Enlarged Kidney in Previously Healthy Two-Year-Old?

[Antonio65]

If she was my cat, A couple of things I would keep in mind, is avoid anesthesia, never give any Metacam or other anti inflammatory medication, make sure she stays hydrated.

This, too, may be individual.
My cat had CKD, and since the diagnosis she went under anesthesia at least 50 times without receiving any damage from them. She was given Metacam lots of time, but of course she was always well hydrated.

 

[ColoradoCat]

I'll definitely be consulting with the vet if she ever needs to go under for any reason. She's also going in for bloodwork today to see what her values are at. Hopefully they'll have improved from Friday. I'll also probably take her in again next week just to check again.

Part of me is still holding out hope that her kidneys can recover most to all of their function so she doesn't have to eat the kidney food (which she hates, unfortunately—my last cat loved it, but oh well). She has been extremely cuddly and clingy and is even trying to play, though I'm trying to restrict her activity a bit so she can recover from this whole ordeal as best she can.

 

[IndyJones]

Ckd is irriversable if that is truly what it is. Now, akd accute kidny disease is genneraly reversable. The accute form results from poisoning or damage to the kidneys. Tje chronic form usualy affects seionors and once it starts it eventualy is terminal.

 

[ColoradoCat]

So she had a vet visit yesterday. Her creatinine is down to 3.3, which is good. Unfortunately, her BUN is up to 70 (from 68 on Friday), which I'm hoping is just a margin of error thing. They gave me potassium supplements, as well as some Purina Hydracare. She wasn't interested in the Hydracare, but I put it directly into the bowl so I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be diluting in in water or what. She won't eat any of the kidney wet food I've given her from Royal Canin or Science diet, so I'm just giving her regular Royal Canin Instinctive and Indoor Adult canned food. It was recommended to me to try Royal Canin Renal Support S (dry), so I'm going to pick up some of that today and maybe some broths or something to try and keep her hydrated.

Does anyone have any further suggestions? I'm desperate to help my baby girl.

 

[fionasmom]

I have had good luck with Royal Canin dry renal food; much more than any other brand. No one has ever eaten the wet foods from RC or Science Diet with the exception of my avatar who does not have kidney disease. The broths and stews from Hartz are very popular with most cats.

 

[white shadow]

ColoradoCat - recommend that you decline and return the Hydra Care.....it's likely to (designed to) dilute the urine and so lower the specific gravity..........meantime, those are (some of the) values which are used to measure how well the kidneys are functioning. The more concentrated the urine, the better the function......so, it's completely counter intuitive to use that product!

 

[IndyJones]

Honestly the best thing you can feed a cat is a food they will eat. Even if a food that could magicly cure all diseases and reverse aging existed it would be worthless if it sat uneaten.

Just feed her what she wants.

 

[ColoradoCat]

ColoradoCat - recommend that you decline and return the Hydra Care.....it's likely to (designed to) dilute the urine and so lower the specific gravity..........meantime, those are (some of the) values which are used to measure how well the kidneys are functioning. The more concentrated the urine, the better the function......so, it's completely counter intuitive to use that product!

Thanks for the advice. On the bright side, she doesn't seem to like it, so I'll probably return the remaining packet next time I'm near or at the vet.

 

[ColoradoCat]

I bought some Royal Canin Renal Support S dry food today. I opened the bag and let Cassie sniff it. She immediately stuffed her entire head in and seemed very interested. I gave her and Anuket's bowls a good wash and filled them up, and it seems to be a success with both cats! I also bought some of the regular wet food she likes just to keep her eating and hydrated, as well as some chicken bone broth which both cats ignored (though my mom's dog will drink it, so it shouldn't go to waste).

I also decided to get my pet fountain up and running again after more than two years. It was great for my last cat because he had arthritis and didn't have to bend down as far to drink with it. It's been sitting in storage since he passed away a couple years back, so my girls had never seen it. There's some intrigue, but neither one is using it just yet.

I'm still hoping that poor Cassie just has an acute kidney injury that she can recover from. I really hate the thought of her being chronically ill at only two and a half years old. Either way, at least I should be able to support her regardless of what happens. My vet said she may be able to have a normal life expectancy even with kidney disease, but I'd still like her to be completely healthy.

She's snuggling with me and purring right now, and has been acting much more like her normal self, so we're definitely on an upward trend.

 

[IndyJones]

So since she is two it is most likely not chronic.

Chronic by its deffinition develops over months or even years not that quickly unless it was present from birth (birth defect).

What they may have meant is kidneys are notoriously difficult to heal so some of the damage may not be reversable. But now that the toxin has been removed the kidneys should not progress further.

For chronic kidney failure a transplant is the only cure. Even then prognosis is guarded. The chronic form is an old animal disease.

 

[Antonio65]

For chronic kidney failure a transplant is the only cure.

This is exactly what my former vet said about my cat's CKD. But who would be the kidney donor?
It should be a dead cat, because it would be highly unethical to use a living cat as a donor, since that cat couldn't express its will to be a donor.

 

[Antonio65]

They gave me potassium supplements, as well as some Purina Hydracare. She wasn't interested in the Hydracare

Wouldn't water be the more obvious and natural means to increase Cassie's water intake?

 

[ColoradoCat]

Wouldn't water be the more obvious and natural means to increase Cassie's water intake?

I think the supplement has things like electrolytes in it to help keep her hydrated. I'm definitely making sure her water intake stays up, though.

 

[ColoradoCat]

So Cassie does seem to be improving. She's still right there on her plush blanket on my bed whenever I wake up, but today, she had three of her crinkle balls (her favorite non interactive toys) with her. She's also been more active and has been very affectionate and cuddly. She's still not quite back to her old self, but she's a lot better than she was when we brought her back from the hospital last week. I'm still hoping she can make a full recovery, though we won't know more until she gets more bloodwork next month. So far, it seems to be looking promising, however.

 

[ColoradoCat]

I have great news, everyone! Cassie went to the vet today for bloodwork, and her kidney values are almost completely NORMAL! One of the three most important ones (as per the vet) is still just a bit high, but the trend is definitely positive! She'll be on the kidney diet a bit longer, and she'll have to go back in for bloodwork in a few months. It does look like she may be able to transition back to her old diet soon, however!
She's been playing, purring, cuddling, and just generally normal these past few weeks. Aside from the diet, you'd never know she almost died last month. I'm so relieved my sweet girl is going to be ok!

 

[silent meowlook]

Wonderful news!! They are both so cute!!!

 

[fionasmom]

This is wonderful news! Thank you so much for updating us!