At what age should a cat take CRF test?

appleseed_1

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At what age should an INDOOR [/i]cat take CRF test? How regular should the test be taken? What will be done.
Im just interested, there are no symptoms (touch wood) so is a test needed? How much should i expect the costs to be?

thanks!!
 

kittieshasme

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Since I just lost Furrari to CRF I'm going to be more proactive about testing. Elijah Blue-eyes just turned eleven last year and his rabies shot is due - so I'll have the vet run a mini blood panel ($43.00) just to check. Eli isn't showing any symptoms but it will make me feel better. After this I will have a mini panel done yearly.

If a problem does show up then we can run a full panel which costs around $145.00. Vet costs differ depending on what part of the country(USA) and even which country you are in so your vet probably will charge differently from mine.

Anna is only sixteen months old and healthy so there is no reason to test her at this time.

CRF is hard because by the time symptoms show up the kidneys have already lost something like 75% or more of their function. It can also hit young cats. I've heard of several six to eight year olds being diagnosed with CRF.

In the future I will probably start testing (mini panel) yearly when a cat turns ten years old. Unless, of course symtoms show up earlier. I may start as early as eight -I'm still mulling this over in my mind.
 
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appleseed_1

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Heya!
thanks for the reply. Both my cats are eight aswell, and I'm considering taking a test to play it safe. Im starting to consider testing them from 9 years onwards. What do you think?
I noticed you mentioned your cat has blue eyes, just wondering does this contribute to CRF?

Also Im wondering whats a mini test, i mean what is the difference?
is it less accurate?

thanks!
 

mews2much

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My Coco has crf and I started tested Meeko at age 7.
Meeko will be 9 in June and all her tests are good.
The test is called a Renal Panel.
I wish I had tested Stormy.
I lost her at age 5 to arf and Patches at age 6.
 

darlili

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My cats will be turning seven next summer (we think - hard to guess with adult adoptees). I'm going to start senior blood panels at that point. My vet recommended that, and I agree, even though, knock wood, no illnesses have surfaced at this point. Then we'll add on any blood work, etc., that needs doing based on the senior panel and their check-up results.

My boy had a regular panel done last year when he had a dental cleaning, with clean results, so I felt ok there.
 

sharky

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I used to do seniors at 10 //// but now it is 7
 

momofmany

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I like to start senior baseline blood panels at around 8 years old. The baseline will look for signs of early CRF.

But if a cat has an unexplained illness, I'll run a full blood panel as soon as I notice there is something wrong with them. I lost a cat at 4 years old from ARF, and the only explanation for losing her was that she had chronic CRF that went undiagnosed and therefore untreated. I only had her for a short time and her previous owner never noticed anything wrong with her either. By the time we found ARF, it was too late to reverse.
 

mews2much

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I feel bad for not knowing stormy had crf until the day beore she was pts.
She already had arf at age 5 when we found out.
She would throw up sometimes and drool a little.
I thought it was coco that was throwing up but it was Stormy.
 

greycat2

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The price will vary from area to area and vet to vet. Here where I live it runs around $95.00 to $115.00 US dollars and that is for a complete senior panel that has the basic renal panel in it.

I have/had 3 senior cats and they are tested every year for it to be safe. So far so good..... I also have 1 adult cat (turning 5 in August and she (a Persian mix) already had a baseline renal panel for future reference). The one we are watching is Kuce (she'll be 16 years) because she's borderline on two of the kidney tests).
 

pookie-poo

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Cleo was diagnosed with CRF at 6 months old, when my vet did pre-op blood work for her spay surgery. Maggie was diagnosed at 5 years old with early renal insufficiency. I'm paranoid. I do blood work yearly. If it comes back normal, then you have a baseline to compare with if anything shows up later. Lola had blood work done at the time of her spay, and a year later. Now I do every other year for her. Maggie only has bloodwork done once a year, because she is so traumatized by the whole ordeal. Cleo used to have bloodwork done 3 or 4 times a year, but since she's been so stable, I've decreased it to yearly. Cleo will be 9 years old in May. Maggie will be 8 years old in May. Lola will be 6 years old in May. My birthday is in May too, but I don't really want to think about how old I'll be this year!
 

ut0pia

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Originally Posted by Pookie-poo

Cleo was diagnosed with CRF at 6 months old, when my vet did pre-op blood work for her spay surgery.
Wow
That's so young. Did she ever get spayed or was the risk too high with the anesthesia doing more damage to her kidneys?
 

nekochan

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With senior cats (10+) I usually do yearly bloodwork, and the testing includes tests which would show if the cat has CRF. With my younger cats I haven't really done much bloodwork unless they are going to be put under anesthesia or if they are having any health problems.

My last cat Sylvia was diagnosed with CRF when we had done bloodwork for a teeth cleaning. She had not had symptoms at the time so we were lucky to catch it early. She was losing some weight unexpectedly the spring before that and had bloodwork then which was normal...
 

pookie-poo

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Originally Posted by ut0pia

Wow
That's so young. Did she ever get spayed or was the risk too high with the anesthesia doing more damage to her kidneys?
Oh yes, she was spayed. But by having blood work done before, we were able to use the most kidney friendly anesthesia drugs, and keep her well hydrated throughout the procedure. We also checked kidney function afterward, and it was unchanged. I have the most awesome vet in the world! She is very proactive in treating my kitty's renal problems, and encourages me to learn about the disease, ask questions and take an active part in the treatment plan.
 
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