When it come to caring for your cat, I have a few simples recommendations:

• Maintain a safe environment (keep him indoors)

• Feed a high quality food (e.g, a meat based protein)

• Provide lots of affection and exercise 

By following these basic tips, you can help keep your four legged, feline friends healthy potentially for decades! But as cat guardians, you should also be aware of one silent kill in cats. By knowing what the most common silent killer are, you can know what clinical signs to look for. Wit most of these diseases, the sooner the clinical signs are recognized, the sooner we veterinarians can treat.

1• Chronic kidney disease

one of the most silent killers in cats chronic kidney disease (this is sometimes called chronic renal failure or chronic kidney injury). These terms are all semantically the same, and basically mean that 75% of both the kidneys are ineffective and not working. Clinical signs of crd include:

• Excessive drinking 

• Excessive urinating

• Larger clumps in the litter box

• Weight loss

• Lethargy

• Hiding

Thankfully, with appropriateappropriate management, cats can live with CKD for years 

(Unlike dogs where CKD usually progresses more rapidly). Chronic management may include a low protein diet, frequent blood work, increasing water intake (e.g., with a water fountain or feeding a grueled canned food), medications and even fluids under the skin ( which many pet guardians do at home, once properly trained).