Blood Chemistry Basics: Liver, Kidney, Glucose, and Proteins

Kidney values are creatinine, BUN, and SDMA, read together with urine specific gravity: dehydration falsely raises them, so recheck after rehydration. Liver enzymes ALT and ALKP suggest hepatocellular or biliary issues, and even mild feline elevations deserve attention; raised bilirubin with jaundice is clearly abnormal.

A single high glucose in cats is often stress hyperglycemia, so diabetes needs urine glucose, fructosamine, or continuous monitoring to confirm, while low glucose is an emergency. Total protein and albumin reflect nutrition, liver synthesis, and losses; high globulins suggest chronic inflammation, with ratios interpreted alongside other tests.

Electrolytes tie to acid-base balance, and potassium is critical in kidney disease and blockage cases. Sampling, feeding, and stress affect everything, so never self-diagnose or medicate from one arrow: flag abnormalities for vet-scheduled rechecks and archive reports to build a trend baseline.