Alumnus returns to UGA CVM to advance feline health

Seven years before we took up residence in our new state-of-the-art teaching hospital on College Station Road, innovation was already happening in the surgical suites of the old facility. In 2008, Dr. Chad Schmiedt (DVM 2000) performed the first successful feline kidney transplant at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine.

Schmiedt learned the procedure during his surgical residency at the University of Wisconsin and brought that knowledge with him when he returned to his alma mater to teach and to serve. Since that time, Schmiedt has become one of a handful of surgeons in the world that performs this surgery and has performed more than 40 kidney transplants at UGA.

Clients have traveled from as far away as Russia to meet with Schmiedt, who has traveled to teach and perform transplant surgeries in Israel and St. Petersburg, Russia. Most recently, he developed a virtual lecture series for veterinarians in China. His work has recently been featured in The Atlantic magazine, ABC news, and The Washington Post.

The first kidney transplant recipient at the CVM was Alex, a cat owned by a veterinary student.

“While I am the one suturing in the new kidney, I cannot emphasize enough how important the other specialists are at UGA for this program to be successful,” Schmiedt says. “I have been in awe as our anesthesia service works with some tremendously sick animals during the transplantation procedure, and I rely heavily on our critical care and diagnostic imaging services during the hospitalization. These cases are truly a team effort and really highlight what makes the UGA Veterinary Teaching Hospital so special.”

Not every cat and not every owner is a good fit for the procedure. Transplantation costs around $25,000 and requires frequent post operative examinations. Most clients opt for this procedure for feline companions whom they describe as very special and unique cats. Good candidates for the procedure tend to be slightly younger than the typical cat with kidney disease. The average age of a transplant recipient is around eight to 12 years.

“Cat owners who seek kidney transplants for their sick cats have to be very dedicated,” Schmiedt said. “They will give their cat medication twice a day for the rest of its life. They also must be willing to take their cats to the veterinarian for frequent medical checkups. A significant amount of time and expense is involved in keeping the recipient and donor cats healthy. But cat lovers who will go to this extent typically are willing to extend this kind of care to all cats they own.”

Jason Matthews was willing to go the distance to enjoy a few more healthy years with his cat, Dexter. In late 2017, Dexter was diagnosed with stage-4 kidney disease.

Matthews met with Schmiedt at the VTH and decided to pursue a kidney transplant. “I always promised Dexter I’d do whatever it took to keep him safe,” Matthews says.

Though Dexter has since passed, Matthews keeps his memory alive by supporting the teaching hospital. He began with a brick in the Butler Garden to memorialize Dexter. Today, he’s created the Dexter and Rusty Matthews Memorial Feline Kidney Transplant Fund to support other cats and their pet owners going through a similar experience.

“UGA is the best of the best of the best. They made us feel like we were the most important clients every time,” Matthews says. “Supporting UGA means you are helping the rest of the world succeed. I want the world to experience what I’ve experienced. I want UGA to be able to share their expertise with the world.”

Schmiedt operates on a kidney donor alongside a surgical resident.

Although the longest reported survival after surgery is over 12 years, the average survival time is two to three years. Typically cats die because of complications from the immunosuppressive drugs, which are needed to prevent rejection of the new kidney.

“Our goal is to optimize quality of life for as long as we can,” says Schmiedt. “We work with veterinarians to optimize medical care before the transplant and hopefully time the transplant surgery at a time when it makes the most sense for each cat.”

Schmiedt commonly gets questions about transplantation surgeries for dogs. “This is an important goal. While the surgery itself if easier, dogs tend to have a much more complicated recovery and are much more difficult to manage after surgery.”

Although transplantation surgery is an exciting clinical opportunity, understanding and treating kidney disease in all cats is critically important. According to Schmiedt, “Our research goals in cats with kidney disease are to better understand why this disease is so common in cats, develop more sensitive markers of kidney disease to be able to diagnose and treat patients earlier, and develop better medical treatments to slow progression of the disease once it has started.”

Pictured is Arthur, one of the many cats who has undergone the kidney transplant process under Schmiedt's expertise.