Crf Cats And Life Expectancy

[stephanie junca]

Hello everyone,

My cat, Paprika, who is 17, has been dealing with kidney and liver disease for the past two years. The first year I was told she would only live maybe 6 months to a year after diagnosis.

A year later she was still with me. I took her in because she was severely constipated. They ran blood tests and again gave her only 6 months to live but suggested Sub-Q fluids with cerenia and pepcid with a special diet for renal failure kitties.

Another year later, today, she is still here. This past week she gave me a real scare though. I thought it was the end. She could barely walk. She would stumble over to me when I would come home. Her skin was so dry I could tell she was severely dehydrated. She didn't eat for 2-3 days. I have been giving her more fluids daily and trying to keep her comfortable. I talked to the vet and he said to keep doing what I was doing because there was nothing more they could do. He suggested that if she starts developing seizures then it would be humane to put her to sleep.

This weekend I have been pending as much time with her as I can. My boyfriend and good friend came over and loved on her too. My parents are coming up for Thanksgiving in a few days so she will also get lots of affection from them. She is eating again and not stumbling as much when she walks but I can tell she is very weak.

She is sitting on my lap now and napping peacefully.

My boyfriend says she just likes giving me scares to see if I still care about her. Haha maybe so! But I know this is just a part of her diseases. The vet told me that she has proved them wrong many times and that she may still have more time with us but we can never know really.

What have been your experiences with CRF kitties and their life expectancy after diagnosis?

 

[Mlle. Kitty]

I’m so sorry you’re going through this; CRF is such a horrible disease. Miss Ellie, one of my heart cats, was in horrible shape when she was diagnosed - she had lost a lot of weight, was vomiting frequently, and couldn’t drink enough water. She was my first cat, one we rescued as an adult, and our vet thought she might live another two weeks when she was diagnosed. We treated her with sub-q fluids and Pepcid, and when she stopped eating for the most part (she still loved her dry food) I syringe fed her with baby food. She survived another two years with pretty good quality of life until the last couple weeks, when it became clear to me that she was no longer enjoying life. At that point, I stayed with her while the vet helped her to the Rainbow Bridge. Of course, no two cats are exactly alike, but I am grateful for the extra time we had with her. She passed away a little over ten years ago.

We now have another kitty, CK Pappas, who we rescued as a kitten a few months after Miss Ellie passed. He’s ten years old now and is suffering from CRF that seemed to come on so fast and so hard. He spent Sunday through Wednesday at the emergency animal hospital receiving IV fluids ($3900 that I don’t have), and now we must take him to our local vet to get going on sub-q fluids. His appetite grows less every day, and my husband and I are trying to prepare ourselves for the decision we just were not prepared to make.

All this is to say that I’m so very sorry you and your precious Paprika are going through all this, but just pay attention to how Paprika is acting. The vet may have a guess as to how much time Paprika has left but you know Paprika best. She will let you know when it’s time. Sending all the positive thoughts and prayers to you, to Paprika, to everyone out there dealing with the most devastatingly heart-wrenching part of having a fur baby. It hurts so badly because they give us so much love and joy. Hugs to you all.

 

[Antonio65]

Mostly depends on how early you get on the disease, how effective the treatments are and how lucky the kitty is.
My cat was diagnosed with CKD (or CRF) at the age of 6 and died at the age of 16 and 11 months from a cancer, not CKD, so in my case she was still rather fine 11 years after the diagnosis.

 

[prairiepanda]

My Princess Jasmine lived for a few years after her diagnosis, eventually leaving us at 19. There were a couple times I thought I would lose her prematurely. At one point she had gotten an asymptomatic UTI that spread into her kidneys and then into her blood, and at that time the vet wasn't expecting PJ to make it through. But even so, PJ was still fighting so I went through with aggressive treatment of the infection. I was prepared to say goodbye, but she miraculously recovered. After that, the possibility of losing her was always on my mind. In the end, I let PJ choose when she was ready to go. One day she just stopped talking to me, and refused to touch any kind of food of any sort, even Temptations treats, so I gave her the best last day I could and made the hardest choice of my life.

You know your cat better than anyone else, so you're the best qualified person to judge when your cat's quality of life has diminished to the point that treatment would no longer be a benefit. If you feel that Paprika still has some fight left in her, you can ask your vet about getting her hospitalized on an IV drip for at least a couple nights. The IV fluids do a lot more to help a CRF kitty bounce back from a bad spell than the sub-q fluids could. It's expensive, but it got PJ back on track many times. That said, it's not magic, so if you feel that Paprika is past that point it might be kinder to focus on quality of life.

 

[stephanie junca]

Thanks for the responses!

Yeah this weekend she was not well again. She got really constipated even though I was giving her fluids and meds every day. She started at around 6am throwing up and pooping in random places. I walked around with her cleaning everything up and rubbing her belly just trying to help. At one point she threw up blood because she was getting sick so much and I think that's when I realized I couldn't put my kitty through this anymore.

The past couple of days she has been ok. Hasn't thrown up again but I feel it's only a matter of time. I notice when she does throw up she sounds different now ever since her bad spell a few weeks ago. Just sounds like it hurts her.

I'm due to take her in to the vet for her yearly checkup so I scheduled an appointment in a couple weeks. I just started a new job so I'm trying to not take days off right now. Earliest I could do was a few days before Christmas when my company closes down for the holidays.

I pretty much decided that if her kidney levels come up really bad and if the vet says there are no other treatments to improve her quality of life then I have to do the right thing and end her suffering. Because now I feel like she is suffering. I guess I didn't really see it before that much but now I do. As sad as that is, I know my kitty is tired and weak. She's so brittle and frail. All she does is lay in her little heated bed and then walk over to eat her kibbles and chicken. At night she doesn't even come to my bed anymore because it seems like it's too much effort for her to get up. I have some steps set up for her to get up but she doesn't like using them it seems.

I know it will be a hard thing for me to actually do and hopefully I will follow through. Not sure what would hurt me more... Continuing to see her suffer like this or let her rest and not see her every day. If only they could be with us forever healthy and strong...

 

[mom2]

I'm so sorry you are going through this, it's heartbreaking to go through. . I lost my little one in June, he was only 4 1/2. Diagnosed the previous October started on IV's dailey and in April he had a crash, took him to be hospitalized for a few days on IV drip, it's amazing, he immediately perked up but his numbers were incredibly high. Crashed again twice in May,back to hospital, it is very expensive but he would look great immediately after a few hours each time, although his numbers remained high and it didn't last long. He was just a baby and a fighter. I would try the hospitalization for a few days if I were you to see how she does. Each time I took Zakk he stayed in for about 3 or 4 days, he had other issues, bad breeder, and eventually took him to the University. There they discovered he had HCM, pretty sever, even though a few months earlier a specialist only heard a slight murmur. I don't know where you live, but if you have animal hospice in the area, they are fabulous. I don't know if I can name companies here but you can google it. They do palliative care as well and come to your home. I held on for so long, the Sunday Zakk passed I called them to make an appointment for the next morning as I'd been syringe feeding him and he had trouble walking that day. He died in my arms 30 minutes after I made the call. It was devastating, but the they are wonderful, they even have grief counselors you can call anytime. Sending hugs and prayers to you.

 

[stephanie junca]

I'm so sorry you are going through this, it's heartbreaking to go through. . I lost my little one in June, he was only 4 1/2. Diagnosed the previous October started on IV's dailey and in April he had a crash, took him to be hospitalized for a few days on IV drip, it's amazing, he immediately perked up but his numbers were incredibly high. Crashed again twice in May,back to hospital, it is very expensive but he would look great immediately after a few hours each time, although his numbers remained high and it didn't last long. He was just a baby and a fighter. I would try the hospitalization for a few days if I were you to see how she does. Each time I took Zakk he stayed in for about 3 or 4 days, he had other issues, bad breeder, and eventually took him to the University. There they discovered he had HCM, pretty sever, even though a few months earlier a specialist only heard a slight murmur. I don't know where you live, but if you have animal hospice in the area, they are fabulous. I don't know if I can name companies here but you can google it. They do palliative care as well and come to your home. I held on for so long, the Sunday Zakk passed I called them to make an appointment for the next morning as I'd been syringe feeding him and he had trouble walking that day. He died in my arms 30 minutes after I made the call. It was devastating, but the they are wonderful, they even have grief counselors you can call anytime. Sending hugs and prayers to you.

Thanks for your response! I'm sorry to hear about your kitty... Gone so young .

Paprika had another episode at 3:30am and again I was walking around with her for an hour or so. She has no energy other than to sleep. I try an entice her with some yummy foods (people foods that I never used to give her) but she sniffs and walks away. She eats her kibbles still though and drinks water. It's just sad... I take her in a week and a half to the vet so we'll see what they say.