Kidney Disease Can Be Controllable

Renal Disease affects millions of pets each year. While some of these pets are young, the majority of them are senior pets.

As pets age so do their organs which include the kidneys. When kidneys fail; your pet is not able to rid itself of harmful substances that the body has to excrete. One of these are proteins that the body has broken down. When these substances are not excreted they build up to harmful levels in your pet’s body.

There are different stages of Renal Disease. If caught early your pet may only need a diet change, which includes feeding a low-protein, low-phosphorus diet. The kidneys have to work hard to rid the body of unwanted proteins hence the low-protein diet.

If your pet has sever kidney disease we usually have to treat this in the hospital with diuresis (I.V. fluids for several days), potassium supplements, and gastric protectants. Kidney disease can cause ulcers in the stomach, and other parts of the body such as the mucous membranes due to the toxins that have built up in the body.

Many, many pets make it through this hospital stay to live several more years if their renal failure is managed with a proper diet and occasional fluid therapy.

This is not to say that Renal Disease is to be taken lightly. It is a very serious, life threatening disease. However, if it is caught early it can be controlled.

This is why we recommend labwork on your pet at least on a yearly basis. Labwork such as a BUN and creatinine (to test for kidney disease) can detect kidney disease early so that the treatment can begin early.