Pros and Cons of Participation

USA

Early Detection

Share This Site: A Notice for Your Vet's Bulletin Board or Your Local Pet Shop

• There used to be very little research into feline CKD but fortunately that is changing.

• It is sometimes possible to participate in research studies, both to help your cat and to help other CKD cats who should benefit from the research findings.

• With some studies, you will need to attend the research facility, normally one of the main US vet schools. However, distance participation is possible with some of the studies.

Pros and Cons of Participating in Research Studies

There are often some advantages to participating in research studies. Your cat will usually receive a number of tests, such as bloodwork or ultrasound, for free. Sometimes you receive other types of payment, such as cash or free food. And of course your cat will receive whatever treatment is being tested for free. This may even be a treatment that is not yet commercially available. Plus participating in research can help develop treatments that help other cats in the future.

On the downside, you will usually have to find the time to go for regular check ups, which are sometimes as often as weekly, and for some studies your cat will need to be hospitalised. You also  need to be aware that your cat may receive a placebo, i.e. a dummy treatment that does not contain the active ingredient. If, for example, you are participating in a trial of a treatment for nausea, 50% of the cats participating will usually receive the treatment, but the other 50% will be receiving a placebo. You will not normally know which group your cat is in, so your cat might be suffering from nausea and receiving nothing to help.

University of Missouri Veterinary Health Center explains more about how clinical trials work and the implications of taking part in them.

Studies in the USA

There are thirty accredited vet schools in the USA, but not all of them conduct studies into feline health (although University of California at Davis has formed a new college specialising in nephrology and urology). I check them all at intervals to see what research they are conducting. Below I list the current trials I am aware of that may be of use to CKD cats.

Veterinary Clinical Trials is a database of trials across the USA and Canada.

Current Studies in the USA

• Ammonia excretion: NC State University

• Biomarker assessments: University of Pennsylvania

• Porus One and uraemic toxins: Ohio State University

• Rapamycin and CKD: Ohio State University

• Amyloidosis: University of Missouri

• Missing kidney: University of Missouri

• Feline cognitive dysfunction: University of Wisconsin

Ammonia Excretion: NC State University

Ammonia excretion, a novel biomarker and therapeutic target for feline CKD

This study is looking at the use of ammonia excretion as an early detector for CKD in cats. The study closes to new entrants on 28 August 2026.

Evaluating a treatment for the management of feline chronic kidney disease

This is a study into the use of Renaltec, available to cats in Stages 2-4 CKD at Texas A&M University, though it closed to new entrants on 1 March 2025. Here is a report of one cat's experiences during the trial.

Rapamycin clinical trial for cats with chronic kidney disease

There is some evidence that rapamycin may reduce fibrosis (scarring in the kidneys, which is commonly seen in kidneys affected by CKD). The medication has been deemed eligible for the Expanded Conditional Approval Pathway by the FDA, but research continues. This trial is for cats in Stages 2 or 3.

There are also opportunities to participate in the trial in a number of other locations, including Colorado, Louisiana and Wisconsin. See CKD in cats for more information.

Rapamycin also seems to be of benefit to cats with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Missing Kidney (Renal Aplasia): University of Missouri

This study is rather sadly looking to examine the brains in particular of cats over the age of 12 who are scheduled for euthanasia at the University of Wisconsin.

Studies in Countries Other Than the USA

At Home Studies and Surveys

The beauty of surveys is that you can take part wherever you are in the world.

Home Biomarkers Testing

TriviumVet, the manufacturer of rapamycin (see above), is seeking input from CKD caregivers here.

Donations to Feline CKD Research

Buttons Feline Kidney Research Fund

Buttons Feline Chronic Kidney Disease Research is a fund set up to finance CKD research by Dr Jessica Quimby, the leading researcher into CKD in cats. Dr Quimby was previously at Colorado State University and is now at Ohio State University, where the fund is based.

Buttons annual report 2023 discusses some of the research supported by the fund.

Foundation for Feline Renal Research

The Foundation for Feline Renal Research has funded two studies at the Royal Veterinary College in the UK, one into blood pressure and renal traits  in domestic cats and one exploring the role of chronic inflammation in the pathogenesis of feline CKD.

First genome-wide association study investigating blood pressure and renal traits in domestic cats (2022) Jepson RE, Warren H, Wallace MD, Syme HM, Elliott J & Munroe PB Scientific Reports 12 1899 reports on the first study.