iCatCare updates feline CKD guidance with 2026 consensus
Bottom line
International Cat Care has released its 2026 consensus guidelines on the diagnosis and management of chronic kidney disease in cats, a full update to the 2016 ISFM recommendations. Published in the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery in early September, the guidance was developed by an international expert panel chaired by Samantha Taylor and expands beyond diagnosis and staging to cover medical and nutritional treatment, comorbidities, anaesthesia, analgesia, and support for caregivers. The rollout also includes companion resources for technicians, nurses, and pet parents, including a caregiver guide, a monitoring form, and a nursing guide. (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
Why it matters: CKD remains one of the most common and consequential diseases in older cats, and the updated document puts added weight on earlier detection, structured IRIS-based staging in clinically stable patients, and routine monitoring for proteinuria, blood pressure, phosphate, and disease progression. For veterinary teams, the practical shift is toward more standardized, team-based management, with clearer attention to common complications and to the day-to-day support pet parents need to keep cats eating, hydrated, medicated, and comfortable at home. (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
What to watch: Expect clinics, CE providers, and feline-focused educators to build these recommendations into protocols and training over the coming months, including iCatCare’s follow-up educational programming around the new guidance. (podcasts.apple.com)
Key facts
- Guideline
- 2026 consensus guidelines on chronic kidney disease in cats
- Organization
- International Cat Care
- Update
- Full overhaul of the 2016 ISFM feline CKD recommendations
- Publication date
- September 3
- Journal
- Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery
- Panel
- International panel of 10 experts, chaired by Samantha Taylor
- Scope
- Adds comorbidities, anaesthesia, analgesia, medical and nutritional treatment, and caregiver support
- Companion resources
- Caregiver guide, monitoring form, and nursing guide
- Clinical focus
- Earlier diagnosis, IRIS-based staging, and routine monitoring of proteinuria, blood pressure, phosphate, and progression
International Cat Care’s 2026 consensus guidelines on chronic kidney disease in cats mark the first full overhaul of feline CKD guidance from the organization since 2016. Published September 3 in the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, the document was written by an international panel of 10 experts and is positioned as a practical update for clinicians managing one of the most common chronic diseases in older cats. (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
The update arrives after a decade of new research in feline nephrology and reflects a broader pattern from iCatCare and its publishing partners of issuing disease-specific, clinic-facing consensus documents. The previous feline CKD guidelines were published in 2016 under the ISFM name, before the organization’s current iCatCare Veterinary Society branding. The new version explicitly adds sections on comorbidities, anaesthesia, and analgesia, while also emphasizing earlier diagnosis so interventions can begin before cats become overtly unwell. (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
At the clinical level, the guidance reinforces that CKD staging should be performed only in clinically stable, well-hydrated cats, using creatinine alone or creatinine plus SDMA on at least two occasions, with IRIS substaging based on proteinuria and systolic blood pressure. It also highlights routine blood pressure measurement in all cats with CKD, treatment of persistent proteinuria, and tighter attention to phosphate control through renal diets first, then phosphate binders when needed. The document notes that renal diets have evidence for slowing progression and prolonging survival, but also flags the need to monitor for complications such as ionized hypercalcemia during dietary management. (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
The paper also broadens the lens beyond lab values. The authors write that caregiver burden is a real part of feline CKD management and argue for support that is individualized to the cat and household. That theme carries into the supplementary tools released alongside the guidelines, including a caregiver guide, a monitoring form, and a nursing resource designed to support a team-based approach. dvm360’s coverage similarly framed the update as spanning diagnosis, slowing progression, managing complications, and supporting caregivers. (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
Early industry reaction has focused on practicality. In coverage and promotional materials tied to the release, Samantha Taylor described the publication as a needed update for the profession, while iCatCare highlighted the inclusion of newer nephrology content and the added material on comorbidities, anaesthesia, and analgesia. iCatCare has also already connected the launch to an educational podcast episode and a follow-up session focused on the “essentials explained,” suggesting the organization is trying to move the document quickly from publication into everyday primary care use. (dvm360.com)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, the significance isn’t just that the guidelines are newer. It’s that they reflect a more operational model of CKD care: earlier case-finding, more disciplined staging, more active management of hypertension, proteinuria, and phosphate, and more formal involvement of technicians, nurses, and pet parents. In practice, that could mean revisiting senior screening protocols, rechecking how consistently blood pressure and UPC are built into CKD workups, and making sure clinics have usable home-monitoring tools for pet parents. (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
The other important message is that CKD care is increasingly being framed as longitudinal rather than reactive. The guidelines cite the importance of tracking progression, not just assigning a stage, and they connect survival and quality of life to ongoing monitoring and caregiver support. For general practice teams, that aligns with the reality that many feline CKD cases are managed over months to years, with outcomes shaped as much by adherence, nutrition, hydration, and follow-up as by any single prescription. (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
What to watch: The next phase will likely be implementation: CE, clinic protocol updates, and uptake of the caregiver and nursing tools. Watch, too, for whether the new recommendations shift how broadly practices screen older cats for early CKD and how consistently they incorporate blood pressure, proteinuria, and phosphate monitoring into routine feline chronic care. (journals.sagepub.com)