Anyone have a young cat diagnosed with kidney disease?

bootsm

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So my cat is six years old and while getting a biopsy for something else, they discovered this kidney values had gotten worse over just a couple of weeks (they were normal before) they tested him for a UTI but nothing came up and after a week, his values were still high. He's showing no symptoms at all and it's not completely confirmed but the vet is saying he likely has chronic kidney disease. anyone else have experience with this with a young cat? He's around high stage 2, edging on stage 3. again, no symptoms.
 

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Hi
You're saying no symptoms, --is he drinking more water than usual, and peeing more? Is it possible he ingested something that's causing his system to be reacting to bacteria, or even a poison? Can you get a second opinion from a different vet clinic?
 
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bootsm

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@ Furballsmom Furballsmom He isn't drinking more water or peeing more. It's possible. We did take him to another vet today and awaiting the results but they were, for now, saying it looked like chronic kidney disease too. I've had a cat that had it and sort of know what it looks like and so far, he's not presenting any of the same symptoms. It just came on so suddenly, I'm suspicious as well.
 

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It just came on so suddenly, I'm suspicious as well.
Gracious sakes, what a quandary. Would there be any benefit in asking your vet(s) to consult with a university medical veterinary department?

If you aren't already familiar with felinecrf .org, they have a support group, although again, I'm not sure what benefit there would be?
 

FeebysOwner

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Hi. What values are high that they are saying are related to CKD (chronic kidney disease)? And, has another blood work been done to see if there was a fluke, or processing mishap, in the testing? (Sorry, I wasn't sure how many blood tests have been run and when.)

BUN can be elevated due to stress and even some level of dehydration. Creatinine can be high for cats who are very muscular and/or eat a very high protein diet.
 
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bootsm

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Furballsmom Furballsmom Thanks, I'll look into it. @ FeebysOwner FeebysOwner They ran a test to see if he had a UTI but that's it and it came back negative. It was indeed BUN and creatinine. He is very strong and muscular yes. We had another test done today to see if anything has changed. His litter is the type to show health issues and it is blue, meaning something is amiss :(
 
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bootsm

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@ FeebysOwner FeebysOwner I wasn't implying it was but meant more than it's backing up what the vets are saying. We are getting the bloodwork done and going by that for sure
 
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bootsm

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FeebysOwner FeebysOwner Furballsmom Furballsmom I heard from the vet (another one) his levels have gone down so that's great news. But they still think he has chronic kidney disease. they aren't recommending any treatment for him at the moment. I'm just hoping his levels go down even more. thanks all for the support
 

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Wow, this is good news!!

Pardon me for saying this, but diagnosing chronic kidney disease in the one hand but not recommending treatment seems a bit odd in my opinion, but I'm not an expert or a vet.

However, go baby go!! I SO hope he continues improving!
 
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About a year ago my 4 year old cat was diagnosed with stage 2 or 3 kidney disease. What tipped me off that something was wrong was she was drinking SO MUCH WATER. I was devastated. Looking back I think it was a new brand of dry cat food I was feeding her that probably caused it but I can't remember the name. She wasn't big on wet food. I started treatment with meds for nausea, appetite and sub q fluids. I found a wet food that she did like that wasn't RX but was listed on Tonya's Guide For Cats With CKD (she didn't like the RX wet food for kidney disease but I think she ate the RX dry food). When I ran out of the non RX wet food she liked I just happened to have some cans of Fancy Feast Classic Pate (the ones with meat - not fish). She loved that. When she was first diagnosed with kidney disease blood work was done and I think a urine sample was taken. At some point I was able to discontinue her meds except she still needs Miralax because even being only fed wet food she still has hard dry stools without it. I went to a new vet several months ago and he didn't think my cat had kidney disease because she was so young. I was doubtful but he turned out to be right! All her tests came back normal! Some cats can tolerate dry food and my other cats is on dry food but that's a whole other long story. But Jasmine my sweet "delicate flower" will never be on dry food again. To sum it up what are you feeding your kitty? I hope you have a happy ending like mine!
 

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FeebysOwner FeebysOwner Furballsmom Furballsmom I heard from the vet (another one) his levels have gone down so that's great news. But they still think he has chronic kidney disease. they aren't recommending any treatment for him at the moment. I'm just hoping his levels go down even more. thanks all for the support
From what I have learned and understand, there isn't much in the way of treatment if there are no outward signs - nausea, vomiting, inappetence, to name the most common ones. Sure, you can change his food to ones that are lower in phosphorus to help support the kidneys, but most treatments are really done to curtail/reduce symptoms - and possibly help to slow down progression, while making the cat feel better. Even the lower phosphorus foods aren't generally prescribed if the phosphorus level isn't excessive. Keeping a cat well hydrated is helpful, but that pretty much applies to all cats.

What did the vet say about the 'blue' litter - or is that gone?
 
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