted to support kidney function. I'd recommend feeding her a kidney formulated wet food, such as Royal Canin veterinary diet renal or Hills Science diet k/d. Cats do tend to enjoy wet food, so feeding her this canned food will hopefully appeal to her taste buds, and feeding a kidney diet will be the best to support her kidney function.

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!

Hello, I am sorry I misunderstood your question earlier. I hope this response helps you. In order to stage renal failure, we need to know the urine specific gravity, blood pressure, and urine protein to creatinine ratio. Based on the values you provided, she has chronic kidney disease but I cannot stage it without further information. If the free T4 was elevated that is consistent with hyperthyroidism which often masks underlying kidney disease. Therefore, her kidney disease could be worse than we suspect based on the info you provided above. Realistically, she has two diseases and fortunately both are treatable. Ultimately, the prognosis depends on response to therapy. It is not uncommon for some patients to do well for a few years with appropriate therapy and kidney diet. Prior to treating her hyperthyroidism, her kidney disease should be treated (at home) with subcutaneous fluid therapy, antibiotics to cover for an underlying kidney infection, and vitamin B12 supplementation. After she feels better and begins eating consistently, discuss treatment for hyperthyroidism.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Paanti. The diet choice for her depends on her current blood work values. Kidney disease has four stages. Depending on where she falls, dictates if she requires protein restriction. If she has very early disease, I would consider a prescription diet such as Purina ProPlan Veterinary Diets Early Care Renal. You could also ask your veterinarian for a prescription for a very high potency fatty acid supplement as this can help in cases of renal disease. I hope this information helps!

From what the blood results are showing your cat is not having any important renal issue at this stage. Hyperthyroidism is well controlled as well. It will be good anyway to keep monitoring renal parameters (Urea and Crea) but adding also the so called SDMA which can indicate early stage renal failure (more sensitive than the other two). I think is a good idea to increase anyway the amount of wet food he is having, and if he likes sardines, of course that is a good option. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

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: )