Enlarged Kidney?

[wrs2]

Has anyone ever had a cat with an enlarged kidney? My cat hadn't pooped in 3 days, so the vet was called. She went and the vert said that she had an enlarged kidney which was pressing on the colon making her unable to poop. She was at the vets for 3 days on an IV fluid drip and had an antibiotic shot. Her urine culture came back totally normal, according to the vets phone call today. She was testing for an infection, which there was no sign of. The vet said it could be a small infection that was undetectable in the urine culture though. She has since pooped 3 times since being home. She's eating, and drinking water from her food bowl (not her water bowl) and seems to be acting normal. I still worry though, as the vet originally thought she had a tumor and cancer. This was before doing any blood tests.

Has this happened to anyone else's cat? If so, what was the outcome? My cat is almost 19 and has had kidney disease for years. She was also dehydrated when she went to the vets. I am paranoid that it could be something awful, even though all the blood tests and urine cultures aren't indicating cancer.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi!
Here are a couple posts, from different threads;
Cat Barely Eating

Fic, Lymphoma, Pyelonephritis?

 

[wrs2]

I see the one about FIC. She has UTIs often, so I wonder if maybe that is what it could be. Her last UTI was in February. It says that kidney cancer in cats is very rare, so I am hoping that that is the case! I know she's old, but I still want her to be around for a while!

 

[Furballsmom]

 

[white shadow]

.
Hi wrs2.

It's usually best to start with the "what we know" pieces first and go from there (at least in my experience).

Here's the intro to the possibilities with the links and references: Tanya's Comprehensive Guide... - Renomegaly (Enlarged Kidneys)

If you're not familiar with that site, it comes with the highest of recommendations and is known widely as the go-to reference for all things kidney-cats.

Just so you know, the woman responsible for the 'Tanya' site also hosts a specialized online community that focuses on kidney disease. I know from personal experience that you'll get the most informed support there. You'll find the 'how-it-works' info and a direct link right here.
.

 

[wrs2]

I will look at it, thought it will only make me more paranoid I'm sure! lol.
My cat is going to the vets again on Friday for a follow up and a 2nd dose of antibiotics. Hopefully the news will be better then. If the urine culture came back normal and her kidney values were not amazing, but not much worse than they were in February (just about .1 more / less - not 100% sure which way is what), could it really be anything super awful? The vet said everything came back much better than she expected. Again, I'm just being overly paranoid. I had another cat pass away last year from Lymphoma and since then even the simplest thing that goes wrong with my other cats turned me into a paranoid neurotic mess.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hang in there!

The vet said everything came back much better than she expected.

I think continue to talk with your vet, ask questions, use email if that will help so that you have a reference, but she will be your best source of guidance for where to go from here, and what to expect. You're a team in this, including utilizing methods to try and avoid future uti's

 

[wrs2]

We went to the vets today!
The kidney, while still abnormal, has gone down in size! She's alert, pooping, put on weight and isn't dehydrated. So the vet said she's doing much better. She also said if it was a tumor or something other than an infection, she would've deteriorated by now and assumes that it was some sort of infection as the antibiotics are helping. It is a 3 round antibiotic, so she needs to go back in 10 days for the last round, so hopefully by then the kidney will be even smaller!

 

[Furballsmom]

has gone down in size! She's alert, pooping, put on weight and isn't dehydrated. So the vet said she's doing much better

 

[wrs2]

So we went back for the last dose on antibiotics today. The kidney is now small, but still abnormal. They did a ultra sound and found what they thing could be a mass on the kidney. The vet said it as if it was an after thought though. She put on more weight, which if she had cancer would be the opposite. They said the other kidney is fine and the rest of this one is doing fine as well other than the small mass at the end. The vets said she's 19 and outlived the life expectancy of most cats and don't see her not having another birthday, so they didn't seem to care so much. If the mass grows or not, they don't know. All I know is that she is clearly doing better, so until she shows signs of not doing good, I won't worry. I means he's 19, she's the oldest patient at the vets, so she's lived a long life and is in good spirits and acting as well as a 91 yrs old cat can act.

 

[Furballsmom]