Cat Health Symptoms

Symptoms of cat kidney failure?

I have a 19 year old cat who has NEVER had a health problem, never been to the vet except for the annual checkup and shots, eats Orijen kibble and raw food. Lately I've noticed him getting a bit slower, drinking a lot of water.. he is booked for a vet appointment on Thursday.. could this be kidneys? If so what treatment is there?

Public Comments

1. He may have diabetes.. You're very lucky to have a cat that has lived such a long healthy life.
2. Glad to hear that he already has a Vet. appt. scheduled. I have 4 cats & my oldest, a Maine Coon was showing the same signs. Turns out..... He is diabetic.He has survived three years already on insulin shots 2Xday. Not a big deal, but if it is diabetes & that would probably be the problem of choice if you could choose, it could possibly be controlled with a special Diabetic kibble. Good luck!!!!!
3. Hi, I would recommend going to two very good websites on this topic of crf or chronic renal failure that have huge amounts of good information: http://www.felinecrf.org as well as http://www.felinecrf.com Also, If you have noticed that your cat's hair is getting poor / dull / flaky skin along with the excessive drinking and urination, I would seriously check for diabetes. The good news is that diabetes can sometimes be greatly reduced with diet (low or no carbs and no grains with a high quality wet food) and easily given insulin shots with the cat living many more years. Usually all that is required is just a very small needle shot in the scruff of the neck twice a day of insulin to help allow the food into the cells. With the increased drinking comes increased urination. Critical electrolytes such as potassium etc... get washed out of the body more quickly when this happens and can cause muscle weakness (hypokalemia). Additional vomiting can also make this worse... Diabetic neuropathy can also cause back leg weakness. Please see list of websites below and let us know how your cat is doing!