Clinical Conditions of the Kidneys of the Domestic Mammals

Renal disease is not common in the domestic mammals except in the dog and cat. In horses acute renal failure can be a complication of a number of clinical situations, e.g. colic, diarrhoea, dehydration and haemorrhage; with appropriate treatment affected horses usually recover.

Pyelonephritis in cattle is probably more common than realised; it is due to infection with Corynebacterium renale. The disease can be either acute or chronic and in both cases results in discoloured urine containing blood and tissue debris. There is usually a response to antibiotic therapy.

Renal infections and congenital malformations do occur in sheep. Pulpy kidney dis­ease is really an enterotoxaemia with renal involvement. It is caused by the toxin of Clostridium perfringens Type D but is now controlled by vaccination; the toxin rapidly destroys the renal tubules.

There are several bacteria that can cause pyelonephritis in the pig; they are Actinobaculum suis (most common), Staphylococcus hyicus (greasy pig disease), Streptococcus and Erysipelothrix (erysipelas).

The incidence of renal disease is highest in dogs and cats amongst the domestic mammals. There are many potential causes of nephritis, but the most common is infec­tion with the Leptospira bacterium. However, there is an effective vaccine that is best administered annually. There are certain substances which, when ingested, result in serious renal toxicity, e.g. grapes in dogs and lily flowers in cats.

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