Elevated blood calcium in cats causes profound illness and welfare compromise. Understanding the causes enables appropriate investigation and treatment of this serious condition.
Hypercalcemia causes systemic illness that significantly reduces quality of life. The nausea, lethargy, and constipation of hypercalcemia affect daily experience, and the secondary kidney injury compounds the welfare impact. Prompt investigation to identify the cause — particularly ruling out lymphoma, which requires different and urgently needed treatment — is essential. The good welfare news is that idiopathic hypercalcemia in cats often responds well to dietary management, restoring normal calcium levels and resolving clinical signs.