New developments offer hope for cats with chronic kidney disease

Cats with chronic kidney disease can live longer, better lives than ever before, thanks to research advances in recent years.

“It’s been a very exciting time over the last decade or so in that we’ve really enhanced our abilities to diagnose and detect chronic kidney disease,” said Dr. Shelly L. Vaden, a professor of internal medicine at North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

About 2-20% of all cats, and 30% of cats over the age of 10, have chronic kidney disease. Treatment can last for years, meaning “we really need to be very thoughtful in what we do and use an evidence-based approach to our treatment and diagnostics,” Vaden said.

She said she views chronic kidney disease management as a “mosaic”: Rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach, she identifies interrelated problems and addresses those.

More advice from Vaden, and other information on new advances in chronic kidney disease management, is available from the AVMA.