Feline renal transplantation is offered at some specialist centres but raises significant ethical questions about the welfare of donor cats who undergo an irreversible procedure without consent.
The central welfare and ethical concern in feline renal transplantation is that donor cats undergo an irreversible major surgery carrying non-trivial risks — including anaesthetic complications and long-term single-kidney function — purely for the benefit of another animal. Unlike human living kidney donation, the donor cannot give informed consent and the decision is made entirely by humans. The argument that donor cats gain a lifelong home in exchange is seen by critics as inadequate justification for subjecting a healthy animal to unnecessary surgery. Most veterinary ethics bodies now advise against or have prohibited the procedure. This case illustrates how medical capability does not automatically equal ethical permissibility in veterinary medicine.