My cat was just diagnosed with kidney disease :(

My beloved 10 year-old cat Miss Mary hadn't been herself for a few days, and had been off her food, so I took her to the vet last week. A couple of visits and several tests later, they tell me she has early-to-mid-stage kidney disease and hypertension. After giving her sub-cutaneous fluids and an anti-nausea shot, she came home with me. The vet says that, while it isn't curable, it can be managed, and with the right care, she could have a couple of good years left in her. She also said that some animals respond well to treatment, and some don't. So I've started her on the special food, and the potassium supplement, and will start the blood pressure medication tomorrow morning. She seems a lot perkier today, she's eating and drinking again, and is more like her normal self. I will do this for her while it gives her a good quality of life, but I won't resort to dialysis or surgery for this condition. When the time comes that she seems to be suffering, I will have to let her go and have her put down. :cry:

I guess I need advice and support on how to deal with this, and maybe some kind words from folks who've been through it before. :(


Edit to add pic of Miss Mary:

You are doing the right thing. The WWW has made is so much easier to be a very-well informed owner. Sub-Q is easy and the right vet is a good find.

http://www.felinecrf.com/

Best wishes

I checked out that site, and it has lots of good advice. :)

I recall a fair amount of denial in my critter care seasons past-- being able to check out and maybe interact with some of the smarter message boards has been very helpful: it really helps me nail down and stick to a care strategy. Vets will appreciate an informed care-giver and you will find the quality of care may improve as they see how willing you are to take on some of these regimens. I am not a vet but have been through some various liver shutdown-diabetes-type illnesses with my various foundlings over the years.

It is weird to me now but apparently it is not unusual for owners to opt for euthanasia at first diagnosis of something complicated.

You are doing the right thing for your companion and yourself.

I love my little furry kitty mutts!

Give her lots of love on top of her treatmeants

Even her little sister kitty is being more considerate than usual.

We have a kitty with kidney issues who has greatly benefited from the medication known as lotensin.

You might ask your vet if this medication would be beneficial for your cat's situation.

It was interesting when I asked Walgreens to include my cat as a household member on my prescription discount card. But they finally got it figured out, and are sending me a new card that lists her as a member of my household.

That's funny about Walgreen's.

We have had fabulous results with our cat that is on lotensin. I wish you the same positive outcome!!!

Since the potassium supplement I have to give her is a gel, I wonder if I should try crushing the pill and mixing it in with the gel?

Our kitty is maintained on 1/2 pill per day, and we've been giving it to her for some time, so she's adjusted to the routine and isn't too difficult to pill.

You might try crushing the tab and putting it with the gel. You can also try putting a bit of butter, baby food or canned cat food around the pill as you try to get it into her mouth. (But watch out because this makes the pill a bit slippery!!!)

It's a "trial and error" process mostly. You have to be creative, figure out what works for your particular feline and eventually it WILL get much easier.

There are also compounding pharmacies that can mix the meds with something more flavorful, too.

Be sure to be patient with her - and best of luck!

My housemate's cat (who has thyroid problems) has gotten used to pilling. I'm going to try a few different things to see what works best for my baby.

Miss Mary is a beautiful cat, and she's lucky to have you to care for her. I'm sorry she's sick. :hug:

worrying over an unhealthy or fragile fur-baby.

Healthy vibes for Miss Mary! :loveya:

I love kittehs, always have, and I've always felt that they embody pure joy in just being, happily and comfortably, alive. You'll know when your sweet cat is ready to go. In the meantime, enjoy. And spoil her.

Well wishes for Miss Mary. If you do all the doctor tells you too you should have her around for longer than you think. One of my cats, Meg, is 21 years old and she is borderline normal for Kidney problems. I give her medication every day and she seems to be doing well. We have been doing this for a couple of years. Kidney problems are the bane of older cats so Miss Mary is not alone. I have two other older cats - Savannah, 11 years, who has bacteria in her urine that we can not get rid of. I have her on a low dose of antibiotics. Then there is Rebecca, 15, and she has a slight thyroid condition and I give her meds every day. Because it is impossible to give her a pill my vet gave me a gel-like substance that I put on the inside of her ears. Just know there are many of us out here who have cats with health problems. Would not trade one of my cats for anything.

condition (I just lost my Atticus Pye to FIP last month). This site may help: http://www.felinecrf.com/newvisitor.htm along with this one: http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=library&act=show&item=003 . My kitty Peewee had cardiomyopathy, CRF and hyperthyroid disease. After a lot of research I discovered that his conditions were caused by both his genetics and a poor diet, which I wrote about here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=243&topic_id=4388&mesg_id=4388 I wish there were more I could do to help. I'll be sending good thoughts to you and Miss Mary. :hug:

I hope the treatments work well and she recovers as much as she can. :hug:

:hug:

Miss Mary and her humans are very appreciative. :loveya:

I have a male cat, he's 17, and although he's never had full-blown kidney disease, we've had many episodes of bladder stones. Hope your Miss Mary is feeling better soon. :grouphug:

I was up half the night, trying to get her to eat or drink, which she wasn't doing much of yesterday. I gave her her medication this morning, and she just threw it up a few minutes later. As soon as the vet's office opens this morning, I'm bringing her over there.

:cry: :cry:

I just learned how to give my kitty sub-q fluids. She's had a dose this morning, and she's doing much better. I have to give her fluids every day for a week, then ramp it down until it's just "as needed", probably eventually a couple of times a week.

She's pissed off at me right now, but I hope she knows I'm just doing this 'cause I love her. :loveya:

With caution, but there is a way to get the fluid up over room temperature: the big danger is getting it too hot. I think the way I did it was place it in a pan of warm tap water for a few minutes. I was using two types of fluid for my Cushing's kitty a million years ago. A little practice on the human side-- the kitty will get used to just about anything.

A genuine fluid rack is most convenient but hard to get (used from a med supply house?). A coat hanger hanging on a kitchen cabinet handle makes a good fluid bag holder.

Miss Mary will soon be looking forward to her "bubble" because it will make her feel so much better.

A buddy of mine has a 29 year old cat. She doesn't do a lot but eat and purr, but hey, she's 29-- she can do anything she wants.

Best wishes-- I am so happy your vet visit was positive this AM.

This is my first time dealing with a chronic health problem with my pets. My housemate has a senior cat that was recently diagnosed as hyperthyroid. So it's been like a little kitty nursing home here lately.

Sounds like you have a vet willing to let you in on some secrets: kittys are TOUGH and resilient!

Crappy pet food is responsible for a ton of health problems.
Pure food is something I have been trying provide for my mini menagerie and here is what I have ended up with:
Flint River Ranch has long been a staple around my house-- I use the Feline and the Feline senior. No worries during the melamine scare last year! http://www.frrco.com/ Flint River has corn as the main grain, and there is some thought that corn may be an allergen for some cats. Also corn is supposed to be a no-no for blood-sugar problems. With that in mind I give my one diabetes-prone big oldster a taste of the savannah!: http://www.naturesvariety.com/instinct_cat

A kitty nursing home sounds like a cool place--

I was supposed to give her 150 ml, but she got really squirmy after about 100ml, so I stopped there. I think I feel as traumatized as the kitty for having done it. It'll take some getting used to. But I think I'll be able to handle it. She seems none the worse for wear. She's been drinking water ok, but I still haven't seen her eat since the vet visit yesterday morning.

Rox the worried cat-mom

We inherited a kitty from my dad who had to have shots every day. Me and Ben did it together though, if I had to do it by myself I'd have to wrap the cat in a blanket.

I hope Miss Mary will want to eat :loveya: she's obviously a very good cat.

Patience is hard especially on deadline but practice will get you to a certain comfort level. Calm gentle pat pats, describing the "meadow with the bluebirds and butterflies..." in detail,

http://www.judysworld.net/CRF/faq8.htm

Here is a long thoughtful discussion with hints
http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/Villa/9757/Documents/Meds_and_Subqs.html
"the needle should be fully inserted at an angle as described above. (Actual technique was demonstrated by your vet, so I will not go into tents, etc.) There is the very real possibility of back pressure gradually forcing the needle out, so I always kept my thumb lightly applying neutral pressure to hold the needle in.
After starting the flow, always look at the drip chamber to make sure that there is a steady flow. The drops should go at a steady rate, depending on the factors above. If they don't and the line has been freed of air and flushed, there is an insertion problem which can probably be solved without taking out the needle. First, try withdrawing the needle a tiny amount. It could be that the tip of the needle has lodged in something like the inner surface of the skin or muscle, and the hole may be blocked. "

Hopefully this whole syndrome is a reaction to something environmental and the healing has begun.

Best wishes

You made the right decision in doing as much as she would allow, and not forcing more. Ask the vet about syringe feeding if she doesn't eat soon. She may start to eat, though, having had fluids.

I'll get you the name of that crf group.

My sister just had to have her cat put to sleep, and we're pretty convinced he had Cushing's. It was never diagnosed, but my mom had a horse that died of Cushing's, and the symptoms were identical, so she wondered if it was a feline disease as well. Apparently it's exceedingly rare, which is why I was surprised to read that you had a cat with the disease too. Fortunately Scotty (sis's cat) lived for about a year after he got sick, never seemed to be in any obvious pain, and at the end was mostly just listless and inert.

Also: a 29 year old cat??? Good GOD!

They are pretty sure it's kidney disease, especially since it's now starting to respond to treatment. Haven't seen you around much, although I've been away from DU JK lately. I'm back to being a full-time student, making a mid-life career change. (from IT to health care) So the vet bills are a bit of a financial strain. But Miss Mary is very much loved, so if it can give her a good life for a while longer, I'm more than willing to do it.

Congrats on the career change - I'm still not sure what direction I want to go, career wise, so who knows what the future holds here.

I'm so glad Miss Mary is responding to treatment. My Thomas is 13 this year and still as much of an a-hole as ever, hahaha! I hope he hangs around for another several years. They really are special, aren't they?

I'll send out vibes for Miss Mary's continued wellbeing and a :hug: for you!

I made the Cushing's diagnosis years afterward and I have no training as a vet, clinician, diagnostician so , given the rareness of the syndrome, will admit to only Cushing's like symptoms. We were treating a 15 year old diabetic who had the classic crepey skin and water-based pear shape. The only diabetes support I could get 13 years ago was dog based so the vets were winging it too. I used Ringer's and Saline and three or four types of insulin. At one point there was a pork insulin shortage and I had to pharmacy -shop for the last few precious vials available to regular folk like me. These days supporting a diabetic is much more doable: it used to be an immediate death sentence.
My worst sub-q was when the skin was so crepey I was trying for a bubble and the fluids came out of a couple of previous holes like a cartoon western water barrel after a barroom shoot'em up. Fortunately my menagerie is currently legal-limit (4) and mostly healthy.
I googled oldest cat and it looks like 34-36 have been Guinness verified. I met the 25 year old four years ago. She was very content! I think she may have slowed at 29 but still enjoys professional ping-pong on the tube (eyes left-eyes right :)

I'm glad she's feeling better!! She's lucky to have someone watching out for her, and maybe she can tell you're helping her.

Hope she responds to treatment.

Maybe I'll try to tempt her with some tuna later today.

and then she ate it heartily for another nine years. its good stuff!

piles of the cans returned by folks whose cats wouldn't eat it.

You're lucky - and so is your cat!

But she just turns her nose up at it. For the moment, the only food I can get into her is chicken or turkey baby food. We're just trying to get her appetite back up for now.

one of my babes had really no appetite and it was the only thing she wouldn;t barf. supposedly it's gret for picky eaters and sick cats.

Thanks for the suggestion.

it's not tasty, took about a month to convince kitty to switch over but was sooo worth it.
also, the sub-cu fluid.. if you warm it in the sink first it's much more comfy for your baby.. and you cqn apply pressure to thr bag to increase flow if needed..
oh and buy your supplies on line (your vet can fax the perscription for saline) ti save 60-80% of costs. Terumo needles are great you can use a finer guage and maintain a good flow.

She was a rescue, but we estimated she was eight or nine years old.

I managed her kidney disease for about a year with almost daily subcutaneous fluids and diet (but she never learned to like the kidney diet). She died naturally, but didn't seem to suffer. Mostly she just slowed down a little bit near the end, and I found her unconscious one morning-- she died in my lap later that day. I still miss her.

Having the time to spend with her after her diagnosis-- her kidneys were shot-- meant a lot to me. It gave me time to get used to the inevitable. The needles and fluids were a hassle, and she hated them, so I wasn't always as insistent that she take the treatment as I probably should have been, but she did get another year and I was more ready when she died. I'm glad we had that time.

Good luck to you. :hug:

I've been a wreck just imagining what losing her will be like eventually. Please accept my condolences.

I'm now to the point where I don't freak out giving her the sub-q fluids. And she is so much happier and perkier afterwards. The vet said 100 ml twice daily for a week, then we'll reevaluate. She is hoping that eventually, it can go down to just be 2 or 3 times a week. Her BUN and creatinine levels showed early to mid stage disease, so I'm hoping we can stabilize her and manage the illness for a while.

Getting her to eat anything has been a challenge. For now, I'm feeding her chicken and turkey baby food, and she is eating that now and then. I tried her old (pre-diagnosis) food, and she wouldn't touch it. She even turned her nose up at tuna fish. But the baby food is working for now. I made sure to get the type that only contains the meat and broth, with no other flavors or ingredients.

Made by the Greenies company, they are little tidbits of chewy treat with a pocket for the pill. Cats love them and just pop them down the hatch with no trouble. The cost is about $8 for about a month.

Please get them to help your Miss Mary with her meds.

So sorry to hear your news. You are not alone.

I'm having trouble getting her to eat. Besides, she turns up her nose at dry cat food, so pill pockets probably wouldn't appeal to her either.

(((( ))))

Here is a link to the CRF page "eating hints".
http://www.felinecrf.com/managd.htm

Miss Mary is offering quite the challenge. Hopefully the sub-cutaneous fluid maintenance will even her out towards turn-around and she will feel like eating regular food soon.

C'mon Miss Mary!

They prescribed an appetite stimulant, which I just gave her. They also sent me home with a few packets of Royal Canin Renal LP. As I type this, she is chowing it down. Oh Happy Day!!! :D

They ran some more tests, and the sub-q hydration has been doing its job. Her BUN and creatinin levels were close to normal after a couple of days of twice-daily doses.

Good job Miss Mary! Thanks for posting the update--

That's some perky news :)

for 9 years.. which is why i was harping on pushing the KD on her.. it took quite a while to switch - i had to blend it in good (which i hated doing!!) but i reallly credit iit for keepingher very healthy for half her life.
glad to hear the royal canin helped too. i know they were one of the few drys that was never recalled when so many brands were.

I hope to eventually transition her to the k/d (less expensive), but right now, we have to get her back to a healthy weight. Less than a year ago, she weighed 10 lbs, and she's down to 7 right now. She's practically just skin and bones. :( I'd like to see her at least gain half of that weight back before I think about transitioning her to a different food. Overnight, she scraped the bowl of the royal canin food dry, but the little plate of k/d that I'd left for her in the living room was untouched. And it was right next a water bowl that she uses regularly.

and mix it very well, first day, one teaspoon, day two 2 teaspoons... little by little teaspoon by teaspoon... the first weeks i threw 90-80% in the garbage.. u have to sneak up on her with it. after a few weeks, you're 50/ 50.. a few weeks more, she won't remember the other food ever existed. seriously...patience. u can do it.
also, s far a sprice goes- evrything is cheaper on the net- esp the saline + kit, terumo needles, etc. have your vet fax the orescription.

I've checked several web sites, and the prices at my vet's office seem to be about the same. And I don't have to pay shipping when I get them at the vet's.

To put our 13 year old collie down on Friday. We learned about a year ago she has two compressed disks in her back which caused severe pain in her back and legs. It also causes problems with her spinal cord and bladder. Three years ago she had a football sized mass removed from her stomach, then two days later had emergency surgery to remove her spleen. We got her to the emergency vet just in time before her spleen ruptured. She didn't start out life very good, when I rescued her from a county animal shelter she and her 12 brothers & sisters had been removed from the owner because of abuse & malnurishment. She had the mainge & rickets in her rear legs. I got lucky I was in a small town in Missouri where the county vet gave a struggling college student a break on the vet bills.

Over the last six months or so, she hasn't been herself becasue of the pain and drugs. She has been on Prednisone for the pain. It has helped with the pain but it has also ruined her liver. We knew that could happen, but had to chance it to keep her out of pain. We can tell she no longer is interested in anything except food, water and pottying. She use to love to run around, play with our other dogs, pounce, just enjoy life.

I think thats how you decide when it is time. You look into their eyes and you should be able to tell if their joy of life is gone.

My fur-babies are precious to me, as I'm sure yours is to you. Please accept my sincere condolences. :cry:

:hug: I hope the treatment works well for your beautiful kitty and that she has many happy years left with you. :pals:

and tolerated it well. There was a yahoo group that was really helpful to me. I'll see if I can find it. What food did the vet put her on? Ari WOULD NOT Hill's K/D, which the vet said is very common. Based on recommendations I got on the yahoo group, I asked the vet to switch him to IVD Modified Diet, which he really liked and ate well. Wysong and Purina make crf diets, too, in case your cat won't do KD.

Do you happen to remember what her BUN and creatinine numbers were?

I wish you well. I know how you're feeling! :hug:

But she seems to like the royal canin renal lp food. I know her BUN was about 75 when she was diagnosed, and I think her creatinine was 5.6. After a few days of fluids, the vet says the BUN measured at 40 and the creatinine at 3.9 yesterday. So the fluids are working, and flushing the toxins out of her body. So the next thing we've got to accomplish is keep her eating and drinking and gaining some weight back.

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Feline-CRF-Support/



It's really high volume. Lots of people just post their cat's blood numbers, which I got tired of reading and didn't need in my inbox. So, my advice is to sign up for it as "web only", so you can check the site without the messages coming to your inbox. I found the group helpful. Lots of people with experience, info about how to get an IV pole (ebay btw), prescription foods, etc.

Good luck! Hug that kitty! :hug:

Thanks. :)

Else you'll be swamped with e-mails. I hope you find help there.

My inbox is crowded enough already.