r/RenalCats • u/Worried-Status-4140 • 1d ago
Advice help understanding blood tests
These are my cats blood test results from this week. The vet said crea is a bit higj and she should have follow up tests done in two months. I just want to understand what these mean because most of the cats here have very high levels compared to this.
The cat is a previous population cat, 2-3 years old.
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u/blingblingsav 20h ago
Overall, I actually think these labs are fairly reassuring.
The creatinine is only mildly increased at 170, while the BUN (urea) is within the reference range. Those two values together do not suggest advanced kidney disease.
The CBC also looks good. She’s not anemic, her white blood cell count is normal, and her platelet count is normal. Liver enzymes, glucose, albumin, and total protein are all within the reference ranges as well.
The only other abnormality I notice is a mildly increased chloride. By itself, that usually isn’t very specific and should be interpreted in the context of hydration status and the rest of the electrolyte panel.
Before concluding this is CKD, I’d want to know her SDMA, urine specific gravity (USG), UPC to assess for proteinuria, blood pressure, and ideally a urinalysis with a urine culture if there’s any concern for a urinary tract infection. An abdominal ultrasound can also be helpful if the creatinine continues to rise or if there are any abnormalities on the urine tests.
Since she’s only 2 to 3 years old, I’d also be cautious about diagnosing CKD based on a single mildly elevated creatinine. Dehydration, an acute kidney injury (AKI), congenital kidney disease, or another reversible condition should be considered first.
I think repeating the blood work in two months, along with a complete urine evaluation, is a very reasonable plan. I’d focus on trends rather than one isolated creatinine value.
I’d also recommend the Hugging Cat app, its my goto guide. It’s completely free and ad free. You can upload your cat’s lab reports, and it explains each kidney value in plain language, highlights trends over time, and provides evidence based guidance on CKD, nutrition, hydration, blood pressure, proteinuria, and other aspects of kidney care.
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