“Dogs are not our whole lives, but they make our lives whole.”
—Roger Caras, former President ASPCA

“A meow massages the heart.”
—Stuart McMillan

Kidney Infections

Definition

The major function of the kidneys is to eliminate wastes and toxins from the body. When the kidneys are not working properly, these substances will accumulate and affect your pet’s health. Each kidney is made up of about one million filtering units called nephrons. This is far in excess of the number required for the kidneys to perform their normal function, so there is plenty of “reserve” capacity.

If your dog or cat develops a kidney infection, it can still maintain normal kidney function until this “reserve” capacity is used up. This means that most kidney infections can go undetected for sometime until it is fairly advanced.

Bacteria can make itself at home anywhere in the urinary tract…bladder, kidneys, or urethra (the tube through which urine flows). When the bacteria multiplies to large enough numbers, painful infections can occur. If your animal does have a kidney infection, your veterinarian will most likely prescribe oral antibiotics which will relieve the infection in 1-2 weeks. Encouraging your pet to drink more fluids will help flush the bacteria out of the urinary tract.

Symptoms

• “Squatting” numerous times but not urinating
• Pain when the kidney area is palpitated
• Appearing listless or depressed
• Loss of interest in food
• Weight loss
• Blood in the urine

How using ThePetCheckup regularly can help

If you notice any changes in your pet’s normal urinary habits, bring him/her to your veterinarian for a checkup. But in-between routine veterinary visits, using ThePetCheckup at home (we recommend every month) will help you to catch a kidney infection when it is still small and easily treatable. As with any infection, prompt treatment is needed to keep the infection from getting any worse. If left untreated, a kidney infection can turn into a serious health problem.

ThePetCheckup is an easy to use at-home, urinalysis health screen that helps you to get veterinary care at an early stage for kidney, urinary and bacterial infections. The same urinalysis test materials that are commonly used in veterinary clinics are now specially packaged for you to use at home so that you can now provide this new level of care for you dogs and cats.