any vets? I need the brutal honest truth re prognosis

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My beautiful 4 yr old tabby has been diagnosed with hydronephrosis in her left kidney. the kidney is grossly enlarged (approx 3x by xray) and is getting bigger.

I saw the vet today who has taken blood for U&E's and we discussed the probability of a nephrectomy early next week. what I want to know is how will this condition affect her longevity (roughly) and what is, in your experience, the long term prognosis for a young(ish) cat with this condition? I have tried to research this on the internet but the only information I can find talks about renal failure in older cats.
Any information greatly received

anybody?

I found this on one website - talking about cats and dogs:

An animal can live a normal life span with a single kidney providing that the remaining one has normal function
Indications to remove a kidney include
tumors
severe cystic disease
severe infection
obstruction of the ureter which has destroyed the kidney

As a cat lover myself, I do hope your cat comes through this ok - but from what I have just read, it seems positive

Thank you PJC that info is very reassuring.

I should imagine its like humans really - we can cope with just one kidney, providing the other one is in good health etc. One thing you prob would have to watch would be the diet as with one kidney, you wouldn't want to overload with too much salt etc...

I'm not a vet btw! Just love my cats...DH won't let me have one..

How is she now?

She is fine, you wouldn't know there is anything wrong with her which is why it has been such a hard decision to have the offending kidney removed. However, it is for the best in the longterm I think. She is lovely

aw, I would go with what your vet says.
good luck

I'm a vet - provided her other kidney is working fine with no signs of problems then yes at her age I would say she has got a very good chance or a reasonable life span with a quality of life. Cats are quite susceptible to kidney failure as they get older, and having only one kidney later in life does mean she has less reserves later on compared to other cats with two kidneys, so it could be anticipated she will be more likely to have problems later on in life, but that is not a reason to not go ahead in a young cat with a second healthy kidney, and it does not mean that it will happen later in life either. If it was my cat I would be very happy to proceed with the surgery.

Beautiful - aww, would have loved to have been a vet but didn't make the grades

Thank you beautifulgirls, your advice is greatly appreciated. Surgery is booked for Monday morning.

Oh do let us know how she gets on Mon eve if you can...aww, give her a cuddle from me...

Yes, definately come and update us when you can. I expect she will be staying in for a day or two at least though.
Good luck

PJC - I do mostly love my job. Like all jobs there is good and bad, but on balance it is nice to be able to make a difference in so many cases. I decided when I was 4 that was what I was going to do......the rest is history!

Picture - how did puss get on today?

Well, the operation went well. When they opened her up they found that the left kidney was non functioning. It was like a bag of urine and just getting bigger so the op was definitely the way forward. She is home now, tummy stapled together, desperate to go out (doesn't like litter trays) and seems just like her old self. I nearly fainted at the bill ...note to self, get pet insurance in future.

Glad it went okay - get well soon to her

Aww glad it went ok! Sending virtual smoked salmon to pamper the Puss!

so glad she is home and it all went well.