Update on Kelcee

[tomkatzid]

She is on 5 meds now. Vet says months rather than years to live. I CAN NOT believe it. She seems so good. But on the inside I guess her kidneys are at risk. We cannot change her food to a kidney diet, cause she might stop eating again. She is really like her old self. But the numbers on the kidneys rose a 'lot' he said. Her blood pressure is on the high end, but not overly so.
This is what she is on now:
Prednisone 5 mg every other day
2.5 mg Benazepril
2.5 Pepcid AC
.5 Derm Caps Liquid (fish oil stuff)
1/2 tsp Tumil-K Gel
So 5 things to cram in every day. She hates it all. I hate that she has to take so much. One of the vets found a study that showed this combination of drugs helped with the kidney failure.
But as of today, she is good !!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/tomkatzid/kelcee/800x600.jpg

[kimlovescats]

WOW, that is a lot to keep up with. How old is dear Kelcee?

That sure is a BEAUTIFUL picture of her!:)

[tomkatzid]

15.5
My baby.

[kimlovescats]

Originally posted by tomkatzid
15.5
My baby.

Awwww, how precious ... I can see why she is a special girl!!! She's so pretty, and is definitely a lucky lady!;)

[captain]

I had no idea Kelcee was so sick ................ {{hugs}}} to you ...... and kisses to Kelcee ........

Great photo too!

[Jods]

What a beautiful kitty. I will send prayers and good thoughts for you anf your baby. :(

[jazzcat]

Poor Kelcee. She's such a beautiful girl and looks so sweet. I hope she feels better soon.

((HUGS)) to you both.

[BCBlondie]

Wow that is a beautiful picture of her. :)

Sorry to hear she's not feeling too well.. :( I hope the meds help and that she gets better!

[doolittleky]

Kelcee is so beautiful! She looks like Tangee. I am so sorry that she is so sick. I have dealt with terminally ill babies more than I would have liked to. I am new here so don't know the whole story about what is wrong with her. You said something about kidney failure. I know how stressful it is to have one of your babies so ill and nothing you can do for them. I know when Shoo was so sick he was also on the tumil k. He wouldn't eat and would be on fluids, and I would have to force feed him. I don't know what food kelcee is on right now. have you ever tried the Science diet a/d? It is prescription food and that was the only thing shoo would eat when he got so sick. I hope you have more time with her than your vet says. Our babies can sometimes fool us and epsecially the vets. My Shoo lived three years longer than he was suppose to. When he got so sick the first time, the vet said he should have died, but my Shoo was a fighter and I truly believe he did it for me. i will pray kelcee can stay strong and you have many more good days with her.
Doo=^..^=

[shais_mom]

poor Kelcee.
Poor you.
I will keep you both in my thoughts and prayers..

[zippy-kat]

Keeping you in my thoughts and prayers.
Many hugs and gentle pets to the beautiful Kelcee!

[krazyaboutkatz]

Thanks for the update. I wish it was a happier one and that she didn't have to take so many meds. Hopefully the meds will allow her to continue to live a much longer and happier life with you. She's such a gorgeous cat. More prayers and positive thoughts are on the way. Please take care.

[jenluckenbach]

I am so sorry that life is so hard for you both right now. 5 Meds is a lot for a kitty (heck ,it it a lot for a person!). But I pray that she will continue to feel well and thrive for a long time to come.

[catmandu]

The Found Cats,and I are praying for Kelcee,and hope,that she is well soon,and doesnt have,to take all those Meds,very soon.

[slick]

Oh dear Kelcee....only months?? That's so sad. Enjoy every day with her and please give her some kisses from me.

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

I'm so sorry to hear about sweet Kelcee. Sounds just like what I'm going through with Tubby right now. The potassium supplement Tubby is on is the same Tumil K, but it's in pill form. And Tubby takes 1/2 of a Pepcid every day, but what are the other meds for? And just curious, did the vet not mention anything about the sub-q fluids? I know they are quite common in renal failure kitties and just curious why he wouldn't prescribe that also?

Either way, I sure hope she continues to eat and do well. I know exactly what you're going through because I'm now going through it too with Tubby.

{{{hugs}}} to you and good thoughts and prayers going out for Kelcee.

[tomkatzid]

Kelcee will have to have another blood test and blood pressure check soon to see how she is doing on all the meds.
The prednisone is to make her eat.
The Benazepril is for high blood pressure.
The pepsid had been shown to help the kidney.
The Tumil K is potassium replacement
The Derm Caps is fish oil stuff.
He wants to check her blood pressure again in 4 weeks. He also did say later we would have to do the fluids. Guess she is not there yet. That part scares me. You do it at home by yourself?? I'm not so sure Kelcee will stand for that. It doesn't seem like she is 'that' sick. After the prednisone and she got some weight back on she seemed fine. But that was pills twice a day and now she has lot some of that weight, but still looks better than she did. It really is hard for me to believe she is 'so' sick. I'm going to see if I can get pill for everything instead of gel on liquid. She hates those worse than the pills. The Tumil K is expensive $43. for a tube. I am going to check to see if the fish oil and potasium can be in human form, as it is a lot less money.
Thank you for all your prayers and good thoughts.

[tomkatzid]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/tomkatzid/kelcee/s7000052.jpg

[rg_girlca]

Poor sweet Kelcee and poor you.
Prayers on the way for the both of you.

Kisses and headbumpies for Kelcee and (((((HUGS))))) for you.

What a sweet picture of such a pretty girl.

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

Originally posted by tomkatzid
You do it at home by yourself?? I'm not so sure Kelcee will stand for that.

Yes, it's really no problem. As long as you can get her to lay still for 5 minutes, you will be able to do it. I put a picture of Tubby getting his fluids in the Salvage Yard thread. He acts as if he's just laying there and doesn't mind the needle at all. It's me that has to get used to sticking the needle in. :o

I got the Tumil K in pill form. I have no idea how many pills were in the bottle, but I'm thinking at least 30 or maybe even 60 (one months worth at 2 pills a day), but the bottle only cost $29.00. And Tubby also does not do the liquid well, so I'm glad the vet gave us pills first. You should be able to get it in pill form, no problem.

And I know what you mean about not believing she is so sick. I had no idea with Tubby - but boy can they go downhill fast, so it's best to keep up with the blood tests and such to keep on top of it. Tubby had only been to the vet 3 weeks ago and they said his levels were up a bit but he was fine, so when he started getting sick I didn't relate it to his kidneys at all. That was a big mistake because I would have taken him in a lot sooner if I thought it was kidney related.

Kelcee sure is a cutie pie. Smooches to her. :)

[tomkatzid]

Thanks for the info. I still am not too sure about Kelcee being still for 5 minutes. But by the time I need to do this maybe she will be feeling worse and will lay there, still. I'll go look at that thread now.
Well, I was sad to read that you too didn't know Tubby was so sick either. The poor babies. I thought maybe the vet was wrong in Kelcee's case, but it just doesn't seem that way. She still drinks a lot of water, now, but I guess that changes as the kidneys get worse. And thats why they need the fluids at home. How much does Tubby weigh? Kelcee is now around 8 pounds. So I'm wondering if that is why she has less of a dose than Tubby.
Again, thank you all so much. I will keep you posted on her condition.
Katz

[tomkatzid]

Originally posted by doolittleky
I don't know what food kelcee is on right now. have you ever tried the Science diet a/d? It is prescription food and that was the only thing shoo would eat when he got so sick.
Doo=^..^=

She was on Waltham low ph food for over a year, maybe two. At first they thought she had IBD so he put her on IVD duck and green peas food. Also have S/D IBD food. He wanted to change her protein. But then the blood test showed kidney trouble. She had stopped eating. Well I guess now that she is eating he doesn't want to mess with her diet. As she may not like the new food. And then loose weight again. It's all such a balancing act.

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

Originally posted by tomkatzid
She still drinks a lot of water, now, but I guess that changes as the kidneys get worse. And thats why they need the fluids at home. How much does Tubby weigh? Kelcee is now around 8 pounds. So I'm wondering if that is why she has less of a dose than Tubby.

From what I understand, they continue to drink a lot of water, it's just as the kidneys get worse and worse, they require more and more and the poor kitties can't keep up. Also, the vet tech last weekend was telling me that she had a kittY that would require fluids for a week or two, then she didn't need them. Then she'd need them again for a week or two, then didn't for awhile again. I don't know about that part yet because Tubby hasn't gotten that far yet.

Tubby weighs 13.5 lbs, so he does weigh more than Kelcee.

Here (http://www.felinecrf.com/) is a wonderful website all about chronic renal failure.

[ramanth]

Awwww Kelcee... I'm such a bad friend. :( I didn't even know you were ill. You are such a beautiful girl.

Do I need to send more catnip? :D ;)

[doolittleky]

tomkatzid,

Wow the liguid or gel form of the Tumil k is expensive! I know liquids are always more expensive than pills. I don't remember the pill form of TumilK costing that much, I was thinking it was pretty inexpensive. it has been a few years since I have bought it though so maybe the cost went up.

As far as the food, I agree if she is eating now don't change it! The a/d was just a suggestion for if she stops eating whatever your vet has her on now. It is a very high calorie food whihc would help her weight and also a consistency that it can be force fed in a syringe if a cat wouldn't eat it on it's own. A few of my cats have been diagnosed with IBD and my vet has told me to feed the the Science diet w/d which is high fiber and low fat whihc helps with the IBD.

About the fluids, although shoo and some of my others have had to have fluids, I never had to give them, always took them to the vet but from others I know it isn't that big of deal to give them. It is like when Shoo first became diabetic when he got the pancreatitis, I about died cause I didn't think I could give him a shot twice a day! LOl But you can do more than you think when it comes to the welfare of your babies! I am sure once you are taught, it won't be any big deal to you and you will feel more comfortable with it. I know when i finally did end up having to put Shoo to sleep that that was the one thing i was glad I didn't have to do anymore was to give shots, and now look at me now, I have 6 diabetic cats and give 11 shots a day! LOL

Kelcee is such a beautiful baby and so lucky to have a person like you to take care of her. She reminds me so much of my Tangee.
I will continue to say prayers for kelcee and you too.

Doo=^..^=

[lisalee]

Poor Kelcee:( she's such a pretty girl. I'm sending prayers her way and I hope she has plenty of quality time left with you to enjoy.

[Barbara]

Kelcee, all best wishes for you! I hope you have the best time ever- as long as it will be. And I hope it will be long:)

[Killearn Kitties]

I hope all those pills do help to stabilise Kelcee and she goes on being her cute little self for longer than expected!

Hugs to you sweet girl.