Cat with kidney disease, but increased appetite???

[mrsgreenjeens]

I would say, and our Vet wholeheartly agreed, with a kidney cat, the most important thing is that they eat. So if CiCi is eating well, that's great. And if she's eating wet food, all the more better. IF you can add additional water to that food, even better! Kidney cats need extra water, as you may have noticed because she may be drinking quite a bit more than she used to.

I'm surprised your Vet put a timeline on Cici. All of my kidney cats lived quite some time...my last two both lived three years after being diagnosed. Some kidney cats have lived far longer than that! Does she have any symptoms at all other than a slight weight loss? Is she vomiting at all? Or lethargic? If not, I'd say things are going along nicely. Have you seen this website: Tanya's Comprehensive Guide to Feline Chronic Kidney Disease - Everything You Need to Know to Help Your Cat This is absolutely the best there is strictly for informational purposes (it is NOT interactive)

that your little one has more time that your Vet estimates! Keep us posted on how she's doing.

 

[Juanne]

Mrs Green jeens, Thanks for your reply. I was beginning to think no one was going to see my post!
Yes CiCi is certainly eating...and drinking tons. She can't get through the night without eating by about 4am...which is fun! But during the day she has lots of small meals- both wet and also fresh meat/chicken. She has renal biscuits to add to that when I'm not around to open the fridge!
She doesn't really have any symptoms except the extra drinking which came on shortly after she got over the pancreatitis. The vet did tests and said it was CKD. She's only slightly thinner I think, certainly still with it and reasonably energetic for one so old. She was vomiting badly prior to the pancreatitis for months... vet originally thought gastritis.....but hasn't done that now for months.
Yes I have seen the Tanya post - though I do need to go back and have a more thorough read.
Thank you for your help....we were not sure we were doing the right thing when the vet was insistent she stay on the horrible renal wet food that she hated. As I said in my original post....I think she deserves to eat what she likes at her stage of life and it certainly doesn't seem to be making her worse at all. I will keep you up to date with any change. Thank you once again.

 

[denice]

I am new to CKD, my older lady was diagnosed a month ago. Fortunately I found one of the wet renal diets that she would eat, the Royal Canin morsels and gravy. She ate the Hills stew ones at the beginning and then quit, of course I have a number of cans here because I bought those as well. The most important thing of course is that they eat. If I hadn't found a renal diet that she would eat or if she decides to quit eating this one then she will get whatever wet food that she will eat.

 

[Juanne]

I agree denice. I think it's more important they eat rather than worrying about what they eat. Our CiCi hated the Royal Canin Tuna and chicken pouches and that's all my vet stocked, I could've ordered something different online but not that many varieties here in Australia that I've seen. Our girl is doing really well on a normal diet except she has Renal dry food as well - I think that's important as how many times have we heard that those cheap supermarket dry biscuits can be the cause of kidney failure?

 

[cat1967]

I think the fact that she has an appetite is very very important. Also if she is energetic it means she is feeling well and that is good because the number one thing to worry about is their quality of life. I really don't get it why your vet gave her a year to live. No one knows that. Many cats with CKD live much much longer so that should not worry you right now. Just always makes sure she eats and drinks and enjoys living. I hope the best for you two. Lots of love and kisses!

 

[Juanne]

I think the fact that she has an appetite is very very important. Also if she is energetic it means she is feeling well and that is good because the number one thing to worry about is their quality of life. I really don't get it why your vet gave her a year to live. No one knows that. Many cats with CKD live much much longer so that should not worry you right now. Just always makes sure she eats and drinks and enjoys living. I hope the best for you two. Lots of love and kisses!

Thank you Cat 1967.

Yes I'm not sure about the time prognosis either. Looking at other peoples posts it looks like she could go on for ages! When he said 12-18 months it put us all into a bit of a spin...thinking she'd be gone fairly quickly.
She is pretty good. Apart from the drinking heaps (we have a water fountain now so that helps) and eating constantly...and being rather vocal (which she never used to be) she is really good. She enjoys life so the quality is still there.
Thank you for your comments. It's reassuring to know what other people think.
x

 

[cat1967]

Thank you Cat 1967.

Yes I'm not sure about the time prognosis either. Looking at other peoples posts it looks like she could go on for ages! When he said 12-18 months it put us all into a bit of a spin...thinking she'd be gone fairly quickly.
She is pretty good. Apart from the drinking heaps (we have a water fountain now so that helps) and eating constantly...and being rather vocal (which she never used to be) she is really good. She enjoys life so the quality is still there.
Thank you for your comments. It's reassuring to know what other people think.
x

You are so very welcome. I wish I could suggest something to help but I can't. All I can do is pray for you. I am kind of relieved though that she is enjoying life. No one knows how long they will live or how long we will live to be with them. All is so unpredictable whether you have a disease or not.
Have a nice weekend dear and big kisses to you both.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Juanne , I just wanted to tell you about the wanting to eat in the early am. With my last kidney girl, I actually froze a two little bowls of her wet food, with extra water added, and took them out of the freezer when we went to bed. I set one on a towel on my nightstand, and the other on an icepak on the nightstand (both in little ziploc bags. She knew to wake me up when she got hungry, and by that time, the first bowl had thawed. Then I would move the bowl from the icepak onto the towel so it could start to thaw. Voila....two middle of the night meals without me having to move. I barely woke up and certainly didn't have to open the fridge . And my other cats knew if they waited patiently for her to eat, they would each get a treat, which I also kept in a little baggie under my pillow. Everybody won!

 

[cat1967]

mrsgreenjeens
How very clever and thoughtful. You must love your cats dearly. I had to wake up twice during the night when my Benji was sick. Unfortunately nothing like this would work as I had to syringe feed him. To tell the truth I would only do that for my kids or my cats. I love them so much too.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

mrsgreenjeens
How very clever and thoughtful. You must love your cats dearly. I had to wake up twice during the night when my Benji was sick. Unfortunately nothing like this would work as I had to syringe feed him. To tell the truth I would only do that for my kids or my cats. I love them so much too.

I DO love my cats! Don't have any human kids...furkids are so much better, in MY opinion

 

[cat1967]

I DO love my cats! Don't have any human kids...furkids are so much better, in MY opinion

To be honest human kids can hurt you so much sometimes. Furkids will never!

 

[Debbie806]

We have a 17-year-old cat with CKF. He has been stable with treatment for over a year, but recently dropped a pound and his creatinine went up, so we are giving him more fluid under his skin twice a day. What we cannot understand, given his condition, is the fact that he wants to eat constantly. He eats at least 3 small cans of cat food a day (or more), plus unseasoned chicken or turkey breast, lactose-free milk, and a bit of dry food. He wants to eat at least 6-7 times a day and won't leave us alone until we feed him. As far as we're concerned, he can have all the food he wants, and the vet agrees. However, the vet has no idea why he eats constantly when he has CKF. She keeps saying that we should be having to persuade and coax him to eat, but that's not the case. He even wakes us up in the middle of the night! Unfortunately, his weight is not increasing, but he acts like he's starving constantly and gobbles all of his food. He's been screened for hyperthyroidism and diabetes and doesn't have either. I'm glad to read that we're not the only ones experiencing this, because everything we've read is just the opposite.

 

[Debbie806]

I am going through the same exact thing with my cat Isabel! I’ve asked my vet and she has no idea why Isabel wants to eat all day and night long!! She is getting sub Q fluids 3 times a week and just spent a few days at vet for round the clock fluids. Vet told me Saturday that this was the end for my baby but she has not stopped eating! What a relief to see someone else has had the same experience.

 

[Debbie806]

P.S. Isabel is 13 years old and today she weighs 4.7 pounds, her regular weight was only 6 pounds. Thanks for all the tips posted here!! I was at a loss with confusion about how this could happen!

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I am going through the same exact thing with my cat Isabel! I’ve asked my vet and she has no idea why Isabel wants to eat all day and night long!! She is getting sub Q fluids 3 times a week and just spent a few days at vet for round the clock fluids. Vet told me Saturday that this was the end for my baby but she has not stopped eating! What a relief to see someone else has had the same experience.

Did your Vet say WHY it was the end of the road for your little one? Did she crash...is that why she had to be hospitalized? How's she doing now? Other than a good appetite (which is GREAT!), what else is happening with her...vomiting, lethargy, pain? Sometimes their bloodwork will look terrible, yet the cat themself will not seem ill at all, so we don't always go with what the bloodwork says (personally, I mean)

 

[Debbie806]

Did your Vet say WHY it was the end of the road for your little one? Did she crash...is that why she had to be hospitalized? How's she doing now? Other than a good appetite (which is GREAT!), what else is happening with her...vomiting, lethargy, pain? Sometimes their bloodwork will look terrible, yet the cat themself will not seem ill at all, so we don't always go with what the bloodwork says (personally, I mean)

Hi, My vet said that after 3 days of treatment her creatinine level only went down to 3.5. It started at 3.9. In March when she stayed at the vet for a few days her level went down to normal. She said this means the Kidney Disease is progressing and that we should concentrate on keeping her comfortable. The vet seemed to think she would be vomiting by now and suggested giving her anti-nausea meds at home. Isabel's behavior has been normal, she sleeps with me during the night and naps during the day on my lap, she is always hungry. You are right, I'm not going to treat her bloodwork, I will just take care of her on my own aside from taking her 3x a week for sub Q treatments. Thank you so much for your help!!

 

[cat1967]

If your cat seems fine go with that. Continue the meds or whatever you are doing, as apparently it works. Having an appetite is perfect, the opposite is terrible. Ask me who I had to syringe feed. Keep your baby on your lap and sleep with her and enjoy her love and company. She feels that.

 

[LaraCT]

My boy, 15, was just diagnosed with CKD. He has no muscle mass, and is extremely skeletal. The vet had previously diagnosed the cause as arthritis but now says his kidneys are tiny. He is still eating and drinking, and constantly hungry. I am also finding this confusing. He has been given a heart-breaking prognosis, but he still seems to be so full of life, so I am finding it very confusing that the prognosis is that grim!

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

My boy, 15, was just diagnosed with CKD. He has no muscle mass, and is extremely skeletal. The vet had previously diagnosed the cause as arthritis but now says his kidneys are tiny. He is still eating and drinking, and constantly hungry. I am also finding this confusing. He has been given a heart-breaking prognosis, but he still seems to be so full of life, so I am finding it very confusing that the prognosis is that grim!

I'm so sorry your boy got this diagnosis, BUT having an appetite is half the battle. All of my kidney cats lost their appetites, so as long as your little guy is eating, you're ahead of the game. What are you feeding him? Also, did your Vet check for thyroid issues. If he's eating well, then it IS confusing why he's so thin. I don't think kidney disease itself will cause the muscle loss, I really think it's putting cats on low protein diets because of kidney disease that causing the muscle loss. Do you have his blood work and can you give us his numbers, specifically his creatinine?

 

[Juanne]

Lara, our CiCi girl is still going strong after diagnosis September 2017. She eats and eats and eats and drinks like mad still. She wants food every two hours or so and drives us nuts if she doesn't get it. Overall she is in good health- no vomiting or other issues. She is a lot more vocal these days, not sure if she's uncomfortable in some way, but she's still full of life and chases a ribbon - and she's 16 next year. We give her everything she wants, she hated the renal diet, but she does have the renal biscuits. She was a fairly chunky cat and we've noticed she has lost weight despite the increased appetite - I figured it was down to the disease. I think once they stop eating, we have a problem.