- Joined
- Feb 19, 2021
- Messages
- 35
- Purraise
- 45
Hi everyone! It's been about a year and I'm back with another confusing update...
As a quick summary, my now 6 y.o. boy Lewis had been suffering from frequent bouts of vomiting for a while and we were able to diagnose him with chronic pancreatitis. We switched him from Blue Buffalo wilderness mature chicken recipe grain-free to Tiki Cat Puka Puka Luau, which is very high protein and very low fat, because I believe the fat triggers his pancreatitis. He has not had any flair-ups since we switched foods.
What I remain confused about are his labs from over the years. He has no symptoms (i.e., increased thirst/urination, poor coat quality, weight loss, etc.) and an ultrasound performed last year shows that he has totally normal kidneys, but he's always had these borderline kidney results. The data from over the years is as follows:
12/27/19 (Lewis is 4 y.o.)
BUN: 25
CRE: 2.0
Phos: 3.9
12/17/20 (Lewis is 5 y.o.)
BUN: 26
CRE: 2.3
Phos: 4.7
SDMA: 15
Urine Specific Gravity: 1.019
(Pancreatitis was pretty bad around this time)
2/10/21 (Lewis is 5 y.o.)
BUN: 27
CRE: 2.6
Urine Specific Gravity: 1.030
3/19/21 (Lewis is 5 y.o.)
BUN: 25
CRE: 2.3
(We switch him from Blue Buffalo to Tiki Cat in between these readings)
1/14/22 (Lewis is 6 y.o.)
BUN: 38
CRE: 2.2
Phos: 4.3
SDMA: 14
Urine Specific Gravity: 1.024
(Reference ranges are: BUN 16-37mg/dL; CRE 0.9-2.5mg/dL; SDMA 0-14ug/dL; Phos 2-9-6.3 mg/dL)
I guess I'm just confused about how my young cat can have early CKD that has just... never progressed since he got his first blood test when he was 4 years old? His numbers fluctuate a bit, but they're generally pretty confusing (latest test shows normal SDMA but stage II kidney-level CRE... seems weird).
I'm just wondering if he actually doesn't have CKD and these results are just because he's on a high protein diet/wet food diet. Could definitely be wishful thinking, but I wonder if I switched him to a dry food diet (which he has essentially never been on in his life) that his values would look more "normal" since I presume these standards were set by mostly geriatric cats who have mostly been fed lower-quality dry food throughout their lives? Would love to hear your thoughts on this! I'm happy to provide more data if needed.
As a quick summary, my now 6 y.o. boy Lewis had been suffering from frequent bouts of vomiting for a while and we were able to diagnose him with chronic pancreatitis. We switched him from Blue Buffalo wilderness mature chicken recipe grain-free to Tiki Cat Puka Puka Luau, which is very high protein and very low fat, because I believe the fat triggers his pancreatitis. He has not had any flair-ups since we switched foods.
What I remain confused about are his labs from over the years. He has no symptoms (i.e., increased thirst/urination, poor coat quality, weight loss, etc.) and an ultrasound performed last year shows that he has totally normal kidneys, but he's always had these borderline kidney results. The data from over the years is as follows:
12/27/19 (Lewis is 4 y.o.)
BUN: 25
CRE: 2.0
Phos: 3.9
12/17/20 (Lewis is 5 y.o.)
BUN: 26
CRE: 2.3
Phos: 4.7
SDMA: 15
Urine Specific Gravity: 1.019
(Pancreatitis was pretty bad around this time)
2/10/21 (Lewis is 5 y.o.)
BUN: 27
CRE: 2.6
Urine Specific Gravity: 1.030
3/19/21 (Lewis is 5 y.o.)
BUN: 25
CRE: 2.3
(We switch him from Blue Buffalo to Tiki Cat in between these readings)
1/14/22 (Lewis is 6 y.o.)
BUN: 38
CRE: 2.2
Phos: 4.3
SDMA: 14
Urine Specific Gravity: 1.024
(Reference ranges are: BUN 16-37mg/dL; CRE 0.9-2.5mg/dL; SDMA 0-14ug/dL; Phos 2-9-6.3 mg/dL)
I guess I'm just confused about how my young cat can have early CKD that has just... never progressed since he got his first blood test when he was 4 years old? His numbers fluctuate a bit, but they're generally pretty confusing (latest test shows normal SDMA but stage II kidney-level CRE... seems weird).
I'm just wondering if he actually doesn't have CKD and these results are just because he's on a high protein diet/wet food diet. Could definitely be wishful thinking, but I wonder if I switched him to a dry food diet (which he has essentially never been on in his life) that his values would look more "normal" since I presume these standards were set by mostly geriatric cats who have mostly been fed lower-quality dry food throughout their lives? Would love to hear your thoughts on this! I'm happy to provide more data if needed.