Kidney Disease

Today we are going to discuss a major problem for pets. Kidney disease.

Kidney disease can occur suddenly or slowly develop over time. The sudden onset can be due to toxins such as antifreeze poisoning. Most frequently kidney disease is a slowly developing condition where the functional kidneys loose their ability to rid the body of the nitrogen waste products of protein metabolism. A pet may appear to be doing fine and then suddenly succumb to the ill effects of the metabolic toxins that have slowly built up over time. We term this condition uremia and it tells us that about 75% of the functional kidneys are shot. The causes of this type of deterioration are numerous. Long standing bacterial bombardment of the little filters of the kidneys from bacteria gaining access to the bloodstream from the teeth and gums is very likely to contribute to kidney failure.

The clinical signs of kidney disease in the early stages are increased water intake and increased urinations. Later on, pets will become lethargic and loose weight. They quit eating and many vomit as the toxins cause ulcers in the stomach.

Diagnosis of kidney disease is done with a blood chemistry analysis where the toxins are found to be elevated in the bloodstream. We term these toxins BUN (blood urea nitrogen) and creatinine, which are both byproducts of protein metabolism. Phosphorus is the other waste product that is elevated when a pet is in kidney failure and uremic. A urinalysis is also helpful to determine the kidneys ability to concentrate the urine and show any other abnormalities.

Kidney disease is bad news for dogs as often the disease is quite advanced when they start showing symptoms and their digestive system gets hit pretty hard with the stomach ulcers. Cats seem to do better with long standing kidney disease and treatment and long term management is much more successful. Treatment is best initiated early and I can’t stress enough the importance of senior pet screening tests to discover kidney damage early.

Treatment consists of fluid therapy to correct dehydration. This may be done intravenously to begin with and with cats we often teach pet owners to give fluids under the skin at home as needed. Fluids have the effects of diluting out the toxins and may have some effect on flushing out the system. Once the kidneys ability to excrete these waste products is lost it is usually nonreversible, therefore dietary management plays a key role.

Nutrition is very important in kidney failure management. Initially we may have to syringe feed or stomach tube feed a pet to maintain their nutritional needs, as many are not eating. As the uremia gets corrected, we offer low protein diets. This keeps the byproducts of protein metabolism to a minimum and therefore the uremic toxins are bearable for the pet’s body.

Kidney failure carries a poor prognosis, but with early detection can be very successfully managed and the quality of life of your pet maintained.

Dr. James Speas is the owner and Executive Director of Crescenta Cañada Pet Hospital located in La Crescenta, California. He has developed a personal philosophy in the area of veterinary medicine – to always work in the direction of preventing problems before occur. Dr. Speas and his staff are proud to serve the pet communities of La Crescenta, La Canada, Glendale, Pasadena, Sunland, and Tujunga California. Call us at 818-248-3963.