Kidney Failure in Cats
Kidney Failure in Cats - Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment, Recovery, Management, Cost
What is Kidney Failure?
Kidney failure can either develop slowly due to a chronic disease or occur suddenly due to poisoning or trauma. Both types must be addressed immediately in order to save the cat's life.
The kidneys are responsible for several necessary life functions, which include maintaining proper blood pressure levels, filtering toxins and wastes from the bloodstream, excreting the wastes through urine, contributing to the production of red blood cells, and producing a variety of essential enzymes and hormones. Approximately 30 percent of cats will develop kidney disease during their lifetime; many of these cases will progress to kidney failure. When the kidneys fail to perform properly, the cat's life is at risk.
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Kidney Failure Average Cost
From 429 quotes ranging from $200 - $35,000
Average Cost
$2,000
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Symptoms of Kidney Failure in Cats
Depending on the type of kidney failure the cat is experiencing, symptoms can progress slowly or begin suddenly. These symptoms include:
  • Increased thirst due to the buildup of toxins and waste in the bloodstream (polydipsia)
  • Increased urinary output
  • Loss of appetite
  • Weight loss
  • Bloody or cloudy urine
  • Vomiting
  • Diarrhea
  • Bad breath that smells like ammonia
  • Oral ulcers on the tongue and gums
  • Dry coat
  • Constipation
  • Brown-colored tongue
  • Weakness
  • Lethargy
  • Indifference
Types
There are two different types of kidney failure:
  • Acute, which develops within days or weeks
  • Chronic, which develops slowly over time due to chronic kidney disease
Causes of Kidney Failure in Cats
There are several of causes of kidney failure in cats, which vary depending on the type the cat is experiencing. These causes include:
Acute
  • Poisons, such as antifreeze, pesticides or cleaning fluids
  • Heart failure with low blood pressure that prevents enough blood from flowing to the kidneys
  • Trauma from an accident
  • Shock from dehydration or rapid blood loss
  • Kidney infection
  • Urinary tract obstruction
Chronic
  • Congenital and hereditary abnormalities
  • Fungal infections
  • Bacterial infections
  • Repeated urinary infections that wear the kidneys down over time
  • Kidney cancer
  • Medications, such as acetaminophen
  • Autoimmune disorders
  • Advanced dental disease
  • Thyroid problems
Diagnosis of Kidney Failure in Cats
The veterinarian will need to know all of the symptoms the cat is experiencing and when the symptoms first began. If a recent poisoning or trauma occurred, the veterinarian will need to be given details about these incidents. The veterinarian will physically examine the cat, listening to its heart and lungs and taking its blood pressure.
A urinalysis and a biochemical profile will be taken. The urinalysis will look for protein in the urine that has leaked through damaged kidneys and will measure the urine specific gravity (USG). Because kidney failure results in the kidneys no longer filtering the wastes from the urine, a cat who has kidney failure will have urine with a gravity that is much like distilled water. The biochemical profile will look for waste products in the blood that the kidneys should have filtered out; high numbers of these products are indicative of kidney failure.
Treatment of Kidney Failure in Cats
Acute Kidney Failure Treatment
Cats who have acute kidney failure due to trauma or poisoning will often recover once the primary issue that caused the kidney failure is addressed. This may include surgery, medications, fluid therapy or blood transfusions. If the kidneys don't respond after the primary issue is treated, other courses of treatment will need to occur in order to address the kidney failure.
Dialysis
Hemodialysis or dialysis is a procedure in which a machine acts like the kidneys, filtering out the wastes and toxins that build up in the bloodstream. Dialysis can be used to treat cats with chronic kidney disease or to remove a poison from a cat with acute kidney disease. Unfortunately, dialysis is only available at certain veterinary hospitals in the United States and can be extremely costly. 
Kidney Transplant
Kidney transplants in cats require an experienced team of veterinary surgeons, anesthesiologists, and nursing staff. As such, they are only performed in a few veterinary hospitals in the United States. During the kidney transplant, a healthy kidney from a deceased donor cat will be transplanted into the cat with kidney failure. Medications will need to be administered in order to ensure the cat's body doesn't reject the donor kidney.
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Recovery of Kidney Failure in Cats
Cats who recovered from acute kidney failure will need to follow up with the veterinarian to ensure that the kidneys are still functioning properly with repeated testing. There is no cure for chronic kidney failure. Cats who are unable to have dialysis or a transplant have a poor prognosis. Many owners opt to have their cat euthanized as a result. Cats who received a transplant will need to follow up continually with the veterinarian to ensure that the transplanted kidney is still functioning properly. Cats who are receiving dialysis will need to continue with dialysis for the rest of their life or until kidney transplantation is possible.
Kidney Failure Average Cost
From 429 quotes ranging from $200 - $35,000
Average Cost
$2,000
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Kidney Failure Questions and Advice from Veterinary Professionals
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Bengal
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Mo
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11 Years
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2 found this helpful

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2 found this helpful

3 months ago my cats creatinine went to stage 3 ( from normal levels, he gets bloodwork every 3 months)....we implemented couple supplements and now it is normal. I am happy but intrigued why it went suddenly up so high and now it's back. Wondering if it was more like a renal failure than disease. At the time of stage 3 blood work results he was dehydrated and after all went in for fluids couple days after that bloodwork.
July 26, 2018
2 Recommendations
Increased creatinine may be an indicator of kidney failure but we normally see an increase in BUN as well as other indicators; SMDA (symmetric dimethylarginine) is a more reliable indicator of kidney function than creatinine as creatinine levels may vary due to other factors (see link below). Regards Dr Callum Turner DVM www.idexx.eu/globalassets/documents/parameters/8072-us-creatinine-interpretive-summary.pdf
July 26, 2018
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Short haired house cat
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Tuxedo
dog-age-icon
8 Years
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3 found this helpful

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3 found this helpful

My pet has the following symptoms:
Weight Loss
Loss Of Appetite
Muscle Weakness
Anemic
Nausea
Inactivity
Kidney Disease
Cat has kidney disease with anemia and looking for suggestions. Awareness levels and “desire” to be active is present but strength in lower legs tend to be a problem. Currently taking anti nausea medication which seems to work. Infrequent vomiting Low levels of: RBC HCT HGB High Levels: NEU GLU CREA PHOS
July 18, 2018
3 Recommendations
Dietary management along with fluid therapy (if indicated) are the cornerstone of treatment for kidney disease; however any additional treatment would depend on the specific underlying cause for the kidney disease. The kidneys produce a hormone which stimulates red blood cell production in the bone marrow, so we commonly see anaemia in cases of kidney disease/failure. Regards Dr Callum Turner DVM
July 19, 2018
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domestic short hair
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Bub Bub
dog-age-icon
14 Years
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1 found this helpful

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1 found this helpful

My pet has the following symptoms:
Lethargy
Cat began to look drawn in, lethargic, weak, trouble walking, loss of appetite, increased thirst, etc. Vet said renal failure. 1st Blood test: Urea Nitrogen 146 Creatinine 10.6 BUN 14 Phosphorus 13.5 Glucose 138 Magnesium 3.9 Amylase 2121 2nd blood test 4 days later after fluids and antibiotic: Urea Nitrogen 107 Creatinine 7.2 BUN 15 Phosphorus 9.9 Glucose 133 Magnesium 2.7 Amylase 1781 She's now on renal failure diet and Baytril. What's best way to proceed and prognosis?
July 3, 2018
1 Recommendations
Looks like there has been some improvement all round in the blood work over the past four days, dietary management and fluid therapy are the mainstay of treatment; however kidney failure may be caused by a variety of different conditions (infections, poisoning etc…) so if an underlying cause is found it should also be treated or managed. Follow your Veterinarian’s instructions and monitor for improvement. Regards Dr Callum Turner DVM
July 4, 2018
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Persian-Angora
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Chin Chin
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3 Years
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1 found this helpful

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My pet has the following symptoms:
No Eating Or Drinking. No Movement
My cat is no longet eating, drinking, or interacting to stimuli. He is withdrawn and doesn’t go to the litter box often anymore. This all happened over a short time sapn of around a few days ago, but the signs have gotten really evident today. He had an infection recently, and i’v Been treating him for it with anti-inflammatory drugs prescribed by the vet as well as anti-biotics( amoxicillin) for the past 5 days with a dosage of 0.8 ml of Amoxicillin. I don’t know what’s wrong with him, and today’s Sunday, so no Pet store is available or open and i need to know if I have cause to be freaking out or not. Please help!
June 17, 2018
1 Recommendations
Behavioural changes may occur for a variety of reasons including pain, medication side effects, underlying medication condition among other factors; without examining Chin Chin I cannot be certain what the specific cause is. Ensure that Chin Chin is keeping hydrated and is taking the medication as prescribed; visit your Veterinarian for a check up to be on the safe side when they open or visit an Emergency Veterinarian if the behaviour gets worse. Regards Dr Callum Turner DVM
June 18, 2018
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Street cat
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Bebo
dog-age-icon
4 Years
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0 found this helpful

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0 found this helpful

My pet has the following symptoms:
Weakness
Sir, My 4 year old male cat was not eating anything from last 15 days.. I admitted him in hospital and Dr. Ask for some test, in test report creatnine level is 13.2. What are the chances of recovery
June 17, 2018
0 Recommendations
The reference range for creatinine is 0.9–2.2mg/dL which is significantly lower than 13.2mg/dL; however based on blood tests along it is not easy or realistic to say whether there is a chance of recovery since it is important to know and understand why the levels are so high. The situation doesn’t look favourable but I don’t know what the underlying cause is, could it be managed among other factors. Regards Dr Callum Turner DVM
June 17, 2018
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tabby
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Stripes
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10 Years
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0 found this helpful

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My pet has the following symptoms:
Rapid Weight Loss
Hiding
Inactive
Urinating Frequently
Our cat Stripes had always been a healthy cat, but maybe 4-6 months before we had to put him down (aged 10), I had actually been watching an episode of 'My Cat From Hell' which featured a cat with kidney failure, and I thought, oh my god, that sounds just like Stripes. He had always been an outside cat, but had started basically living on top of a dresser in my mums room, he hadn't been eating much, compared to what he usually would, he had quite a bad breath, and he looked like he had been losing a bit of weight. He was quite a large cat, not overweight, just really long, weighing probably 7kgs. I took him to the vet, to get vaccinated, and asked the vet to check his kidneys. She had a little feel around, and said that he was completely fine. Always make sure you get a second opinion. We went home, trusting her advice. 6 or 7 weeks later, he still wasn't getting any better, he had lost a lot more weight, he was exhibiting strange behaviours, like sleeping in my room (he was my brothers cat, we had never really gotten along that well), hiding behind a bush out the front of our house during the day, and sometimes during the night, not coming when we called him, not eating his food. I made another vet appointment to get him reassessed with a different vet, and he had lost over 3kgs since the last time I had taken him to the vet. She was immediately concerned, and suggested that we do blood tests. The tests were going to cost between $100-$300, depending on the tests they did. We lived 3 minutes by car to the vet, and each of these times we took him, he had peed in the carrier on the way over. She took a sample of the pee, that I hadn't tipped out when I saw it, and we decided to bring him back the next day to get his blood tests done, as we had to wait to get the money. The vet called up the day after the blood tests to tell my mum the results, which was that he had stage 4, borderline stage 5 kidney failure. She gave us some powder to mix into his food, aswell as some special kidney food for him. We were devastated, I just wished that the first vet had given the right diagnosis, and then maybe we would have been able to do something about it. The vet said that if he doesn't eat the food, or take the medicine, it is probably time to put him down. It is about the quality of life, not just us wanting to keep him around. He didn't eat the food, and we couldnt get him to take the medicine, so we set a date, and waited. He spent more and more time outside, hiding behind his plant, and we were so worried that we were going to go out there one day, and find him dead. By the time the day came around, his face looked sunken in, you could see his bones, he looked terrible. We brought him inside, and gave him his favourite treats and he ate them. He hadn't been eating in days, and he ate so much, and he played around. Aside from the physical sign that he was sick, you would have thought he was fine. This really upset my brother and I. My brother had it in his mind that maybe he was getting better, but I had to keep telling him that that wasnt possible. My mum said that sometimes before something dies, they appear completely healthy. We took him to the vet to get put down. I will never get over the way that it felt like he was staring into my eyes as he drifted off, especially since he had just eaten that day. I felt like maybe he had longer left in him, I felt like I had betrayed him somehow. But I know it was for the better, he was not in a good way of life, and he was only going to get worse.
Kidney Failure Average Cost
From 429 quotes ranging from $200 - $35,000
Average Cost
$2,000
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