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Consensus Statements of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) provide veterinarians with guidelines regarding the pathophysiology, diagnosis, or treatment of animal diseases. The foundation of the Consensus Statement is evidence‐based medicine, but if such evidence is conflicting or lacking, the panel provides interpretive recommendations on the basis of their collective expertise. The Consensus Statement is intended to be a guide for veterinarians, but it is not a statement of standard of care or a substitute for clinical judgment. Topics of statements and panel members to draft the statements are selected by the Board of Regents with input from the general membership. A draft prepared and input from Diplomates is solicited at the ACVIM Forum and via the ACVIM Web site and incorporated in a final version. This Consensus Statement was approved by the Board of Regents of the ACVIM before publication.

Dietary modification is of primary importance in managing cats with chronic renal failure. Diets designed for cats with chronic renal failure are typically formulated to be pH neutral and contain reduced quantities of protein, phosphorus and sodium and an increased quantity of potassium. These changes in diet formulation are designed to ameliorate clinical signs of renal failure by adapting dietary intakes to meet the limited ability of failing kidneys to adapt to the normal range of dietary intakes. Important recent clinical trials support the therapeutic value of dietary therapy in cats with chronic renal failure.

A dog was presented with mandibular paralysis, photophobia, and diffuse atrophy of the cranial skeletal muscles. Physical examination also revealed glossal paralysis, reduction of the swallowing reflex, reduction of the pupillary light response, and generalized lymphadenopathy. Cytologic and ultrastructural examinations of blood films, bone marrow, and lymph node aspirates were consistent with acute myelomonocytic leukemia. Post-mortem examination revealed extensive, multisystemic neoplastic infiltration with marked involvement of the central and peripheral nervous systems, especially the cranial and lumbar spinal nerves and associated ganglia. Neurologic manifestations arc unusual in acute myelomonocytic leukemia in the dog.