SDM-yAy!

Have you noticed any of the following from your pet recently?

• Diarrhoea

• Vomiting

• Increased thirst

• Increased urination

• Decreased appetite

• Weight loss

• Bad breath

Any of the above symptoms could be a potential early indicator that your pet is suffering from kidney disease.

Kidney disease is the inability of your pet’s kidneys to efficiently filter waste products from their blood stream. If gone untreated your pet’s health can rapidly decline, setting off a domino effect of related complications throughout their body, and if left untreated is life threatening.

Due to their age, senior cats and dogs are more prone to experiencing kidney disease and as standard we recommend all pet parents invest in regular testing to monitor blood level changes and allow early intervention from your dedicated veterinarian.

Previous testing, although accurate, meant we could only diagnose kidney disease when at least 70% of kidney function was already lost. Fortunately, there is an early detection test available called an SDMA (symmetric dimethylarginine). The SDMA test can detect a loss in kidney function as little as 40%, buying you, your pet and the veterinarian valuable time to investigate the cause and either stop or slow the disease progression.

To help prevent kidney related issues in your pet the three things you can do from home:

1. Assess and adjust your pets current diet

   • Feed your pet a high quality diet that states ‘complete diet’ on the packaging. Cheap supermarket foods are typically made with poor quality protein like beaks and hide, and are harder to process for the kidneys therefore increasing the rate in which they deteriorate. Purchasing high quality food for your pet is an investment in their long term health and will contribute to the delay in serious disease as they age.

2. Ensure they have clean teeth

   • Dental disease is one of the most common preventable causes of kidney disease in pets. If your pet will tolerate it we recommend brushing your pet's teeth (beef flavoured toothpaste is now available!) to extend the time between required professional cleans performed by your veterinarian. Alternatively (or used in conjunction with teeth brushing) giving your pet uncooked bones and Greenies to chew on (under supervision) can also help reduce the frequency of professional cleans. Chewing bones/Greenies manually removes the build up of plaque and tartar from the teeth. This alternative is often preferred by pet parents whose fur babies aren’t too fond of a toothbrush!

3. Don’t allow them access to toxins that affect the kidneys

   • These include but aren’t limited to grapes, chocolate, onion, garlic, chives and lilies (for cats)

If you are at all concerned about the health of your pets kidneys or own a senior pet that you would like assessed please call us on (03) 9568 2211 and book an appointment with one of our friendly veterinarians for a consultation and personalised advice for you and your pet.