Who Has Had A Cat With Ckd?

erichc2

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Hi. My cat was diagnosed with CKD in Feb 2015. Creatinine 2.9 and BUN 33 but all normal electrolytes and RBC/HCT etc.

It just gradually progresses. March 2018 Creatinine 4.3 BUN 47 but still all normal electrolytes and RBC/HCT. The March bloodwork says RBC 6.81, HCT 33.8, Phos 4.3, CA 10.2. Sodium 163.

She eats 100% renal prescription diet- sometimes Hills K/D other times Royal Canin renal. She eats about half wet and half dry. I add water to her wet food too.

As of now, she eats and acts fine. She plays with balls and cat dancer and stuff. Her personality is unchanged from when I got her at 8-10 weeks old. Very curious and into everything.

She goes back in 3 weeks for the next check up.

But my questions. So far we've been lucky. She's been largely asymptomatic.

At what point or Creatinine level do cats start to act sick? Such as not eating and losing interest in what used to interest them? Such as food, toys, and stop being curious?

I've read many CKD cats need Sub-Q fluids. Mine hasn't yet. The thought scares me. I couldn't insert a needle in anything. When is that needed? When the cat is dehyrdated?
My cat has a control thing- she has to be in control so she's not going to allow that.

Finally how long do cats usually live with this? I read a story once about a cat with a Creatinine of 10.
 

Furballsmom

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silkenpaw

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Hi, just about every CKD cat will need fluids at some point. It makes them feel so much better!

It's not hard to give a cat fluids, but I have heard of someone who preferred to take the cat to the vet to have that done. I also heard of a lady with a diabetic cat who had someone come to the house to give the cat insulin injections. May I suggest that it less stressful for the cat to have this done at home by a person whom they know well? Try to distract the cat. Put a bowl of her favorite food in front of her while you are giving the fluids. It doesn't take long.

How high the creatinine is before they feel sick is individual. Another factor that can make them feel sick is anemia, which is treated with erythropoietin injections. And dehydration will also make them feel sick, whether it's because of not eating or because the kidneys can no longer concentrate urine and the cat is losing water that way. I'm sure there are other factors I haven't thought of.

Good luck with your cat. They can live for a long time with CKD if well taken care of. Please keep us updated.
 

Daisy6

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Welcome to TCS. Thank you for posting. We are here to help and you asked some good questions. What is your cat's name?

The first thing you need to understand about.CKD is all cats are different so there is no way to know how long she will live, when she will get sick, etc. You can read a lot about CKD and prepare yourself for what happens but not the progression in your cat. So enjoy the time you have with her instead of worrying about how long she will be with you.

From your description, it is obviously not time to start thinking about the last day. She has a lot of time left unless it becomes what is called "acute on chronic" CRF. It means after slowly deteriorating, her kidney failure accelerates. This happens in a late stage. Right now just try to manage it the best you can as long as her quality of life is good.

The link Furballs posted has a ton of information about CKD, but keep in mind the website owner (whose name is not Tanya) is not a vet so other websites shouldn't be ignored. Everyone at TCS loves www.catinfo.org for feline nutrition information except the people who never saw it.
 

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It's been a long time since my Sweet Thing died of kidney disease; my experiences would be no use to you because things have changed. Please see this closed thread: Kidney Issues in Cats with Dr. Kris We had an expert, Dr. Kris, come on the site and answer our questions for a week. Be aware that this thread is back-to-front; the earliest messages are at the end of the thread.

Margret
 

Daisy6

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Margaret, I think you still can offer useful information about CKD. The disease has not changed since new tests and treatments were invented.
 
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erichc2

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Thank you to everyone who replied to my post. I did look at the Dr. Kris thread. As said, it seems very indivudal. There's one person who needed to put their cat down at Creatinine 3.9 - yet mine is already there but is mostly asymptomatic. I read another case where someone didn't put down until Creatinine 10. I guess it's when the cat is feeling sick almost all the time and loses interest in life. I am not anywhere close to that.

I'm sure there will come a day I'm advised to try Sub Q fluids. And I'll be like the person who is afraid. And my cat won't like it either since she has a control thing. But when that time comes I'll just do my best. I hope it doesn't have to do done that often but again that probably varies with each cat depending on how dehydrated the cat becomes. Right now mine is not dehyrdated at all and last visit Vet saw no reason to do it.
 

Daisy6

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That's exactly what I was saying. There are cats with creatinine levels just slightly elevated who end up in the ER. You are lucky everything seems to be normal now but that does not mean most cats would already be dead.

Here's the thing to know about fluids: They are given in the late stages when cats are feeling sick and not drinking enough water or eating wet food. If you see a lot less water in the bowl and can get her to eat a full 5.5 ounce can every day, she's unlikely to need IV fluids in the near future. If you're ever in doubt, pinch the skin between her shoulder blades and count the seconds it takes. to go down.
 
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erichc2

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I feed both wet and dry. I feed both the Royal Canin renal and the Hills K/D. I haven't tried the Purina NF. I don't know which is best probably the one the cat will eat. She eats around half a 5.5 ounce can a day but I add water to it. If I pinch the skin between her shoulder blades, the skin goes down right away. The Vet has never found her dehydrated any visit.
 

azzimao

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my cat 15 years old, ckd stage 3 been half year,He has always had a good appetite since he diagnosed the three stage of renal failure.
He was only sub fluid for 2 months, but the situation became worse and worse.Cause his abdominal water, a lot of inflammation, anemia.After mid March of this year, we changed the veterinarian, and the new veterinarian stopped sub fluid.After stopping sub fluid, the numerical change is not large,The condition became stable, anemia began to improve, and HCT no longer declined, when HCT was 19%.
But he wasn't doing very well until July, when I changed his diet, increased his vegetarian diet by half, and started acupuncture therapy with Chinese veterinarian, After a month, I found that his body began to improve on blood tests.
Then I adjusted to most homemade vegetarian foods in August, and a small portion of CKD canned food every day.In a recent blood test, his creatinine dropped from 372 to 277, and urea nitrogen dropped by almost half.his hct now is 31%,Weight increased from 2.7 kg to 3.6 kg.Especially after eating a vegetarian diet, almost no vomiting. In the past, when eating high-protein meat, vomiting occurs every 2-3 days.
He almost died in May because he also had chronic pancreatitis and diabetes, and heart disease, and a high-protein diet put a heavy burden on his body.
But this month he's in a very good condition. It's no different from a healthy cat. He has a good appetite, plays every day and is in a good mood.no need sub fluid,and And began to stop eating more drugs for reducing phosphorus.He used to have very high levels of phosphorus and needed a lot of medication, but when he took the medicine together after a vegetarian diet, the phosphorus became very low.In addition, the biggest change of urine after he was vegetarian became less.So he doesn't dehydrate, and there's no need to replenish the water. Besides, vegetarians have plenty of nutrients and enough water.

 

azzimao

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Acupuncture has a very good effect on kidney failure cats.He doesn't take much medicine, one is Japanese rapros, this medicine is very good, the other is Chinese medicine, conditioning Qi and blood.


Chinese yam has great help in regulating body and anemia.
 
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