senior cat creatinine slightly high, wait and watch?

We just got the bloodwork results back for our senior cat who started drinking way more water last month. The creatinine is slightly elevated but the vet says we just need to retest in three months. Is that really all you do when the numbers start creeping up?

I feel like I should be doing something more active right now, but I don't want to mess with her diet if it's not necessary. She's still eating well, just seems a bit tired.

Hi there, don't worry too much about being 'active' right this second. When the elevation is slight and the cat is otherwise stable, the standard protocol is indeed to monitor. You can read more about why vets prefer this gap in why the 3 month gap on kidney retests. It’s mostly to avoid over-treating temporary fluctuations while catching real progression early.

Listen, I'm not a vet, but I've seen plenty of people trying to fix everything with herbs and powders. If the number is just barely up, the vet is right to wait. You don't want to change her food or add supplements until you know it's a trend, not a blip. Check out kidney supplements: snake oil or helpful? to see why I think most of that stuff is just expensive pee in a bag.

Oh honey, I know that anxiety! It is so hard to just watch and wait when you love them that much! My Shadow has CKD stage 3 now, and it started with a similar little bump in her numbers. I wish someone had told me that waiting is actually part of the care plan! Make sure she has fresh water available everywhere in the house, though!

The drinking is the main thing to watch. If she's suddenly guzzling more than usual, that's a sign the kidneys are trying to compensate. I covered the basics in senior cat suddenly drinking more water. If the thirst spikes again before the retest, call the vet then. Don't wait the full three months if she's acting weird.

Thank you all. It helps to hear that I'm not doing something wrong by just waiting. She is a 12-year-old domestic shorthair named Patty, and we also have a kitten named Mochi who is 1 mixed breed, so the house is busy. I'll keep an eye on the water bowls. Is there anything specific about hydration you recommend? I read about wet food but she's a bit picky.

Wet food is the gold standard for hydration, yes. If she's picky, try warming it up a little or adding a bit of low-sodium broth. I started a thread about specific diet tweaks in diet tweaks for early kidney stress that might give you some ideas for picky eaters. It's not urgent to switch everything today, but it's a good thing to have in your back pocket for the next few months.

I just posted an update in a follow-up thread because I found a few extra things that seemed relevant to our specific situation. It's not a whole new question, just some more context about what the vet said regarding her heart. Thanks again for the links, especially the one about the retest gap, that really put my mind at ease.