Anyone have experience with a cat with Kidney failure?

[sicycat]

A friend of mine on my home board (not a cat board) just found out her furbaby Moochie is in the early stages of Kidney failure.

She had to take her to an emergency vet when she stopped eating and was acting funny. Please does anyone have any advice or can share their stories of their cat or cats they know that have had to live with this? Will Moochie have much longer to live? It's so sad.. I feel so bad for her, I want to do anything I can to help.


Moochie

 

[hissy]

It depends on how far advanced the disease is. It needs to be treated right away and aggressively, there are success stories here of owners whose cats have beaten the odds. This website, the gal who runs it specializes in liver disease- post in feline health and see what Traci has to say.


CatHelp

 

[sicycat]

I think she said the vet said it was in the beginning stages.

 

[lorie d.]

Sicy, Snowball is in the early stages of kidney disease and it can only be dectited(sp?) through blood tests. He eats a special diet of K/D which has kept the disease from progressing so far. Is this the stage your friend's cat is at?

 

[slave2_ragdolls]

Sicy....my bosses cat "Hey" had blood work back in April. The BUN level indicated that the cat was in the very eary stages of kidney falure. Hey is only 6 years old and 14 pounds. She was so upset about it that we went to another vet for a second opinion. The results were the same. She was giving the cat a lot of people food including grapes, and tuna with onions meant for people. Both are poison. The cat ate people food regularly. The cat was put on the SD KD formula for a couple of months with NO people food. The cat has been eating Wellness dry since. I just took her cat back to the vet 2 weeks ago for a retest and the results were amazing. The cats blood panel showed that the kidneys were now in the "normal range". The vet figured it was the people food that caused the decline. The cat also gained a pound and now weighs 15.2 pounds. My boss was delighted with the results as I was. How old is this cat? Does the cat eat any people food?

 

[sicycat]

Wow Lorie, I didnt know snowball was sick

My friend said that she will probably have to go on a special diet and may have to give her fluids. She will find out more information today. I think Moochie stayed overnight at the emergency vet.

I am not sure if she fed Moochie people food at all. I know she is at least 10, I think a little older.

 

[tuxedokitties]

With a good vet & a watchful eye, hopefully her adorable Moochie will be around for a good long time.

My Rainbow Bridge girl Macumba lived to be 17, and was diagnosed with kidney failure when she was about 12 years old. She was already taking medicine for hyperthyroid, too, so they caught the kidney problems early in her regular bloodwork - plus she had the symptom of drinking a lot more water than usual.

The vet gave her fluids, and we changed her diet to k/d. With good care & regular bloodwork we were able to keep it under control. I had to watch to make sure she was eating enough, and staying hydrated - hydration is critical with kidney problems - the extra fluids help to reduce the amount of work the kidneys have to do to process waste. The vet can show her how to check the skin on her neck - you kind of pinch it up into a tent, and if it snaps back, she's OK, but if it returns to shape slowly she's dehydrated & needs fluids. I also learned how to give her fluids at home under the skin. You just need to be watchful & have the vet check her out anytime she doesn't seem right - little things like bad breath & lethargy can be a sign she needs more vet care. Eventually, a few years later, she started needing more meds - a potassium supplement b/c she was processing so much fluid, and an antacid medicine to reduce her phosphorous levels.

She lived 5 years with CRF, and when I finally had to make the decision to let her go it was because she developed other severe health issues that were untreatable.

There are some pics of her in the tortie thread - she was a total sweetheart.

Try this website: http://www.felinecrf.com/
It's absolutely the best I've seen so far, and was a big help to me.
Best wishes for many more happy years for Moochie!

 

[sicycat]

Thanks so much Tess!! Wow.. 5 years.. that is very optimistic news. My friend loves Moochie very much and I'm sure she will do the best she can to make sure she lives many more happy years

Macumba is so cute...

 

[sicycat]

My friend is contemplating going to see Moochie while she's at the vet. Its 30 minutes away but Moochie will have to stay there until Wednesday. She is not sure if she should go see her because she doesnt want to stress her out more.

Do you think it would be nice for Moochie for her (Jenn) to go see her? I think so... I think it would make Moochie happy what do you guys think?

 

[sicycat]

btw she thinks she's about 12 and she doesnt feed her people food.

 

[tuxedokitties]

She could try to go visit Moochie & bring along a t-shirt or pillowcase that she's used that has her scent on it, so Moochie will have something to remind her of home. Check with the vet to see if she can bring a favorite toy, too, or maybe a paper bag or soft cat bed for her to hide in if she likes that. I've done that with the pillowcases, and brought a couple extra ones in a bag so the staff can give another to her if the first one gets dirty.

A lot of cats in the hospital will lay in their litterbox to hide, so if the vet will let you bring a soft bed it's nice for her, but it's usually an "at your own risk" thing - it could get dirty, and they'll tell you that you might not get your stuff back if it gets mixed up in the washer. It may help to put her name & phone number on it.

After the visit, when it's time to leave Moochie at the hospital, don't make a fuss - just calmly say "see you soon", blink slowly (that's a cat's "I love you, everything is OK") & leave...then call the vet when she gets home from the visit to see how they think Moochie did after she left.

*Also, it's important to be calm & relaxed - don't get upset if she has an IV in her arm or an Elizabethan collar on or anything - just pretend everything's normal & you're just spending some time loving on her.

I read about the slow blink thing somewhere, & I swear it helps.

Yes, I'm a cat nut.

 

[sicycat]

I slow blink with Zoey all the time

 

[momofmany]

My Bogart has CRF. Was diagnosed with it a year ago (he's now about 12-1/2 years old). I took him in when he started losing weight and his coat wasn't as shiny as it used to be. Unfortunately, once you notice the physical symptoms, often their kidneys are only about 20-30% functional. If you do regular (preventive) tests and catch it early, they have a better chance for a much longer life, as you can start them on a different diet immediately. The issue with them is not that they don't drink enough water, it is that their system can't retain all the fluids that they injest orally.

Bogart will not eat KD. He will only eat his Science Diet dry (maintenance, not even dry KD) and a little bit of moist food mixed with some gravy. He was on sub-q (e.g. under the skin) fluids for about 4 months and he stabilized his weight and his coat is looking much better these days. The vet thinks he could have a few years left as long as we restart the sub-q treatments the minute he starts showing signs. We check him regulary for dehydration and I often bring him to the vet just for them to look for signs that I may have missed. Bogart has already lived 2-1/2 years beyond vet predictions, so I say if he lives another few years, he is doing outstanding.

It's not the end of the world, it just takes extra time, love and patience.

 

[tuxedokitties]

Purina and Waltham also make a kidney diet - you might check with your vet & try those too - I would introduce those every now & then to Macumba when she wasn't eating enough k/d, to perk up her appetite.

(T-touch seems to help with appetite sometimes, too, if you want to try it)

 

[wellingtoncats]

Hello My cat fred had kidney failure- along with alot of other problems!we had to get him put down 1 week after he was diagnosed he couldnt go toilet or walk, it was so sad, he was my baby!

My cat is on CD for a similar problem.

Sicy I have heard alot of succses stories about this though and it sometimes doesn't affect some cats to much.

Sending smoochies to moochie, and praying he's okay.

 

[lorie d.]

Originally posted by Sicycat

Wow Lorie, I didnt know snowball was sick

Sorry I didn't respond sooner! At the end of next month, it will be exactly two years since Snowball was diagnosed. I had taken him to the vet to have his teeth cleaned, and the results of the pre-anesthesia blood work showed a problem...

 

[lorie d.]

Sicy, I asked Amy Shojai about kidney disease in the Sharing Golden Moments forum. Here is a link to my thread http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...threadid=20873 Maybe the information Amy gave me will be useful for your friend.

 

[sicycat]

Thanks Lorie

 

[sicycat]

Moochie is home now but Jenn says she's acting the same way she was before she took her to the vet. Kinda laying around in strange spots and not eating

She is drinking water though.

 

[sicycat]

The vet wants her to force feed Moochie

There has to be another way. Is this normal? Will she regain her appetite again? This is making me sad.

Anyone?