17 Year Old Cat With Kidney Failure . Encouraging your cat to drink more water can help with kidney health. At this point, the kidneys are having trouble removing substances, including waste and minerals, from the blood. 17YearOld Cat Suffering From Kidney Failure Is Japan's Cutest from pulptastic.com As with ripley, it’s not uncommon to see. I can't tell if he's meowing or crying. The kidneys are also having trouble releasing useful substances into the blood.