![]() O The primary symptoms we will see at this stage are extreme nausea, to the point of not eating, and lethargy. ![]() O This is diagnosed by seeing a creatinine level higher than 6.0, and in most cases, an elevated phosphorus level. We will do our best to help you understand what your cat is going through to help you make that decision. O We now focus on supportive care for your cat, but we are only trying to increase your cat's quality of life, and you may have to ask yourself if it is worth it to keep going. O This stage means that your cat's kidneys are now functioning at less than 15%. O At this point, depending on how aggressive we are with treatments, and how your cat responds to the treatments, we are looking at a prognosis of several months to 3-4 years. You will have to weigh the stress of administering the treatments versus the benefits at this point, and may need to choose only a few treatments that are easy to administer. We may want to put your cat on several medications and treatments. O In stage III CKD, we get very aggressive with treatments. We will also tend to see hypertension in many cats, and find that cats are more prone to secondary bladder infections. O The primary symptoms we will see with kidney failure are increased drinking and urination, increased nausea, which will usually manifest as decreased appetite, being pickier with foods, and an increase in vomiting. O This is diagnosed by seeing a creatinine level between 3.0 and 6.0 and abnormal electrolytes on blood work. At this point, the kidneys are no longer able to adequately filter out all of the toxins and waste products of the body, and your cat may be starting to develop more noticeable symptoms of kidney disease. O This stage means that your cat's kidneys are now functioning between 15% and 25%. The younger your cat is when they develop stage II kidney disease, the faster it will progress, but with treatment, we can prolong stage II CKD for several months to several years. O At this point, we get a little more aggressive in treatments. We may also start to see hypertension in cats at this point. O About the only symptoms you may see in your cat in this stage are maybe a little more water intake, and a little more urine output. O This is usually diagnosed by seeing a creatinine level between 1.6 and 3.0 and seeing low electrolytes on blood work. ![]() The kidneys are still adequately filtering out toxins and waste products, but they are starting to struggle. ![]() O This stage means that your cat's kidney function is somewhere between 25 and 33%. Stage II: Late stage kidney insufficiency.O Most cats who are diagnosed with stage I CKD can have several years before it progresses to stage II CKD, but every cat progresses at a different rate. O We do not typically see any clinical signs or symptoms at this stage. O This is usually diagnosed by seeing a creatinine less than 1.6 on blood work, but seeing other signs of kidney disease such as low electrolytes, dilute urine, excess protein in the urine, or small or misshapen kidneys. It is also why stage I CKD is nothing to panic about, but it does mean that we want to make a few changes. O The body only requires 25% of kidney function to adequately filter out toxins, which is why people can donate one kidney and still be fine. A pretty broad range, we know, but it can be hard to identify kidney disease until later stages. O This means that your cat's kidney function is somewhere between 33 and 99%. However, there are things you can do to help significantly slow down its progression. CKD is the number one disease by far that we see in older cats. ![]() No one knows for sure what causes it it is believed to be multi-factorial. Most cats who live long enough develop some degree of kidney disease, and we can see it show up early even in younger cats.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |