Healthy Cats

Kidney Failure (Uremia) Treatment in Cats

Kidney Transplant

Another option to consider for cats with terminal kidney failure is a kidney transplant. Kidney transplants are only done at a few veterinary referral centers but are becoming more common. As with human transplant patients, drugs must be given post-transplant to prevent rejection problems. These drugs are quite expensive and must be carefully calibrated to minimize side effects. Also, it was recently reported that cats are at a higher risk for developing diabetes due to the use of these drugs.

The current method for finding kidney donors is to test shelter cats for tissue compatibility. The shelter cat then donates one kidney-cats, like people, can do fine with just one healthy kidney. The shelter cat is then adopted by the family of the recipient cat, who must agree ahead of time to provide a home for the donor cat for the rest of her life.