Cats who eventually die of natural causes are very likely to succumb to kidney disease. Some estimates say that 10% of cats over ten years old have some dysfunction in their kidneys, although those estimates can go up to 50% depending on the scientist and the parameters of the question.
So when recent headlines said things about doubling a cat's life span, they are talking about preventing or reversing kidney failure to raise the average lifespan of cats. Now, be aware that such a headline doesn't mean all cats, because it doesn't take accidents, violence, or neglect into account. Also, while eliminating a common natural cause of death will extend the average lifespan of cats, it doesn't tell us anything about the lifespan of any particular cat that doesn't develop kidney disease. Plus, we don't know how long cats could live if kidney disease were eliminated. Those cats could run into other age-related problems we haven't considered yet.
But the news is still good. Any extra time with out beloved pets is good news, and besides that, the research has implications for the battle against human kidney failure, too. Hank Green explains what happened and what we've learned about battling cat kidney disease.
When I lived in Midland, Texas, during the 1980's, it was common knowledge there that one did NOT give cats drinking water from the tap, as it contained way too much dissolved salts that would wreck their kidneys. This area, known as the Permian Basin, was once the Permian Sea, and the groundwater still contains a lot of the salt and minerals once found in that sea. I used to make ice cubes with that tap water and they looked like frozen milk.
ReplyDeleteSo, to help out your felines, give them bottled water. Their kidneys will thank you.