About Us
  Web-DVM
        Health, advice, and information online community for dog and cats lovers.


Kidney Failure
Veterinary Advice and Health Information
Chronic kidney failure (also called chronic renal failure) is a degenerative disease of the kidneys that is most common in middle aged to senior cats, but is also seen regularly in dogs of the same age category.  In chronic kidney failure, the functional tissue of the kidneys deteriorate due to age and genetic factors.  The result is that the kidneys become small and irregular, and become less able to perform their chief function, which is to rid the body of toxic waste products that accumulate regularly as a result of everyday metabolism.  The kidneys also lack the ability to effectively perform one of their other chief functions, which is to concentrate the urine.

One of the first clinical symptoms appreciated by the owner of a dog or cat in kidney failure is that the patient begins to drink and urinate excessivley.  This can go on for some time before the patient starts to
The Web-DVM TV & Blog: Animal news, information, and commentary with host, veterinarian, Dr. Roger Welton.
show signs of illness.  As the kidney failure progresses, in addition to increased drinking and urination, the patient experiences weight loss, loss of appetite, vomiting, oral ulcers, and gastric ulcers.  Kidney failure also predisposes the patient to chronic lower urinary tract infections, and anemia.

Short of kidney transplant (which are being done at great expense but with questionable results at select veterinary colleges), kidney failure cannot be cured.  Therefore, treatment is geared toward diuresing the kidneys with aggressive intravenous fluid therapy to flushing and diluting out the accumulated toxic metabolic waste products.  Gastroprotectants are also incorporated to combat nausea and any secondary gastrointestinal ulcers.  If the patient is anemic, bone marrow stimlating therapy may be instituted with the synthetic hormone Epogen.  Prognosis depends on the severity of disease at the time of diagnosis.

When/if the patient stabilizes, it is maintained on a protein, sodium, and phosphorus restricted diet.  This serves to minimize the work load of the kidneys thereby slowing the degeneration process, as well as keep the patient more comfortable by minimizing toxins produced as metabolic waste.  Minimizing the sodium intake helps to control secondary hypertension that often develops with kidney failure,  while minimizing phosphorus decreases weakening of bone that occurs secondary to retention of phosphorus that often occurs as the result of kidney failure.  A number of canine and feline kidney sparing prescription diets are available from your veterinarian, such as Hills K/D and Eukanuba Multistage Renal.  While the majority of patients readily eat prescription renal diets since they are engineered to be vein cases where a kidney failure patient utterly refuses prescription diets, there are 
home cooked diet recipes that may be fed as well.  Your vet can provide you with such recipes.

In dogs and cats afflicted with kidney failure that are cooperative patients, the owner can be taught to administer subcutaneous fluids at home.  This when fluids are administered by placing a needle just under the skin over the back between the shoulder blades.  A bubble of fluid forms that gets absorbed over the course of a few hours.  Subcutaneous fluids serve to hydrate the patient, increasing quality of life, while also helping the body to dilute out and excrete toxic waste products.  In early stage kidney failure, I usually start with the owner doing this once every 2-3 days, then up to daily to twice daily as the conditions advances.







By: Roger L. Welton, DVM
Founder, Web-DVM
President Maybeck Animal Hospital
Author Canine and Feline 101
Web-DVM.net - Health, Advice, and Information Community For Dog and Cat Lovers - All Rights Reserved - © Copywrite 2011
Ask a Vet Veterinary - Advice Ask a Vet Online

If you need to ask a vet or are looking for veterinary advice or maybe you
want to ask a vet online, then you've come to the right website.

Related Links/Search This Site
Custom Search
Search This Site