why the 3 month gap on kidney retests

My vet told me to wait three months before retesting Holly’s kidney markers because they are slightly elevated. She’s 8 and on thyroid meds too. I understand we don't want to over-test, but why such a long gap? If it’s creeping up, isn't waiting risky? I feel like I'm just staring at the wall hoping nothing happens.

I get the anxiety, Sharon. With Bella, my 7-year-old DSH, we are in stage 1 CKD. The vet explained that kidney values fluctuate wildly based on hydration and stress. One bad day at the clinic can spike the numbers. They wait to see if it’s a trend or just a blip. You can look at the trends in Reading the fine print on bloodwork which has a lot of good info on what those numbers actually mean.

Honestly I think it's just to save money. My cat Salsa is 4 and healthy but they still want annual bloodwork. If I had to go every month I'd be broke. See The bill keeps getting bigger for my rant on this. But yeah, maybe the vet knows something we don't about the variance?

I am so new to this. My Milo is 8 and has thyroid issues like Holly. I am worried that the meds are messing with the kidneys. Is it possible the thyroid treatment is causing the elevation? I found a thread on Thyroid meds and the rest of the body that might help explain the interaction. I just want to be safe.

The main reason is to rule out transient issues. If a cat is dehydrated, the markers look bad even if the kidneys are fine. They want to see the numbers when the cat is in a stable state. Also, if you want to try to boost hydration before the next test, check out Getting them to drink more water. It worked for my Bandit, well, he bit me, but he drank more.

Thanks for the links. I think the hydration angle is good. I've been trying to get Holly to drink more. I actually wrote up a whole post about what finally worked for us, including the specific water fountain setup and the wet food rotation. It's in my thread Switching to renal diets at home... wait, no, that's Karen's. I'll link the right one later. It's mostly about diet but the water part is key.