Hmmmmmm Fantabulous, is dat a word? Oh, Meowllo evewypawdy, hope yous had a gweat Monday. Let me tell ya’ we finally went to bed fwum Sunday at 7 am Monday meownin’. And then we wuz back up at 9 cuz mommy had hers mumffly doctows pointment. So it wuz a busy day as always and then when we got home mommy cwashed. Her kuldn’t even answer da emails cuz she kuldn’t keep hers eyes open. This wuz pawtly cuz she took da day off Sunday to spend wiff us and so she wuz up late duin’ da wesearch fur ow posty yesfurday. Dat bein’ sed, weez gunna lightin’ da load fur her today and post a fwivolous fun posty. Wecently meez sweet furiends Shoko and Kali fwum da Canadian Cats had their fotos dwawn by a pawsum awtist, Thomas Dalsgaard Clausen, wiff a bloggy here. Well we went over to tell him what a gweat job hims did and he wuz askin’ ifin me wanted meez foto dun. Well of course me did, and mommy fur sure did. So, what do ya’ fink? Da furst foto is da owiginal we sent hims. Me finks it’s gweat and weez be vewy impurressed. We fink hims caught meez essence purrfectly. Hims sed it wuz dictator like. Do ya’ fink dat sounds like me? Purrawlly when it comes to da pawdee box fur sure. MOL A meowsy big fank ya’ fur dwawin’ me. Now head on ovew to One Drawing Daily and check out his udder pawsum works. And meez still twyin’ to keep up wiff da bloggin’ A to Z challenge.
Meowllo evewypawdy, we hope you had a wunnewful Easter weekend. Mommy took most of da day off yesfurday to spend wiff Lexi and me. Weez even got a little supwise fur ya’ later on. Now ifin yous member weez joined up wiff da Bloggin’ A to Z challenge fur this mumff and we left off wiff da letter D fur me. So dat means today is E’s day. And we told ya’ we wuld be writin’ ‘bout da test dat da doctow used to diagnose sis Lexi’s kidney disease. Ifin yous missed ow udder posties on Kidney disease yous can wead them here at The 3 A’s and B is fur…. So wiffout further adieu let’s get this show, or post on da road as they say.
Heska E.R.D. – Health Screen Feline Urine Test is a tool that can be used to help diagnose Kidney disease in not only cats, but there are also tests for canines and humans. It is a rapid immunoassay that detects low levels of albumin in the urine. It is specific and easy to use, and only takes about 5 – 10 minutes and requires only a small amount of urine. It is intended to be done in house for quick results. It is said to be able to detect the lowest levels of microalbuminuria in the urine, thus resulting in diagnosing at approximately 25 % of kidney function loss. Early detection, means longer life possibility and more management opportunities.
Kidney Disease is the number 2 cause of death in pet cats. And in the past it’s detection went undiagnosed until symptoms started appearing. A few of those symptoms are prolific drinking, and therefore an increase in urination, weight loss, reduction of appetite and bad breath. By the time symptoms appear typically kidney function has been decreased by 65 % in canines and 75 % in felines. At which point the assumption is the condition can’t be reversed, only managed as it progresses. So early detection could mean reversal and prolonged life for your cat or dog.
While the Heska E.R.D. is a wonderful tool used in the early detection of albumin in the urine, it is important to remember that there are other causes for those results and further testing should be done to confirm the proper diagnosis. Again you can read our previous posts by clicking the links above for more information on the importance of other testing and types. It is important to know that the method of urine collection can have an effect on the outcome of results. Urine can become contaminated very easily therefore the preferred method of collection is through Cystocentesis. This is where a doctor inserts a small needle through the skin and into the bladder to withdraw the sample. As horrible as it sounds there is little to no pain associated with this method and can be done quickly without anesthesia.
So Lexi has now had a general urinalysis that led to the E.R.D. where she was diagnosed with Kidney disease. We believe the fact that she was 15 led our VET make that diagnosis without further testing. And altho’ he was correct, we do think it was a bit unprofessional because the presence of albumin in the urine can also be caused by inflammatory, infectious or metabolic diseases. Further testing is and was required to properly diagnose and formulate a plan of treatment. So early detection of albumin in the urine is a great step in feline medicine and a great tool for early detection of a deadly disease. Just remember further testing is always a good idea. If there are underlying problems such as diabetes, IBD, dental disease, etc., the E.R.D. should be repeated 4 weeks after treatment to determine if albumin is still present.
Well we hope we shed a little mowe light on da scawy subject of Kidney disease. And now fur da supwise we purromissed. And we hope you enjoyed da fotos featurin’ sissy today. Ain’t she just bootyful? While playin’ yesfurday mommy wuz able to get a little video of sis Lexi havin’ a good time. She’s fixin’ to be 16 years old da 29ff of this mumff, and meez gotta tell ya’, meez sissy…she’s still got it. Fanks fur all yous luv and supppowt and purrayers. Kidney disease or no, meez sissy is da bestest!!!
Ifin you can’t see da video, purrlease click here.
Meowllo evewyawdy it’s anudder session of Blest Sunday. But not just any blest Sunday, no, this is also Easter Sunday. So of course ow biggest Blessin’ today and always is dat Jesus gave His life fur evewyone and rose again and lives so dat evewypawdy dat believes on Him can be saved. As we told ya’ yesfurday sissy had a weally bad weekend. Well fanks fur all yous purrayers cuz she ate a purretty good dinner last night and wuz able to keep it down. So a big WooHoo fur dat. Sissy be duin’ okay and me is okay too but mommy sed weez gunna take da day off so her can sppend da day playin’ wiff us and luvvin’ on us. But we did want ya’ to know dat it’s not cuz anypawdy be…you know; Weez okay. We have been blest wiff all of you who unnewstand mommy wantin’ to spend a day wiff us. It’s turned cold again so weez purrawlly not goin’ fur any stwolls. we went out da udder day and nearly furoze, so mommy learned hers lesson. Stead of lookin’ at da sunshine, check da wedder. MOL Anyways, we wanna wemind ya’ dat we will be back tomowwo wiff an explanation ‘bout da ERD test dat can be used to help determine CKD early. Now here’s to a happy and blest Easter.
Meowllo evewypawdy today is da letter D in da Bloggin’ A to Z Challenge. And yous all know dat me kuldn’t let this day go by wiffout a lot of fotos of mommy’s favowit D, ME!!! Yep since meez name is Deztinee, me be mommys favowit D. So meez gunna join up wiff Athena fur Caturday Awt and show off da D in ow house. Me wants to wemind you all dat Monday weez’ll be addwessin’ da new test fur Kidney Disease dat wuz used to diagnose sis Lexi. And altho’ today is D day fur me we do wanna let ya’ know dat on top of evewyfin’ else it’s been a kupple weally wuff days fur sissy so ifin yous kuld send up sum purrayers we sure wuld purreciate it. She’s not been eatin’ very good and this meownin’ she fwu up quite a foo times. Now, on wiff da show.
Service Cats U.S. 