Polycystic kidney disease (PKD) is a genetic condition causing progressive kidney failure in Persian and related cat breeds. It is one of the most widespread genetic diseases in companion animals, affecting 40% of Persians before screening programs were introduced.
PKD represents a preventable genetic welfare crisis that was propagated for decades through uninformed breeding practices. Cats with PKD live apparently normal lives until middle age, when kidney failure begins to cause the same welfare burden as CKD from any cause: nausea, lethargy, weight loss, and eventual uremia. The progressive nature of the disease means affected cats experience years of gradual functional decline culminating in end-stage renal failure. The preventability of PKD - through simple genetic testing and exclusion of affected cats from breeding - makes every case born since testing became available in 2004 a preventable welfare failure. Despite the availability of testing, uptake among breeders remains incomplete, meaning PKD continues to be propagated.