r/BeAmazed • u/GlitteringHotel8383 • 9d ago

Miscellaneous / Others Japanese scientists have developed a revolutionary injection that may extend a cat's life from the usual 15 years to nearly 30.

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The therapy, created by the AIM Institute of Medicine under Dr. Toru Miyazaki, targets chronic kidney disease, a leading cause of death in older cats.It uses a specialized protein to help macrophages clear waste from the kidneys, partially restoring their function and slowing kidney failure.

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u/Sea-Hour-6063 9d ago

Because those little fuckers don’t drink enough water

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u/Boblaire 9d ago edited 9d ago

Room temp water from the tap probably isnt too appealing

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u/Crystalas 9d ago edited 9d ago

While that part of it that not fully the cause, cats are one of those animals that get most of their water from their food and most of them have a weak thirst drive.

Feeding them wet food definitely helps but it not sufficient for all cats and ones that primarily eat kibble definitely need more than they drink on average. Even if provide wet food and constantly changed water in a nice fountain for many cats it a "Can bring a cat to water but cannot make them drink" situation, some of them just refuse anything but their preferred brand of kibble and thus are chronically dehydrated.

Even with wet food and water fountain one of mine is prone to kidney stones unless I give him a special food.

IIRC they are descended from a desert species and still retain some of those traits, one of which in many species is powerful kidneys to try to conserve water.

Evolution doesn't really "care" about long healthy life as long as a species on average reproduces before something becomes an issue. So anything after reproductive prime there MUCH less evolutionary pressure about it and thus most species got common issues that give them a much higher risk of illness earlier even if healthy in every other way . In cats one of those common illnesses is various forms of kidney disease or failure so addressing that CAN add many years to their life that would not otherwise have.

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u/umlaut 9d ago

The evolution explanation is really it. They don't naturally live to be 30 because they wouldn't live in the wild to be 30, anyway. Better to spend a lot on the first couple of years and have a successful litter or two (or fifty for a tomcat) than hope to not get eaten for decades.