| $ $ Monthly Pet Kidney Failure Treatment: $100 - $500 | $ $ $ Pet Dialysis: $3,5K - $5K |
Kidney failure in pets is a serious health condition that can have long-term consequences, and, in the worst cases, it can be fatal.
In the next few sections, we’ll review basic information about pet kidney failure, what its causes are, symptoms, and the cost of the treatment.
Table of Contents
What Is the Role of the Kidneys?
Healthy kidneys help to filtrate the bloodstream by removing any toxins present, they release hormones that are necessary to make red blood cells and they help to balance hydration, among other things.
When something goes wrong in the normal functioning of the kidneys, and they stop doing what they are supposed to do, that’s what is known as kidney or renal failure.
Pet Kidney Failure
In dogs and cats, kidney failure is a rare condition, although a very serious one.
There are two types, acute kidney failure, and chronic kidney failure.
Acute Kidney Failure
As the name indicates, acute kidney failure develops in a matter of hours or days.
It’s originated from an injury to the kidneys that can have numerous causes, such as toxins -antifreeze, grapes, raisins, ibuprofen-, venom, heart or liver failure, cancer, or kidney infections.
Acute kidney failure is serious but in some cases, if it’s treated on time, it could be reversed.
Chronic Kidney Failure
On the contrary, chronic kidney failure develops in weeks, months, or even years.
The kidneys start to slowly deteriorate over time and it’s mostly common among senior pets.
Besides an advanced age, congenital diseases, kidney cancer, infection or stones, as well as acute kidney failure that hasn’t been treated can also cause chronic kidney failure in pets.
In this case, the damages to the kidneys cannot be reversed, and there is no cure.
Some treatments could help to keep the pet alive for longer, but the damage will continue.
Pet Kidney Failure Symptoms
Some of the most common symptoms of kidney failure are drinking too much water, incontinence, pale gums -anemia-, loss of appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, weight loss, weakness, or dullness.
When the disease is in an advanced stage, other symptoms will appear, such as ulcers in the mouth, breath with a strong chemical smell, and blood in the urine.
If you notice any of these signs in your pet, you must immediately take it to the veterinarian.
Pet Kidney Failure Diagnosis
Once the pet is taken to the vet, he or she will conduct a series of exams in order to determine the cause.
A physical exam, urine, and blood tests are the most common to diagnose kidney failure, although other tests could be needed as well.
If the pet has kidney failure, and if it’s chronic, then the vet will try to detect in which stage of the disease the pet is.
This will help the vet to prescribe an adequate treatment.
Pet Kidney Failure Treatment
The treatment in chronic kidney failure is aimed at removing as many toxins as possible from the kidneys and reducing the amount of work they must do.
Some of the treatments available involve a specific diet designed for these patients, fluid therapy -to eliminate the toxins and replace body fluids-, medication and supplements, and in extreme cases, dialysis could be used, although it’s very rare in pets.
The cost of these treatments is generally high, especially because the damage to the kidneys will eventually continue.
Pet kidney failure treatment could cost from $100 to $500 per month.
Dialysis could cost between $3,500 and $4,000 for the first two or three sessions, and if more are needed, each could cost from $600 to $700.
Preventing Pet Kidney Failure
Although in some cases kidney failure can’t be prevented -when it’s congenital or normal degeneration due to an advanced age-, there are things you can do to prevent acute kidney failure and some cases of chronic kidney failure.
Regular check-ups at the vet, a balanced diet, avoiding foods that are dangerous for them, and keeping toxic and poisonous substances away from pets are some of the things you can do to prevent kidney failure in pets.
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