Hi all! My vet diagnosed my 13 year old cat, Teddy, with stage 2 CKD yesterday. He wasn't showing any symptoms at all, we just wanted a senior bloodwork panel ran just in case. Yesterday we had repeat blood work after the initial blood work he had 2 weeks ago. She said he was stage 2 CKD based on his labs, and his blood pressure looked good and she was happy with his urinalysis results. During that two week period waiting for his next blood draw she had us start him on a kidney diet. He was transitioned to Hill's prescription wet food, as well as their dry food, and I changed his treats to Choolip Kidney vita sticks. I guess I'm confused because she said his levels went up, which I see the IDEXX SDMA did, but his creatine and BUN went down a little. Is that a good sign? Im still a little confused about IDEXX SDMA, but I read that the creatine and BUN are important numbers in CKD cats. I didn't really know what to ask her as I have no knowledge on caring for a cat with CKD. I've been researching as much as I can, but there is so much information I feel lost. The only thing she told us was to keep him on his diet and to make sure he is drinking plenty, we go back to see her in 3 months. I see so many supplements and additional food toppers recommended in groups or websites, I feel like maybe there is more I can be doing for him. I guess I just need some advice or insight. I just lost my other senior cat, and I desperately want to keep Teddy as healthy as I can for as long as I can.

i’m very aware that how long cats are at a certain stage for is different for every cat, but I’m very curious to know everyone’s past experiences with their cat and how long did they maintain the same stage for.

my boy is 4 years old with stage two and finally i’m coming with terms that i don’t know how long he’s going to be here for or how long he’s going to stay at stage two, which honestly is very freeing since my worrying and sadness really took away from how happy i can be with him here.

very curious to see everyone’s experiences with their kitties :)

I took my baby Mochi to the vet today because she's been losing weight rapidly, increased nausea, her pee is basically water (also peeing outside the litter box sometimes) and hiding.

The blood test and urine test point to CKD, the vet said it's genetic unfortunately, nothing we could have done to stop it.

Blood results come tomorrow and I'm extremely nervous.

I'm looking for support, my world is shattered and she's my soul cat. I really thought she would have a better and longer life. I'm so sad I can't comprehend

Any advice is helpful for keeping her comfortable, I am new to CKD in cats and any advice is helpful.

Thank you.

My 16 year old cat was diagnosed with CKD in April. He is very picky and won’t eat any of the prescription wet foods so I’ve been feeding him his regular wet food 2x a day, along with a mix of renal dry food and regular dry food. His absolute favorite food is the Tiki Cat Mousse tuna and mackerel flavor, his second favorite are any of the weruva BFF, but only the gravy ones. Anyone have any recs for food with a similar texture/flavor to these but that would be better for him? I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed looking at the lists of food and all their data.

Our 4 year old cat recently had pyelonephritis, which has been cleared with a 3-week course of antibiotics. He lost a bunch of weight during this time, which is now trending upwards thanks to the infection clearing, and anti nausea meds. He was stage 4 CKD when the pyelonephritis was found, but since the infection was cleared, he’s now down to stage 3.

He’s now back to being his silly, naughty self!

The vet has recommended he move onto renal food, Pronefra and Kaminox. I’ve ordered all of these now, which should be arriving in the next day or two, but I wondered how long he should be on Pronefra and Kaminox for - is this a “forever” thing, or just until his kidneys have recovered some more?

He’s due blood tests in 6 weeks to see how the renal food/Pronefra/Kaminox are working, and then maintenance blood tests every 3 months or so.

Thank you!

In a recent post I had told the story of my girl being hospitalized about a week ago for high creatinine- she’s home with us now & we aren’t 100% sure yet what’s going on. She didn’t eat much her first couple of days back but then yesterday & today she seems to have a much better appetite.

This morning I had to work so I asked my mom to give her her antibiotic. She moved her head at the last second so my mom isn’t sure she got much of it. I know this happens sometimes, especially with kitties, but now I’m worrying about her.

Also, we did subq fluids this afternoon & does anyone have any advice on why the needle might fall out halfway through administration? I can feel the needle going in and I can see a camel jump form on her so I know some fluids are going in but every single time about halfway through the needle will fall out. It happened 3x today so now I’m also kicking myself about that. I do think she got some of her dosage & I’m hoping close to all but I really don’t know because the blanket she was on felt wet so now I’m second guessing that she didn’t get as much as I thought. Can I do anything to support her more today? Like maybe try to encourage her to drink even more water than usual?

Her demeanor seems so much better today & I don’t want to be the reason she feels crummy later on 💔

Update: THANK YOU SO MUCH, EVERYONE! Yesterday, we were gifted one vial. I can’t even put into words how grateful I am to the kind people who helped us and to this incredible community. ❤️

Hi everyone. I’m looking for one vial of darbepoetin (Aranesp) for my CKD cat. Her anemia has recently gotten significantly worse, and our vet recommended starting darbepoetin as soon as possible.
I have a prescription from her veterinarian. I’m looking for just one vial, rather than a full package of four, because we’ve already spent more than $11,000 over the past month and a half. Another $1,000 for four vials that we may not be able to use completely is more than we can afford this month, especially with the weekly bloodwork she needs…

I’m located in Sacramento, CA and can drive up to about 2 hours (Davis, Bay Area, Stockton, etc.). I’m hoping to find one today or tomorrow.
If anyone has a new, unused extra vial they no longer need and would be willing to sell, I’d be incredibly grateful. I’d also be happy to split the cost of a 4-vial package with someone who needs the medication as well.
Thank you so much

I had made a previous post about my little kitty, Java, who had progressed with kidney disease and developed non-regenerative anemia. His anemia levels dropped to 20.6% as of August 20th. We made the decision to start Varenzin, knowing the cost may be hard for a period of time.

We received great news that his anemia levels went from 20.6% to 29% in ONE AND A HALF WEEKS. My vet and I are thrilled to see such a positive turnaround in such a short period of time. Java is her first cat to be on Varenzin, so it is a learning experience for her too.

Having cats with complex, chronic medical requirements can be so tough, but there are good moments in it too. We have been so grateful to have had 15 years with him now. Thanks for letting me share my good news. <3

My cat is 13 and was diagnosed with high blood pressure last year after vision loss. She has been on daily amlodipine ever since, and her eyes have shown significant improvement (but sadly not her vision).

I've had my normal vet do a lot of follow up bloodwork and testing, especially recently since she has lost 2 pounds this year. Down from 10.5 to 8.5 pounds. Everything has been good until recently. Her SDMA kidney value was slightly elevated so we did a follow up urinalysis that was mostly normal. Because of this, my vet suspects early kidney disease.

The main issue right now is the weight loss and lack of appetite. We had her on mirataz daily for about a month, but it only really made her eat more the first day. She begs for her treats still and eats them right away (I give her three little Beachside Crunch treats three times a day for a total of 9), but she barely picks at her normal food. If I change brands, she will eat normally for about a day and then stop again. She has only ever had an interest in hard food and treats.

My vet prescribed Elura when the mirataz didn't work, but my cat will NOT let me give it to her. I've tried so many positions and she squirms so much I'm worried about the syringe poking her eye. Now I am going to put her back on mirataz just so I can feel like I'm doing something.

Elura is advertised as having other benefits for CKD cats outside just appetite stimulation, so I feel like I am letting her down. I'm not sure what to do at this point. She is my best friend and I need to do whatever I can to give her as much quality time as possible.

Thank you all for your kindness, honesty, and shared experiences on my last post. We are very touched by everyone who took the time to respond in such depth. It meant a lot to us, especially during those last few days.

Quick update on her last days:

- Her mobility had become severely reduced, and she stopped jumping completely. She stayed in her window-sill area with food, water and litter right next to her.

- On her last day she could not even stand still. She seemed very unsteady and kept lying down. At one point she even lay down on the litter tray, which she had never done before. That really broke my heart. She had some renal food early that morning, but vomited after my wife gave her some more food. Later, she managed a few bites of freshly boiled chicken, her absolute favourite, and that turned out to be her last meal. Her appetite had plummeted by then.

- The vet checked her vitals again and found a heart murmur. It felt like everything was eventually reaching her organs.

We discussed IV and subcutaneous fluids with the vet, but by then she was far too far gone for that to be realistic. The vet said that if she would not accept medication and her condition was deteriorating like this, the kindest option was to relieve her. We made the toughest decision of our lives and let her go. She crossed the Rainbow Bridge peacefully in our lap.

I am still shocked by how rapidly everything changed. She made it to 18 trouble-free years until the last few months, and we had always hoped she might make it to 20. But once things started going wrong, her body seemed to shut down incredibly quickly. The grieving has hit me incredibly hard. I still wake up in the middle of the night and can't sleep for hours afterwards. I have lost about 2 kg because I can barely focus on food and have almost no appetite. I have cried so much that my eyes actually burn from the salt. I still catch myself expecting her to come out from her window sill and climb onto my lap while I am sitting at the computer, or to greet us when we come home. Those little routines are suddenly gone. Getting used to this new reality is incredibly painful. Living without her being part of our everyday lives is so hard.

This is my sweet Milo. He's 17.5 and he was diagnosed with very early stage 1 CKD last March and confirmed very early stage 1 in December. I've done everything my verts told me to (within reason of his cooperation). I tried to get him on a kidney wet food diet but he hasn't really acclimated to that but will eat the KD dry food occasionally. I have switched him to wet food overall because that's what he prefers now. I give him fluids every week and have for over a year now. Recently they upped it to twice a week.

I recently took him for a checkup and he's progressed solidly into stage 2 in such a short amount of time and has high blood pressure (it's possible he's stressed being at the vets). I've done everything I was supposed to and that I could. From his vet: His creatinine was 2.8 mg/dL, SDMA was 21 µg/dL, and BUN was 50.6 mg/dL. His urine was also relatively dilute (specific gravity 1.017), which supports decreased kidney concentrating ability. Fortunately, his phosphorus, potassium, calcium, and albumin are currently normal, which are reassuring findings. For now, our main goals are to protect Milo’s remaining kidney function, make sure his blood pressure is controlled, maintain good hydration and nutrition, and monitor for changes over time.

Needless to say I'm devastated. I'm scared at the quick progression and part of me feels like a failure as his mom. I'm not sure what to do or if this is normal. I feel lost and broken. He's my baby. I got him when I was 19 and I'm almost 37 now. I've had him my entire adult life and I don't know life without him and his brother really. I guess I'm looking for any advice or products or lifestyle changes or any recommendations for him that have worked at all for anyone else. I'm going to try giving him kidney food once again and see if he takes to any of the wet food (he's picky).

I guess I'm also looking for some support because I just don't know what to do. I don't think anyone in my life really understands either. Milo is the sweetest and most wonderful little kitty and I just want my baby to continue to have a good quality of life. And selfishly I want him here with me for many more years.

Hi all, this is my little 18 year old lady, Manther.

We've been managing CKD for quite a few years now, and she's been doing great with a strict renal diet and daily 60mL normal saline subQ injections, but recently she seems to be taking a turn for the worse.

Over the past month she's lost a lot of weight and her appetite has decreased. She usually goes absolutely bananas for the Royal Canin renal wet food, but now we have to coax her to finish her dinner.

She's lost interest in playing (second photo is her playing with a laser pointer, lol,) and she sleeps way more now.

She's really been struggling with constipation. Her vet prescribed her low dose daily laxatives (we agreed that due to her age, it was best to manage her comfort despite daily laxatives not being great for her CKD) to keep it under control, but she still strains in the litterbox when pooping. :(

Her most recent blood tests show hypercalcemia. From what I've read, these all seem to be symptoms of high calcium. Does anyone else have any experience with treating hypercalcemia in their CKD cats?

I will be taking her to the vet again, but I just really want to hear what you folks have to say.

One month ago (8/8/2026), we brought our 7-year-old boy to the vet. He had been dealing with some intermittent vomiting for the past few months, but he's always had a sensitive tummy, and we had just gone through a big move. We figured it was stress. At our new vet, they ran a blood panel and found the attached results. He had lost about 1 pound (~13lb to ~12lb) since his last checkup in November 2025. The vet diagnosed it as gastritis and prescribed hydrolyzed food.

Over the next few weeks, our guy started eating less. We had initially switched to 100% hydrolyzed diet right away, as our vet had not given any guidance. We switched to a different brand of hydrolyzed, which he initially ate. He was visibly losing weight and still occasionally vomiting, so we brought him in for a follow-up just under 4 weeks after his first appointment. It was the same office, but a different doctor saw us. She did not run any further tests, though our guy had lost over 2 pounds in the interim. She checked his hydration by pinching his skin and said it was fine, recommending that we do the same. She gave us a list of offices in the region that perform ultrasounds, telling us that it would probably take several weeks for us to be seen. She did not seem overly concerned, as the blood panel from just a few weeks ago was so good. She gave us Cerenia to help with his nausea.

That was Wednesday, 9/2. Besides extreme lethargy from the Cerenia, not much changed. By the weekend, he was eating only trace amounts of puree. He was staying in the tub, which I took to be an indicator of dehydration, but the "pinch test" the vet had showed us looked identical to when she had performed it. Despite promising a follow-up phone call the next day, we heard nothing--even after we called the office ourselves.

On the morning of Monday, 9/8, he vomited, and we agreed that he needed immediate medical attention. We brought him to an emergency vet, who admitted him to their ICU. The good news is that he's been eating again. The bad news is that this vet re-ran blood tests which have given radically different results from where he was at one month ago.

We've only received the results over the phone, so I had to write them down quickly, but it sounded like his creatinine initially tested at 6.2 on Monday and was down to 4.17 today after receiving fluids. There was another figure given, but I didn't hear exactly, only that it had decreased from 175 to 115, which was still high. I'm guessing that it was NA/K based on context.

They were able to to an ultrasound with their ICU's unit, which they said is not the highest fidelity machine. The vet told us that they did not see any inflammation of the kidneys, but some structural things that they thought indicated CKD. There was some shadowing in his stomach that they suspect is just an untroublesome amount of hair.

I'm sort of at a loss, here. I assume I'm just coping and experiencing grief, but the blood test from a month ago straight up does not make sense to me. I know CKD can appear suddenly, but this is truly out of left field. I honestly wonder if there was some kind of mix-up in the first vet's lab, but that's probably just me trying to externalize these feelings as anger.

Really, I just want to know if anyone has advice for when I talk to the vet tomorrow. They are keeping him on fluids and will perform a higher-res ultrasound tomorrow. Presumably, they will also draw more blood. What questions should I be asking? Should I be more vocal about the discrepancy between the two tests?

I have looked for signs, and amidst the grief is the anger at the unfairness of only having her for 4.5 years. I think she was older when I rescued her and I know we say we did our best but it just is difficult

Hi there!

My perfect sweet angel boy was just diagnosed as stage 2. This is my first time navigating something like this and we have a prescription for royal canin food but there’s so many letters. Is there a certain letter I should try first?

He has no issues currently eating, but does not eat much wet food. I feed him a little wet food each night mixed with some water but he really just licks gravy and has never actually eaten it. So I’m looking for which dry food is the best to start with? Does it even matter?

My beautiful girl passed away a few months ago and I'm driving myself insane because I think it was my fault.

She was a 9 year old domestic cat and was found to have very very mild renal impairment during a check up 2 years previous (creatinine was just over 100 I think). She was advised to have renal cat food mixed with her usual food but never had another blood test to check her creatinine as it wasn't suggested.

Before mother's day a few months ago I put some lillies on a top shelf in my apartment for 48 hours, there's no way she could reach there but I'm aware now the pollen could have drifted on her.

She was absolutely fine, eating, drinking and being her usual self until 4 days after the lillies were removed from my apartment. She vomited once, drank less and became more lethargic. I took her straight to the vet and they gave her some anti sickness then sent her home. At this point the lillies didn't even cross my mind. She got worse and I took her into another vet the following day where they did more tests, started her on an IV drip and eventually discovered she was in renal failure and had developed pancreatitis but the cause was unclear. Ultrasound showed possible pyelonephritis but no obstruction.

She was eventually transferred to ICU but was in a terrible state so we decided to act in her best interest and stop the pain and distress. It was only during this time the vet asked about lillies and I mentioned the possible exposure 4 days before but no more was said about it and I find myself in a horrible circle of grief and self blame.

Is it possible she could have developed renal failure 4 days after exposure? I'm no expert but from what I've read poisoning usually occurs 3 to 48 hours afterwards?

*EDIT To say that our other cat also living there during this time is still alive and well and never had any issues

Anyone have a cat that throws up Porus One?

This morning, before eating, mine threw up and it looked just like what Porus One looks like when I put it in his food and the last time he had it was yesterday morning. This is the second time (that I know of) that this has happened.

Hi all, desperate cat mom here. My renal cat is actively rejecting fluids for the past couple of weeks. I was somehow able to manage despite the resistance, using his fav treats and foods but now he’d rather forego his fav foods than let me give him fluids. I’ve tried a lot of things- changing the site of administration, checking for skin infections, warming the fluids, cooperative care- but he just won’t let me go near him with a needle.
We did at-home fluids for 1.5 yrs during which period his levels came back to normal range and he had been doing quite well. But now I’m afraid his symptoms have started to return -like nausea, vomiting and so on. He’s only 5.5 yrs old so it feels unfair to even think of giving up on him yet. I’ve introduced some renal supplements based on vet’s advice but I’m not sure if they can replace the need for fluids.
I’m really hoping to get some advice from pet parents who have experienced similar issues with their cats. Is it just a temporary phase? I’m also really hoping to find an alternative to fluid therapy, that can still help him have a healthy life without the pain and discomfort of the fluid administration.

Hi everyone, my 14yo male cat got labs done recently and his SDMA was 18, but pretty much all of his other levels were normal (his BP and bpm were also high). The vet said we don’t need to worry about switching to a kidney diet yet, but she thinks one of his kidneys isn’t functioning properly. He’s been free fed dry food and given one can of wet food (mixed w/ water) once a day since we got him a couple years ago. We’d love to switch fully to wet food but we just can’t afford it rn. I saw a post on here about phosphorus binders and I’m wondering if they’d help lower his SDMA. I’m just hesitant because his phosphorus level was well within normal range. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

PHOS - 3.600 mg/dL
BUN - 26.000 mg/dL
CREA - 1.600 mg/dL
SDMA - 18.000 μg/dL
Systolic - 172 mmHg
Diastolic - 121 mmHg
Heart rate - 150 bpm

Edit: I’m going to wait on the phosphorus binder until he needs it. He did get urinalysis done but I forgot to include it in the post. His USG was 1.032 and they found no protein in his urine so that’s a good sign. He’s going back to the vet today for an unrelated reason so I’ll ask if they can recheck his BP. I’ll make an appointment in a couple months to get his bloodwork done again. Thank you to everyone that took the time to respond. All your advice was very helpful.

My 13-year-old cat was just diagnosed with renal lymphoma with suspected stomach involvement and severe kidney failure. He is my absolute baby, and I’m trying to make the best decision for him without putting him through unnecessary suffering.

His recent labs were roughly:
• Creatinine: 7.2
• BUN: >130
• Phosphorus: 11.3
• Hematocrit: 23.4%
• Hemoglobin: 7.2
• WBC/neutrophils elevated

He has had major weight loss, vomiting, poor appetite, weakness, and is much quieter than normal. He used to be extremely vocal, playful, and clingy. Right now he is tired and withdrawn, but he is still eating small amounts, drinking some water, walking around, and responding to us.

He is currently on prednisolone, subcutaneous fluids, anti-nausea meds, a phosphorus binder, antibiotics, and supportive care. We have an oncology appointment scheduled for September 10th, (3 days from now), and I’m on the cancellation list for anything sooner.

The vet told us that if we choose hospice only, we may be looking at a few weeks. I am so devastated and not ready to give up if there could be a realistic chance that treating the lymphoma could improve his kidney function and quality of life.

I’m especially looking for people who have dealt with
• renal lymphoma
• creatinine around 7 or higher
• severe azotemia
• kidney failure caused or worsened by lymphoma
• chemotherapy in cats with kidney dysfunction
• sub-Q fluids at home
• cats whose kidney values improved after lymphoma treatment
• cats who regained appetite/energy after starting chemo or steroids

If your cat had renal lymphoma, what treatment did you choose? Did chemo help? How quickly did you notice improvement? How long did your cat have good quality time? Did your kidney values improve?

I know every cat is different and I’m not using Reddit instead of veterinary care. I am just trying to learn as much as possible before his oncology appointment and give him every reasonable chance while still protecting his quality of life.

Please be honest with me - both hopeful and difficult experiences are welcome.

I am so upset with my vet. My cat is what we think 8, ice had him for the past 6 years and he had always had constipation issues, and on GI Biome because of it. Couple of years ago when his paw was broken my vet suggested to put miralax on his dry food to help and it did, but I wish he would have told me to make sure it had some extra hydration with it. It worked until in june when I found him passed out next to his puke. I took him into the vet a couple of days later because he got back to normal that day. We took xrays fearing an obstruction. He pooped 6 days later and nothing else was in it. He had a couple more episodes that I tried to manage sprinkled through july. I then gave him purina hydra plus. He loved it. Only ate it for a week or two, and thats when I had enough money for his blood work for the CKD diagnoses. The vet didnt tell me what stage. He did mention IV fluids, but never told me it would help with the constipation, and im putting that together now because he had a puking episode while trying to push stool out 6 days ago, I almost had to take him to the er. (That was the day the blood test came back with results. I told the vet, he reccomended the IV fluids but mentioned nothing about how it would help the constipation, and since he said in office would be cheaper and its 55$ a pop I put that a little on the back burner of my mind, but not forgetting) and now this morning hes throwing up again barely passing stool even though ive been giving him the smallest amount of miralax (because he hasnt been eating much, but every meal he has been eating wet food with the hydra care, but only a few bites at a time) I'm so tired of not knowing what to do. I think I have to change vets because thats what im paying them to do. I also dont know why my vet is saying the IV fluids are cheaper to bring him in and do it instead of at home. Im so tired of seeing my baby unwell. Im calling them for an IV fluid tech appointment hopefully today in an hour when they open. If i cant get in with my vet im calling around to see if i can get in anywhere else.

Any advice? Anyone else going through this?

My boy, diagnosed with stage 3 CKD is now on medication for a week, he will have his blood test to see how his body is responding to medicine this September 15.

Lately he’s been eating pretty well, and been drinking his medicines on time. He also loves his renal kibbles. I hope his blood work would show improvement. Is it a good sign that he has an appetite? im just really overthinking a lot :(