If you have a cat over 6 years old then they are starting to reach a more mature age. Below is some important information about kidney problems in older cats.

Chronic kidney disease is a common condition in mature cats. This is usually a result of gradual decrease in kidney function.

The kidneys are the body’s ‘filter system’ and very important for your cats health.

Cats may not even show symptoms at first but the disease is progressive and irreversible, which is why early diagnosis and intervention is so important.

There is a relatively new blood test called SDMA (Symmetric Dimethylarginine) which is very sensitive test of kidney function. Standard kidneys tests used in veterinary surgeries will only ‘flag up’ a kidney problem when 75% of the kidney tissue has stopped working.  At this point the cat is already in dire trouble and very little can be done to help.

SDMA will ‘flag up’ when as little as 25% of kidney tissue has stopped working , this means a problem can be picked up before your cat even shows you there is one!

EARLIER DETECTION ALLOWS FOR BETTER TREATMENT SUCCESS!

The cost of the SDMA blood test is just £50, which will include taking the blood sample, sending to the laboratory to be tested and results being evaluated (results usually back in 1 week).

A second blood sample is taken 2-4 weeks later to see if the levels are the same, rising or falling. This second blood test is reduced to just £40.

Please phone reception to speak to our veterinary team on 01726 890887  for more information and to book an appointment today .