A factor that has been linked to kidney disease points to immunizations.  Most vaccines that are given to a cat are what we refer to as “modified-live” vaccines.  The problem is that these vaccines are manufactured in a laboratory using viruses that have been modified in a way so that the cat’s body will react to form immune protection without showing symptoms of the actual virus.  For the modified viruses to live, they too require nutrition so kidney protein is often used to manufacture these vaccines.  Some researchers suggest that cats may develop auto-antibodies to kidney tissue when given these vaccines.  This means that the cat’s immune system is developing antibodies against the kidney protein in the vaccine and the cat’s antibodies soon start to attack its own kidneys.  If this is the case, we certainly want to be careful immunizing our cats.