High Kidney Levels In 17 Year Old Cat

[jamidnyc]

Hi. I'm seeking advice for my 17 year old kitty Scat. Ten days ago, she was diagnosed with a UTI, and I gave her antibiotics at home. I took her in yesterday to recheck her levels, and I have attached the results (Creatine 4.2, BUN 66, Phosphorus 6.7).

The vet is recommending inpatient for 2 days and receive IV fluids and antibiotics and then recheck levels. Here are the low ($1548.63)/high ($2469.51) estimates:

4/24/2018 IV Catheter Placement For Veinous Acces 1.00 $97.45 1.00 $97.45
4/24/2018 IV Fluids & Pump 2.00 $219.26 3.00 $328.89
4/24/2018 Nursing Care 2.00 $226.60 3.00 $339.90
4/24/2018 ICU Nursing 2.00 $255.00 2.00 $255.00
4/24/2018 Overnight 2.00 $396.58 2.00 $396.58
4/24/2018 In House BUN/Creat/Lytes4 1.00 $109.16 2.00 $218.32
4/24/2018 Unasyn Injection - Small 6.00 $238.74 9.00 $358.11
4/24/2018 ULTRASOUND FULL 0.00 $0.00 1.00 $461.50
4/24/2018 Medical Waste Charge - NY State 1.00 $5.84 1.00 $5.84

I live in New York City, thus the incredibly high fees associated with this. The vet also presented me with an outpatient option, which is just giving her antibiotics at home. I don't know what to do. I'd love to hear some advice from you all. Thanks.

 

[foxxycat]

can you call around to vets half an hour outside of NYC?? Can you UBER ride to them? That's a LOT of money! Will they consider daily Sub fluids for a week while evaluate blood levels a week later???

Hows the eating and drinking? I tend to treat conservatively.

Is your cat acting sick?
Any lethargic behavior?
Any issues with pee and pooping?
What are you feeding for diet?
Is there constipation issues?

Elderly cats tend to sleep more and play less- Did the UTI symptoms clear up? Sometimes blood work looks worse than it really is if kitty is stressed at vets. Usually when kidney values go up we opt for sub fluids at home-this helps flush those kidneys. Adding wet food helps as well.

 

[foxxycat]

4/24/2018 Nursing Care 2.00 $226.60 3.00 $339.90
4/24/2018 ICU Nursing 2.00 $255.00 2.00 $255.00
4/24/2018 Overnight 2.00 $396.58 2.00 $396.58

REDUNDANCY here.

Why are they charging you nursing for 3 times?!!!

I highly recommend yelp look up of area vets-there's got to be a cheaper option! Last time I did iv fluids it was $600 not $3000!

 

[foxxycat]

And lastly=how does your cat do with vets? Some cats just won't calm down and won't eat when at the vets-this is where you would administer sub fluids at home. Many of us can help guide you. It sounds scary but certainly less scary than a vet stay for 3 days for your beloved kitty. Sometimes when they get older-we opt to treat conservatively at home especially if we are considering quality of life issues.

You could see if there's pet sitters who know how to do sub fluids who you could hire to swing by daily to assess for you=they know what sick cats look like and may save you some money in the long run and less stress for your kitty...

 

[jamidnyc]

Hi. Thank you for the quick response! I forgot to mention that she weighs 6.25 lbs. She lost almost one pound in 8 months.

She eats PetGuard Premium Feast wet food. No dry food.

No intestinal issues - she's acting normal. The reason I knew she had a UTI was because I woke up one day and saw little blood droplets around the apartment. That has cleared up.

I used to take her to a vet half an hour north of the city, but I had to sell my car, so I found a vet in town that's only a block away. I think I'm going to send the lab results to her previous vet and see what she says.

 

[Saf]

They're not off the chart kind of levels that would usually warrant IV fluids. Is she particularly dehydrated? You can tell that if you pinch the skin and it's very slow to snap back. If not then she would probably be ok to just sub qs - under the skin injections of the fluid that can be done by you at home if your vet agrees.

You'll get some great advice here:
support groups.io Group

Make sure to get a copy of all the blood and urine tests and post them with a brief background.

 

[jamidnyc]

I did do subQ fluids on her a few years ago - I would just need a refresher course. Do you think the antibiotics aren't necessary? Just fluids?

She hates being in a cat carrier and going to the vet - are there cats that like it?

 

[Kieka]

I'd definitely follow up with your old vet.

I agree that the nursing and overnight fees are a little extreme. My boy had a 5 day vet stay when he broke his leg and no one was home to care for him during the day. Including overnight stays, medication and care it was maybe $400 for the five days. Granted he wasn't on an IV the whole time but that still seems high and I am in California outside of LA so our vet fees are higher then average too.

She does need care and may need a hospital stay. I won't disagree with that if a second opinion from another vet concurs but those costs seem a little exorbitant.

 

[jamidnyc]

Here are the lab results.

 

[foxxycat]

Hi. Thank you for the quick response! I forgot to mention that she weighs 6.25 lbs. She lost almost one pound in 8 months.

She eats PetGuard Premium Feast wet food. No dry food.

No intestinal issues - she's acting normal. The reason I knew she had a UTI was because I woke up one day and saw little blood droplets around the apartment. That has cleared up.

I used to take her to a vet half an hour north of the city, but I had to sell my car, so I found a vet in town that's only a block away. I think I'm going to send the lab results to her previous vet and see what she says.

I would definately do that=send lab results=maybe they can help set you up with sub fluids at home. If the bleeding came back or other urinary issues then another round of antibiotics but with bugs being resistant to antib's I would hesitate to use them unless she's running a fever/lethargic or other obvious infection symptoms.

You can always add more water to her wet food to up the fluids- usually the daily fluids in sub fluids in non cardiac patients runs 75 to 100 ml. Cardiac patients are around 50 ml a day or every other day. Also it may help to access dehydration.

so your kitty isn't acting sick? I would wait a day to see what your old vet says...

 

[foxxycat]

Here are the lab results.

ok reviewing these- be back soon!

 

[foxxycat]

Ok looks like she def did have urinary infection based on blood and proteins in urine. Probably should have repeat of urinalysis.

 

[Kieka]

Check out this site and join their support group, Tanya's Comprehensive Guide to Feline Chronic Kidney Disease - Everything You Need to Know to Help Your Cat they really are geared specifically towards kidney issues and would be better equipped to read the results and offer advice.

 

[Kieka]

Ok looks like she def did have urinary infection based on blood and proteins in urine. Probably should have repeat of urinalysis.

I agree, I am seeing the UTI for sure. Nothing in it is screaming kidney problems in my limited understanding. I'd want a second urinalysis once the UTI is cleared up to confirm that diagnosis.

 

[jamidnyc]

Okay, thank you! I just sent all of the results to her previous vet (who is also a homeopath/holistic vet).

 

[foxxycat]

Yes check out Tanya's site- a wealth of information! I would say the blood work looks not bad for 17 years old. If the cat was dehydrated it will make the creatine look worse than it is. I would pursue your prior vet and Uber ride to them for follow up urinalysis soon- thur/fri and take it from there.

In the meantime the treatment would be increasing fluids anyways-it won't hurt. If the proteins and blood still present in urine then they may send it out to grow to match with appropriate antibiotic.

 

[cat princesses]

I highly suggest as well joining Tanya's Renal cats support group. If you google them you'll find her page with a ton of info and you can request to join the group. I swear by them there! They will guide you based on the labs and help - they were a life saver for me and my renal cat!

 

[jamidnyc]

Can I get fluids somewhere in the city?

 

[foxxycat]

Generally when our cats get older- we give some leway for higher readings on blood work considering age. Nothing in that blood work screams kidney issues-the thyroid is a bit low BUT that's probably part of old age-still within normal. When they get elderly they tend to loose muscle mass which may explain the weight loss. You can supplement with freeze dried treats since those are almost 100% meat and see if that helps gain a bit of weight. It's kind of part of the aging process where they loose a bit of weight but not always.
Did the vet want you to up her food amount? You can add 10% to the daily regimen and see if that helps.

 

[foxxycat]

Can I get fluids somewhere in the city?

It would have to be from your vet, a pharmacy or you can order from thriving pets type site-depending on laws in your state you may need a script for the needles and the tubing thingy to administer. Your prior vet can fax all this to a pharmacy or have you pick it up at their office. You can order a box of fluids online for less money but for now can just buy it from the vets to get you set up.

A bag is 1000ml and should last 10 to 20 days if it's 50/100 ml a day dose=some vets want it given every other day-all depends on what's going on-so that should give you a time frame of how long the bag of fluids will last you.