Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Today was initially an uneventful day at the office, with only one cat neuter scheduled. However, we ended going to Elberton on a call, seeing several puppies and one sick kitty. You never know what is going to happen around here! The cat had renal (kidney) failure, although he was only 7 years of age. Most cases of chronic kidney failure in cats are due to old age. However, in younger patients, we may suspect a congenital kidney disorders, such as kidney cysts, or a toxic insult (ethylene glycol toxicity or antifreeze poisoning is not uncommon, although the course of action is rapid in these cases). Cats in kidney failure usually present with weight loss, increased thirst (called polydypsia) and thus increased urination (polyuria), inappetance and vomiting in the later stages. Kidney disease is diagnosed by urinalysis and blood work. There is no treatment for chronic kidney disease, only supportive care with a dietary change to a renal diet, supplements that may control levels of phosphorus and potassium in the blood and administration of fluids under the skin. Unfortunately, by the time the blood work reflects changes consistent with kidney disease, at least 75% of the working units (nephrons) of the kidneys are damaged. This kitty cat had fairly elevated values of kidney analytes in his blood work so the prognosis is poor:(