Kidney disease in dogs and cats
Kidney failure... kidney disease in the dog and cat is a common and difficult disorder to manage.
Often called CRF... Chronic Renal Failure, it is seen most often in the older dog or cat. Kidney failure has it origins in a wide variety of causes. For example, some animals are born with poorly constructed or functioning kidneys and never reach totally optimum health. Eventually, these individuals usually fall into kidney failure at an early age. Another type of kidney failure can occur after accidental ingestion of antifreeze that contains ethylene glycol.
These situations cause sudden and often irreversible renal (kidney) failure. Quite commonly, kidney failure results from low grade, long term (chronic) inflammation of kidney tissues called chronic nephritis; the damage caused by this inflammation renders permanent damage to delicate renal tissues that are not able to repair themselves or heal as some other body tissues do. Eventually, not enough normal functioning tissue remains to support the body's need for metabolic regulation and waste elimination. The dog or cat becomes UREMIC, a condition where body waste material builds up in the blood. These toxins promote vomiting, poor appetite, depression, and eventually death. Bacterial invasion of the kidneys is a common cause of chronic nephritis and kidney failure.
The kidneys receive about 20 percent of the heart's blood output and play a vital role in keeping the dog or cat in normal metabolic balance. The glomerular blood vessels have a large endothelial surface which allows for the active and passive transport of many chemicals into and out of the kidneys.



A highly complicated disease entity,
diabetes has been classified according to what pathway of energy metabolism has
been disrupted.
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