Chronic kidney disease in cats isn’t just age-related

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is one of the most common conditions affecting cats, yet it is often misunderstood as a problem that occurs only in older animals. In reality, a wide range of factors may increase a cat’s risk of developing kidney disease over time. Genetics, prior infections, inflammatory events, urinary tract obstructions, and even episodes of dehydration surrounding anesthesia can all contribute to CKD.

Environmental and regional differences, as well as certain cancers, may also play a role. Because these risks can affect some cats earlier in life than expected, proactive screening and awareness are essential, explains Natalie Marks, DVM, CVJ, CCFP, Elite FFCP-V. In this video, she shares the many factors that may predispose cats to CKD and why veterinarians should think beyond age when evaluating feline kidney health.

Below is the video transcript, lightly edited for clarity.

Marks: There are a lot of reasons that cats are at risk for chronic kidney disease. People think it's just age-related, but really we know now there are a lot of other factors, including some breeds, previous viral disease, any inflammatory insult they've had, or previous anesthesia where there's been documented dehydration in the last 24 hours—12 to 24 hours I should say—or any kind of obstruction. So if there's uroliths, ureteroliths, or nephroliths.

Some cats, actually—we don't really know why—but in any region outside of the Northeast, cats are more at risk of kidney disease. Cancer puts them at risk.

So, you know, there's a very long laundry list of reasons. I think the big thing is, it's important to remember that it's not just an age-related disease. We see a lot of cats, actually, that are young adults that can end up starting to have kidney changes, so we need to be screening more proactively.