And even if you did drain all of them, they would fill up with fluid again.” So the only feasible approach to managing the condition, he points out, is the same as that recommended for addressing kidney failure in general-a combination of diet control, fluid therapy, and certain medications that are prescribed by a veterinarian. “But there usually are so many cysts,” he notes, “that this is not a viable option. Goldstein, that cysts within the kidney could be drained with a needle in a procedure guided by ultrasound imaging. So the only way to get a definitive diagnosis is by using ultrasound.” You can run a genetic test, but that won’t tell you how seriously the cat is affected. “It’s not like there’s a cluster of grapes inside the kidney,” he points out, “so you usually can’t feel the cysts by themselves. Goldstein: increased drinking and urination diminished appetite and weight loss nausea and vomiting and lethargy. The clinical signs of this condition are typically the same as those associated with kidney disease in general, says Dr. Clinical signs of polycystic kidney disease are most often recognized in cats that are seven years of age or so, although the disorder may be diagnosed in patients that are several years younger or older than that.
The growths in a mature cat typically range in size from less than one millimeter to more than a centimeter in diameter. The number of these cysts varies from cat to cat, as does their size and the rate at which they grow within the kidney. In an affected cat, the cysts are present at birth and, though minuscule, may be diagnosed in kittens as young as six months of age. When you examine the animal, the kidney will seem to be unusually large, but you may not be able to actually feel the stones because they’re on the interior wall of the organ.” Eventually, however, the cysts may become so large that their bulging distends the kidney’s surface and can be felt during the course of a veterinary examination. “In an advanced stage of the condition, it’s possible for the sacs to become so large and numerous that you can actually see the kidney’s outline when an affected cat is lying on its back. “You can have one large cyst or 30 or more small cysts,” says Richard Goldstein, DVM, associate professor of small animal medicine at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. There is no explanation for the development of these cysts except for a genetic anomaly that is evident primarily in Persians and occasionally in a few other feline breeds, such as Himalayans and British Shorthairs. These sacs (cysts) tend to multiply in number and grow in size over time, eventually overwhelming normal kidney tissue and often leading to potentially fatal kidney failure. Occurring most frequently in Persian cats, polycystic kidney disease is an inherited disorder in which small, closed, liquid-filled sacs develop in the tissue of the feline kidney. Video: Cat Owner's Guide to Kidney Disease
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