Kitty renal failure

BlueSkyJaunte · 03-14-2005, 07:04 AM

My first cat is slowly losing kidney function.

She's gone from 12 lbs. to 9 lbs. in the past year.

I have to bring her in today for a 3-day IV to flush out her kidneys, then she'll have a subcutaneous tube put in so I can load her up with fluids periodically to keep her kidneys flushed out and working.

She's not even 10 yet!

Anyone else have to deal with this with their cat? It's going to mean prescription food, and that means prescription food for 4 cats since there's no way to feed them separately (or keep her from eating the wrong food).

Evans, Marv · 03-14-2005, 07:13 AM

Unfortunately I guess it's just the luck of the draw for your kitty. Good luck. I understand cats mostly die of kidney failure when they get old. Mine is 18 now and has gone from 12 punds to 8. She still gets around OK, but is really thin (also deaf). I thought she had gotten dumber when she wouldn't respond to her name, but found out she couldn't hear.

Moses · 03-14-2005, 07:28 AM

Woodrow, our wonderful orange tabby died last year of kidney failure. He was three years old. Because of the early and sudden onset, we suspected ethylene glycol or some other poison.

You can give cats loads of fluids sub-cutaneously and they absorb it fast. I gave Woodrow 200-400cc's of 1/2 normal saline twice a week. Just pop the IV needle under the loose skin at the back of the neck. I was hoping that the kidney damage wasn't permanent and normal kidney function would resume. Woodrow lasted about four months. We still miss that cat.

tabs · 03-14-2005, 09:20 AM

My dogs aren't pets they are part of the family...

pwd72s · 03-14-2005, 09:21 AM

Damn, it's hard to lose a pet...because they ARE family members. Kindey failure is what got our guy...age 16. Life was miserable for quite a while...

Superman · 03-14-2005, 10:19 AM

My sister is going to be in bad shape when Baldric passes. Baldy is 18 and, though cats are not my favorite, I am going to be sad also. This is a good cat.

Good luck, Blue. Loving means you pay a price. A price that's well worth it. You're a good man. Maybe, hopefully, a little rough around the edges but I happen to know you are a good man. The cat is fortunate. And I think there is a mystical reflection between our relationships with animals, and our relationship with our Handler.

BlueSkyJaunte · 03-14-2005, 10:38 AM

Thanks guys. She's at the vet now...the next couple days will be tough knowing she's doped to her long eyebrows and very unhappy. Think of the worst-behaved, most vicious cat you've ever known and multiply that by 20,000--that's what she's like at the vet.

Otherwise she just likes to snuggle up to people and purr. Quite the Jekyll and Hyde, she is. Must have something to do with that time a vet tech started vacuuming during kitty's exam...before that she was still unhappy but docile.

creaturecat · 03-14-2005, 11:45 AM

I administered sub -q every second day (100cc - administering too much fluid will cause a heart attack) to my cat Rex - for 3 years (age 16-19) - he was happy until the final month. Experiment with food - prescription food - i.e. low protein - is not necessarily the answer. Anything that will maintain weight is the answer IMHO. Rex was as well on Amodopine(sp?) a heart med. - this has been used successfully in Europe to help with CRF. You can tell if the cat is getting dehydrated by feeling their skin. Another way is by checking for "dry mouth"
Hydration is the key to relative longevity.Feel free to PM regarding any questions.
With some good luck and loving care your cat may still enjoy her golden years.

RoninLB · 03-14-2005, 01:23 PM

my brother told me it's the commercial cat food. He advised me to find "organic" cat food to prevent future kidney/ liver probs.

kaisen · 03-14-2005, 03:06 PM

I had two cats, both of the same 'family' (uncle/nephew) that both developed urinary tract / kidney issues. One almost died. They both ended up obese because of the condition (20+ pounds)

But prescription diet food helped them live fairly long lives. In fact the nephew, Junior, lived until he was about 16.

E

Gene-o · 03-15-2005, 11:08 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by RoninLB
my brother told me it's the commercial cat food. He advised me to find "organic" cat food to prevent future kidney/ liver probs.

My vet said the same thing about our cat. Bubba had a blocked urinary tract and had to have surgery to relieve the blockage. My vet asked what we were feeding him and I replied dry Purina with a bowl of water. He then admonished me and stated that the magnesium content of dry catfood was contributing to his blockage. Since then we have used Hills Science Diet with Low Ash and Magnesium. Bubba is now 15 years old and still full of fire and vinegar, but not a lot of magnesium!

krichard · krichard's Garage

We had a Russian Blue that died a year ago from the same thing. We did the daily sub q for a little over a year before he was just to weak to put him through it. Unfortunately I think we kept him alive longer than we should have as his last few days were spent not moving from his bed and extremely weak. I is just very difficult to make the right call when your in that situation. He was only 6 years old.

We have a 10 and 18 year old that are very healthy and have had few problems throughout the years. We also have two dogs, now that is a completely different story all together. For the most part they are going to the vet because of what they ate that plugged them up.

BlueSkyJaunte · 03-15-2005, 07:50 PM

Well, the ol' girl's back, with a tube port thingy in her back and her right front leg wrapped up in tape. She looks like Borg kitty now. Resistance is futile, and all that.

The vet said that just two days' worth of the sub-q hydration dropped her "bad" count of whatever it was in her blood by 1/3. So the outlook is promising.

We've got her on prescription food now, but have to do the same with the 3 other cats too since there's no way to feed them separately.

She's a little dopey, which is sad to watch. She kind of staggers around drunk/sleepy but is hyper-twitchy, and if she hears an odd noise runs away drunkenly. Have to make sure she doesn't hurt herself.

Is this like having to take care of an old geezer???

bob tilton · bob tilton's Garage

we just went through this over 04 thanksgiving so i feel for ya.

this is how our story went down and you can take what you want from it...hopefully a positive outlook for your cat. i'll keep it brief since i'm at work.

our 3 yr old cat was acting very depressed, dropped a pound or 2, drank a lot, lethargic. figured he had the cat version of the flu considering the wife and i both had the flu at the time. after 5 days his behavior was the same. took him to the vet where he ended up staying for 5 days for fluid treatment, dailey bloodwork, specialized diet.
first thought it was poisening then determined to be CRF, chronic renal failure.
in the initial stage of all this the vets really painted a grim picture...i mean really grim. 5 months later the cat has proved them wrong. he is his old self but does require sub q shots of 200cc every monday. we do bloodwork once a month to watch his creatinine and bun numbers.
to look at him you would never know he was sick. it has been totally worth it to save his life cause the wife really loves him.

kycarguy 935 · 03-18-2005, 10:47 PM

Sorry to hear about your cat. My sister had her cat for 15 years since it was a kitten then my sister passed away a little over a year ago and my family wasnt sure what to do with this little cat. When I went to California to help my mom with my sisters belongings my mom asked me if I wanted to take the cat back to Kentucky with me and Im glad I did. This cat is 16 now and really healthy. I wasnt sure how she would handle the 5 day drive in the car from Ca. to Ky. but she was a trooper. 6 months ago she even caught a pesky mouse and gave it to me in bed for breakfast...lol. I love dogs and cats and glad this cat is happy. I know its a matter of time for her at her age but hope her health holds out for along time. Its really nice to have her around as part of the family. Once again best wishes for your kitty's return to good health.

Evans, Marv · 03-19-2005, 08:20 AM

Well Blue, I just had to take my cat to the Vet yesterday. She started laying around, listless, sort of unresponsive. The Vet weighed her & she's down to 7 1/2 pounds. He told me her kidneys are failing. I was just commenting to my wife last week, that when cats get old, they can go pretty fast when the time comes, and they usually die of kidney failure. The Vet said I don't need to put her down right awayl, but the time will be here soon. She will have her 18th birthday on April 2nd, & I don't think she will make it. He said it's better to put them to sleep than let their quality of life degrade until they die. When the time comes, I guess I'll bury her somewhere on the lot where I'm in the process of building my house. It will seem strange to not have her around after almost 18 years.

creaturecat · 03-19-2005, 12:45 PM

Marv - are you giving the cat sub-q's? This can really help. Give your cat plenty of love while she is still with you - you will know when she starts to suffer.
FWIW I have the ashes of three of our pets (2 cats, 1 dog - all kidney related deaths) buried under special trees that we planted in their memory.The best therapy was to rescue another cat.

Evans, Marv · 03-19-2005, 08:02 PM

Creaturecat:
The vet said she is pretty well hydrated. She drinks water all day. Right now she's much better and seems almost normal. I guess this condition will go up & down for now. I give her plenty of love & attention, although she's always been a nasty cat.

BlueSkyJaunte · 03-19-2005, 08:36 PM

That's the toughest, isn't it? When they're really nasty most of the time but every once in a while get all cute and try to snuggle up to you...

cstreit · cstreit's Garage

I don't know much about feline food response but had this same issue with an iguana. Diet is key to preventing kidney issues. With iguana's they get gout (or mineral deposits in the kidneys) from incorrect diet.

I would imagine that the cat's diet probably also has a similar impact, but as with iguana's, the common information about this is lacking, and only when you dig around do you find that.

Good luck with the recovery...