Diagnosed with kidney failure.

kitteh_

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Hello, my 12 year old furrbaby has been diagnosed with kidney failure. Her creatinine level is 2,1 mg/dl and BUN is 45 mg/dl other values are normal. She also has an active UTI infection. The vet didn't recommend much except antibiotics for UTI and just said I have to do a sub-dermal serum infusion daily and give her Hills K\D food. Do you guys have any other recommendations or personal experience? I don't live in the states, the vets where I am at are not very good at their job. Please help as I am freaking out!
 

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Will you be going in for another blood test when the UTI is cleared? Did the vet say whether kitty was dehydrated at the time of your appointment? And is kitty in "Acute Kidney Failure" (and is expected to recover), or does she have "Chronic Kidney Disease"?
The sub-dermal serum infusion...is it the lactated ringers / saline? (looks like an IV bag filled with saline)

If you want some excellent information on everything Kidney disease, check this site out...

Tanya's Comprehensive Guide to Feline Chronic Kidney Disease - Everything You Need to Know to Help Your Cat

When my kitty was going thru CKD, this was where I often referenced to get information and care advice.
 
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kitteh_

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mrsgreenjeens

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Definately check out the website refenced above. It has TONS of information related to kidney disease. I've had three kidney cats and that was my "go to". I would like to ask a couple of questions though.

1) Is your cat having some issues, is that why you went to the Vet in the first place? If so, what are they? Those numbers you gave us aren't really too bad, actually. I have a cat who currently has/had a kidney infection, and his numbers were BUN 41, Creatinine 3.0, and his Vet said it's possible he has kidney disease, but she thinks it may all be related to the infection. So we are treating the infection and then will retest in a couple months to see if his blood values went back to normal.

2) Does your cat go outdoors? Could he have gotten into something poisonous? That can cause Acute Kidney Disease, which usually requires a large infusion of fluids, but normally in hospital. But otherwise, sub-q fluids aren't usually given, especially on a daily basis, until they are much further along in the disease process.

3) Did your Vet recommend using the dry K/D diet or Canned? I would highly recommend using canned food, and if your cat doesn't like the K/D, don't worry, there are plenty of other choices out there. There is a list of foods to choose from on that website, both in the U.S. and Europe..

I think those are all my questions for now, along with Jem's from above.
 
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kitteh_

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Will you be going in for another blood test when the UTI is cleared? Did the vet say whether kitty was dehydrated at the time of your appointment? And is kitty in "Acute Kidney Failure" (and is expected to recover), or does she have "Chronic Kidney Disease"?
The sub-dermal serum infusion...is it the lactated ringers / saline? (looks like an IV bag filled with saline)

If you want some excellent information on everything Kidney disease, check this site out...

Tanya's Comprehensive Guide to Feline Chronic Kidney Disease - Everything You Need to Know to Help Your Cat

When my kitty was going thru CKD, this was where I often referenced to get information and care advice.
Yes of course I will go to check if it's cleared and even after that very frequently. The vet said that she's very dehydrated even tho she drinks a lot of water (I see her drinking frequently). She's given 50 ml/day of lactate ringers.. vet also said it looks like chronic but there is a slight chance that she will recover
 
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kitteh_

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Definately check out the website refenced above. It has TONS of information related to kidney disease. I've had three kidney cats and that was my "go to". I would like to ask a couple of questions though.

1) Is your cat having some issues, is that why you went to the Vet in the first place? If so, what are they? Those numbers you gave us aren't really too bad, actually. I have a cat who currently has/had a kidney infection, and his numbers were BUN 41, Creatinine 3.0, and his Vet said it's possible he has kidney disease, but she thinks it may all be related to the infection. So we are treating the infection and then will retest in a couple months to see if his blood values went back to normal.

2) Does your cat go outdoors? Could he have gotten into something poisonous? That can cause Acute Kidney Disease, which usually requires a large infusion of fluids, but normally in hospital. But otherwise, sub-q fluids aren't usually given, especially on a daily basis, until they are much further along in the disease process.

3) Did your Vet recommend using the dry K/D diet or Canned? I would highly recommend using canned food, and if your cat doesn't like the K/D, don't worry, there are plenty of other choices out there. There is a list of foods to choose from on that website, both in the U.S. and Europe..

I think those are all my questions for now, along with Jem's from above.
Well, the only sign my cat was showing was peeing outside the litter box once and looking unhealthy to me.. I kinda felt she's not well but other than that her appetite is okay, I will also take her to retest to check if the UTI is gone and then check the blood values again for sure
She doesn't go outdoors as it's very unsafe where I am at and the vet said it's okay to give both dry and canned food, I will buy ASAP and hope she likes it..
 

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For the kidney disease I think your vet has it correct. My 18 year old cat was diagnosed about 3 years ago and at that time was prescribed the hills k/d food which has really slowed the progression of the disease. Every year when he has blood work done his kidney values are slightly worse but the goal really is to slow it down as much as possible. So at least in his case he has done well on the hills k/d and I don't even do sub q fluids which I'm sure would also be very beneficial so if you are able to do that then I'm sure that would help a lot.
 

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Just a note concerning my above post, my cat has chronic kidney disease and not acute do the information I gave pertains to chronic and not acute
 

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Yes of course I will go to check if it's cleared and even after that very frequently. The vet said that she's very dehydrated even tho she drinks a lot of water (I see her drinking frequently). She's given 50 ml/day of lactate ringers.. vet also said it looks like chronic but there is a slight chance that she will recover
Both the infection and dehydration can cause kidney values to be off. There is very much a possibility that her values will stabilize, or at least not be as bad.
No matter what, I would recommend that you start feeding her a wet food only diet, preferably low phosphorus. It will help keep her better hydrated and also help prevent more urinary issues.
The KD (among a few other brands) and the sub-Q fluids are what I did for my kitty when he had CKD, but not until he was further along in the disease.
How long are you to continue the fluids for now? Until my kitty was closer to the end stages, we only had to do it periodically. We had to keep them up daily when he was in stage 3 and 4, but her values (IMO) do not indicate she is that far along.
 
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kitteh_

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Both the infection and dehydration can cause kidney values to be off. There is very much a possibility that her values will stabilize, or at least not be as bad.
No matter what, I would recommend that you start feeding her a wet food only diet, preferably low phosphorus. It will help keep her better hydrated and also help prevent more urinary issues.
The KD (among a few other brands) and the sub-Q fluids are what I did for my kitty when he had CKD, but not until he was further along in the disease.
How long are you to continue the fluids for now? Until my kitty was closer to the end stages, we only had to do it periodically. We had to keep them up daily when he was in stage 3 and 4, but her values (IMO) do not indicate she is that far along.
Yes I think you are right about the values, I have read that everywhere online but my vet says different, that the CKD triggered the UTI but I don't know, what you said sounds more convincing to me... I spoke to the vet again today, they recommended me some paste called "renal advance" I spent the whole day searching for that as there wasn't any left at the vet and also for Hills K/D which I found both dry and canned, she absolutely dislikes the dry one but ate the canned so I guess I am going to stick to that one. I asked about how long I have to give her the fluids, they said 2 months but I had a really hard time thinking how to insert the needle myself and I knew she wasn't going to just stay there and would run away so I am thinking what to do.. I wonder if giving her water with the syringe will be cruel? I don't want to give her any kind of stress, thank you tho for being nice and replying to my worries :)
 
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kitteh_

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For the kidney disease I think your vet has it correct. My 18 year old cat was diagnosed about 3 years ago and at that time was prescribed the hills k/d food which has really slowed the progression of the disease. Every year when he has blood work done his kidney values are slightly worse but the goal really is to slow it down as much as possible. So at least in his case he has done well on the hills k/d and I don't even do sub q fluids which I'm sure would also be very beneficial so if you are able to do that then I'm sure that would help a lot.
Well, I tried to do that but I just couldn't insert the needle.. I wonder if I could give her fluids with an injector from the mouth and if that's going to be cruel? I don't want to put her in stress. I am glad your cat is keeping up well with the disease I hope he lives a long and healthiest possible life.
 

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kitteh_ kitteh_ , did your Vet not show you how to give the sub-q fluids? You are supposed to insert the needle into her scruff, then let the fluids flow. It's much easier if the fluids are warmed up first, and if you have really sharp needles, hang the fluids really high, which makes them run in faster, etc. But, of course, if they didn't show you HOW to insert the needle, that's the main thing. Cats barely feel the prick of the needle, and some cats will actually sit and eat their food, or favorite treats while getting fluids. Others will sit curled up in their owners lap while getting them. It just depends on the cat. Do you have anyone there to help you? We did it as a team here, and put our cat on a nice warm towel on the dining room table, hung the bag from the chandelier, then as I gently held and petted our cat(s) and talked to them, my hubby inserted the needle and let the fluids flow. If you google "how to give sub-q fluids to a cat" you can find several youtubes on how to do it.

Giving water via her mouth is the same as her drinking water. It won't really do much since she is already drinking on her own. Sub q's usually will result in a water balloon type thing under their skin which will slow disappate over a period of hours and ever so slowly hydrate their entire body. It's weird because sometimes that water balloon thing will appear in different places, like one of their front legs, of their chest, rather than where you placed the needle, so don't worry if you see it.

So glad she likes the K/D wet food. Mine never liked any of it so we had to go to plan B and just feed them anything they would eat, since they didn't really want anything.
 

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Unfortunately, sub-Q fluids and force feeding water are totally different when it comes to trying to re-hydrate a cat. I would not froce feed water by syringe, you just wouldn't be able to give her enough.
To start, you could add a bit of water to her wet food, but just staying away from dry food all together will be helpful.
Did the vet show you how to do the fluid injections?
When I had to do it, I would place Toby on my lap on a pillow, or just in my legs. I would sit with my legs crossed/folded on the floor.
I hung my bag of fluids on a coat rack so it could be portable and get gravity on my side.
I'm a lefty so you might want to do opposite from me but...
I would have Toby's head/face facing to my right, perched on my thigh/pillow.
Then I would have the needle ready to go in my left hand.
Grab the scruff of the shoulders with my right hand, and pull the skin up.
Then while holding the skin with my right hand, take my left, that's holding the needle (with my thumb and index finger), turn my hand up so the needle is pointing away/up and use my pinky to create a dent/fold in the skin.
Then firmly insert the needle into the little dent I created with my pinky.
Let the scruff go, and gently pull the skin back just a bit, and sometimes pull the needle back out just a smidge, so the skin could lay flat. Just to make sure I did not go thru to other side. Also, sometimes if the tip of the needle is pressed up against skin or other tissue (inside), when you turn to it on, it won't flow, so by taking it back it allows a more free space for the fluid.
I would then reach for the little dial, and open the flow of fluids. All the while petting and giving treats to keep him distracted.
One thing I learned (at least in my case) is the more you try to restrain, the more they try to fight, so if you can set them up so they are comfy and distract rather the restrain, it goes much smoother.
Also, don't be afraid to quickly and firmly insert the needle. It's hard to get used to but the quicker you go without hesitation, the better it is for them.
It is much easier if you have help but it can be done alone. Sometimes I would get my husband to control the flow of fluid so I could have both my hands petting and giving treats to Toby.
You also want to make sure that the fluids aren't cold, it is very uncomfortable for kitty. So you can wrap the bag of fluids in a warmed towel or place on a heating pad covered with a towel (on low) for a few minutes prior to giving them. But if your home is warm it shouldn't be an issue.
 
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kitteh_

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kitteh_ kitteh_ , did your Vet not show you how to give the sub-q fluids? You are supposed to insert the needle into her scruff, then let the fluids flow. It's much easier if the fluids are warmed up first, and if you have really sharp needles, hang the fluids really high, which makes them run in faster, etc. But, of course, if they didn't show you HOW to insert the needle, that's the main thing. Cats barely feel the prick of the needle, and some cats will actually sit and eat their food, or favorite treats while getting fluids. Others will sit curled up in their owners lap while getting them. It just depends on the cat. Do you have anyone there to help you? We did it as a team here, and put our cat on a nice warm towel on the dining room table, hung the bag from the chandelier, then as I gently held and petted our cat(s) and talked to them, my hubby inserted the needle and let the fluids flow. If you google "how to give sub-q fluids to a cat" you can find several youtubes on how to do it.

Giving water via her mouth is the same as her drinking water. It won't really do much since she is already drinking on her own. Sub q's usually will result in a water balloon type thing under their skin which will slow disappate over a period of hours and ever so slowly hydrate their entire body. It's weird because sometimes that water balloon thing will appear in different places, like one of their front legs, of their chest, rather than where you placed the needle, so don't worry if you see it.

So glad she likes the K/D wet food. Mine never liked any of it so we had to go to plan B and just feed them anything they would eat, since they didn't really want anything.
Unfortunately, sub-Q fluids and force feeding water are totally different when it comes to trying to re-hydrate a cat. I would not froce feed water by syringe, you just wouldn't be able to give her enough.
To start, you could add a bit of water to her wet food, but just staying away from dry food all together will be helpful.
Did the vet show you how to do the fluid injections?
When I had to do it, I would place Toby on my lap on a pillow, or just in my legs. I would sit with my legs crossed/folded on the floor.
I hung my bag of fluids on a coat rack so it could be portable and get gravity on my side.
I'm a lefty so you might want to do opposite from me but...
I would have Toby's head/face facing to my right, perched on my thigh/pillow.
Then I would have the needle ready to go in my left hand.
Grab the scruff of the shoulders with my right hand, and pull the skin up.
Then while holding the skin with my right hand, take my left, that's holding the needle (with my thumb and index finger), turn my hand up so the needle is pointing away/up and use my pinky to create a dent/fold in the skin.
Then firmly insert the needle into the little dent I created with my pinky.
Let the scruff go, and gently pull the skin back just a bit, and sometimes pull the needle back out just a smidge, so the skin could lay flat. Just to make sure I did not go thru to other side. Also, sometimes if the tip of the needle is pressed up against skin or other tissue (inside), when you turn to it on, it won't flow, so by taking it back it allows a more free space for the fluid.
I would then reach for the little dial, and open the flow of fluids. All the while petting and giving treats to keep him distracted.
One thing I learned (at least in my case) is the more you try to restrain, the more they try to fight, so if you can set them up so they are comfy and distract rather the restrain, it goes much smoother.
Also, don't be afraid to quickly and firmly insert the needle. It's hard to get used to but the quicker you go without hesitation, the better it is for them.
It is much easier if you have help but it can be done alone. Sometimes I would get my husband to control the flow of fluid so I could have both my hands petting and giving treats to Toby.
You also want to make sure that the fluids aren't cold, it is very uncomfortable for kitty. So you can wrap the bag of fluids in a warmed towel or place on a heating pad covered with a towel (on low) for a few minutes prior to giving them. But if your home is warm it shouldn't be an issue.
First of all, I truly appreciate both of your tips and helps. You have really helped me, I noted them down and will apply them. The vet has shown me but I lacked the confidence to do it myself, I was scared I'd do something wrong and hurt her. I am going to take her again tomorrow ask to show again or let me do it in front of them maybe that would make me feel more confident. Oh and the online videos idea was great I never thought about it!! I have someone to help me but I have to insert the needle as nobody else would dare to. Thank you for your time and help :redheartpump:
 

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I was an absolute wreck the first several times I had to insert the needle. To the point where I actually threw up the first time, before having to do it, I was so nervous. I even shook a bit as I was trying to get things ready...almost stabbed myself with the :censored: needle taking the cap off....I have issues with needles on the best of days so this was not something I thought I could do, and did it for 4 years.
So I totally get how nervous you feel...but you can do this and you can get thru it. It gets easier with a little bit of practice.
Good idea to go to the vet and do it with them/in front of them, it does help, just to make sure you got it down...I'm sure you'll do great!

You'll be just fine and your kitty will be better for it.
:hugs:
 

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Me too! pushing huge needle going into my 18 yr olds neck was like going thru leather and made me cringe every time. Then she needed transfusions and the second one failed (was from a siamese) and it didn;t go well. Cya in heaven Snookie my first cat!
I did it for about two months then bladder cancer developed. That took my Mom too. age 73 I filter every drop I drink. Pur instead of Brita. Your a wonderful cat lover going 4 years!!!!!
 
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kitteh_

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And just remember, you are NOT hurting her, you are HELPING her :hugs:

Let us know how it goes.
I was an absolute wreck the first several times I had to insert the needle. To the point where I actually threw up the first time, before having to do it, I was so nervous. I even shook a bit as I was trying to get things ready...almost stabbed myself with the :censored: needle taking the cap off....I have issues with needles on the best of days so this was not something I thought I could do, and did it for 4 years.
So I totally get how nervous you feel...but you can do this and you can get thru it. It gets easier with a little bit of practice.
Good idea to go to the vet and do it with them/in front of them, it does help, just to make sure you got it down...I'm sure you'll do great!

You'll be just fine and your kitty will be better for it.
:hugs:
Hello it's me again, I finally got a hold of how to do with your help and the vet so I have been doing it every night since last time we wrote, but I discovered a hard lump about 0.5-0.8 inches/1-2 cm on her back, it's literally on the skin not connected beneath there was a little wound on it, not covering the whole lump
Do you think this could be because of bad needle injection or something more serious? Have you had something like this before? I googled and it's telling me tragic things like injection site carcinoma, I am nervous and her vet is on a vacation :/
 
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