by Arnold Plotnick MS, DVM, ACVIM, ABVP
Calcium is an essential nutrient, however, excessive blood levels can have serious consequences. Catnip’s medical editor explains the causes of – and concerns about – too much calciumCalcium plays an essential role in maintaining a healthy body in humans and animals. Too much of a good thing, however, can be dangerous, and this is definitely true for calcium. Discovering an elevated serum calcium level in cats is a fairly common finding in veterinary medicine. A variety of treatments are available that will readily bring an elevated calcium back into the normal range, but treating with medication should not be the primary approach. Because the most effective treatment is to address the underlying cause, our initial approach to hypercalcemia (elevated serum calcium) is to search for the origin. Once we find the cause (or should I say if we find the cause, because sometimes it can be tricky), we can prescribe the proper treatment.
