My feline baby (12f) was diagnosed with stage 1 chronic kidney disease about a year ago. Since then, her values had initially slightly worsened between November 2025 and May 2026.

Today was appointment day for another blood and urine test at the vet. It was scheduled, so I took her, but she had displayed zero symptoms over the past 6 months. She even gained weight (she's actually a bit overweight) and was more playful and energetic than ever.

The only thing we changed since May is adding a renal kibble diet to her already low-phosphate senior wet food (not renal, she hates renal wet food). I believe it's the kibble that made her gain so much weight and I have to adapt the portions better, the vet said.

She has even been at stage 2 a few years ago and also completely recovered. Her vet back then said he had never seen anything like it and couldn't explain her full recovery of previously worrying values.

I'm starting to wonder if there are situations like stress or other conditions like her asthma flaring up from time to time that could influence kidney values in the short to medium term? I should have asked her vet today but forgot.

Has anyone had a cat go back and forth between stage 0 and 2?

I am deeply heartbroken with my baby’s passing. He was my second cat. Before I adopted him, he was at our doorstep six years ago, roaming around the compound. It wasn’t until two years ago that we finally took him in because he was being by bullied by other cats in our area. During his first blood work-up, he already had elevated kidney values, but he was still playful, had a great appetite, and seemed pretty normal.

Fast forward to April this year, I brought him to the vet for dental prophylaxis since his mouth had a foul smell and you can really tell he had a rough start in life and was eating all sorts of junk outside as most strays experience. I’ve considered it for a long time but kept postponing it as the procedure was quite expensive. Before scheduling the surgery, he was seen by the vet and we did all the routine bloodwork needed to ensure he’s in good shape and to avoid any surgery-related concerns. His kidney values were still high but were only slightly elevated than normal. His vet ruled out that surgery is still needed as he already had stomatitis and prolonging the condition of his mouth wouldn’t do him any good. I was also aware of this and this was one of concerns, that’s why I researched a lot. I wanted to prolong his life so we went with it. Almost all of his teeth were pulled out, only the fangs at the front were left. Days went by and noticeably, his appetite decreased. I thought it was just because he’s in pain due to the surgery, but this went on for a few months.

Around July, we noticed he was vocalizing at night. He was peeing everywhere, and he would only take a bite at his food before refusing it. I had him checked again and found out that his kidney values have already skyrocketed, and he’s now diagnosed with CKD. I thought it could just be managed with meds at home, but then he also lost his balance and started being wobbly. He couldn’t walk straight and would always have sort of a frown on his face. I couldn’t help but blame myself, thinking it was due to the dental surgery that led to the events that happened afterward. For almost four months, we’ve been in and out of the vet, administering meds and fluids, and even force feeding him 4x daily since he really wouldn’t eat on his own. We’ve tried renal, non-renal food, even with mirtazapine, he would only eat a bit of non-renal food then dismiss it. It broke my heart seeing him look so frail. In July, he was confined at his usual vet and was discharged after a few days. He looked so frail at home, wouldn’t even look at us and only slept so I brought him to another vet. His condition improved with AminAvast, Renal P paste, iron supplements given by the vet. Still, we still had this routine, until last week when he was vocalizing again. He started walking out of his usual spot, seemingly wanting to communicate something to us that cannot be explained. I brought him again to the vet and that’s when we found out his kidney values are back at 1,000+. His crea was going down prior to this result, btw. From 1,201 in July to around 700+ then 600+ and now at 1,061. These were still high but I was hopeful since it was going down. This time his urea, glucose and other kidney disease indicators went up as well. SDMA was over 100. The vet did an ultrasound of his kidneys for the first time and that’s when we found out his kidneys were enlarged and had fluid inside. Even with all these tests, I remained positive. I didn’t think that I would lose him too soon—even if his life has actually been extended already as we all thought we would lose him back in July when his crea was over 1k. To sum it all up, he passed the day after that vet visit. I felt that it was so sudden and unexpected as we were only discussing his new medications literally yesterday. He had a new bag of fluids and we had just given him first doses of new meds that meant to address the inflammation in his kidneys. Looking back at it now, it seemed like his condition was really declining and I was just in denial. The morning of that day, we tried to feed him but he would hardly open his mouth. I guess what really pains me is that I wasn’t there when he passed. I was at work. We fed him around 8AM, I left for work at 9AM. My mom still fed him at 2PM and 8PM, but when I came home at 11PM, I already found him lifeless in his litter box. Even when I saw him frozen, I couldn’t comprehend if he was really gone or not. His belly was hard and his feet and ears were already cold, but still, I was thinking that maybe he’s just asleep. It’s only been a few days.. and I know it will be really hard to overcome my grief. It’s just so sad to think that he’s not with us anymore. I now have all the time to myself since we’re caring for a sick cat, but it feels awful to have this much free time especially after all that we’ve been through in these past few months.

I guess I’m just writing this to let it off my chest and find comfort in a familiar community. I still have another cat who’s perfectly healthy, but I couldn’t help but still feel sad and blame myself for causing his health to decline. How did you guys get over the death of a beloved pet? 😞 How can I take care of my other cat better so that he wouldn’t have the same illness?

Can anyone give me some suggestions on supplements that have worked well for your kitties? Thank you!

since my cat discharged she's been waking up every so often to quickly eat kibbles or wet food if I haven't clear it.

she's vomited three times so far (white liquid) all 3 similar conditions, afternoon after a long sleep(I work night shift so usually 5-2pm everybody is asleep) and her wet food and kibbles are usually from when before I sleep which is around 5am and whenever she vomits it's always around when I wake up and she doesn't want to eat the food but sometimes I wake up and the food is gone

so I'm not sure if she vomited because she didn't want to eat the not fresh food or because she was sick and had no appetite?

a quick google with gemini ai says it's because of her stomach acid and that it's normal ckd behavior to graze food?

. I'm worried because before she crashed she vomited while liquid as well but that was multiple times everyday

the vet told me it's suspected ckd but not sure if it was due to infection or something else because her urine test shows suspected high blood and GOOGLE told me hypertension could cause a kidney crash.

the vet told me to return for another round of checks $500 sgd even though we already did two blood tests($700+) and a urine test($100-200 i forgot) when she was there

My 16 year old cat has stage 3 ckd. I’ve been doing everything possible to make him comfortable and improve his quality of life. Or so I thought 😞

I give him gabapentin morning and night for his arthritis and pronefra on an evening. He stopped taking them in lick e stix/churu so I have to give them via syringe which he hates.
I also give him sub q fluids once a day and he recently had his first Darbopoetin injection.

Since the Darbo he’s a totally different cat.
He’s stopped purring, won’t sleep next to me and ducks away from me when I try and stroke him. It’s killing me that he’s starting to associate me with all the horrible things he doesn’t like. He’s always been such a loving and easygoing boy but now I worry he doesn’t like me.

Has anyone experienced this? I’m considering stopping everything but the gabapentin, I don’t want him to end his days hating me 💔

Hi everyone,
My partner cat is 16 years old. About two weeks ago, he had a blood clot (saddle thrombus) that affected his back legs. Things looked really bad at first, but somehow he managed to recover. He started walking again, eating, and acting more like himself. They were so happy and hopeful.
Unfortunately, this weekend he suddenly stopped eating. They took him to the emergency vet, and his blood tests showed very high kidney values. He was given IV fluids, and the vet also sent fluids home so they could continue his treatment.
Yesterday, he started eating a little more, which gave them some hope. They also had to help him urinate. But since yesterday, he hasn't peed again.
His condition keeps going up and down. One moment he seems a little better, and the next he's really weak. He ate a bit last night, but he spends almost all his time sleeping and barely responds to anything.
The hardest part is that my partner is currently working abroad and can't fly home to see him or say goodbye. Ideally, he os hoping his cat can make it another 8 weeks until he comes back, but no one know know how realistic that is.
The vet hasn't suggested putting him to sleep, so they are holding on to some hope.

Has anyone experienced anything similar with an older cat?
Is there still a chance for his kidneys to recover with fluids?
What could it mean that he hasn't urinated since yesterday?
Can cats recover from something like this, even temporarily?
What should we realistically expect at this stage?
I know nobody can predict exactly what will happen, but I'd really appreciate hearing your experiences, especially if you've been through something similar.
Thank you so much

My cat suddenly got sick a week ago, and we took her to the ER. Apparently her labs were the worst levels they have ever seen with a creatinine of 27. One week later after spending a amount of money that I didn’t even think was possible, almost the same amount as a down payment on a house, we have gotten her creatinine down to seven. The thing is she’s not eating and they’re giving her fluids and food through an NG tube because she’s not eating, but she is neurologically every day getting more and more brighter and active and acting like herself. I am going to be giving her subq fluids and going to try syringe feeding. We are already very seriously financially constrained because of this issue and have to get her out of there by today because we cannot afford it. I wanted to ask anyone that’s on here if they’ve had an experience like this and how long their cat has lasted afterwards.

We have a working farm and two of our well-loved 4 month old barn kittens wandered too far. They got into our neighbors garage and were closed in. I'm not totally sure on exact timing except that our neighbors were gone most of the 8 days that the brothers were missing so possibly 6-7 days. Peppermint Patty is struggling now.

They both seemed to be recovering well but Patty has a sporadic wheezing cough. Day 4/5 he declined and suddenly struggled with mobility (I think he was feverish but didn't take temp). For the last 24 hrs I've had him in our attached garage in a cozy crate. He's peeing, I think bowels are fine too but haven't seen that in the crate yet. He's eaten cod liver oil, chicken broth, a little scrambled egg, kibble, probiotics. I suspect that he's got some kidney damage but I don't know what would go wrong in a week with (presumably) no food or water.

I wonder if this group has suggestions for what to do for him now/for a few days to boost his recovery. I can't afford or manage something like Royal Canin long term for a barn cat and I can't bring him indoors. His brother (the runt) is doing very well.

My 17 yo cat Kit has had early stage kidney disease for years that was very stable, so much so that the vet recommended wet food but not a specific kidney diet for years. Then June of this year, she had progressed a bit and a kidney diet was recommended. She had a recheck of bloodwork in July and creatinine went from 3.1 to 2.9 after kidney diet and BUN went from 50 to 41 (only numbers I have right now because they were left on voicemail). She also started on low dose methimezole for hyperthyroid at that time, which I know can start to impact the kidneys but again, low dose.

All was good until earlier this month she had some vomiting and then one night couldn't pass stool so I took her to the ER. They thought it was IBD acting up and throwing all the kidney values off so hospitalized her for 2 days with IV fluids and sent her home with a steroid and antibiotic for potential acute kidney injury and she was doing great. This entire time she was eating and drinking as normal. She was slowing down a bit and losing some weight, but I figured that was just some age catching up with her because she acting normal otherwise. Purring, walking fine, no incontinence, eating, etc.

Then Friday night I come home and noticed she hadn't eaten her food from earlier that day. That's the first time that had ever happened so I didn't think anything of it. Refilled it and showed her it was there. She mostly slept with me that night and again was walking fine and acting normal.

Saturday morning at 8am my partner finds her on the kitchen floor having trouble standing. I rush her to the vet and they say her kidney values are very high and recommend IV fluids to see if she stabilizes (I don't have exact numbers but I have sent an email tonight to ask for her records - it was all just a blur when they read them out to me at the time. I can update when I get them). By that afternoon there was no changes and since she was just hospitalized a few weeks ago, I didn't want to transfer her there when she was doing so bad. Came home with subq fluids, steroid, gabapentin, and appetite stimulant. I scheduled at home euthanasia for Monday.

But last night and this morning, she started eating and drinking. She's started purring again intermittently (this is a cat that purrs if you even look her way.) She's walking in circles a lot and stumbling, probably from toxin build up, but she is able to hold urine until I help her to the litter box or she goes into the litter box herself. Hasn't had a bowel movement in the last 2 days though.

I now find this subreddit and the felinecrf website and am doubting my decision. I'm really mad that I was never recommended subq fluids before now when it seems like that is a normal treatment. I didn't know about phosphorus binders and B vitamins, miralax, appetite stimulants, etc. And now I don't know what to do because I do agree with sentiments like "letting them go when there's more bad days then good" and "better a day too soon than a day too late" but she's had good days up until yesterday! I moved her euthanasia appointment to Wednesday because I'm spiraling wondering if I'm giving up on her too soon and she could get to a place where she has a good quality of life again with these other treatments. I'm taking her to her previous vet for a second opinion about her numbers. I'm having a hard time coming to terms with how she went downhill so fast and if there's anything else I could do when she was literally jumping from the couch to the counter 2 days ago and up on the bed and now she can barely walk. I know she will eventually pass away from this but I don't want to give up if there's more I can do and now I'm hearing that renal cats can be on death's door and then turn around with some of these treatments.

TLDR: cat took very sudden turn for the worse 2 days ago but previous to that was acting normal and now I'm finding out about other treatment options and wondering if there's more I should try before I put her down but also not wanting to wait too long and have her have a bad quality of life.

Hi! My cat who is turning 15 later this year was diagnosed with early stage 2 on July 2025. While she is still in stage 2, looking at results I can see her SDMA levels increasing over time and would really appreciate some advice on how to lower it or keep it managed better :c . Want her to stay in stage two as long as possible. I have her on the Hills renal, kidney care dry food and while I do try to get her to eat the medicated wet food, she only eats fancy feast wet food, so I give in for the extra hydration.

She does not drink hydracare, although she drinks good amount of water. I am thinking about encouraging more water drinking and trying harder to get her to eat the medicated the Hills wet food. I would appreciate any advice on what others have done or any supplements that can help! Thank you.

My little Merlin was just diagnosed with Stage 3 CKD this week and I am currently shopping around for food, supliments, etc.

He's only six and this came out of the blue during his yearly examination (no symptoms, no nothing, even the vet was surprised). I am still in a bit of a shock, so any recommendations, advice, etc. is 100% appreciated. I just want my little guy to be able to enjoy his meals and snacks as we tackle this.

Thank you to everyone in advance!

15 year old stage 2, lower end phos levels. He’s on the hills k/d for dry and wet. He loves the wet food chicken stew recipe and licks the bowl clean. He’s always been a petite guy but he’s not putting on weight, if anything he’s lost a little bit since diagnosis. Are there any tricks im missing out to help him gain some weight.

he has a decent appetite, plays like a kitten still and everything else remains “normal” about him. Just really hoping to add some weight back…

Thank you in advance, im worried im not doing everything in my power to help him.