Kidney Disease Explained

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Kidney disease involves any insult to the kidneys. If the insult continues, the kidneys can experience failure. Kidney failure can be divided into either acute kidney failure or chronic kidney failure.

Acute kidney failure can occur in dogs and cats of any age, although most commonly younger pets are affected. Acute kidney failure can occur from a number of causes. Prerenal causes (not directly involving damage to the kidney) of acute kidney failure include low blood pressure, low blood volume, heart failure, and certain medications such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications and ACE inhibitors such as enalapril, a drug marketed as Enacard used for pets with heart disease. Renal causes (involving direct damage to the kidneys) of acute kidney failure include intrinsic kidney diseases, toxins that directly attack the kidneys (such as antifreeze poisoning or aminoglycoside antibiotics), cancer of the kidney, kidney trauma (kidney stones, direct trauma), congenital disorders (polycystic kidney disease, renal cortical hypoplasia), and infections (leptospirosis in dogs, feline infectious peritonitis in cats). Postrenal causes (involving a blockage of urine outflow from the kidneys or bladder) of acute kidney failure include bladder stones, urethral stones, bladder cancer, and feline lower urinary tract disease (including urinary tract obstruction that is most commonly seen in male cats).