The Cat Who Comes After CKD
Q: My cat unfortunately passed a few months ago. He was doing well but his kidney values accelerated quickly. I have had multiple cat families and wondered why some accelerate very quickly and others not (hyper-t aside). No cats now but will start another family soon. What can I do going forward to mitigate this?
A: The fact that you are asking these questions months after losing your cat says a lot about the care you gave. Cats are lucky to land in homes like yours.
I’m like you, Barbara.
I’m looking for my next cat too. I lost the last one in a divorce. It hurt. But my ex was bonded with that cat, so it is what it is.
No doubt my next cat is going to be a fixer-upper.
Maybe fat. Stubby. Arthritic. Maybe a meow that sounds like he smokes a pack a day.
I’ll fix that little one up the best I can.
Your job and mine are the same.
We won’t worry about CKD when we get our new cat.
We’re going to LOVE that cat to bits. Right?
The first thing we have to fix is the amount of love in that little being’s life.
And I already know you’re expert-level at that.
If you weren’t, you wouldn’t even be writing to this blog.
Then, when your next cat family arrives, they’ll already be starting life with someone who understands more than most people ever will about kidney health.
You’ll take the experiences of your past, the memories of your departed cat, and use that to better the lives of your cats in the future.
That’s what I had to do when my first cat, Zack, passed.
And that alone can make a real difference… even with CKD.
You’ll take the things you learned for your older cats and transfer that knowledge to your younger ones.
The optimal food.
The optimal hydration.
The health checks.
Early detection.
Maybe you already did all those things.
And that’s where I come in.
For many cats, rapid progression is tied to two major forces working together:
• energy failure inside kidney cells (the mitochondria)
• fibrosis, which is scarring of kidney tissue
Once those processes gain momentum, kidney function can slide faster than we expect.
The newer thinking in CKD care aims to slow those drivers of decline before they snowball.
Things like:
• maintaining body weight and muscle
• protecting gut health to reduce toxin load
• supporting cellular energy systems
In my book and videos, I talk about this idea and how every cat develops its own “CKD personality.”
My book will be there if you need it. The videos too, with the latest and greatest.
In the meantime, enjoy that little one when they come into your life.
Dr. Kris
