Content
- What is polycystic kidney?
- Causes of Polycystic Kidney in Cats
- Symptoms of Polycystic Kidney Disease in Cats
- Diagnosis of polycystic kidney in cats
- Treatment of polycystic kidney disease in cats
One of the most frightening characteristics of felines is their great flexibility and agility, hence the popular saying that these pets have 7 lives, although this is not true, as the cat is an animal very susceptible to numerous diseases and many of them, such as polycystic kidney disease can also be seen in humans.
This disease can be asymptomatic until it has advanced enough to constitute a major risk to the animal's life, so it is of great importance that owners know more about this pathological situation, in order to diagnose and treat it as much as possible. before.
In this article by PeritoAnimal we will talk about the Symptoms and Treatment of Polycystic Kidney in Cats.
What is polycystic kidney?
Polycystic kidney disease or polycystic kidney is a hereditary disease very common in short-haired Persian and exotic cats.
The main characteristic of this disorder is that the kidney produces fluid-filled cysts, these are present from birth, but as the kitten grows, the cysts also increase in size, and may even harm the kidney and cause kidney failure.
When the cat is small and the cysts are of a very small size, the animal does not show any signs of illness, and it is usual for the manifestations of the condition to arrive when a major kidney damage, this disease is usually diagnosed between 7 and 8 years of age.
Causes of Polycystic Kidney in Cats
This disease is hereditary, so it has a genetic origin, it is the anomie that a autosomal dominant gene suffers and that any cat that has this gene in its anomalous form will also have polycystic kidney disease.
However, this gene cannot be mutated in all cats, and this disease affects especially Persian and exotic cats and lines created from these breeds, such as the British Shorhair. In other cat breeds it is not impossible to have polycystic kidney, but it is very strange if it does.
When an affected cat reproduces, the kitten inherits the gene anomaly and disease, in contrast, if both parents are affected by this gene, the kitten dies before birth due to a much more serious pathology.
To decrease the percentage of cats affected by polycystic kidney disease is essential to control the reproduction, however, as we mentioned initially, this disease does not show symptoms until very advanced stages, and sometimes when reproducing a cat it is not known that it is sick.
Symptoms of Polycystic Kidney Disease in Cats
Sometimes polycystic kidney disease evolves very quickly and is harmful in small cats, usually having a fatal outcome, however, as mentioned, it is usually a disease that causes symptoms in the adult stage.
these are the symptoms of kidney failure:
- loss of appetite
- Weight loss
- Weakness
- Depression
- High water intake
- Increases in frequency of urination
When detecting any of these symptoms it is essential consult the veterinarian, to assess the function of the kidneys and, if they are not working properly, to find the underlying cause.
Diagnosis of polycystic kidney in cats
If you have a Persian or exotic cat, although it does not show symptoms of the disease, it is important that during the first year go to the vet for this to study the structure of the kidneys and decide if they are healthy or not.
In advance or even when the cat has already manifested symptoms of kidney failure, the diagnosis is made by imaging through an ultrasound. In a sick cat, ultrasound shows the presence of cysts.
Of course, the sooner the diagnosis is made, the more favorable the evolution of the disease will be.
Treatment of polycystic kidney disease in cats
Unfortunately this disease does not have a curative treatment, as the main objective of the treatment is to stop the evolution of the condition as much as possible.
Pharmacological treatment is intended to reduce the work of the kidneys affected by failure and to prevent all organic complications that can arise from this situation.
This treatment, along with a low phosphorus and sodium diet, although it does not change the presence of cysts in the kidneys, it can improve the quality of life of the cat.
This article is for information purposes only, at PeritoAnimal.com.br we are not able to prescribe veterinary treatments or perform any type of diagnosis. We suggest that you take your pet to the veterinarian in case it has any type of condition or discomfort.