The more you know about how the kidneys work, the better you'll be able to care for a pet with kidney disease.
The kidneys act like a water filtration system in reverse, trapping and recycling substances the body needs, such as proteins, and letting waste materials pass through. If any part of this complex filtration process breaks down, toxins in the bloodstream can rise to life-threatening levels.
Treatment -- often giving massive amounts of fluids -- is aimed at restoring the kidneys to normal function, so they can resume doing their job of filtration. If that's not possible, the toxins in the blood must be reduced to safe levels some other way. Dietary changes, drug therapy, agents that bind toxins and eliminate them, and even dialysis, can be used.
Chronic kidney failure is usually found in aging pets and can be detected with a simple blood test. Acute kidney failure is typically marked by vomiting, increased thirst, increased or lack of urination, lethargy, bad breath, diarrhea and lack of appetite. These symptoms signal a health crisis, with time being the difference between whether an animal lives or dies.
The critical issue of response is why veterinarians don't recommend that pet lovers wait a day or more after the onset of symptoms in the hope that a problem will go away on its own. When sick pets finally arrive at the veterinary hospital, 75 percent of kidney function can already be gone for good. Wait much longer, and the chances of survival are not good.
For younger dogs and cats, a kidney problem is more likely to be acute, the result of a poison, such a pet ingesting anti-freeze, lilies (typically cats) or grapes/raisins (typically dogs).
No matter what's the cause of sudden-onset kidney failure, the treatment needs to be swift. At the very least, the pet will need to be placed on intravenous fluids, and may need antibiotics as well as other medications to suppress vomiting and diarrhea. The treatment plan is designed to help flush the kidneys while supporting the rest of the body through the crisis.
If the intervention is successful, the animal will be left with enough kidney function to survive, though perhaps with chronic kidney issues that will need lifetime treatment.
Although the prognosis can be grim in many cases of sudden kidney failure, it's always worth trying to save a pet. With swift veterinary intervention and good follow-up care, many pets can live with their kidney disease for many happy years.
Q&A
Owners can care
for diabetic cat
Q: My 6-year-old cat has been diagnosed with diabetes. Can she get better on her own if I decide I don't want to do the shots? -- via e-mail
A: For the diabetic cat, the levels of sugar in the blood -- glucose -- cannot be normalized without treatment. Although a cat may be able to go a few days without treatment and not get into a crisis, treating the disease should be looked upon as part of the cat's daily routine. Treatment almost always requires some dietary changes. And whether a cat will require oral therapy or insulin injections will vary from case to case.
For the owner, there are two implications: financial commitment and personal commitment. Once a cat's diabetes is well-regulated, maintenance is not that expensive, with costs that may include a special diet, oral medication, insulin and syringes.
For many people, the personal commitment seems more difficult than the financial one, but that, too, is not insurmountable. You'll need to pay close attention to your veterinarian's instructions about medication, diet and home monitoring.
Consistency is the key to keeping a diabetic cat healthy. The more you keep the medication, diet and activity the same from one day to the next, the easier it will be to keep your cat's blood sugar regulated.
Insulin injections always worry people the most. But cats seem to be more comfortable getting shots than their owners are about giving them.
If the idea of giving your cat regular injections is upsetting, consider these points:
-- Insulin does not cause pain when it is injected.
-- The injections are made with very tiny needles that your cat hardly feels.
-- The injections are given just under the skin in areas in which it is almost impossible to cause damage to any vital organ.
Although diabetes is a diagnosis that may seem like a death sentence to many distraught people with newly diagnosed cats, it doesn't need to be that way. Work with your veterinarian and give your cat a chance. You may be surprised at how well things work out.
By the way, you can find a lot of information and support on the Feline Diabetes website (felinediabetes.com), which was started by a physician after her own cat was diagnosed with the disease. -- Dr. Marty Becker
Do you have a pet question? Send it to petconnection@gmail.com.
THE BUZZ
Safe driving means
securing your pet
-- Crating or harnessing your pet in the car is an important safety measure for you, your dog and everyone else on the road. In a survey by AAA, nearly 60 percent of those polled admitted to having driven while distracted when their dog was in the car. Only 17 percent of respondents said they restrained their pet in a crate or with a seat-belt harness. An unrestrained 10-pound dog in a crash at 50 mph delivers 500 pounds of force on whatever the animal strikes; an 80-pound dog in a 30 mph crash delivers 2,400 pounds of force.
-- Water 4 Dogs, a hydrotherapy center for dogs in New York City (water4dogs.com), recently began treating its first cat, a 6-year-old Turkish Van whose left side was paralyzed after an accident in June. When veterinarians diagnosed a swelling in the cat's vertebrae, the animal overcame her initial fear of the water and is showing improvement after thrice-weekly sessions.
-- Poor circulation in horse barns may be causing respiratory problems for people who have or work with horses. A study conducted by Tufts University's Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine surveyed barn workers and a control group of non-barn workers and found that half of people working in barns complained of coughing and wheezing, compared to only 15 percent of the control group. Higher rates of self-reported respiratory ailments were also found for barn workers. Horses have been known to get respiratory illness from the excess dust found in barns, and it seems the effects of poor air circulation and dirt are reaching the humans as well. -- Dr. Marty Becker and Mikkel Becker
ABOUT PET CONNECTION
Pet Connection is produced by a team of pet-care experts headed by "Good Morning America" and "The Dr. Oz Show" veterinarian Dr. Marty Becker and award-winning journalist Gina Spadafori. The two are also the authors of many best-selling pet-care books. Dr. Becker can also be found at Facebook.com/DrMartyBecker or on Twitter at DrMartyBecker.