Unfortunately, we cannot cure chronic kidney disease but we can absolutely manage it. The definition of CKD is that we have lost functional use of the kidney due to scar tissue, nephron loss, etc.

Contrast that with acute kidney disease which is where the kidneys suddenly cannot perform their necessary functions. This leads to rapid buildup of waste products and may be curable. The issue is that, in many cases, acute kidney disease can cause permanent damage to the kidneys and can lead into a chronic form of the disease.

I should add in that there that there is an option of kidney transplant in cats. It has had some decent results and could be considered a cure of kidney disease. However, please keep in mind that this is a heavily involved process and is very costly. A great resource that I recommend is contacting the University Veterinary Hospital in your area if this is something you might be interested in.

We can also manage CKD with dietary therapy and treatments to manage the side effects of the disease that includes symptoms like; dehydration, nausea, pain, etc.

-Dr. B