How is hypokalemia diagnosed?
Hypokalemia is diagnosed from a blood sample. Potassium is measured in the serum portion of the blood. The potassium measured is free potassium which is a very small fraction of the total potassium in a cat’s body. Most of the potassium in the body is inside cells and can not be accurately measured. Measurement of serum potassium level is a good but not always completely accurate measure of total body potassium. If a blood sample indicates that hypokalemia or chronic renal insufficiency is present, appropriate treatment will be recommended. Once treatment is started, a cat’s blood potassium must be monitored to make sure it is at a safe level – not too high or too low. How is hypokalemia treated? If a cat has very few symptoms or non-life threatening symptoms of hypokalemia, an oral potassium supplement will be prescribed to treat hypokalemia. Cats that are extremely weak and having breathing or heart problems will need to be hospitalized for intravenous potassium supplementation. Cats
