Would you consider a kidney transplant for your cat?

the3rdname · May 22, 2015

Would it make a difference if the median survival rate was 2.74 years and the average cost was $15,000 (not including monthly cost of anti-rejection meds and follow-up care)? Plus, you have to adopt the donor kitty (from a kill shelter, so kitty gets a new lease on life).

My little one-year-old girl Rory has renal dysplasia (underdeveloped kidneys less than half the size of normal kidneys) and her internal med vet said she'd be a good candidate for transplantation. It's not an option at the moment due to cost, but a distinct possibility in the not-too-distant future. I have no idea what the ultimate decision will be, but I'd love to hear what others think about it and what you would do if it were your kitty.

betsygee · May 22, 2015

A vet made this suggestion to us a few years ago for our 15 year old kitty. She was my 'only child' and I was devastated knowing I was going to lose her to kidney disease, but even so, I was shocked that a vet would suggest that kind of surgery for a cat that age--not to mention committing to take on the donor kitty. We never even got to the point of discussing cost, I said no. I would have never put my kitty through that kind of surgery for a chance at another year or two of life. (As it turned out, she lived to be just over 17 on her own.)

Having said all that....doing that kind of surgery on a much younger cat could be a whole different ballgame. I'm so sorry to hear about your little girl's diagnosis. What's her prognosis without the surgery?

stephenq · May 23, 2015

the3rdname said:
Would it make a difference if the median survival rate was 2.74 years and the average cost was $15,000 (not including monthly cost of anti-rejection meds and follow-up care)? Plus, you have to adopt the donor kitty (from a kill shelter, so kitty gets a new lease on life).

My little one-year-old girl Rory has renal dysplasia (underdeveloped kidneys less than half the size of normal kidneys) and her internal med vet said she'd be a good candidate for transplantation. It's not an option at the moment due to cost, but a distinct possibility in the not-too-distant future. I have no idea what the ultimate decision will be, but I'd love to hear what others think about it and what you would do if it were your kitty.

If i could afford it, and if my cat was a good candidate and young enough to really benefit then i would consider it. You're saving an extra life. Not they don't take out any of your cat's kidneys, they literally add the third one.

Some articles below:

http://www.vetmed.wisc.edu/dss/mcanulty/felinekidneytransplant/

http://www.vet.upenn.edu/veterinary...prehensive-urology-care/renal-transplantation

http://www.felinecrf.com/transf.htm

the3rdname · May 23, 2015

betsygee said:
A vet made this suggestion to us a few years ago for our 15 year old kitty. She was my 'only child' and I was devastated knowing I was going to lose her to kidney disease, but even so, I was shocked that a vet would suggest that kind of surgery for a cat that age--not to mention committing to take on the donor kitty. We never even got to the point of discussing cost, I said no. I would have never put my kitty through that kind of surgery for a chance at another year or two of life. (As it turned out, she lived to be just over 17 on her own.)

Having said all that....doing that kind of surgery on a much younger cat could be a whole different ballgame. I'm so sorry to hear about your little girl's diagnosis. What's her prognosis without the surgery?

It sounds like you made the right decision. It would be quite the ordeal for a young cat with their youthful ability to heal rapidly; to put a senior cat through that is unfathomable. I can't imagine putting my 15 year old through any kind of surgery. She's earned the right to spend her twilight time stress-free and pain-free.

You might be right about a young cat faring better after transplantation. I'll have to see if I can get more information on success rates in younger cats, since most of these surgeries are performed on cats over 7. The average age of the patients has to have some degree of influence on that data.

Her prognosis at that moment is "guarded", according to the internist. Her vet thinks we'll be very lucky if she lives to see her second birthday, and I haven't found anything more optimistic than that when googling her condition. It's going to take about a year just to get to a place where it *might* be financially feasible, so I just have to hope she's one of those miracle kitties that beats the odds and hangs around longer than expected. If it doesn't happen, at least I'll know I did everything in my power to help her. Her numbers have improved pretty dramatically in a short time and we just switched from every-other-day sub-q treatments to every day. If I can keep her stable long enough, this transplant thing could very well become a reality. It would be so cool to chronicle the whole thing here!

StephenQ said:
If i could afford it, and if my cat was a good candidate and young enough to really benefit then i would consider it. You're saving an extra life. Not they don't take out any of your cat's kidneys, they literally add the third one.

Some articles below:

http://www.vetmed.wisc.edu/dss/mcanulty/felinekidneytransplant/

http://www.vet.upenn.edu/veterinary...prehensive-urology-care/renal-transplantation

http://www.felinecrf.com/transf.htm

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the subject. I agree, it is a win-win for two cats when all is said and done. And I did think it was pretty wild that they stick that new kidney in alongside the others. Whatever works, I guess!

Thanks for the links, btw. UPenn is where we would go for the transplant. From what I understand, there are only three vet hospitals in the country that are currently performing kidney transplants, and it's a fortunate thing that they're only (only!) several hours away. A quick little plane ride, if it can be managed.

2bcat · May 25, 2015

I'm so sorry to hear that you even have to think about this with your young kitty.

I think my biggest hesitation in thinking about this is the donor cat. It feels a bit strange to adopt a cat to be a donor. But, if that situation arose with one of my cats, I would at least consider it. Barring some unusual change that kind of cost would be out of my league though. And the survival time, I think I'd have to know a lot more with some examples of what the quality of life would be and possible survival at the higher end of the scale. If there's a reasonable chance the cat lives for 5+ years and there are examples the vet could point to, that would be a big difference from the average. I might be hare pressed to go forward if we're really only talking 2-3 years. I don't think its wrong to consider the cost vs the benefit, especially if you can't easily afford it.

pushylady · May 25, 2015

2bcat said:
I'm so sorry to hear that you even have to think about this with your young kitty.

I think my biggest hesitation in thinking about this is the donor cat. It feels a bit strange to adopt a cat to be a donor. But, if that situation arose with one of my cats, I would at least consider it. Barring some unusual change that kind of cost would be out of my league though. And the survival time, I think I'd have to know a lot more with some examples of what the quality of life would be and possible survival at the higher end of the scale. If there's a reasonable chance the cat lives for 5+ years and there are examples the vet could point to, that would be a big difference from the average. I might be hare pressed to go forward if we're really only talking 2-3 years. I don't think its wrong to consider the cost vs the benefit, especially if you can't easily afford it.

I agree. My first thought was of the poor donor kitty who gets no say in this. It seems too much like animal testing for my comfort level. The idea of animal transplants may seem far fetched, but really it"s not and I wouldn't be surprised if it becomes more commonplace in the near future.

denice · May 25, 2015

I seen this on one of the news magazine shows. The recipient kitty was a Siamese who had gone into CRF at a very young age and the donor was a shelter kitty. They showed the kitties together in the hospital at their first meet and greet after the surgery. The recipient was still in a cage with an IV and the donor cat was walking around outside the recipient's cage. They touched noses and there was no hissing or growling. They claimed that instant connection was common. I think it is more likely a case of both kitties not feeling 100 percent and having the common 'vet smell'.

I don't know how I feel about the ethics but I think I am okay with it. I can only hope that the donor kitty is given love in their new home, not just adopted to get their kidney and then discarded.

the3rdname · May 27, 2015

2bcat said:
*huge, heaving sigh*
I know, it isn't an easy thing to ponder from a moral perspective. U of Penn skirts the ethical conundrum by selecting healthy cats from a shelter that are slated for euthanization. It's the only way I could ever feel even slightly comfortable with the process, knowing that a cat was going to live a long, healthy life post-op in a loving forever home vs. euthanization for the crime of not getting adopted quickly enough.

Kidney donors recover quickly and live as long as they would have with two kidneys. If I were a cat in a kill shelter, I wouldn't hesitate to sign up for the donor program. Unfortunately, that's what it comes down to because these kitties aren't consenting to be put to death, either. One option is exceedingly rosier than the other, no?

Denice said:

I seen this on one of the news magazine shows. The recipient kitty was a Siamese who had gone into CRF at a very young age and the donor was a shelter kitty. They showed the kitties together in the hospital at their first meet and greet after the surgery. The recipient was still in a cage with an IV and the donor cat was walking around outside the recipient's cage. They touched noses and there was no hissing or growling. They claimed that instant connection was common. I think it is more likely a case of both kitties not feeling 100 percent and having the common 'vet smell'.

I don't know how I feel about the ethics but I think I am okay with it. I can only hope that the donor kitty is given love in their new home, not just adopted to get their kidney and then discarded.

Click to expand...

I'm betting that anyone who loves their cat enough to front the money for the surgery, and is in a position to do so, and is willing to commit to caring for a transplant patient is *also* the kind of person who loves cats enough to make room in their heart and home for their kitty's savior. I hope I'm right about that.

There was a touching story on U of Penn's site about a donor/recipient relationship with a very happy ending. The family had 27 cats (!) and brought one of them to the hospital for a transplant, immediately fell in love with their 28th cat, the two cats instantly became good friends and are living happily and healthfully ever after. Ok, so it's one story out of many, and I don't know how many others have equally happy endings, but it's inspiring nonetheless. And I am seriously coveting this family's devoted wing for their cats and full-time employee who helps care for them! Talk about kitty nirvana

2bcat · May 27, 2015

FWIW: I feel the same about it all whether I was considering an adopted donor cat or considered having an existing housemate be the donor. Either way it feels a little odd to me, making that sort of decision about a companion animal. And then I wonder at times how I can arbitrarily draw such lines. I don't think you're wrong to consider it by the way, not at all. Just thinking it is a tricky situation.

And I don't get too caught up in the type of shelter the cat was in. Any cat who is adopted makes a place for another cat to potentially survive, regardless of type of shelter. Sure, you may save that specific cat from death row, but you save A cat regardless of where they are coming from. What it really comes down to is a high kill shelter won't have too many qualms with the ethics of it all, whereas a shelter where a cat could remain indefinitely would likely balk at the idea of adopting a cat to subject it to the donor operation.

Would you consider a kidney transplant for your cat?

the3rdname

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betsygee

Just what part of meow don't you understand.

stephenq

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the3rdname

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2bcat

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pushylady

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denice

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the3rdname

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