Kidney disease?

vikinggirl34

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Hello all,

Feeling sad tonight. I have to get Janie to the vet asap..which means Thursday. She's been drinking a lot more and peeing a lot more. Food intake is about the same. Energy level about the same. Weight?? Not totally sure. Hard to get an accurate reading on my digital scale, plus her squirming when I'm trying to hold her while getting her weight. I think she might be losing some weight.
Anyway, she is 14 1/2 years old and when I had blood work done last year, the only thing that was elevated was her pancreatic enzymes. Only marginally elevated. Not much.
I've had a diabetic cat in the past. She's not acting like that or showing the same symptoms of extreme hunger.
I've also had a hyperthyroid cat in the past that was "hyper" and angry and had lost a lot of weight. She not having those symptoms either.
Just the drinking and peeing a lot.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated. :sniffle:
 

abaig

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I'm very sorry to hear this... your cat is pretty old. It's normal for old cats to pee a lot more often, and it's probably something to do with her kidney. I hope your cat gets well soon! You may want to let her rest more and ask your questions to her vet. He'll answer for you, I'm sure!
 

movinintime

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Ask vet for an SDMA test. Rules out early kidney disease way before significant function is lost. Hence, it can detect it up to 18 mos. prior to full blown kidney test markers on reg. bld wk.

Reg. bld wk can show normal creatinine, BUN, albumin, etc. yet significant loss of kidney function may have occurred already. My advice for Thur., ask for this SDMA test, please if at all poss ;)
 

denice

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My cat is 16 1/2 and was diagnosed with early kidney disease two years ago. She is still doing fine and has remained stable for two years with just prescription food. Get her checked, see what her numbers are and go from there.
 
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vikinggirl34

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Thanks for all the replies :) I actually took her yesterday, Wednesday. I couldn't wait until Thursday because I'm so worried. They did a full exam, blood work, blood pressure, blood glucose, temperature, ear cleaning, urinalysis, rotated her tires and changed her oil :) It was stressful for both of us. Her blood glucose was 77 which is great! Should get the full panel of results back by sometime tomorrow. Blood pressure was 152 systolic...up a bit but I'm sure from stress. Mine was probably higher, so no surprise on that. Like mother like daughter. I can never remain calm when at the vet knowing she is stressed. I try but can't. Her weight is down from last visit... from 10.7 lbs last year to 9.4 lbs. She is eating more wet than dry food and we are making sure to have a play session every day so that hopefully is the reason for the weight loss. She never has been overweight.

Anyway, I'll update once I get the blood work results. Thanks! :itslove:
 
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vikinggirl34

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Hello again,

Got the blood work results back from the vet. The vet wasn't in so I got them to email the results until she calls (probably Monday). Anyway, I don't see anything out of whack. SDMA 10 -- within normal range. BUN 27 and Creatinine 1.4 - both normal. Glucose 78. T4 within normal range. Even the Spec fPL (pancreatic enzymes) are normal this time. They were slightly elevated last year.

Any thoughts? I'm still guessing kidneys? I noticed her breath smelled a bit different last night too. It doesn't normally smell very good being she's got some gingivitis but smelled different?
 

Furballsmom

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Regarding how her breath smells, can you describe it compared to anything, for example does it smell like nail polish?
 
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vikinggirl34

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I really don't remember. I'l try to get another sniff of it tonight when she's in my lap when we have our "TV time" together. When she yawns that's when I really get a good sniff of her breath.
 
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vikinggirl34

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I got another sniff of her breath - I think maybe it was just my imagination it smelled different? Anyway, I talked to the vet the other night about her blood work and as I said before all looks good! I asked her what her thoughts were on why so much water intake and output and she said I could do some testing at a specialty vet clinic (which would be VERY expensive) or just keep an eye on her. She did mention that sometimes it is psychological (behavior issue) that a cat would drink a lot more water. I did google that it would be a rare condition.
Any more thoughts?
 

kittyluv387

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Kidneys seem fine according to her numbers. If she's not acting more hyper than usual I wouldn't guess hyperthyroidism either. But keep track of her weight! That's the best thing you can do for now. If she keeps losing I would just get a scintigraph done to really see if it's hyperthyroidism or not.
 
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vikinggirl34

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What about the possibility of early liver disease? I was reading that can cause more drinking/peeing?
 
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