My cat has kidney failure. Can treatment improve quality of life?

Question

I visited an emergency clinic last night with my cat and they diagnosed him with Kidney failure. I can't talk to that vet again til 7pm tonight and I'm trying to decide whether it would be kinder to let Squeaker go now, or to try to extend his life through treatment. Any info gratefully received! Pet's info: Cat | Domestic Shorthair | Male | neutered | 10 years and 2 months old | 8 lbs

Dr. Elizabeth · Accepted Answer

Part of this decision should be based upon how Squeakers is doing clinically and how bad or not bad his values are. In general, if kidney disease is caught early on, it responds very well to treatment. Most of the time, treatment is simply a diet change to a kidney friendly, prescription diet. Pet’s where the disease is more advanced, may need to take a pill to decrease protein loss through the kidneys and they may need subcutaneous fluids on a daily or weekly basis. For cats with more advanced disease, they may need hospitalization and IV fluids to see if they will recover. Again it all depends on the blood values and how the pet is doing clinically. Most cats with kidney disease, if caught in time, will live an average of 2 to 3 years of quality life after diagnosis. This is variable though. Some pets progress quickly and others live longer than 3 years. You don’t know until you try. I hope this helps to guide your decision making. You can also find a fair amount of information about kidney disease on this website. Use the search feature. Please feel free to post any additional questions.

My cat has kidney failure. Can treatment improve quality of life?

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