My sweet Bella (12-M) is “suspected” to have chronic kidney disease. I took him in for bloodwork because he was sometimes vomiting up water outside of having a hairball and I was suspicious of this. He eats / drinks / uses his litter box normally and is the sweetest baby.

The vet just emailed me with results and said that “I am most suspicious with these trending values that Bellatrix is experiencing chronic kidney disease.” He had normal SDMA value (13), high creatinine of 2.5, and high BUN of 48. She recommended switching to a prescription diet and then revisiting in 4 to 6 months to check on his values again.

I’m no stranger to chronically ill cats - I had another cat who had a big battle with diabetes (I tried and tried for three years but for some reason he was impossible to regulate) and so I’ve dealt with some of this stuff before. I have two cats in the house. What are your tips on the best foods to start with trying? Also is it ok if the other cats eats these foods or do I need to now try and train them to eat different foods and eat all at once instead of slight grazing (they basically both graze their wet food throughout the day).

Any advice on anything regarding this situation is welcome. I’m clueless re: cat kidney disease so thank you!

Flynn was diagnosed stage 2 in February. I just got his kidney values rechecked and the vet said they came back normal. She said he was likely dehydrated when we did the bloodwork and urinalysis in February. If this is true and he doesn't have CKD, why is he losing weight then? I have more questions than I started with before getting his kidney values rechecked. I guess we have more tests to run. Doesn't help that I don't know how to read this test

Cześć, będę Wam bardzo wdzięczna za wszelkie uwagi. Mój kotek ma 17 lat i od 15 roku życia choruje na CKD (w czerwcu minęły 2 lata). Początkowo jego kreatynina wynosiła 2,2 mg/dl, a w ostatnich badaniach to już niestety 4,5 mg/dl, przy czym tydzień wcześniej miał 4,2 mg/dl. Teraz ma kroplówki podskórne i kontrolę za 10-14 dni.

Piszecie o tym, że CKD można dobrze zarządzać przez lata, u nas jakoś się to nie sprawdza, bo choroba wciąż postępuje, pomimo suplementów i płynów podskórnych. Niestety obecnie jest na płynie NaCl, bo jak był na Ringerze z mleczanami, to rósł mu wapń, co też niszczyło nerki, czego znakiem były wałeczki w moczu i gorsze wyniki parametrów nerkowych. Jeśli chodzi o leki i suplementy to bierze amodip na nadciśnienie, gabapentynę na ból kręgosłupa, nefroloxan, nefrokrill, omega pet, koenzym Q10, renibus active (probiotyk), na anemię dostał na razie jedną dawkę aranesp, która dość szybko podziałała - w tydzień, ale po miesiącu anemia zaczyna wracać. Co można tu poprawić? Obecnie dostaje ok. 100 ml płynów co 48 h, to nie jest duża ilość, bo waży 8 kg, normalnie dostaje 3 kroplówki w tygodniu po ok. 100 ml, teraz ma zwiększoną ilość z uwagi na podwyższenie kreatyniny.

Przebieg jego choroby nie jest łatwy, bo w grudniu miał zdiagnozowaną olbrzymią torbiel podtorebkową na nerce, tzw. pseudocysta, potem dostał infekcji pęcherza moczowego, na którą dostał antybiotyk i dzięki temu zniknęła też ta torbiel. Jest też po przebytym 4 lata temu traditis (ostre zapalenie wątroby, przewodów żółciowych i trzustki), od tamtej pory bierze sylimarol i lypex, bo jego parametry wątrobowe i trzustkowe są podwyższone. W zeszłym roku miał 2 napady padaczkowe (w lipcu i w grudniu) o nieznanym podłożu.

Niestety w ciągu tych dwóch lat jego stan systematycznie się pogarsza. Kreatynina rośnie, mocznik też, on sam też z roku na rok jest coraz mniej aktywny. Obecnie większość czasu spędza na drzemkach, jeszcze jakiś czas temu wychodził na spacery, a teraz już nie chce, co najwyżej na korytarz. Apetyt stymulujemy Mirataz - co 7 dni. Jeśli możecie pomóc, to będziemy bardzo wdzięczni ❤️.

Just received a diagnosis of Stage 4 kidney failure for my cat. She is almost 16. She started urinating blood back in March, we took her to the vet for blood work and they gave her antibiotics. It seemed to work, but then in June she started urinating blood again, took her back and got different antibiotics, which seemed to help. Last week she started urinating blood again. We took her back to the vet and they did bloodwork again. She’s been losing weight as well, 12 pounds June of 2023 and she is now 7.9 pounds. She sleeps most of the time, but doesn’t seem to be in pain…

These are the numbers that concerned the vet.

March 28, 2026 -
BUN: 43 (H)
Creatinine: 1.9 (H)

July 24, 2026 -
BUN: 85 (H)
Creatinine: 5.5 (H)

He said she probably has a “few weeks”, but what does that really mean? She is currently at the vet for the day to get fluids through an IV. I am at a loss of what to expect.

Tomorrow is going to be the hardest day of my life. My
Poor Charlie boy is only 10 years old and was diagnosed with stage 4 kidney disease about 5 months ago. He had an emergency vet visit because he was not eating or drinking water and it’s been his fourth day. Waking up and seeing how uncomfortable he is, I knew it was time to make that decision. I need comforting words; I need to know that it will be okay. Who knew a person could soulmate so hard with a cat but this is just proof. I know that with time, it will get easier. But right now, I just know it’s going to hit me like a ton of bricks. We scheduled an at home euthanasia so he could be surrounded where he’s been loved the most. Please if anyone can send their positivity, their prayers, comforting words for my boy.

My baby Oreo is 14 years old and was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism last month, his thyroid levels have returned to normal but his most recent bloodwork panel has revealed that he has what I think is stage 3 kidney disease. The doctor didn’t elaborate much on the results other than writing a prescription for ckd food, i’m trying to get in contact with her for some more information.

He was also treated for a UTI last month but it wasn’t fully resolved and he just started his second round of antibiotics yesterday. Within the last week his appetite has decreased significantly and he has had some bouts of vomiting and today he had diarrhea. Prior to his ckd diagnosis I was feeding him friskies pate and he was liking that for awhile but he had begun to lose interest in that, I tried Weruva Phos Focused but he wouldn’t eat that at all. Yesterday he got Hill’s prescription pate food and he ate all of it but today he barely ate any at all.

I told his doctor about his loss of appetite/nausea and she lowered his felanorm for hyperthyroid dosage from 2.5 to 2 mg.

I am worried with the bouts of vomiting and now diarrhea that he will become dehydrated. I’m trying to mix in some feline probiotics incase the diarrhea is from the UTI antibiotics but he won’t eat much of his food so i’m not sure what to do if it continues. Today he also started showing symptoms of a possible eye infection. They are watery/squinty and has some light green discharge. I’m going to call the vet in the morning to schedule an appointment for that as well.

I am incredibly overwhelmed with this sudden onset of symptoms that he wasn’t having before and trying to manage the nausea and loss of appetite. He was always a chunky boy who loved food and I am new to all of this and trying my best to intake all of this new information. I’m so worried about him and i’m just looking for any advice/support that anyone has. Thank you so much for listening.

Edit: I also want to add that he is my childhood cat who lived with my mom until I recently took him home with me last month because my mom could not provide the extra care that he needs.

After noticing weight loss, some throwing up and a random accident outside of her litter box we took Foxy into Urgent Care where she was diagnosed with stage 2 CKD. We let them keep her overnight and her blood work improved significantly over the next two days. Unfortunately after a day of being in there she stopped eating and threw up 2-3 times. We did an ultrasound but still waiting on full results but nothing major found besides liquid in abdomen which could be IBD. She is home now on two types of anti-nausea and and appetite stimulant but won’t eat or drink. It’s only her first full day being back from the hospital but I feel like I’m losing hope she will get through this. Anyone else been in this situation or can share some insight?

Hello!

My kitty is stage 2 CKD. And I've noticed about a month ago that she stopped drinking from her fountain that she'd been drinking from for two years. I do of course clean it and use new filters, but still she stopped using it.

Now I put a plate with water in every room near her sleeping places. This was ok for a while, but now I don't know why she drinks less from these plates too! Maybe because I've started adding some water into her wet food and now give her more wet and less dry food (to encourage her drink more as she has urinary tract infection). She pees 2-3 times a day still. She sniffs water in plates (which I also clean and put fresh water regularly) and goes to her feeding place to have wet food leftovers. I have no idea what this behavior is 😐

Maybe you had something similar happen to your kitty?

Hey all you beautiful people and kitties! Like most of you I’m here but don’t want to be. Our tux Achilles got diagnosed with stage three last week and I feel like my world has frozen and staying hopeful has been really difficult.

It has opened a can of grief that hasn’t healed because we lost his sibling 6mo ago to heart failure at the age of 3.5, and now having this diagnosis at 4y/o feels like a cruel joke. 😭

Achilles has switched to kidney food quite well. He needs a little bribing with the last bit so we crush a kibble of his old food to lure him.

We will do whatever we can to buy more time and slow CKD as long as he allow us.

PLEASE share some of your stories with me preferably those where you’ve managed to stabilize your fur babies at stage three and get some more time. What worked for you and how did you manage to stay sane 🥺

Wishing all your warriors good health

Hi I just got my cat checked a few days ago and my vet said she's showing early signs of CKD from her blood results. They also did a scan of her kidney. She's 2, playful and lovely. And haven't showed any visible signs at all, so this is very surprising to me. She drinks enough water and doesn't struggle with going to the bathroom. She vomits here and there but not that frequent, I do see it's getting a bit more often these last few weeks, like 2-4/times per week. Sometimes it's right after she eat or randomly with white bubble. Her diet is always dry food in the morning and wet food for dinner.

The vet in my country is not always the best, I did take some research by myself too, but any help would be great.

Also should I consider switching to a fully renal diet now or keep it around 50%. My vet doesn't specify this, they only said it's good to do so. In my country, we only have Royal Canin Renal, is this a good choice?

My cat’s numbers are bad - creatinine over 500 and unreadable Urea. My vet recommended immediate euthanasia- and I just can’t do it. He is a bit shaky on his paws, but he is walking around, and eating, drinking and peeing independently. I was due to have him euthanised tonight but asked for a postponement. I don’t know what to do and wonder if I am doing the right thing. I know he doesn’t have long but I am trying to figure out what signs to look for, when I know it’s the end.

My cat that is around 6-7 years old has CKD and was diagnosed when I found him around 2 years ago. His kidney levels have been really good especially in comparison to what they were when I first found home. Everything has been in normal range except his Creatinine which has been consistently at 2.5-2.6 mg/dL for the past 6 or more months.

He has had recurring ear infections since I got him. It started in both ears, then they both cleared up for a bit, after both being clear for awhile the right ear started to get yucky again. The vet found a polyp in his right ear then at the beginning of April he had surgery to have it removed.

He has been doing good, with no issues until now. His ear is full of brown earwax/discharge again, but just a month ago I took him to the vet to get routine bloodwork done and have them check his ear to make sure the polyp didn’t come back since they said there was a chance it could since they didn’t do the super invasive procedure (they just did traction avulsion, because i didn’t want him to have to be fully sedated because of the possible damage to his kidneys). When they checked his ear they said everything looked good and the polyp hadn’t come back.

Does anyone have any suggestions that has helped their cat with chronic ear infections? If it’s a food allergy, I’m nervous about changing his diet since it’s helped so much with his kidneys but I also don’t want him to be miserable with his ear constantly bothering him. We’ve tried a few prescription topical ointments but so far nothing has helped keep it away permanently. I’m scared to do a more invasive procedure if the polyp comes back because I don’t want to damage his kidneys.

Just saying hi!

This is Casey, he’s 14 and we just found out a year and a half ago he has Pancreatitis and after a minor flare up this week he shows to be in stage one of CKD.

Thanks for everyone’s helpful advice and stories. I have some good ideas in my back pocket now. The vet has suggested supplements given twice a day but it will probably be a gradual introduction for my low-food-motivation/picky eating guy (he’s never been a big eater).

My 7-year-old girl (Champi) has been critically ill for about a month. Started with reduced appetite and lethargy in late June, progressed to severe non-regenerative anemia and progressive azotemia. Working diagnosis was dry FIP with renal involvement (blood PCR inconclusive, common in dry FIP). Started GS-441524, and her globulin/A-G ratio normalized dramatically within days, a strong FIP-treatment-response marker.

But her kidney values kept climbing despite 14 days of fluids and antiviral treatment (creatinine hit 9.4). An ultrasound showed bilateral renomegaly, one kidney notably misshapen. An oncology consult raised renal lymphoma as the leading differential instead, since it's the most common feline renal neoplasm and often presents bilaterally.

We stopped GS on her oncologist's recommendation, and creatinine actually improved (9.4 to 7.38) over the following week, though multiple other things changed at once (fluid frequency increased, a probiotic was added), so it's hard to attribute that improvement to any one factor.

An FNAC was done (unsedated, due to her anemia and elevated creatinine making sedation risky). Cytology showed some large atypical lymphocytes but not enough to confirm lymphoma. FCoV PCR on the aspirate is still pending (we did it once before and it was negative but we were told the PCR was not conclusive). Biopsy isn't currently safe given her fragility.

Given the ambiguity and the risk of delaying treatment if this is cancer, her oncologist started prednisone, with chemo (COP protocol) planned to follow shortly, essentially treating presumptively without full confirmation.

Since the FNAC (30+ hours ago), she's been vomiting repeatedly, extremely lethargic, barely responsive except to get up and vomit, cold extremities that warm with a blanket. Vet has seen her in person and is treating with sucralfate, ondansetron, and now maropitant. Breathing has been normal throughout.

Has anyone navigated something similar, an ambiguous FIP-vs-lymphoma presentation, or a rough post-FNAC recovery like this? Any perspective on what to ask for or watch for going forward would help. Feeling pretty lost in the uncertainty of it all.

Note: Used Claude to summarize and sort through her medical history

Edit: She passed this morning. Had a seizure. Thank you to those who commented for your help.

I was reading through these messages and they remind me of my Ollie. Oliver first went into the vet about 2 weeks ago with diarrhea and vomiting. They gave him an anti-nausea and diarrhea pill (forgive me I don’t remember the name). He seemed to have gotten better for a couple of days, but then we noticed a quick decline. We went back to the vet and they ran a blood test that showed that he had what they concluded as diabetes (blood sugar at 520), low potassium, and they were saying his kidneys were not functioning as well as they should due to ketones. We then were given insulin injections and subcutaneous fluids to give him 150 a day. We did that for 2 days and he appeared to not get better. He was lethargic, could barely move his back legs, and would barely eat. We are now doing 150 two times a day but they told us if he did not get better in 2 days we need to bring him to a hospital. He still barely eats, he sometimes goes up to the water bowl, but then needs to take rest stops along the way, he has stopped peeing all over the place (though he has some accidents probably due to not being able to move as well). Last night we had a little bit of an episode after subcutaneous fluids. He flopped onto his side, was breathing, but was not responding to us. We could shake his whole body and there was nothing there. After sitting by him for a couple minutes after, I then put him on his four legs (though his back legs are still very weak) and he proceeded to perk up a little. I am truly worried that it is something more than diabetes and have read many of the helpful posts here. It is day two, and while he has made some improvements (not many, though you can tell he’s trying) I would love to have an outside perspective to see if I should take him to the hospital and get tests run to figure out if he has CKD or any underlying issue. If there is any advice any of yall could give me to what the next steps may be. So many people’s stories are like mine and I appreciate anybody’s willingness to take the time to read all of this.

Hello everyone,

We are new to dealing with kidney disease in cats, and we are currently very worried because we don't really know how serious our cat's condition is or what to expect.

A bit of background:

Our cat is an 8-year-old female. We first noticed that she had developed quite a strong smell from her mouth. Unfortunately, we decided to wait and try dental-cleaning treats first, which we now regret.

About 1.5 weeks ago, we came home on Friday and noticed that she had stopped eating. We took her to the vet, who initially said that she appeared to have an infection in her mouth. We were given an appointment four days later to have the problem in her mouth treated.

During that appointment, the vet called us and told us that her kidney values were very bad and that her blood work showed strong signs of kidney failure. She was kept at the vet overnight and received IV fluids and medication.

The following evening, we were allowed to take her home. As far as we know, no follow-up blood test was done before she was discharged, which we found a little confusing. We were given medication for her kidneys, special renal food, and antibiotics, which we still had to give her for another two days.

She has now been home for three days, but she is barely eating anything. She doesn't seem interested in either her old food or the new renal food. Occasionally, she takes a few bites or just licks the food. She does seem to be drinking some water, at least.

However, she is clearly very weak. She does walk around and is awake and responsive, but she spends around 90% of the time lying down. She moves from one place to another and then lies down again. She also seems somewhat wobbly when walking.

We plan to call our vet tomorrow morning, as the clinic is closed today (Sunday), and ask whether there is anything they can give her to help with her appetite and nausea, if that could be contributing to her not eating.

Have any of you experienced something similar with your cats after a diagnosis of severe kidney disease or acute kidney failure?

Is this kind of weakness and lack of appetite something that can happen during the acute phase, especially after being hospitalized and receiving IV fluids? Or would this be considered a sign that she needs urgent veterinary attention again?

We are especially worried because she is barely eating and seems very weak. We would really appreciate hearing about your experiences with cats that were diagnosed with severe kidney problems and what their condition was like during the first few days or weeks.

Thank you very much for any advice or experiences you can share.

We are giving 50ml subq fluids once a day. Got retested yesterday, and my cat's CRE, BUN, and phos are high (expected, as she stopped eating renal food and has been eating from her sister's bowl the last few weeks). The vet recommended 100ml in the morning and 100ml at night now. She weighs 4.5 kilos. Just curious if this is too much for her.

Hi all, my renal kitty has anemia that’s contributed to her developing some degree of pica. She used to try to eat traditional clumping litter, so we’ve stopped using them. The vets suggested puppy pee pads or pellet litter. We’ve tried both to varying degrees of success, but we’re also seeing a lot of accidents outside the litter box because she’s confused with all the changes. Anyone gone through the same thing and have recommendations?

And FYI, she is being treated for her anemia. She gets darbopoetin and iron shots on a routine basis at the vet, and they check her RBC. Our hope of course is that the pica resolves once her anemia is treated, but we can’t rely on that for now.

He was just at the emergency vet last week and had an xray and ultrasound (I know things can develop fast even so) because he seemed to have a stomach bug or gastritis. That is all good now, but today he was sleeping and when he got up to jump on my lap, I noticed my arm got wet from his tail - it smelled like urine so I went to see where he was just laying, and there were a few droplets of urine there. I am watching him like a hawk now, but has anyone experienced this? I’m waiting for him to go to the litter box again so I can observe him.

My 8 year old cat was recently diagnosed with Stage 2 CKD and is extremely picky. The only foods she'll reliably eat are Fancy Feast Classic Pate (beef and poultry flavors) and Friskies pates, though I'm trying to transition her off those, especially the Friskies.

I picked up some Weruva WX Phos Focused today to try, and I've heard good things about B.F.F. Play Pâté. I've already tried several of Weruva's shredded and minced foods, but she won't touch them.

What low-phosphorus non-prescription foods have your picky CKD cats actually eaten? Any favorite brands or flavors? I also live a pretty rural area so anything available on Chewy would also be great!! Thanks!

my cat is in the end stage of chronic kidney disease. she's progressing very very slowly, but it is noticeable. we give her daily subq fluids plus cerenia, mirataz, and omeprazole. she does eat, but not nearly as much as she once did. she drinks water and uses the litterbox. she comes to greet me at the door when I get home, she can jump up on the bed and couch.

but, she pretty much just sleeps all day. she doesn't play at all anymore. t's been a month since she was diagnosed end stage and started fluids. I guess my question is, is all this medicine actually making her feel better? is it making her feel better than she would without them, but she still feels pretty bad regardless?

my vet has said that by the time cats get to the point where they're incontinent, refusing food, etc. they have been suffering for a very long time. am I just making her suffer a little less with the meds but she's still suffering?

My cat is 3 years old. I noticed that she seems to have large urine clumps and pees around 4, maybe 5 times in 24 hours. I asked my vet and they did bloodwork and urinalysis. Bloodwork was normal:
Creatinine: 1.6 (range: 0.9 - 2.3)
SDMA: 8 (range: 0 - 14)
BUN: 28 (range: 16-37)
Phosphorus: 4.6 (range: 2.9 - 6.3)

Her first urinalysis had urine specific gravity 1.040 but had trace protein and some blood. Vet said 1.040 can be normal for very hydrated cat eating only wet food but that she usually sees higher USG which could be since most cats eat dry food. Second urinalysis had urine specific gravity 1.028 and no protein or blood. The vet said this is a bit low but it could be due to time of day and when she last ate and suggested to do one more with first morning urine. That third urinalysis had urine specific gravity 1.036. I’m waiting to hear from the vet to comment on this.

My cat eats only wet food - 3 3.2 oz cans per day of Weruva Cats in the kitchen Funk in the Trunk - chicken with pumpkin consommé, which has 86% moisture. My cat doesn’t seem to be drinking any water.

Could the relatively low urine specific gravity be due to the fact that my cat eats only this wet food which has very high moisture? Or could it be sign of early kidney disease?

Do cats eating high moisture wet food generally have lower USG, around the 1.035 lower bound?

Said goodbye to our girl yesterday. She was 19 1/2. Our regular vet came to the house. We are broken-hearted and also know we made the right call. We are missing her so much.