19 Cats and Counting Podcast: Episode 128 - Kidney Disease in Cats

In her regular appearance on the 19 Cats and Counting podcast, part of the Pet Life Radio network, VP of Medical Excellence and Education Kelly Cairns, DVM, MS, DACVIM, talks about kidney disease in cats - the signs to look for, what to do if your cat has kidney disease, what cat owners can do to be proactive and new treatments.

So the symptoms of chronic kidney disease are most commonly increased thirst and urination as the first thing we see. Now, when it gets very advanced and the kitty is in severe kidney failure, and those toxins, the bad BUN, and the creatinine build up in the bloodstream, a kitty can be lethargic, depressed, inappetent, anorexia, vomiting. But even way before that, we will see increased thirst and urination. There's very few things that cause that in the cat. So if you notice increased thirst or urination all of a sudden, those clumps of litter are really gigantic in the litter box, get to your veterinarian. They'll do some simple blood and urine tests because there's a few things we're going to want to rule out, including kidney disease, diabetes, or problems regulating blood sugar, and high-functioning thyroid gland as probably the big three.
What we can do though, even before we see that, is make sure you're getting your kitty who's over the age of 10, a veterinarian [exam] twice a year for proactive wellness, examination, and laboratory testing. Because six months for an older kitty is like a good five to seven years for you and I. So that's a significant length of time for your cat.

Hosted by Certified Cat Behaviorists Rita Reimers and Linda Hall of the Cat Behavior Alliance, the 19 Cats and Counting podcast welcomes people in the cat wellness industry, cat rescuers, celebrities, and anyone else who has something to say about making life with cats even better. The good, the bad, the challenging, the funny, and the messy side of being a cat parent are all discussed. Nothing cat related is off limits!

19 Cats and Counting Podcast: Episode 128 - Kidney Disease in Cats

So the symptoms of chronic kidney disease are most commonly increased thirst and urination as the first thing we see. Now, when it gets very advanced and the kitty is in severe kidney failure, and those toxins, the bad BUN, and the creatinine build up in the bloodstream, a kitty can be lethargic, depressed, inappetent, anorexia, vomiting. But even way before that, we will see increased thirst and urination. There's very few things that cause that in the cat. So if you notice increased thirst or urination all of a sudden, those clumps of litter are really gigantic in the litter box, get to your veterinarian. They'll do some simple blood and urine tests because there's a few things we're going to want to rule out, including kidney disease, diabetes, or problems regulating blood sugar, and high-functioning thyroid gland as probably the big three.
What we can do though, even before we see that, is make sure you're getting your kitty who's over the age of 10, a veterinarian [exam] twice a year for proactive wellness, examination, and laboratory testing. Because six months for an older kitty is like a good five to seven years for you and I. So that's a significant length of time for your cat.