You can ask the vet to take a blood test that just checks for kidney disease. He will check the bun level and one other level (forgot what it is). Its a lot cheaper just to check these rather than having a complete blood test taken. You don’t even need to see the vet to have the blood test. There is a great forum for people who have cats with this disease.It is Feline-CRF-Support at Yahoo groups. They have a lot of information and also support. If your cat is not too far a long in the disease there is a lot you can do to slow it down. Having the blood test is really important to see where your cat is at. I lost my 13 year old cat last fall and did everything to try to help her but she was too far a long before I caught it. Don’t give up at this point. Its very possible she just needs a change of diet.