Chronic kidney disease is the leading cause of death in older cats, and welfare-focused management can maintain quality of life for months to years through dietary modification, hydration support, and symptom control.
Chronic kidney disease in cats causes progressive welfare compromise through nausea, inappetence, dehydration, hypertension, and eventually uremic toxin accumulation. The welfare trajectory of managed versus unmanaged CKD cats is dramatically different — cats receiving appropriate dietary management, hydration support, and symptom control maintain good quality of life for significantly longer than those receiving no intervention. The challenge is early detection, since cats are stoic and CKD is often advanced before clinical signs are obvious. Annual blood and urine screening for cats over 7 enables earlier intervention that produces better welfare outcomes throughout the course of the disease.