Dealing With Kidney Failure - What's Working For Us

[brittpatt]

Hi there,

When my cat, Ming, got diagnosed with kidney failure my vet was very little help. She told us my cat had 6 months to 2 years to live and recommended we put her on the Dr. Hills diet (do NOT do this). She also said if we feel so inclined we could start sub q ivs but it was not necessarily recommended.

I was at a total loss. I'm not the kind of person who gives up and just accepts things so I did a ton of research to find ways to help my cat to the best of my abilities. Many of you helped me here and I would like to share my knowledge now of what works and what doesn't (at least for Ming). Ming is doing very well now. She has energy and is much happier than before she was diagnosed.

1. Don't fall for the Dr. Hills diet
- Your vet recommends this because Science Diet (Dr. Hills) funds their vet schools and vet offices. When we put Ming on this she lost TONS of weight rapidly fast and her creatitine and BUN went up dramatically in just 4 weeks. This food has tons of fillers in it and is not healthy for cats.

2. BFF - Best Feline Friend
- We put Ming on BFF food (we order it from Chewy) and get the broth pouches. They have low phosphate which is essential for maintaining kidney health in a kidney cat. Ming LOVES the food and her energy levels improved almost over night. She eats 3 pouches a day 9 ounces. She has put on weight since going on BFF and has fat on her belly once again!

3. 100 ML of fluids 2-3 times per week
- We order our bags of fluids from the vet and give them to Ming 2-3 times per week depending on her energy levels. If she does not get her fluids, her water consumption goes up dramatically. Make sure to 'heat' the fluids by running hot water over the bag for a few minutes. Make sure to test the fluids on your arm (let us run out the needle) to ensure it's room temperature. If it's not room temperature it feels like ice going into your cat's neck/back region and he/she will hate you. We give her no more than 100 ML to prevent damage to the heart. Make sure to put a fresh needle on the bag after each use to prevent bacteria from entering the bag.

4. Renafood
- We tried Epakitin before Renafood and Ming got incredibly sick. I know some people swear by Epakitin but it wasn't right for us. We buy Renafood from our local holistic cat store, crush one pill per day and blend it into her BFF food. Renafood is literally made from kidneys (gross!) and is supposed to maintain existing kidney health. I've seen improvements in Ming's energy since starting however the verdict is still out until she gets her next blood results.

5. Absolutely no hard food
- Enough said. Unless you're at end of life and trying to offer final treats, no hard food.

6. Cooked chicken
- I've started cooking small amounts of cooked chicken with no oil or butter and giving them to her a couple of times a week. She loves it and it's a good supplement to her fish based BFF food.

7. Water, water, water
- Fresh water throughout the house.

8. Little stress
- Find ways to make your cat's life as stress free as possible. For Ming this means having a daily routine. She loves her routine and I can tell days we don't follow it she doesn't behave as happy.

I really hope this helps someone! Please let me know if I can try to answer any questions.

 

[cassidymills]

Hi, my cat is currently being treated for what the vet believes in kidney failure. She is dehydrated and her temperature is very low. The vet was quick to say she was very sick and she is currently on IV fluid treatment for the next 2 days. I was wondering if you also experienced a sudden sickness or if it was gradual?

 

[brittpatt]

Hi, my cat is currently being treated for what the vet believes in kidney failure. She is dehydrated and her temperature is very low. The vet was quick to say she was very sick and she is currently on IV fluid treatment for the next 2 days. I was wondering if you also experienced a sudden sickness or if it was gradual?

Is she at the vet office getting the IV treatments? Ming did get aggressive IV treatments at the vet and her creatitine levels dropped significantly after two days of treatment (3.0 to 2.0). However, the two days at the vet stressed her out terribly and she developed a severe UTI. I had to stay home from work for two days and I honestly thought we were going to lose her. If she is getting the aggressive IV fluids, make sure they test her for a UTI BEFORE she is released. My vet dodged this by saying she did not test positive for a UTI when she was admitted, however the UTI developed during the two days she was at the vet.

As for how the disease developed, I noticed she was drinking a ton of water and had very low energy. We took her into the vet and that was how she was originally diagnosed.

 

[cassidymills]

Is she at the vet office getting the IV treatments? Ming did get aggressive IV treatments at the vet and her creatitine levels dropped significantly after two days of treatment (3.0 to 2.0). However, the two days at the vet stressed her out terribly and she developed a severe UTI. I had to stay home from work for two days and I honestly thought we were going to lose her. If she is getting the aggressive IV fluids, make sure they test her for a UTI BEFORE she is released. My vet dodged this by saying she did not test positive for a UTI when she was admitted, however the UTI developed during the two days she was at the vet.

As for how the disease developed, I noticed she was drinking a ton of water and had very low energy. We took her into the vet and that was how she was originally diagnosed.

Yes, she is currently getting the IV treatments. My vet does not seem very positive. She was diagnosed with acute renal failure and the vet said her bloodwork wasn't showing any good signs. She is supposed to be released tomorrow but who knows how well she has responded to treatment?

 

[brittpatt]

We had a very rough Monday. Ming woke me up before 6 AM because she was drinking so much water. All she wanted was water - she even threw up because she was drinking so fast. My husband and I gave her a sub q of 100ML and she finally calmed down and fell asleep. I later realized she had gone through the trash, eaten breaded fried chicken, checked her litter box and found diarrhea.

Later in the day she started acting more like herself - playing with string and chasing her balls. She still has a huge appetite. I made an appointment for her to see a well recommended holistic vet next Tuesday. She is still drinking way more water than normal... I really hope we can get this more under control.

 

[kittyluv387]

Thank you for sharing your kidney tips! I hope Ming feels better soon. Keep us updated! BTW since she's so hungry as well, did she ever get checked for hyperthyroidism?

 

[brittpatt]

Thank you for sharing your kidney tips! I hope Ming feels better soon. Keep us updated! BTW since she's so hungry as well, did she ever get checked for hyperthyroidism?

Thanks for the reply! I've looked into hyperthyridism and I REALLY hope she does not have it but I will ask the vet to look into it. She does not have the following symptoms associated with the disease, so fingers crossed we're okay!

hyperactivity, unkempt appearance, panting, diarrheaand increased shedding

 

[kittypa]

Thank you for sharing what you have learned. My old girl (16) was diagnosed with 2nd stage kidney disease. I’m giving her fluids 6 nights a week since June. Her numbers are holding but not coming down. She had a seizure of some kind this morning. It was horrifying. Took her to the vet but couldn’t find anything to explain it. She’s fine tonight.

I’m going to try some of the food you mentioned. I’m always looking for good things for her to eat. I need to keep weight on without making her condition worse.

 

[brittpatt]

Thank you for sharing what you have learned. My old girl (16) was diagnosed with 2nd stage kidney disease. I’m giving her fluids 6 nights a week since June. Her numbers are holding but not coming down. She had a seizure of some kind this morning. It was horrifying. Took her to the vet but couldn’t find anything to explain it. She’s fine tonight.

I’m going to try some of the food you mentioned. I’m always. K looking for good things for her to eat. I need to keep weight on without making her condition worse.

Second stage is scary - that's where we're at too. We got Ming on Renafood which is supposed to support the kidneys. In some cases they have found Renafood lowers kidney levels. I would really give it a shot. Put your cat on a low phosphate food such as Best Feline Friend. My cat loves it.

The seizures sound terrifying. I would not give up hope yet that you can extend your cat's life. For us everything turned around once we ignored our vet and started with organic, holistic procedures. Keep up the fluids though - they work wonders!

Best of luck to you! I know how hard this is.

 

[Jrs86]

Hi there,

2. BFF - Best Feline Friend
- We put Ming on BFF food (we order it from Chewy) and get the broth pouches. They have low phosphate which is essential for maintaining kidney health in a kidney cat. Ming LOVES the food and her energy levels improved almost over night. She eats 3 pouches a day 9 ounces. She has put on weight since going on BFF and has fat on her belly once again!

Forgive me, as I’m new to CKD, but Tanya’s site says to feed neither low, nor high protein foods to a cat with kidney disease. 28-35% and these pouches are 54-66%. Isnt that high, regardless of the low PH? Or is it the lesser of two evils type situation?

 

[kittypa]

Forgive me, as I’m new to CKD, but Tanya’s site says to feed neither low, nor high protein foods to a cat with kidney disease. 28-35% and these pouches are 54-66%. Isnt that high, regardless of the low PH? Or is it the lesser of two evils type situation?

Tanya’s site also says that the most important thing is that they eat. That’s the challenge I’m having with my old girl. Along with the prescription diet, which none of them seem to like, I’m serving sides of foods by Iams, Wellness, Instinct, Soulistic... stuff I found on “the list” so she will eat. I reckon they’re all imperfect, but they are not harmful like many foods would be.

 

[Jrs86]

I agree, I went and bought a lot of the sides as well for my Binx, including the BFF. It must be a good brand because the store was almost completely out of all the options!

 

[brittpatt]

All my cat will eat is BFF. At first she loved the kidney prescription food since it was new but then instantly hated it after 2 days. At least with BFF the protein is reasonably low and the phosphate is low. I've taken a gamble on Azodyl and am hoping it's working.