Please Help! Will I be able to detect CRF without any symptoms

Ive been doing some research and may sites say that chronic renal failure in cats cannot be detected until 70% of kidney function is lost.
Does this mean that early annual blood tests will not show CRF until 70% is lost or does this mean that physical symptoms will not show until 70% is lost?

I always thought that blood test were a way of keeping an eye out for CRF. If so, what can blood tests show and what can the report be used for?

I think read in a cat health book that by the time a cat usually shows outward symptoms is when 70% of the kidneys are gone.

CRF would show up in bloodwork, I think.

I believe that most of your questions will be answered at this link, a very well-regarded CRF reference site.

"Standard" "annual bloodwork" will not detect CRF until a very significant portion of kidney function has already been lost - up to 75%. This is due to the fact that, in cats with fully functioning kidneys, those kidneys are never using all of their potential...there exists lots of unused "reserve" function "waiting in the wings". As a cat ages there is a normal deterioration occurring but, as that happens, the so far unused reserve "kicks in" to take up the slack...and normal bloodwork won't detect these changes.

Now, bloodwork alone isn't the only tool required to monitor kidney function...that function being the filtration process which produces urine. There are a number of urinanalysis measurements which should be carried out as well...and some of these will provide the earliest indications of a problem.

There are four non-standard tests - ones you should not expect to be done with "standard annual bloodwork", and those are covered in the reference I gave you.

Hope this helps!

I just wanted to say my RB cat Snowball was a CRF kitty. He was scheduled for dental work when the pre-anesthesia blood work indicated that he was in the early stages of kidney disease. The vet immediately prescribed a special diet of KD which did a lot to slow the progression of the disease. Over the next seven years the progression of the disease was carefully monitored, and I followed all the advice the vet gave regarding Snowball's care.

So if you're concerned that CRF is an immediate death sentence for a cat, my answer is with early detection and proper care no it isn't.

My Coco has CRF also.
We found out last Sept.
Do you think your cat has it?

hiya, thanks for the replies.
mm my cat is approaching the age of 7 with no apparent symptoms. but shes had a bout of pancreatitis once and she is relatively small ( even though standard weight) for the amount of food that i feed her.
I just got back from the vet, the nurse had forgotten to tell me that we needed to fast for 12 hrs before the test and collect a urine sample. so we didnt get any test done.
ALTHOUGH, the vet heard a heart mumur and suggested we get a ultrasound of the chest done.
frankly im a bit concered, Ill post it on another thread

My kitty Dusty is CRF, diagnosed last Feb. She is on Calcitriol 2 x a week. Her symptoms were that she drank a lot of water and peed a lot. She won't eat the KD diet, we we are doing the best we can and have come to the conclusion that quality is better than quantity.

Originally posted by appleseed_1

Ive been doing some research and may sites say that chronic renal failure in cats cannot be detected until 70% of kidney function is lost.
Does this mean that early annual blood tests will not show CRF until 70% is lost or does this mean that physical symptoms will not show until 70% is lost?

I always thought that blood test were a way of keeping an eye out for CRF. If so, what can blood tests show and what can the report be used for?

Click to expand...

You might want to keep this test in mind. It's a urine test, not a blood test.

ERD Heska Test - a New Test to Detect Early Renal Disease

http://www.manhattancats.com/Articles/erd_heska.html