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As kidney function reduces, they produce more
urine to flush out the metabolic wastes and your
cat drinks more water. This is the body's version
of dialysis. The kidneys can only process a
limited amount of fluid per day. Potassium, an
essential mineral, is lost in the urine and low
potassium levels in the blood (hypokalaemia)
further damages the kidneys, causing a vicious
cycle. Your vet may prescribe potassium
supplements to counteract this. The effects of
kidney failure can be reduced, but not cured, by
medication and a low-protein, low-sodium, low
phosphorus diet, which produces fewer waste
products. These foods are commercially available
in the US. In the UK they are available on a vet
prescription. Plenty of fresh water is crucial.
Due to the cat's low blood volume, human-style
dialysis (fluid therapy) on a kidney machine is
not possible. Your vet may inject extra fluid into
a vein, under the skin or into the abdomen. This
increases the blood volume, blood pressure in the
kidneys is increased and they filter better. The
effect is temporary and frequent dialysis is
distressing to most cats and may require regular
anesthesia which is riskier for older cats.
In the US, kidney transplants are experimental
procedures in cats. The donor cat can survive on
one kidney, but when the donor ages it will
probably suffer kidney failure at an earlier age
as there is less kidney tissue to begin with.
Owners of the recipient cat must undertake to
provide a loving, permanent home for the donor
whose life expectancy has possibly been reduced in
order that their cat lives longer. There is a huge
cat overpopulation problem in the US. A sensible
(but unpalatable) solution is to remove kidneys
from anaesthetized cats due for destruction and
then euthanize them immediately. This would
eliminate the need for donor cats and use tissues
which are otherwise incinerated.
In the UK, a new drug treatment for CRF was
announced in 2001. It is still being trialled and
is not yet generally available from vets. Fortekor
is a daily tablet which can increase survival time
by up to three times. It works by normalizing the
blood pressure within the kidney so they filter
much better. It also reduces urinary protein loss.
Fortekor is not a cure, but it slows down
progression of disease and gives the cat a good
quality of life.
Cancer
A cat's chances of developing cancer increase
with age, but cats are less prone to cancer than
are dogs or humans. Cancer occurs when normal
cells go rogue and start to multiply out of
control. Something goes wrong with the genes
inside the cell and it doesn't know when to stop.
This may be a random hiccup in the cell or may be
due to cell damage due an accumulation of
carcinogens (cancer-causing substances) in the
body because the liver is not good at removing
these. Infectious-diseases or poor immune system
are also factors. Chemotherapy can give some cats
a short-term remission from some types of cancer
and therapies (including homeopathy) may be given
to improve the immune system.
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