What stage is CKD in my cat?

[lwndlnd]

My cat is 11.5 or 12.5 years old. She is healthy and happy and has no signs of any illness. We did her annual checkup and found that all her kidney values are increased. Her creatinine is 184.2 (70-165), her urea is 17.5 (5.4-12.1) and her phosphorus is 1.6 (0.9-1.5). My vet told me it’s stage 2 CKD. But then we also did SDMA and today we got our results. Her SDMA is 16.8 (normal value is below 14), so it’s only a little bit elevated. My vet now says it most likely at stage 1 now. What do you guys think?

 

[Antonio65]

I'd say that your cat is at stage 1, judging the SDMA.
I'm unfamiliar with those Crea and Bun readings. So far I had always seen Crea in a range of 0.5-1.8 sort of thing, and 2 is already considered high, and Urea was read in the region of 60 to 80, so I couldn't judge those readings of yours.

 

[lwndlnd]

I'd say that your cat is at stage 1, judging the SDMA.
I'm unfamiliar with those Crea and Bun readings. So far I had always seen Crea in a range of 0.5-1.8 sort of thing, and 2 is already considered high, and Urea was read in the region of 60 to 80, so I couldn't judge those readings of yours.

It’s micromole per litre. If we’re talking about mg/dl, her crea is 2 and BUN would be 51 (if I converted correctly). Her phosphorus is 1.6 in mmol/l.

 

[Antonio65]

The creatinine at 2 is high, but not so much, and I believe you have room for a certain degree of recovery. You might want to feed your cat with renal food (if you're not doing it already), and follow your vet's advice.
Some vets prescribe pills and supplements, and even subcutaneous injections that you can do at home.
Talk with your vet about this.
There are people that have been able to give their cats years of life with these additional treatment.

My cat was diagnosed with CKD at the age of 6, and lived to be 17.

 

[FeebysOwner]

While some use SDMA values as one of the key indicators of CKD, it isn't always valid. And a lot of vets stop using it as any kind of indicator once it has been determined that cat does have CKD. A prime example is my cat who when she had a creatinine level of 3.5, her SDMA value was 8.8. The creatinine level alone placed her in Stage 3. Of course, there are other variables that can affect staging and sub-staging too, but all of these numbers are merely guides - the bottom line is that you treat your cat and her symptoms, not the numbers.

Using IRIS guidelines based on creatinine alone, your cat would be in Stage 2 (range 1.6 - 2.8 mg/dl/140-249 mmol/L).

Are you aware of Tanya's website? It is a comprehensive site that explains everything you could possibly want to know about CKD. You will find it very helpful, especially when it comes to looking at symptoms and related treatments - once you get passed the fact that the data can feel overwhelming at times.
Tanya's Comprehensive Guide to Feline Chronic Kidney Disease - Everything You Need to Know to Help Your Cat (felinecrf.org)

You might also find this IRIS Treatment Guideline helpful as well.