My old cat's blood work and hind leg muscle loss: What's next?

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.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Based on these lab results, I would suspect renal disease. BUN, Amylase, magnesium and CPK all can become altered with renal impairment. The weight loss may be due to muscle wastage due to chronic renal disease or something else may be going on. I would consider having Tigger's urine specific gravity checked and also send out an SDMA test to see if the kidney's are the main problem. At 14.5 years of age, renal disease would be high on my list of causes of these symptoms. Other problems such as cancer and inflammatory diseases may be the cause of the symptoms as well. I would recommend having your vet pursue additional testing to get more of a definitive answer on whether or not the kidneys are impaired and if not, coming up with further recommendations on diagnostics and treatment. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

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!

Kudos to you for being such a diligent owner to your senior kitty! SDMA is technically a more sensitive measure of early kidney disease so the fact that it is still normal is excellent news. You’re right that the BUN and creatinine are borderline high, however mild dehydration can do this too. Therefore, if I see values like that in conjunction with highly concentrated urine and a normal SDMA, I’m not going to do anything except to continue monitoring. If the urine is dilute, there is protein in the urine, etc. then I investigate further. All in all, I agree that there is not much cause for concern but I’d recheck in 3-6 months. Best wishes to you and Tony!

Jasper looks like he has fairly normal weight, however I would indeed feed him a better food that he may like better. Try feeding him Hill's or Purina Proplan or Iams biscuits or feed him tinned food twice daily. At 10 or 11 years old is not very old yet. Cats often can live to 17-20 years and I once had a kitty that made it to 26 years old. He will likely have arthritis, which may be a reason why his hind legs may be losing muscle. He is also at the age where cats can get hyperthyroidism or kidney disease. With hyperthyroidism cats tend to lose weight, their heart rate is high, and they often have bouts of vomiting or being very vocal. This is a disease that can be diagnosed or ruled out via a blood test. Kidney disease should be ruled out also. I suggest you make an appointment with your veterinarian for a geriatric wellness exam with some blood work. There is no rush, however make the appointment now for shortly after you return from your trip.

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!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I recommend that Callie see a veterinarian. Loss of muscle and increased water intake can be signs of diabetes or kidney disease. Overweight cats are at increased risk of diabetes so I strongly recommend going to the vet for possible bloodwork to see if Callie is having an issues.