Feline Renal Lymphoma

"Feline renal lymphoma is also knows as cancer of the kidneys. The disease has many related symptoms which often lead to diagnosis after the disease has progressed. Treatment involves chemotherapy and supportive care."  

Cat renal lymphoma is cancer of the kidneys. It may be a primary cancer, meaning that it began in the kidney, or a secondary cancer, meaning that it began somewhere else and spread to the kidney.

Feline Renal Lymphoma Symptoms

Symptoms of cat renal lymphoma are similar to those of any kidney disease, and include:

• Poor appetite

• Weight loss

• Increased urine production

• Increased thirst and altered drinking habits- this is caused by the increased urine output, and may cause your cat to start drinking from odd places, such as the toilet

• Bad breath

• Vomiting

• Depression
  

These are all things you should take your cat to the vet for. You may not realize that you should take your cat to the vet for bad breath, by the way, but bad breath is often a symptom of illness. At the very least, it is a symptom of dental problems, but it often indicates internal problems.

Unfortunately, symptoms of feline renal lymphoma often do not show up until the disease is quite advanced. Cats can function normally until one kidney is completely devastated and the other is one-third dysfunctional. Take your cat to the vet as soon as symptoms arise, though, because the earlier the disease is caught, the better the prognosis will be.

Diagnosing Feline Renal Lymphoma

Your vet will do some blood tests and a urinalysis, which will indicate that your cat’s kidneys are not functioning properly. He or she will then take x-rays and probably do an ultrasound, which will show the tumor on the kidney or kidneys. A biopsy can be taken to give more information about the type of cancer you are dealing with.

Treatment for Feline Renal Lymphoma

Cat renal lymphoma is usually treated with multiple chemotherapy drugs (called the multi drug COP protocol) including cyclophosphamide, prednisone, vincristine, prednisolone and chlorambucil. Some success has been seen with this protocol in achieving remission for a period of 8 months. It the disease returns it is very difficult to get a second remission. Usually the additional chemotherapy drugs doxorubicin and/or l-asparaginase are used when trying a second time.

Given the short duration you might choose to only treat the symptoms of renal lymphoma to keep your cat comfortable.

Supportive care is aimed at keeping your cat as comfortable as possible. It treats the symptoms of the disease rather than trying to cure it.

Supportive care may involve making changes to your cat’s diet. Studies show that good nutrition will help extend the life of your cat during treatment. The amount of protein, as well as certain vitamins and minerals, in your cat’s diet must be carefully monitored. Your vet will help you plan your cat’s diet. Lack of appetite is a common symptom of feline renal lymphoma, so you may need to encourage your cat to eat. One consideration are natural remedies that provide supportive care for cats with kidney disease and cancer. One product to research which is made for this purpose is PetAlive Kidney Support.

You’ll also need to make sure your cat has fresh water available at all times.

Medications can be prescribed to help with certain symptoms, such as vomiting, anemia, and loss of appetite. Let your vet know about any symptoms your cat is experiencing, and ask if there are medications that can treat the symptoms.

At some point, supportive care will not be enough and you will need to consider your cat’s comfort level and quality of life. It will be time to consider euthanasia.

Renal Lymphoma Sample Clinical Studies

Sources:

Feline Lymphomas and Leukemias
E. Gregory MacEwen

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