Why is my dog shivering with high BUN/CREA? Is it kidney failure?

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. BUN and Creatinine typically have an intimate relationship on blood work, meaning that when one is elevated, the other is typically elevated as well. There are relatively few conditions that would have an elevated Creatinine without the BUN being elevated. These are typically due to muscle breakdown which would release more creatinine in the blood. Exercise could produce such an increase. Pathologic muscle breakdown would produce sharp levels but such conditions would likely be accompanied by symptoms such as weakness and lethargy in particular. The value of 6.1 is high, which could indicate any of the above or this could potentially be a lab error. I would consider having the blood retested to check and make sure this value is correct. It may be wise to have it sent to a laboratory as well to ensure the values are correct. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

I'm sorry to hear your dog isn't doing well. No, this isn't normal - if he has been diagnosed with kidney failure then I recommend keeping him hospitalized and on IV fluids until his kidney values improve and he's feeling better and regains his appetite. Sometimes we can turn kidney failure cases around, and sometimes we can't - it really depends on their response to our therapy. Your vet may have not been open for the weekend and therefore had to discharge him Friday, but I recommend looking for the nearest 24 hour emergency vet location if he's still doing poorly, and then potentially transferring him back to your vet Monday morning.

Every lab has different reference ranges, so according to the lab that your cats blood was run in, the BUN and CREA are considered to be mildly elevated. However, unless your cat has a low specific gravity (concentrating ability of the kidneys), we have to assume that the BUN and CREA levels are not indicating any kind of kidney failure. In other words, if the kidneys are concentrating normally, and the pet is asymptomatic, then the BUN and CREA levels should simply be rechecked at a later date or another more sensitive test called the SDMA test should be done to clarify what is really going on with your pets kidneys. So based on the information you have provided we cannot say if Frodo has true kidney disease, but if his urine test was negative for bacteria then no infection is present. Ask your vet about Frodo's specific gravity and if that was normal or not. If it was normal, then go forward with the SDMA test to confirm that the kidneys are ok. If you need further help regarding your pet Frodo's case, since this can be a bit complicated to explain on the forum, please feel free to request a private consultation with either myself or another expert here and we will be more than happy to assist you further. I hope that this helps and best wishes with your pet Frodo moving forward! Take care: )

The BUN and creatinine values are extremely high indicating that the kidneys are not working to clear the toxins out of his blood stream and this is very serious and indeed potentially life threatening. The low red blood count or anemia is also a concern and may be linked either to blood borne parasites or kidney failure. Intensive fluid treatment and kidney support is required, in many cases of sudden onset kidney injury in younger dogs, recovery is possible if there is enough normal kidney working in the short term

This could indicate renal issues/kidney disease. Leo needs to have an analysis done of his urine to check further for any signs of infection as well as to make sure he's not dehydrated and causing the signs. If it is early renal disease there are certain steps we can take to manage it. This could include medication to control blood pressure, a diet change, or even giving him fluids therapy. He may need medications to protect his stomach from ulcers. I recommend discussing these options with your veterinarian as well as any additional testing such as an ultrasound of his kidneys and liver.

If her SDMA is normal and her creatinine is wnl then her kidneys are likely normal. BUN can be increased from dehydration, a stomach ulcer, a high protein diet or a very muscular physique. You would normally see vomiting or black stool if she had a bleeding ulcer so I doubt this is the cause of the high BUN. To ensure her kidneys are okay, I would talk to your vet about checking a urinalysis on her. Your vet will assess her protein levels and specific gravity to see how her kidneys are functioning. If the protein levels look high on the dipstick and there isn't an infection, I would talk to your vet about doing a urinary protein creatinine ratio. If it is elevated it could be challenging the kidneys and can cause future problems. There is a medicine to help called benazepril. You can also switch her to a prescription kidney diet just because they have a much lower protein content than the food over the counter. Some dogs just naturally have a higher BUN and as long as it isn't progressively getting worse, I would just continue to monitor it. I hope this helps!

I'm sorry that Ludo's creatinine is high. This could mean a couple of things. Creatinine can increase after a eating a meal that has a lot of meat in it. It can be a sign of kidney failure. It's important to have the other values of his blood work to make an accurate diagnosis, such as his BUN. If you have the other values, please post those so we can help you. Best of luck.