18 year old cat with Renal failure

melissa

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My cat Gibbons was diagnosed yesterday with renal failure. I am devastated. My vet is showing me today how to give him subcu injections and we will start him on special low protein food. Can anyone give me practical advice on how to keep him as happy and comfortable as possible until he starts to decline? I know that making the decision on when to help him cross the rainbow bridge is in our future but my vet thinks we caught this in it’s early stage and that he can be comfortable for some time yet. He was always a cat who loved his food and to see him not want it hurts my heart. Are there any treats that are acceptable for a cat with this issue? I don’t want him to just exist in this final stage of his life, I want it to be good for him.
 
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Hi!
Something that is probably the absolute hardest is to keep your emotions as low-key as possible, because our cats are sponges for our happy as well as our stress. Try chamomile tea, exercise, meditation, prayer, whatever works for you.

Otherwise, try classical harp music, or other cat music for him.

The fluids should help him a lot and hopefully he'll regain his appetite :vibes::crossfingers: :hugs:
 
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The fluids should help him with his appetite. I have been though this before and currently am going through it again. That is something you see, to deal with when you have older cats. My boy always eats after he has his fluids. There are special treats for CRF cats. I think they are made by Royal Canin, but am not sure. Chewy carries them I believe. You may have to try several brands of the food to find one he will eat. My boy gets 2 different brands so I can vary it some. I give fluids twice a day. It isn't hard but I can say that after a time the skin seems to thicken and it becomes more difficult to get the needle in. Truthfully, I can see my boy declining so it probably won't be long. Once his quality of life goes, it will be time. He will let me know. Good luck and if you need moral support I am just a PM away.
 
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melissa

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melissa

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posiepurrs said:
The fluids should help him with his appetite. I have been though this before and currently am going through it again. That is something you see, to deal with when you have older cats. My boy always eats after he has his fluids. There are special treats for CRF cats. I think they are made by Royal Canin, but am not sure. Chewy carries them I believe. You may have to try several brands of the food to find one he will eat. My boy gets 2 different brands so I can vary it some. I give fluids twice a day. It isn't hard but I can say that after a time the skin seems to thicken and it becomes more difficult to get the needle in. Truthfully, I can see my boy declining so it probably won't be long. Once his quality of life goes, it will be time. He will let me know. Good luck and if you need moral support I am just a PM away.
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Thank you so much for your insight and advice. I appreciate the offer of moral support I’m sure there will be times I need it. I didn’t realize there were choices for food- my vet told me to give him k/d kidney care by Hills. I’m hoping he likes it once his appetite returns because I got carried away and bought a whole case! 😩
 
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melissa

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Furballsmom said:
He's not eating at all? Can you try fingerfeeding him, or using a spoon or popsicle stick?
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After fluids this morning he ate a few bites of food and had a few of his favourite treats (the vet said the trick is to get him to eat anything right now until he bounces back a bit) I’m not sure how I’ll know if he’s not feeling like eating or just not liking the new food. I called the vets office and they said there are several kinds we can try
 
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GibsMom said:
(the vet said the trick is to get him to eat anything right now until he bounces back a bit)
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Can you handfeed him or is he too fussy for that? If he's like my boy, we didn't have the option to wait for him to decide, we had to help get food into him :)
 
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melissa

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Furballsmom said:
Can you handfeed him or is he too fussy for that? If he's like my boy, we didn't have the option to wait for him to decide, we had to help get food into him :)
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He would only lick his food today if I sat with him- which I’m ok with. I’m going to try warming it a bit tonight to see if it appeals to him more. He’s taking Mitrazapine as an anti nauseant which we just started today, it can take a couple of days to really help. Fingers crossed his appetite comes back!
 
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Don't wait too long before handfeeding him if he needs the extra help getting nutrients in :)
 
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There's a method my vet taught me when Poppycat was sick, where you use a popsicle stick/tongue depressor or modeling stick, and I'm still using this method because he won't eat the brand of pate that I put his Milk Thistle in on his own. (I lift him up to the kitchen counter, makes it lots easier :thumbsup:)

A pate style food works the best - it stays on the end of the stick better. Scoop a little food onto the end of the stick, and gently press at the hinge of his jaw, that will cause his mouth to open. Then scrape the food off onto his tongue. Let him work it around, swallow, and lick his lips. Then repeat :)

I've had it raining cat food when I got it a little wrong LOL so if things gets a bit messy, not to worry but keep a piece of paper towel handy and wear an unimportant shirt.
 
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melissa

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Furballsmom said:
There's a method my vet taught me when Poppycat was sick, where you use a popsicle stick/tongue depressor or modeling stick, and I'm still using this method because he won't eat the brand of pate that I put his Milk Thistle in on his own. (I lift him up to the kitchen counter, makes it lots easier :thumbsup:)

A pate style food works the best - it stays on the end of the stick better. Scoop a little food onto the end of the stick, and gently press at the hinge of his jaw, that will cause his mouth to open. Then scrape the food off onto his tongue. Let him work it around, swallow, and lick his lips. Then repeat :)

I've had it raining cat food when I got it a little wrong LOL so if things gets a bit messy, not to worry but keep a piece of paper towel handy and wear an unimportant shirt.
Click to expand...
I will try this tomorrow if he still doesn’t want to eat. He’s licking at it a bit but then walks away
 
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melissa

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Furballsmom said:
Hi!
Something that is probably the absolute hardest is to keep your emotions as low-key as possible, because our cats are sponges for our happy as well as our stress. Try chamomile tea, exercise, meditation, prayer, whatever works for you.

Otherwise, try classical harp music, or other cat music for him.

The fluids should help him a lot and hopefully he'll regain his appetite :vibes::crossfingers: :hugs:
Click to expand...
Can I ask what an appropriate amount of Sub Q fluid would be? Gibbons weighs around 11lbs and the vet said 200ml every other day or every day if possible. I can only get about 100ml at a time into the injection site before it pops the needle out of his skin and can’t bring myself to stick him twice in one sitting. If she said 200ml every other day would be ok then if I’m giving him 100ml a day will that work? This is so hard 😔
 
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GibsMom said:
can only get about 100ml at a time into the injection site before it pops the needle out of his skin
Click to expand...
That's his maximum then. My vet said each cat is different, and in my case as well we weren't able to get the suggested quantity into him, and she said it is what it is then.

See how he feels and acts the rest of the day. If he's doing better with daily fluids then go with that, and I think you are doing a fantastic job with all this!!
 
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melissa

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GibsMom said:
I will try this tomorrow if he still doesn’t want to eat. He’s licking at it a bit but then walks away
Click to expand...
Well he woke me up at 4:30 am wanting food, he didn’t eat much only a couple mouthfuls. I left a bowl with some food in it on my bedside table and around 6 am he went to it on his own accord and ate a few more bites. Then he ate a few more bites at 7:30 with the other cats. He’s refusing the k/d food, and right now I’m happy to get anything in to him- even temptations treats if he’ll take them. We can work on what he’s eating if he improves
 
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